Chen, Jingwu; Zhang, Fan
A icle
The inno a ion pa adox: he ole o knowledge
he e ogenei y in ugal inno a ion
Cogen Business & Managemen
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Chen, Jingwu; Zhang, Fan (2024) : The inno a ion pa adox: he ole o knowledge
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The inno a ion pa adox: he ole o knowledge
he e ogenei y in ugal inno a ion
Jingwu Chen & Fan Zhang
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The inno a ion pa adox: he ole o knowledge he e ogenei y in
ugal inno a ion
Jingwu chen and Fan Zhang
school o economics and Managemen , Hebei uni e si y o echnology, ianjin, China
ABSTRACT
Wi h he wo sening en i onmen al c isis and he apid ad ancemen o indus y 4.0,
mo e en e p ises a e ecognizing he impo ance o sus ainable de elopmen , ye
p ac ical challenges emain. o be e unde s and how in e nal knowledge sou ces and
knowledge he e ogenei y impac i ms’ sus ainable pe o mance h ough ugal
inno a ion, his s udy in es iga es he mode a ing ole o in e nal and ex e nal
knowledge he e ogenei y and he media ing ole o ugal inno a ion, d awing on
o ganiza ional lea ning heo y and con ingency heo y. he indings e eal ha (1)
in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces posi i ely in luence sus ainable pe o mance;
(2) ugal inno a ion media es he ela ionship be ween hese knowledge sou ces and
sus ainable pe o mance; and (3) he mode a ing e ec o in e nal and ex e nal
knowledge he e ogenei y is no signi ican . he s udy explo es he easons behind his
non-signi ican inding and o e s heo e ical and empi ical insigh s in o how companies
can e ec i ely le e age knowledge esou ces and inno a ion s a egies in he con ex
o a g een economy.
1. In oduc ion
he apid g ow h o indus y 4.0 and escala ing en i onmen al challenges a e compelling go e nmen s
and businesses wo ldwide o p io i ize sus ainable economic ansi ions. Majo ini ia i es, such as he
uni ed na ions clima e change con e ence and he Eu opean union’s ocus on echnological inno a ion,
e lec his shi (Kazak, 2022). in china, policies aimed a educing ca bon emissions and boos ing
esou ce e iciency highligh sus ainable de elopmen as c ucial o high-quali y en e p ise g ow h
(huang & Zhai, 2021). hese measu es no only enhance business sus ainabili y (Khaled e al., 2021), bu
also p omo e g een de elopmen .
achie ing sus ainable pe o mance is mo e complex and expensi e han adi ional business me ics,
equi ing di e se knowledge esou ces, especially in pollu ion educ ion and deca boniza ion (Dubey
e al., 2023). in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces p o ide access o aluable expe ise, enabling
companies o adap o en i onmen al changes and enhance sus ainabili y (Goyal e al., 2020; shahzad
e al., 2021). al hough s udies ha e examined he sepa a e impac s o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge
on inno a ion and pe o mance, li le esea ch add esses hei combined e ec s ac oss a ious con ex s.
his limi ed iew o e looks he complexi y o i ms’ knowledge ne wo ks, necessi a ing a deepe unde -
s anding o how hese knowledge sou ces in e ac o in luence pe o mance.
While in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces o e di e se ideas o inno a ion, ans o ming hese
ideas in o sus ainable ou comes is essen ial. small and medium-sized en e p ises (sMEs), pa icula ly in
© 2024 he au ho (s). Published by in o ma uK Limi ed, ading as aylo & F ancis g oup
CONTACT Fan Zhang [email p o ec ed] school o economics and Managemen , Hebei uni e si y o echnology, ianjin, China.
supplemen al da a o his a icle can be accessed online a h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23311975.2024.2431646.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23311975.2024.2431646
his is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons a ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. he e ms on which his a icle has been
published allow he pos ing o he accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
ARTICLE HISTORY
ecei ed 1 sep embe
2024
e ised 11 no embe
2024
accep ed 14 no embe
2024
KEYWORDS
F ugal inno a ion;
sus ainabili y
pe o mance; knowledge
he e ogenei y; knowledge
sou ces; pa ial leas
squa es s uc u al
equa ion modelling
SUBJECTS
Business, Managemen
and accoun ing;
sus ainable De elopmen ;
En i onmen & he
De eloping Wo ld;
Economics and
De elopmen ; indus y &
indus ial s udies
2 J. chEn anD F. ZhanG
manu ac u ing, o en ace inancial and esou ce cons ain s (lampe i e al., 2024). hese limi a ions
necessi a e maximizing ou pu wi h minimal inpu o main ain inno a ion and compe i i e ad an age.
F ugal inno a ion, a esou ce-e icien model, has gained a en ion as a solu ion (iqbal & piwowa -sulej,
2023). esea ch has p ima ily examined he ole o o ganiza ional capabili ies (cha e jee e al., 2021),
en i onmen al ac o s (adomako e al., 2024), and social ne wo ks in d i ing ugal inno a ion (Xuecheng
& iqbal, 2022). howe e , he in luence o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces emains unde ex-
plo ed, especially ega ding long- e m sus ainable pe o mance. unde s anding his ela ionship can
guide i ms in balancing economic, en i onmen al, and social goals.
E ec i e use o knowledge o inno a ion depends on knowledge he e ogenei y (F.-s. sai, 2023).
homogeneous knowledge is insu icien o add essing complex, c oss-domain p oblems (chai hanapa
e al., 2022). o ganiza ional lea ning heo y sugges s ha di e se knowledge enhances inno a ion and
adap abili y in complex en i onmen s (De oni & pesso , 2021). howe e , excessi e in e nal knowledge
he e ogenei y can hinde coo dina ion, while oo much ex e nal he e ogenei y complica es in eg a ion
and decision-making (san o o e al., 2020). cu en esea ch o en ea s knowledge he e ogenei y as a
single en i y, o e looking he dis inc oles o in e nal and ex e nal ypes in a ious con ex s. his makes
i challenging o i ms o alloca e knowledge esou ces e ec i ely and p io i ize he e ogenei y o op i-
mize pe o mance. Explo ing he balance o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y can help
i ms ans o m knowledge in o ugal inno a ions and a oid ba ie s om excessi e di e si y.
in conclusion, his a icle analyzes how in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces in luence sus ainable
pe o mance wi hin he g een economy. i examines he oles o knowledge he e ogenei y and ugal
inno a ion in his ela ionship. By applying o ganiza ional lea ning and con ingency heo ies, he s udy
aims o o e a comp ehensi e amewo k o businesses o imp o e sus ainabili y h ough knowledge
esou ce u iliza ion.
he s uc u e o he a icle is as ollows: sec ion 2 e iews exis ing li e a u e and ou lines he heo e ical
amewo k. sec ion 3 in oduces he esea ch hypo heses. sec ion 4 de ails he esea ch design, including
sample selec ion, a iables, and analysis me hods. sec ion 5 p esen s empi ical indings and discusses
hei implica ions. sec ion 6 concludes wi h con ibu ions and di ec ions o u u e esea ch.
2. Concep ual and heo e ical amewo ks
2.1 Sus ainabili y pe o mance in he g een-economy con ex
sus ainable pe o mance measu es a company’s achie emen s in sus ainable de elopmen , encompass-
ing economic, en i onmen al, and social ou comes (Baumga ne & au e , 2017). esea ch on co po a e
sus ainabili y began in he 1970s wi h a ocus on en i onmen al esponsibili y, e ol ing in o co po a e
social esponsibili y (cs ). in 1997, Elking on and owlands, (1999) highligh ed he need o assess co -
po a e pe o mance ac oss economic, en i onmen al, and social dimensions. ecen ly, digi al ans o ma-
ion has accele a ed in e es in g een echnology s a egies and dynamic capabili ies, as schola s explo e
how echnological inno a ion can enhance sus ainable pe o mance and os e long- e m compe i i e-
ness (Ghosh e al., 2022).
s udies on sus ainable pe o mance o en examine i s an eceden s om he pe spec i es o i m capa-
bili ies (ha , 1995; hong e al., 2018), s a egic managemen (s ubbs & cocklin, 2008), and ex e nal ela-
ionships (awas hi e al., 2018; Edwin cheng e al., 2022; oh e al., 2021; elen u & Jopson, 2019). a
he mic o-le el, hese ac o s can be ca ego ized in o in e nal and ex e nal dimensions (Yin e al., 2024).
Fo ins ance, lee and oh (2023) ound ha digi al capabili ies help i ms achie e sus ainable pe o -
mance by imp o ing esou ce in eg a ion, decision-making lexibili y, and os e ing open inno a ion. osi
e al. (2023) emphasized he impo ance o in eg a ing sus ainabili y in o s a egic decisions, pa icula ly
o esou ce-based ci ies. sudusinghe and seu ing (2022) highligh ed ha collabo a ion wi hin he ci cu-
la economy amewo k enhances economic and social sus ainabili y by op imizing esou ce use and
educing was e. Exis ing empi ical esea ch p ima ily add esses in e nal managemen and ex e nal ela-
ionships (cillo e al., 2019), as shown in able 1.
While exis ing esea ch has examined ac o s in luencing co po a e sus ainabili y, i o en o e looks
he ole o knowledge as a c i ical esou ce. his a icle add esses his gap by explo ing how bo h
coGEn BusinEss & ManaGEMEn 3
in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces con ibu e o sus ainable pe o mance. some s udies sugges
ha in e nal knowledge is c ucial in he ea ly s ages o business de elopmen when esou ces a e lim-
i ed, whe eas ex e nal knowledge helps o e come in e nal limi a ions as companies g ow (Dubey e al.,
2023). in high- ech and in o ma ion-in ensi e indus ies, ex e nal knowledge is especially impo an o
d i ing dis up i e inno a ions, such as digi al and g een inno a ions (pin o e al., 2023; Yin & Zhao,
2024b). his aises key ques ions: Do in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces impac sus ainable pe o -
mance di e en ly? how can i ms balance hese sou ces o op imize sus ainable ou comes?
conside ing he e ec s o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge on sus ainable pe o mance, i is essen ial
o accoun o no jus he sou ces bu also he quali y, cha ac e is ics, and di e si y o he knowledge,
as no ed by iqbal and piwowa -sulej (2023). Knowledge he e ogenei y—di e se ypes and sou ces o
knowledge—plays a c i ical ole in d i ing inno a ion and sus ainabili y. howe e , indings on i s impac
a y. some esea che s sugges ha di e se knowledge lows enhance knowledge sha ing, in eg a ion,
and inno a ion, he eby boos ing pe o mance (Gan e al., 2023). o he s a gue ha knowledge he e o-
genei y’s impac is con ex -dependen , in luenced by ac o s like en i onmen al ola ili y. in uns able
ma ke s, i ms ely mo e on di e se knowledge o adap and inno a e quickly (shehzad e al., 2023).
Mo eo e , he bene i s o knowledge he e ogenei y depend on o ganiza ional capabili ies, pa icula ly
leade ship’s abili y o manage and coo dina e knowledge e ec i ely (iqbal & piwowa -sulej, 2023). cu en
esea ch on knowledge ac o s is agmen ed, and he ole o knowledge he e ogenei y in sus ainable
pe o mance has no been ully explo ed. hus, i is c ucial o ho oughly examine he impac o knowl-
edge sou ces and he e ogenei y on sus ainable pe o mance o p o ide en e p ises wi h comp ehensi e
guidance o con inuous lea ning and sus ainable compe i i e ad an age.
2.2 O ganisa ional lea ning heo y
o ganisa ional lea ning is he p ocess o in eg a ing aci and explici knowledge in an o ganisa ion. his
is ac ually an in e -o ganisa ional knowledge- ans e ac i i y ha e eals he need o o ganisa ions o
con inuously acqui e and in eg a e knowledge o adap o ma ke needs (Ga in e al., 2008). Knowledge
acquisi ion, unde s anding, abso p ion, and use a e all impo an elemen s o o ganisa ional lea ning.
Focusing on knowledge sou ces and knowledge he e ogenei y, we assume ha he assimila ion o in e -
nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces helps achie e o ganisa ional lea ning goals (cye e al., 1959).
high-quali y o ganisa ional lea ning can help o ganisa ions lea n lessons and in eg a e hem in o hei
ope a ions (Goh e al., 2004).
o ganisa ions embody o ganisa ional lea ning by acqui ing he e ogeneous knowledge o inno a e as
hey adap o he ma ke en i onmen . o ganisa ional lea ning heo y ocuses on he lea ning p ocess o
an o ganisa ion as a whole, co e ing he whole p ocess o knowledge abso p ion, in eg a ion, and use. his
can help explain he complex e ec s o knowledge sou ces and knowledge he e ogenei y on o ganisa-
ional inno a ion. i is consis en wi h he backg ound o he limi ed esou ces o small- and medium-sized
en e p ises (sMEs) in he g een-economy con ex . he e o e, we selec o ganisa ional lea ning heo y o
explain he oles o knowledge he e ogenei y and knowledge sou ces in ugal inno a ion.
Table 1. Mains eam pe spec i es on sus ainabili y pe o mance.
Pe spec i es Mains eam iews Resea ch sou ces
in e nal
managemen
Co po a e capabili ies con ibu e o
sus ainabili y pe o mance
① Dynamic
capabili ies②supply chain
dynamic
capabili y③Digi al
capabili y
Ha (1995), Hong e al. (2018), Lee and Roh (2023)
s a egic in eg a ion is ele an o
sus ainabili y pe o mance
① s a egic
ope a ions②s a egy
con en , p ocess,
andcon ex ③s a egic
planning
s ubbs and Cocklin (2008), Baumga ne & Rau e
(2017), osi e al. (2023)
ex e nal ela ions Longi udinal pe spec i es a e
usually ela ed o supplie s
① supplie isk②supply
chain lexibili y
awas hi e al. (2018), edwin Cheng e al. (2022)
Ho izon al s udies ocus on
s akeholde engagemen
① go e nmen
collabo a ion②open
inno a ion
Velen u and Jopson (2019), Roh e al. (2021)
4 J. chEn anD F. ZhanG
2.3 Con ingency heo y
con ingency heo y emphasises he need o o ganisa ions o adap managemen o speci ic en i onmen al
ac o s o achie e op imal pe o mance (o ley, 2016). i ejec s he ‘one size i s all’ p emise. ins ead, con-
ingency heo y p oposes ha o ganisa ions need o con inually in eg a e and ealloca e esou ces o mee
he demands o he en i onmen . Based on con ingency heo y, olbe da e al. (2012) ound ha o gani-
sa ional pe o mance can be imp o ed by upda ing p ac ices o ma ch changes in p ac ice, as in he case
o he lean model o p oduc ion ( o o ella e al., 2019). Donaldson (2006) empi ically demons a ed ha
o ganisa ions imp o e pe o mance by e ec i ely managing esou ces. o ganisa ions can educe cos s and
achie e en i onmen al and economic sus ainabili y h ough he e ec i e managemen and use o esou ces.
con ingency heo y ocuses on he e ec o ex e nal en i onmen al and esou ce cons ain s, which
is pa icula ly impo an o he s udy o ugal inno a ion. i p o ides a heo e ical amewo k o
explaining how o ganisa ions can inno a e ugally o achie e sus ainabili y in en i onmen s whe e
esou ces a e cons ained, ma ke s a e ola ile, o compe i ion is high.
3. Resea ch hypo heses
3.1 Knowledge sou ces and sus ainable pe o mance
Knowledge sou ces encompass he a ious ways o ganisa ions acqui e and use knowledge, which can be
classi ied as in e nal o ex e nal (Menon & p e e , 2003). in e nal sou ces o igina e om in e ac ions
among supe iso s, colleagues, and subo dina es, while ex e nal sou ces include cus ome s, s akeholde s,
and he supply chain.
in e nal knowledge sou ces can posi i ely in luence sus ainable pe o mance. Fi s , a s ong o ganisa-
ional cul u e p omo es knowledge sha ing, con inuous inno a ion, and he e ec i e use o in e nal
knowledge. in echnology companies, o example, in e nal &D and knowledge-sha ing mechanisms
os e an inno a i e cul u e ha keeps i ms ahead o echnological changes (isensee e al., 2020).
second, he company’s expe ience, echnology, and p ocess op imisa ion d i e inc emen al inno a ion
and con inuous imp o emen , leading o s eady pe o mance gains (pin o e al., 2023). Fo ins ance,
oyo a’s implemen a ion o a ‘lean manu ac u ing’ app oach has p o ided signi ican ad an ages in cos
con ol and quali y managemen . addi ionally, in e nal knowledge sou cing enhances esou ce and en i-
onmen al managemen . Wi h a deepe unde s anding o esou ce u ilisa ion and p ocess managemen ,
i ms can de elop mo e e icien en i onmen al s a egies, he eby boos ing sus ainable pe o mance
(shahzad e al., 2020). Based on his, we p opose he ollowing:
H1a: in e nal knowledge sou ces posi i ely a ec sus ainabili y pe o mance.
Ex e nal knowledge sou ces also signi ican ly con ibu e o sus ainable pe o mance. Fi s , while in e nal
knowledge in luences co po a e cul u e and sus ainable inno a ion, ex e nal knowledge has a s onge
impac on b eak h ough inno a ions (Du, 2021). esea ch indica es ha ex e nal knowledge helps companies
access cu ing-edge echnologies and ma ke ends beyond hei in e nal capabili ies, d i ing b eak h ough
inno a ions and enhancing inno a ion pe o mance (law e al., 2021). Fo example, apple’s collabo a ion
wi h supply chain pa ne s has enabled i o con inuously in oduce p oduc s ea u ing ad anced echnolo-
gies. second, ex e nal knowledge allows i ms o s ay upda ed on ma ke ends and cus ome p e e ences,
enabling imely s a egy adjus men s o boos pe o mance (liao e al., 2024). in he ashion indus y, o
ins ance, Za a main ains i s ma ke compe i i eness by pa ne ing wi h supplie s and ashion o ganisa ions
o quickly espond o ends and launch new p oduc s. We he e o e p opose he ollowing:
H1b: Ex e nal knowledge sou ces posi i ely a ec sus ainabili y pe o mance.
3.2 The media ing ole o ugal inno a ion
F ugal inno a ion in ol es c ea i ely de eloping p oduc s and se ices o mee ma ke needs in
esou ce-cons ained en i onmen s (Goh e al., 2015; hossain, 2018), cha ac e ized by low cos , co e unc-
ionali y, and a o dable quali y (awas hi e al., 2017). acco ding o o ganisa ional lea ning heo y, a i m’s
coGEn BusinEss & ManaGEMEn 5
lea ning ex ends beyond knowledge accumula ion o include applying knowledge and os e ing inno a-
ion. F ugal inno a ion, as a way o apply in e nal knowledge, encou ages i ms o use exis ing esou ces
mo e e icien ly, imp o ing ma ke adap abili y and sus ainable pe o mance (pin o e al., 2023).
con ingency heo y, meanwhile, sugges s ha i ms should adap hei s a egies and inno a ion pa hs
o ex e nal condi ions. hus, ugal inno a ion helps companies adjus o complex en i onmen s and
achie e e icien esou ce alloca ion by le e aging in e nal knowledge (lim & Fujimo o, 2019).
esea ch ac oss di e en egions and cul u es shows ha ugal inno a ion plays a signi ican ole in
esou ce-limi ed a eas. Fo ins ance, a s udy o sMEs in india ound ha lean, sus ainabili y-o ien ed u-
gal inno a ion enhanced supply chain sus ainabili y and compe i i eness (De e al., 2020). simila ly, in
sou h a ica, ugal inno a ion in ol ed de eloping ad anced in-house manu ac u ing capabili ies
h ough a collabo a i e, bo om-up app oach o p oduc design, which p o ed essen ial o success
(chak a a y, 2022). howe e , i a i m s uggles wi h in e nal issues like poo knowledge managemen ,
implemen ing ugal inno a ion e ec i ely can be a signi ican challenge, impac ing i s abili y o com-
pe e (s. M. abbas & liu, 2022). Based on his, we assume ha :
H2a: F ugal inno a ion media es he ela ionship be ween in e nal knowledge sou ces and sus ainabili y
pe o mance.
o ganiza ional lea ning heo y posi s ha a i m’s lea ning capabili y in ol es con inuously abso bing
ex e nal knowledge and ans o ming i in o inno a ions. in eg a ing bo h ex e nal and in e nal knowl-
edge allows i ms o s ay agile in dynamic ma ke s. simila ly, con ingency heo y emphasizes he need
o i ms o adap o ex e nal changes, wi h ugal inno a ion o e ing a esou ce-e icien app oach ha
mee s ma ke demands. a s udy o saudi a abian sMEs ound ha ex e nal knowledge sou ces signi i-
can ly in luenced ugal inno a ion, wi h inno a ion capabili ies enhancing his e ec (alMulhim, 2021).
addi ionally, esea ch on pakis ani i ms demons a ed ha ex e nal knowledge posi i ely impac s h i
p ac ices and ecosys ems, con ibu ing o he imp o ed pe o mance o sMEs (shehzad e al., 2023).
hese indings indica e ha ex e nal knowledge sou ces ha e a subs an ial posi i e e ec on ugal inno-
a ion, which in u n enhances i ms’ sus ainable pe o mance. hus, we p opose he ollowing hypo hesis:
H2b: F ugal inno a ion media es he ela ionship be ween ex e nal knowledge sou ces and sus ainabili y
pe o mance.
3.3 The mode a ing ole o knowledge he e ogenei y
o ganisa ional lea ning heo y sugges s ha a di e se knowledge s uc u e boos s a i m’s lea ning abil-
i y and os e s knowledge in eg a ion and inno a ion om a ious pe spec i es (lane & luba kin, 1998).
Knowledge he e ogenei y p o ides i ms wi h a b oad esou ce base, aiding in he ans o ma ion o
in e nal knowledge in o inno a ion. i e e s o he di e si y o knowledge, skills, and expe iences ac oss
depa men s, eams, o indi iduals wi hin an o ganisa ion (Ye e al., 2016). a s udy on eme ging ma ke
i ms ound ha high knowledge he e ogenei y suppo s cos -e ec i e inno a ion in complex,
esou ce-cons ained en i onmen s. F ugal inno a ion depends on employees’ c ea i i y and op imal
esou ce use, wi h knowledge he e ogenei y enabling hem o disco e unique inno a ion pa hs using
a ied expe iences and skills (iqbal e al., 2024). esea ch shows ha in a- i m knowledge he e ogenei y
enhances inno a ion capabili ies, imp o ing explo a o y and open inno a ion ou comes. as he e ogene-
i y inc eases, i ms can be e iden i y oppo uni ies and achie e di e se inno a ion esul s mo e swi ly
(iqbal & piwowa -sulej, 2023). hus, in e nal knowledge he e ogenei y posi i ely in luences inno a ion
pe o mance, acili a ing ugal inno a ion ( sai, 2023). We hypo hesise:
H3a: in e nal knowledge he e ogenei y posi i ely mode a es he ela ionship be ween in e nal knowledge
sou ces and ugal inno a ion.
Ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y in ol es he a ie y o knowledge, skills, and in o ma ion ha i ms
ob ain om ex e nal sou ces (Ye e al., 2016). acco ding o o ganisa ional lea ning heo y, i ms enhance
hei lea ning and inno a ion capabili ies by con inuously inco po a ing ex e nal knowledge. his he e o-
genei y o e s a di e se esou ce base, enabling i ms o be mo e lexible in inno a ion, especially when
6 J. chEn anD F. ZhanG
esou ces a e limi ed, by achie ing e icien alloca ion and applica ion h ough ugal inno a ion. san o o
e al. (2020) ound ha ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y posi i ely impac s inno a ion pe o mance,
while alMulhim (2021) no ed ha di e se ex e nal knowledge sou ces help i ms op imize esou ces and
adap o ma ke changes, pa icula ly in eme ging ma ke s. likewise, liu e al. (2023) demons a ed ha
ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y signi ican ly boos s inno a i eness and sus ainabili y in chinese man-
u ac u ing i ms. Based on his, we hypo hesise:
H3b: Ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y posi i ely mode a es he ela ionship be ween ex e nal knowledge
sou ces and ugal inno a ion.
Figu e 1 depic s his s udy’s heo e ical amewo k.
4. Resea ch design
4.1 Da a
his s udy employed sel -selec ion sampling (El-Mans ly e al., 2020) o dis ibu e a ques ionnai e o
employees in chinese manu ac u ing sMEs. he su eys we e sha ed ia an online pla o m using elec-
onic links. o ensu e comp ehensi e and high-quali y da a, esponden s we e p ima ily loca ed in
Guangdong, Jiangsu, shandong, Zhejiang, and hunan, whe e china’s manu ac u ing indus ies a e con-
cen a ed. Employees ac oss all le els and depa men s comple ed he su ey, as ugal inno a ion can
occu anywhe e wi hin a company. hei amilia i y wi h manu ac u ing p ocesses inc eases he likeli-
hood o p ocess and echnological inno a ions. o enhance he alidi y o he esponses, he s udy a -
ge ed pa icipan s wi h an adop ion a e exceeding 80% and included sc eening ques ions o il e ou
in alid esponses. Ques ionnai es wi h inapp op ia e comple ion imes we e also excluded, esul ing in
834 alid esponses. he analysis conside ed ac o s such as esponden s’ gende , age, company size,
indus y ype, and company cha ac e is ics. able 2 p esen s he demog aphic da a, while able 3 dis-
plays he s a is ical da a on business na u e.
4.2 Measu es
he scales used in his s udy a e all ma u e scales and a e a ed on i e-poin like scales, wi h 1
meaning ‘s ongly disag ee’, 3 meaning ‘no su e’, and 5 meaning ‘s ongly ag ee’. he speci ic ques ions
a e gi en in appendix a. all scale ansla ions we e done by a p o essional holding a phD wi h a
Figu e 1. Model diag am.
coGEn BusinEss & ManaGEMEn 7
backg ound in s udying ab oad, using a ansla ion and back- ansla ion p ocess. he ques ionnai e
was op imised and imp o ed by o ming a discussion g oup among he esea che s o ensu e i s
expe alidi y. addi ionally, a p e es was conduc ed a e he ques ionnai e was designed. he inal
ques ionnai e was ob ained based on he p e es esul s. able 4 p esen s he speci ic a iable
desc ip ions.
1. in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces: he e, we d aw on lau sen and sal e (2014) scale. in e nal
knowledge sou ces pe ain o acqui ing knowledge om wi hin he i m, including supe io s, subo -
dina es, and he knowledge base. Ex e nal knowledge sou ces conce n knowledge acquisi ion om
sou ces ou side he i m, such as cus ome s and compe i o s. he e a e se en ques ion i ems o
each in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ce.
2. in e nal and ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y: he e a e a ious ways o measu e knowledge he -
e ogenei y, including econome ic analyses o collabo a i e ne wo ks and ques ionnai es on knowl-
edge managemen . howe e , ega ding his s udy’s esponden s, manu ac u ing sMEs migh ha e
unique cha ac e is ics in hei knowledge managemen and inno a ion p ac ices. We he e o e e e
o nie o and Que edo (2005) scale o examine he e ogenei y in i ms’ knowledge in e ms o he
b ead h o echnological domains, he con e gence o echnological knowledge, he di e si y o
echnological in es men s, and he di e si y o echnicians’ backg ounds. in e nal knowledge he e o-
genei y is based on he di e si y o pa en s and echnological knowledge wi hin he i m. Ex e nal
knowledge he e ogenei y is mainly based on he di e si y o knowledge acqui ed om he ex e nal
en i onmen . in e nal knowledge he e ogenei y includes ou opics, and ex e nal knowledge he e o-
genei y includes i e opics.
3. F ugal inno a ion: o be e in es iga e he e ec o knowledge sou ces and knowledge he e ogene-
i y as a whole on ugal inno a ion and he ex en o which ugal inno a ion is achie ed, we d aw
on Dos e al.’s (2019) scale o measu e he speci ic pe o mance o di e en i ms in e ms o ugal
inno a ion. Measu emen s include ‘p ac ical and ocused on essen ial elemen s’, ‘signi ican ly educed
Table 2. Demog aphic da a.
Cha ac e is ics Range numbe Pe cen age (%)
sex Male 431 51.68
Female 403 48.32
age 18–25 yea s 137 16.43
26–30 yea s 214 25.66
31–40 yea s 250 29.98
41–50 yea s 134 16.07
51–60 yea s 99 11.87
Table 3. s a is ical da a on he na u e o en e p ises.
na u e o en e p ise Pe cen age (%)
Cha ac e is ics Wi h iso14001 ce i ica ion 462 55.4%
Wi hou iso14001 ce i ica ion 371 44.5%
indus y Ca ego y au omobile Manu ac u ing 69 8.3%
so wa e and in o ma ion echnology se ices 115 13.8%
gene al equipmen Manu ac u ing 82 9.8%
Compu e Communica ion equipmen Manu ac u ing 75 9.0%
elec ical machine y and equipmen manu ac u ing 80 9.6%
Me al P oduc s Manu ac u ing 70 8.4%
special Pu pose equipmen Manu ac u ing 77 9.2%
non-me allic Mine al P oduc s 115 13.8%
Rubbe and Plas ic P oduc s 79 9.5%
scien i ic Resea ch and echnical se ices 71 8.5%
o he s 1 0.1%
Company size (numbe
o employees)
1–50 205 24.6%
51–100 193 23.1%
101–250 191 22.9%
251–500 131 15.7%
o e 500 113 13.5%
14 J. chEn anD F. ZhanG
inno a ion. Finally, in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces do no play a signi ican ole in mode a ing
knowledge he e ogenei y’s e ec on ugal inno a ion in sMEs. abo e, we discussed he a ious easons
o his non-signi ican e ec .
6.1 Theo e ical and p ac ical con ibu ions
he heo e ical con ibu ion o his a icle lies in h ee main a eas.
Fi s , i explo es he impac o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces on i ms’ sus ainable pe o -
mance, emphasizing he di e ence in hei in luence. his analysis cla i ies how di e en mechanisms d i e
he e ec o knowledge sou ces on i m pe o mance. While p io esea ch has o en ocused on a single
sou ce o has no dis inguished be ween he wo, he e has been limi ed sys ema ic conside a ion o how
bo h sou ces independen ly impac ugal inno a ion (o oo e al., 2024; ippakoon e al., 2023). o e looking
he dis inc ways in e nal and ex e nal knowledge a ec i m pe o mance can lead o a na ow unde -
s anding o knowledge managemen s a egies and missed oppo uni ies o enhancing inno a ion and
compe i i eness. h ough a de ailed compa ison, his s udy e eals he di e en oles o in e nal and ex e -
nal knowledge in con ibu ing o sus ainable pe o mance. his no only in oduces new heo e ical pe -
spec i es bu also p o ides p ac ical guidance on knowledge managemen s a egies, s essing he
impo ance o in eg a ing bo h knowledge sou ces o imp o e i m pe o mance.
second, he a icle in eg a es bo h knowledge sou ces and knowledge he e ogenei y in o a uni ied
heo e ical amewo k o examine hei impac on ugal inno a ion. p e ious s udies ha e ended o
ea hem sepa a ely, ocusing on only one a ibu e o knowledge (shehzad e al., 2023). howe e , wi h
he apid pace o echnological ad ancemen and globaliza ion, i ms a e inc easingly exposed o di e se
knowledge sou ces, making i essen ial o unde s and how hese in e ac , pa icula ly in he con ex o
ugal inno a ion. he amewo k in his a icle highligh s he in e play be ween knowledge sou ces and
he e ogenei y, o e ing an in eg a i e pe spec i e ha deepens esea ch in his ield and p o ides alu-
able insigh s o p ac ical knowledge managemen .
he a icle’s inno a ion lies in in oducing in e nal and ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y as mode -
a ing a iables and explo ing hei espec i e impac on he ela ionship be ween knowledge sou ces
and ugal inno a ion. his app oach deepens esea ch on how knowledge sou ces in luence ugal inno-
a ion. he indings ega ding he impac o knowledge he e ogenei y di e om exis ing s udies: while
some schola s sugges ha in e nal and ex e nal knowledge he e ogenei y signi ican ly a ec s i m pe -
o mance, his s udy indica es ha unde ce ain condi ions, he impac o knowledge he e ogenei y on
sus ainable pe o mance may a y. ecognizing hese di e ences can help i ms de elop mo e e ec i e
knowledge managemen s a egies and p o ide aluable insigh s o building compe i i e ad an age.
he p ac ical insigh s o his a icle ocus on h ee key a eas:
Fi s ly, his a icle inds ha while bo h in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces enhance he sus ainable
pe o mance o sMEs, ex e nal knowledge has a mo e subs an ial impac . he e o e, sMEs should p io i ize
acqui ing and using ex e nal knowledge, pa icula ly when esou ces a e cons ained. hey can s ay in o med
abou echnology and ma ke ends by collabo a ing wi h uni e si ies, esea ch ins i u es, indus y expe s,
and supply chain pa ne s. egula pa icipa ion in indus y semina s, o ums, and exhibi ions also allows
sMEs o abso b bes p ac ices and eme ging echnologies, posi ioning hem o lead in inno a ion.
secondly, he s udy emphasizes ha ugal inno a ion ac s as a key media o be ween in e nal and
ex e nal knowledge sou ces and sus ainable pe o mance, wi h ex e nal knowledge ha ing a pa icula ly
s ong in luence on ugal inno a ion. as a esul , manu ac u ing sMEs can c ea e cos -e ec i e,
high-e iciency solu ions by le e aging exis ing esou ces alongside ex e nal knowledge, especially when
&D budge s a e limi ed. addi ionally, companies can es ablish in e nal inno a ion awa ds o incen i e
p og ams o mo i a e employees o gene a e ugal and inno a i e ideas. By consis en ly in eg a ing
ex e nal knowledge, sMEs can u he op imize hei ope a ions and p oduc de elopmen p ocesses.
hi d, al hough he s udy ound ha knowledge he e ogenei y does no signi ican ly mode a e ugal
inno a ion, i does no mean ha knowledge he e ogenei y has no ole in inno a ion. sMEs should s ill
ocus on balancing he in eg a ion o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge o a oid o e - elying on a single
sou ce. i is ecommended ha i ms c ea e knowledge-sha ing pla o ms o acili a e he exchange and
in eg a ion o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge, ensu ing ha insigh s om di e en domains can
coGEn BusinEss & ManaGEMEn 15
e ec i ely ci cula e and con ibu e o inno a ion. Encou aging he o ma ion o c oss- unc ional eams,
including bo h in e nal and ex e nal expe s, will also help maximize he use o di e se knowledge in
he inno a ion p ocess.
6.2 Limi a ions and u u e esea ch
Due o he da a sample being limi ed o manu ac u ing sMEs, he indings may ha e limi ed applicabili y
o o he indus ies o egions. signi ican di e ences exis be ween manu ac u ing and o he sec o s (e.g.,
se ices o echnology) in e ms o inno a ion needs, knowledge acquisi ion me hods, and ma ke
dynamics. as a esul , he in luence o in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces on sus ainable pe o -
mance may no be en i ely ele an o non-manu ac u ing i ms o la ge companies. Mo eo e , his
s udy does no ully accoun o he ole o digi al echnology in knowledge managemen , which may
ha e led o an unde es ima ion o mode n i ms’ abili y o acqui e, in eg a e, and apply knowledge. in
he cu en digi al economy, many companies a e imp o ing knowledge managemen e iciency h ough
ools like big da a analy ics, cloud compu ing, and a i icial in elligence (Yin & Zhao, 2024a). Failing o
conside his aspec may ha e p e en ed he esul s om cap u ing he ue inno a ion capabili ies and
pe o mance imp o emen s d i en by digi al ans o ma ion.
Fu u e esea ch should b oaden he indus y and geog aphic scope o he sample o include sMEs
om di e en sec o s (e.g., se ices, high- ech indus ies) and egions. his expansion will allow o a
mo e comp ehensi e unde s anding o how in e nal and ex e nal knowledge sou ces impac a ious
ypes o i ms, enhancing he b oade applicabili y o he indings. addi ionally, s udies could be ex ended
o la ge i ms o compa e how knowledge sou ces and pe o mance di e by company size. Fu u e
esea ch should also inco po a e digi al echnologies in o he analysis o explo e hei media ing o mod-
e a ing ole in knowledge managemen . Fo ins ance, examining how companies’ use o digi al ools,
such as big da a and a i icial in elligence, acili a es knowledge acquisi ion, in eg a ion, and applica ion
could p o ide aluable insigh s. By including digi al- ela ed a iables, u u e s udies will be e e lec he
echnological landscape o mode n en e p ises and enhance he p ac ical ele ance o he indings, pa -
icula ly in he con ex o apid digi al ans o ma ion.
Acknowledgmen
We did no ecei e any unding.
Au ho s’ con ibu ions
Fan Zhang was esponsible o concep ualizing he esea ch, de eloping he heo e ical amewo k, collec ing and
analyzing da a, and d a ing he manusc ip . Jingwu chen p o ided guidance on esea ch design, con ibu ed o he
in e p e a ion o he esul s, and e iewed and e ised he manusc ip c i ically o impo an in ellec ual con en . all
au ho s ha e ead and app o ed he inal e sion o he manusc ip .
Funding de ails
We did no ecei e any unding.
Disclosu e s a emen
no po en ial con lic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho (s).
In o med consen s a emen
W i en in o med consen o his s udy was ob ained om he pa icipa ing esea che s.
E hical app o al
he s udy was app o ed by he E hics commi ee o he Facul y o Economics and Managemen o hebei uni e si y
o echnology unde app o al numbe 20240828.
16 J. chEn anD F. ZhanG
Abou he au ho s
Jingwu Chenis a p o esso a he school o Economics and Managemen , hebei uni e si y o echnology, wi h
esea ch in e es s in enginee ing economics and p ojec managemen .
Fan Zhang is a mas e ’s s uden a he school o Economics and Managemen , hebei uni e si y o echnology, wi h
a esea ch in e es in inno a ion managemen .
ORCID
Fan Zhang h p://o cid.o g/0009-0005-3076-2932
Da a a ailabili y s a emen
Da a will be made a ailable on easonable eques o he co esponding au ho .
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