Effects of technology lock-in on enterprise innovation performance
European Journal of Innovation Management
ISSN: 1460-1060
Article publication date: 29 September 2020
Issue publication date: 12 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the effects of different types of technology lock-in on enterprise innovation performance. On this basis, the authors aim to provide technological innovation suggestions for the long-term development of Chinese enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 211 high-tech enterprises in China were taken as the research sample. Data were collected through questionnaire surveys and secondhand data. Linear and nonlinear regression models were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Different types of technology lock-in had different effects on enterprise innovation performance. Initiative lock-in and passive lock-in showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation performance. Economies of scale were positively correlated with innovation performance, while self-lock-in was negatively correlated with it.
Practical implications
This research can help enterprises reconceptualize technology lock-in. It can also help enterprises in different stages of development carry out targeted technological innovation and management strategies.
Originality/value
This research enriches our understanding of technology lock-in. By breaking with previous conceptualizations of a simple linear relationship between technology lock-in and innovation performance, this study proposes and confirms different technology lock-in has different relationships with enterprise innovation performance. This study is important for enterprises to reassess their technology lock-in state and carry out targeted technological innovation strategies. This research enriches the theory of path dependence and its combination with other theories. And this study also reveals the current research on technology lock-in is insufficient.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No: 2017WB13). The authors thank Dr. Carlo Giglio, the Editor of EJIM, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and stimulating comments that substantially improved the paper. The authors thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.
Citation
Zhao, L., Sun, J., Zhang, L., He, P. and Yi, Q. (2021), "Effects of technology lock-in on enterprise innovation performance", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 1782-1805. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-06-2020-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited