기술협력 활동이 중소기업의 기술혁신 성과에 미치는 영향:지식흡수능력(Absorptive Capacity)의 조절효과를 중심으로

This paper suggests that the technological collaboration relationships have significant effects on the innovation output of the small and medium-sized firms and that a firm’s absorptive capacity moderates the relationship between collaborative linkages and innovation output. To test the hypotheses, data were collected from the small and medium-sized firms in Busan Metropolitan City. The sample was limited to the firms in the manufacturing industry which had more than 30 employees. 827 firms were identified through this sampling process and a survey questionnaire was distributed to these firms. Of the 827 firms, 101 firms responded to the questionnaire (12.2% response rate). Excluding 11 firms that had incomplete responses, the final sample consisted of 90 firms. Technological collaboration linkages consisted of two sub-measures: the magnitude and diversity. The magnitude was measured by the total count of technological collaboration relationships that a firm have entered into with external firms or institutions during recent three years. The diversity was measured by how many types of external firms or institutions out of seven categories (supplier, competitor, buyer, university, public and private research institute, technical training institutions) a firm have maintained the collaborative relationships. This study used four indicators of a firm’s absorptive capacity in order to cross-validate the measurement: (1) R&D intensity (defined as R&D expenditure divided by sales), (2) the ratio of R&D personnel to total employees, (3) the ratio of R&D personnel who obtained the master degree, and (4) the perceived absorptive capacity measured using seven survey items developed by the author. The coefficient alpha for these four sub-measures was .7097, indicating that these scales had adequate reliability. The innovation output was represented by the total amount of eight specific measures: the number of patent applications, practical new design applications, development of new products and processes, improvement of existing products and processes, quality certifications and awards. In addition, this study used four control variables, including industry sector (reclassified into 5 sectors and dummy-coded: footwear, machinery and equipment, textiles and wearing apparel, metal products, and chemical products and others), firm age, firm size (measured by the natural log of number of employees), and the stage of industrial life cycle. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine the hypotheses. First, when entering the control variables in step one, industry sectors, firm size and stage of industrial life cycle were statistically significant in predicting the innovation output. Thus, the result support their use as control variables. Second, when entering the technological collaboration linkages as well as control variables in step two, the result showed that the magnitude of technological collaboration relationships had significant and positive effects on the innovation output. This result implies that strategic technology alliances are an important means by which small and medium-sized firms can promote their innovation. Among external linkages, in the meantime, the linkages with suppliers, buyers, universities, and public research institutions were positively associated with the innovation output respectively, whereas the linkages with competitors, private research institutions, and technical training institutions were not significantly related to the output. Third, the result indicated that a firm’s absorptive capacity is a significant predictor of the innovation output. This result implies that a firm with higher levels of absorptive capacity is likely to be more innovative. Fourth, the interaction between collaborative linkages and absorptive capacity had a positive and significant effect on the innovation output. This result supports for the moderating effects of absorptive capacity on the relationship between the collaborative linkages and innovation output. It implies that in order for the small and medium-sized firms to fully create value from their external linkages, they should invest actively in developing absorptive capacity. In conclusion, investing in absorptive capacity while building extensive collaborative linkages is critical to the technological innovation of the firms which eventually leads to competitive advantage.