STUDY ON TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION PARTNER AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE: FOCUSING ON INCREMENTAL AND RADICAL INNOVATION

Abstract

This study conducts an empirical analysis on the relationship between innovation and the type of partner based on the assumption that the knowledge and information acquired from partners would vary depending on their type from the perspective of learning through technology cooperation. It further expands the discussion by looking at the relationship between geographic distance between partners and innovation as well as absorptive capacity, a variable that moderates it. The knowledge required for product development is classified into explicit and implicit knowledge, and based on such knowledge type, the form of learning and innovation is categorized into STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) and DUI (Doing, Using and Interacting). Accordingly, technology cooperation partners are divided into STI and DUI partners. The study analyzes the effect of the cooperation partner type on radical and incremental innovation. Unlike the hypothesis, cooperation with a STI partner had a positive effect on incremental innovation while a DUI partner had such effect on radical innovation. The geographical distance between partners had a negative effect on incremental innovation and the moderating effect of appropriability was not verified.