earticle

영어

The importance of technological innovation in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been significant impacts on the survival and growth of companies. So, each company has been working for more effective technological innovation. Recently to improve such technological innovation, the importance of open innovation, which is focused on the use of external sources, has increased. However, most existing literatures are the studies for general firms, and the studies of characteristics for open innovation and performance of SMEs are relatively insufficient. In particular, the existing empirical studies of open innovation mainly investigate relationships among firm’s internal and external factors, but it is difficult to find that these precedent factors influence open innovation activities and finally effect on the open innovation performance. This paper carried out this empirical study focusing on a structural model – that is, inputs of innovation influence on the process of open innovation activities and finally influence on outputs [open innovation performance] as results of these processes. Results show that technical innovation capabilities among internal factors have positive effects on open innovation activities and open innovation performance, but entrepreneurship does not have a significant effect on open innovation activities, and have a positive effect on open innovation performance. In addition, market competition level and technological change level as external factors show have significant effects on open innovation activities and open innovation performance. Finally, absorptive capacity between open innovation activities and open innovation performance shows positive moderating effects. Through theses results, SMEs has largely been influenced by internal factors as well as by external factors such as market competition level, technological change level, etc. This paper also draws on an implication that SMEs need to construct open organizational culture to enhance their open innovation performance. Furthermore, we can find that firms should enhance basic absorptive capacities to increase firm’s final open innovation performance although technological innovation capabilities of a firm are important.

한국어

최근 기업성장에 있어서 개방형 혁신은 매우 중요하여 이러한 연구들이 다수 나타나고 있으나, 기존 실증연구들은 주로 기업 내･외부요인과 개방형 혁신과의 관계를 규명하고 있을 뿐, 이러한 선행요인들이 개방형 혁신활동[혁신 프로세스]에 영향을 주고 최종적으로는 개방형 혁신성과에 영향을 미친다는 연구는 찾아보기 어렵다. 본 연구에서는 중소기업을 대상으로 혁신의 선행요인[input]이 개방형 (기술)혁신 활동이라는 프로세스(process)에 영향을 주고, 이러한 프로세스의 결과로 혁신 성과[output]가 나타난다는 구조에 초점을 두고, 실증연구를 진행하였다. 분석 결과, 내부역량 중 기술혁신역량은 개방형 혁신활동과 혁신성과 모두에 긍정적 효과를 보였으나, 기업가정신은 개방형 혁신활동에는 통계적으로 유의한 정(+)의 영향이 나타나지 않았고, 혁신성과에만 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 나타냈다. 또한 외부환경인 시장경쟁정도와 기술변화정도는 개방형 혁신활동과 혁신성과에 모두 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 보였으며, 개방형 혁신활동(프로세스)과 개방형 혁신성과 사이에서 흡수역량은 긍정적 조절효과를 보였다. 따라서, 중소기업들은 내부역량뿐 아니라, 시장경쟁정도와 기술변화정도 등 외부 환경에 의해 크게 영향을 받고 있음을 알 수 있었으며, 단순한 기업의 기술혁신역량도 중요하지만, 기업의 기본적인 흡수역량을 키워야 최종적인 개방형 혁신성과를 높일 수 있음을 발견할 수 있었다.