Research Seminar by Prof. MANPREET SINGH HORA

Posted on July 14, 2023 by administrator

Topic: BUYER-SUPPLIER NETWORKS AND INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL DISTANCE

Abstract of the presentation 

This study focuses on available technological knowledge in a firm’s global supplier network and examines factors
that accrue innovation benefits from such knowledge for a buyer firm. Using absorptive capacity as a theoretical lens, we specifically examine technological distance, technological breadth, and extent of global sourcing, and how these factors interrelate in influencing a firm’s innovation performance. The panel data is drawn from
various sources (Bloomberg SPLC, PATSTAT Global, and Compustat). Our sample spans four years from 2011 through 2014 and comprises an unbalanced panel of 878 firm-year observations derived from buyer-supplier relationship data of 246 unique buyer firms. The findings confirm the negative association between technological distance and innovation performance, and the positive association between technological breadth and innovation performance. The results show that technological distance plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between technological breadth and innovation performance. The results also show that while the extent of a firm’s global sourcing has a positive relationship with
its innovation performance, the relationship changes with technological distance.