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How does slack affect product innovation in high-tech Chinese firms: The contingent value of entrepreneurial orientation

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Abstract

Innovation scholars are interested in how slack affects product innovation in high-tech Chinese firms. We highlight that slack–innovation linkages may differ depending on whether slack is absorbed or unabsorbed, and argue that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) moderates the slack–innovation connection. Our empirical study of 308 high-tech Chinese firms suggests that unabsorbed slack is more strongly positively related with product innovation than is absorbed slack in high-tech settings. Meanwhile, firms with high levels of EO enjoy better effects between unabsorbed slack and innovation, but worse effects between absorbed slack and innovation. We also provide theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lingnan College, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Heng Liu

  2. School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, 710049, China

    Heng Liu

  3. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xiu-hao Ding

  4. School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Hai Guo

  5. School of Management, Xiamen University, Fujian, 361005, China

    Jin-hui Luo

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  1. Heng Liu
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  2. Xiu-hao Ding
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  3. Hai Guo
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  4. Jin-hui Luo
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Correspondence to Xiu-hao Ding.

Additional information

The authors gratefully acknowledge the supports from Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2011M500136), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (Hust, 2011QN102), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (70112105).

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Liu, H., Ding, Xh., Guo, H. et al. How does slack affect product innovation in high-tech Chinese firms: The contingent value of entrepreneurial orientation. Asia Pac J Manag 31, 47–68 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-012-9309-5

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