Impact of social network heterogeneity and knowledge heterogeneity on the innovation performance of new ventures

Abstract

Purpose Few studies investigated the influence of heterogeneous knowledge and social networks on the innovation performance of new ventures in emerging economics. Particularly, as the focus of global economic development is paying more attention to emerging economics such as China, Indonesia and India, innovation research in these countries becomes more and more important. As such, this paper aims to propose a theoretical model and designed a survey based on the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Design/methodology/approach To investigate the influence of network heterogeneity and knowledge heterogeneity on the innovation performance of new ventures, the authors designed a structured questionnaire based on the TRIZ methodology for innovative problem solving to collect data from new ventures established in the past eight years in eastern China. Findings The empirical results verify the assumptions of our theoretical model: network heterogeneity has a positive impact on the innovation performance of new ventures; knowledge heterogeneity has a positive impact on the innovation performance of new ventures; network heterogeneity has a positive impact on knowledge heterogeneity. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is that the proposed theoretical model determining the relationship of network heterogeneity and knowledge heterogeneity with the innovation performance of new ventures was empirically tested and verified. This study also empirically verified what types and what sources of social network and knowledge are critically linked to new venture innovation.