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Special Issue Call for Papers:

“Avenues to Innovation: Exploring the Roles of Non-Commercial Entities in Global and Local Innovation”

Optional Proposal Deadline: November 30, 2023

Manuscript Submission Deadline:July 31, 2024

Special Issue Guest Editors:

• Zhongfeng Su, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, zhongfengsu@xjtu.edu.cn
• Ricarda B. Bouncken, University of Bayreuth, Germany, bouncken@uni-bayreuth.de
• Charles H. Noble, University of Tennessee, USA, cnoble@utk.edu

Motivation for the Special Issue

It is well established that firm innovation contributes directly and through spillover effects to economic growth and social development (Maradana et al. 2017). Various public and private non-commercial entities (e.g., governments, NGOs, philanthropic foundations, universities, etc.) endeavor to promote firm innovation, but do so in different ways (Clo et al., 2020). Such non-commercial entities offer firms support to foster innovation through grants, direct investment, and other forms (Howell, 2017, Yi et al., 2021).

A multitude of national and international support programs have been developed. In Europe, the Cohesion Policy and the Competitiveness and Innovation Program of the European Council (Czarnitzki and Lopes-Bento, 2014) has been implemented. Just recently, the German Government has supported ThyssenKrupp hydron technology for steel production, including knowledge sharing considerations. In the US, the government allocated $177 billion as R&D funding in 2018, accounting for 13.6% of federal discretionary spending (Congressional Budget Office 2018). In China, several programs such as the ‘Made in China 2020 program’ include policies, regulations, and support for start-up ecosystems. In addition to governmental support, non-commercial entities also support innovation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently pledged $1.4 billion towards innovation supporting smallholder farmers in Africa to address the impacts of climate change (Gates, 2022, Nov. 7).

Non-commercial entities can also encourage connectivity among firms in different locations to access or combine context specific local knowledge for innovation (Bouncken and Barwinski, 2021; Morrar et al., 2012; Scalera et al., 2018), supporting the creation and commercialization of innovation.

Governments and non-commercial private entities, therefore, play a critical role in firm innovation. As described by Fleming et al. (2019), firms “increasingly depend upon federally supported research as a source of scientific knowledge” and “nearly a third of U.S. patents rely directly on federal research” (p. 1139). To date, it is not only entrepreneurial ventures, but also established firms and even multi-national enterprises (MNE) that connect with non-commercial entities for innovation support. Such non-commercial entities offer a range of direct and indirect support for firms in different locations, regions, and even nations, as described above.

Given the significance of non-commercial entities for firm innovation, scholars have undertaken many studies on this issue, such as testing the effects of university-corporate partnerships on firm innovation, examining the roles of government in firm innovation and exploring the interactions of governments and firms during the innovation process (e.g., Anckaert and Peeters, 2023, Jia et al., 2019, Lenihan et al., 2019, Slavova, 2022).

While extant studies have advanced our knowledge of the impact of non-commercial entities on firm innovation, there are also several questions that remain unanswered. For instance, past research mainly focuses on the quantity of innovation, yet insights into the quality of innovation are lacking (Jia, Huang and Man Zhang, 2019). How could non-commercial entities improve the quality of innovation? How do the different audiences (e.g., government, firms, investors, sponsors) envision and evaluate innovations, perhaps by divergent criteria? What are the roles of non-commercial entities in different stages of the innovation process? How can they support local, regional, or global connectivity? How can digital technologies support the coordination of non-commercial entities with firms and their connectivity?

Moreover, many new phenomena yield challenges for extant findings. For example, digital technology leads firms to develop new approaches to innovation (Pesch et al., 2021) and has shaped the basis for many innovations, new business models, ventures, and start-up clusters. Yet, it creates challenges for firms to protect their intellectual property rights (Appio et al., 2021). Hence, how can public and private entities support firms to innovate in the digital era? How can public and private entities support the connectivity of firms in the pursuit and commercialization of innovation?

In addition, innovation increasingly relies on technologies that fall under the basic research heading, yet firms are pursuing less of this work in favor of more applied research (Fleming, Greene, Li, Marx and Yao, 2019, Slavova, 2022). How can non-commercial entities support a balance between the objectives of basic and applied science, such as through investments, allocation of resources, or networking?

Because of the above-indicated gaps and emerging questions, it is imperative to elaborate on the influence of public and private entities on firm innovation, since the findings not only enrich our knowledge of the role of these groups in innovation, but also inform governments and other institutions on how to better foster desired innovation outcomes. Thus, this special issue calls for studies exploring a wide range of issues surrounding the partnership of public and private non-commercial entities with for-profit firms for innovation.

Specific Focus of the Special Issue

The special issue is open to quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical contributions. Some exemplary directions that illustrate the intended focus include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Non-commercial entities and types of innovation

Scholars have tested the role of public and private entities in technological innovation, including product vs. process innovation and radical vs. incremental innovation, among others (Beck et al., 2021, Dolfsma and Seo, 2013). Other types of innovation, such as business model innovation and managerial innovation, are underexplored. Extant studies have indicated that one factor may play different roles in differing types of innovation (Damanpour and Aravind, 2012, Su et al., 2019). Thus, the effects of non-commercial entities on different types of innovation may vary. In addition, there is little research on indirect innovation support, such as on facilitating local connectivity (e.g., start-up ecosystems). Innovation is known to be bound to the direct knowledge exchanges in regions, such as in ICT-, biotechnology, aerospace, and AI-clusters (Turkina et al., 2021). For example, the German government has just released a call for university collaborations to create “start-up factories” to get as many new businesses started and scaled (BMWK, 2023). Hence, in which ways do public and private entities influence other innovation types? What direct and indirect effects occur when public and private entities support innovation?

2. The differing roles of non-commercial entities in innovation partnerships

Public and private non-commercial entities matter to firm innovation, but they function diversely in the innovation process. Thus, it is intriguing and imperative to clarify the differing roles (e.g., financial support, knowledge support, network capabilities) that different types of non-commercial entities play during the innovation process, yielding some interesting questions. For example, how can NGOs, universities, and philanthropic funding influence the innovation process and its outcomes, and are there granular differences in the motivations of these entities that result in differing innovation outcomes? Given different stages and forms of innovation (product, process, management, or business model), are there systematic differences between the functions and roles of public and private entities?

3. The influence of non-commercial entities on the quality of innovation

Research has shown that innovations differ greatly in their quality, and both governments and other public and private entities generally target the most impactful and high-quality variety (Beck, Lopes-Bento and Schenker-Wicki, 2021, Catozzella and Vivarelli, 2016). Yet, extant studies focus primarily on the effects of non-commercial entities on the quantity of innovation, such as counting patents to assess innovation outcomes, while few have distinguished firm innovation based on its quality or non-financial effects (Jia, Huang and Man Zhang, 2019). As a result, we know little about how non-commercial entities can facilitate innovative firms “doing better, not just more” (Catozzella and Vivarelli, 2016, p. 365), generating a call for testing the influence of such entities on the quality of innovation. Hence, what are different qualities of innovation and how are they addressed by non-commercial entities?

4. Means of connectivity between non-commercial entities and firms for innovation

To innovate more effectively, firms need to consider with whom and how to connect (Anckaert and Peeters, 2023). Regional, geographical and national factors play an important role in innovation (Saittakari et al., 2023). Specific resource and knowledge conditions act as drivers of “spikes” in the global economy, hence necessary knowledge for innovation is agglomerated in industry clusters, cities, or regions (Mithas and Whitaker, 2007). Furthermore, previous research is ambivalent about whether specialized externalities of homogenous regions (small and medium cities or specialized clusters) or diversity externalities (e.g., diverse clusters or cities) improve innovation (Doloreux and Turkina, 2021, Sultana and Turkina, 2020). Hence, how does the local, regional context, and national influence the effects of non-commercial entities in their innovation support? How is innovation affected when non-commercial entities tie in with a specific focus of a region? How is innovation affected when non-commercial entities aim to increase the diversity of a region? Which internal or external agglomeration advantages underlies investment location choices? How is innovation affected by more connections between small vs. global cities? How can connectivity balance the divisions of non-commercial entities, especially universities, and firms in basic science? How do the different digital technologies support (or even impede) the collaborations among the different players?

Submission Deadline and Anticipated Publication Timeline

The process surrounding this special issue will include several elements to help achieve the best possible set of published articles. These elements include an optional first step prior to formal submission is a short (3-5 pages) proposal, which covers all key elements of the research. The goal here is to facilitate authors working through their idea in an accelerated way and to give special issue guest editors the chance to offer early feedback to interested authors. This step is not required to be eligible to submit a full paper by the due date. Authors who receive a first revision invitation are expected to participate in the dedicated mini-conference in Summer 2024 (modality/location to be announced). Submission process and deadlines are listed below.

Milestone	Date
Paper proposal deadline (optional)	November 30, 2023
Submission deadline	July 31, 2024
First round decisions	October 31, 2024
Paper development session (for authors with invited revisions)	December 2024
1st Revision due	April 30, 2025
Second round decisions	July 31, 2025
Second revision due	September 30, 2025
Final editorial decisions	December 2025
Anticipated publication date	Early 2026

References

Anckaert, P.E. and Peeters, H. (2023). This is what you came for? University–industry collaborations and follow‐on inventions by the firm. Journal of Product Innovation Management 40(1), 58-85.

Appio, F.P., Frattini, F., Petruzzelli, A.M. and Neirotti, P. (2021). Digital transformation and innovation management: A synthesis of existing research and an agenda for future studies. Journal of Product Innovation Management 38(1), 4-20.

Beck, M., Lopes-Bento, C. and Schenker-Wicki, A. (2021). Radical or incremental: Where does R&D policy hit? Research Policy 45(4), 869-883.

BMWK (2023). Startup-Factories.

Catozzella, A. and Vivarelli, M. (2016). The possible adverse impact of innovation subsidies: some evidence from Italy. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 12, 351-368.

Clo, S., Florio, M. and Rentocchini, F. (2020). Firm ownership, quality of government and innovation: Evidence from patenting in the telecommunication industry. Research Policy 49(5), 103960.

Czarnitzki, D. and Lopes-Bento, C. (2014). Innovation subsidies: Does the funding source matter for innovation intensity and performance? Empirical evidence from Germany. Industry and Innovation 21(5), 380-409.

Damanpour, F. and Aravind, D. (2012). Managerial Innovation: Conceptions, Processes and Antecedents. Management and Organization Review 8(2), 423-454.

Dolfsma, W. and Seo, D. (2013). Government policy and technological innovation-a suggested typology. Technovation 33(6-7), 173-179.

Doloreux, D. and Turkina, E. (2021). New path creation in the artificial intelligence industry: Regional preconditions, new actors and their collective actions, and policies. Regional Studies 55(10-11), 1751-1763.

Fleming, H., Greene, H., Li, G., Marx, M. and Yao, D. (2019). Government-funded research increasingly fuels innovation. Science 364(6446), 1139-1141.

Gates (2022, Nov. 7). Gates Foundation press release.

Howell, S.T. (2017). Financing innovation: Evidence from R&D grants. The American Economic Review 107(4), 1136-1164.

Jia, N., Huang, K.G. and Man Zhang, C. (2019). Public Governance, Corporate Governance, and Firm Innovation: An Examination of State-Owned Enterprises. Academy of Management Journal 62(1), 220-247.

Lenihan, H., McGuirk, H. and Murphy, K.R. (2019). Driving innovation: Public policy and human capital. Research Policy 48(9), 103791.

Mithas, S. and Whitaker, J. (2007). Is the World Flat or Spiky? Information Intensity, Skills, and Global Service Disaggregation. Information Systems Research 18(3), 237-259.

Pesch, R., Endres, H. and Bouncken, R.B. (2021). Digital product innovation management: Balancing stability and fluidity through formalization. Journal of Product Innovation Management 38(6), 726–744.

Saittakari, I., Ritvala, T., Piekkari, R., Kähäri, P., Moisio, S., Hanell, T. and Beugelsdijk, S. (2023). A review of location, politics, and the multinational corporation: Bringing political geography into international business. Journal of International Business Studies.

Scalera, V.G., Perri, A. and Hannigan, T.J. (2018). Knowledge connectedness within and across home country borders: Spatial heterogeneity and the technological scope of firm innovations. Journal of International Business Studies 49, 990–1009.

Slavova, K. (2022). When firms embrace science: University alliances and firm drug development pipeline. Journal of Product Innovation Management 39(2), 265-279.

Su, Z., Chen, J. and Wang, D. (2019). Organisational structure and managerial innovation: the mediating effect of cross-functional integration. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 31(3), 253-265.

Sultana, N. and Turkina, E. (2020). Foreign direct investment, technological advancement, and absorptive capacity: A network analysis. International Business Review 29(2), 101668.

Turkina, E., Van Assche, A. and Doloreux, D. (2021). How do firms in co-located clusters interact? Evidence from Greater Montreal. Journal of Economic Geography 21(5), 761-782.

Yi, J., Murphree, M., Meng, S. and Li, S. (2021). The more the merrier? Chinese government R&D subsidies, dependence, and firm innovation performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management 38(2), 289-310.

Brief Editor Biographies

Zhongfeng Su is professor of Professor of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Strategy at the School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. His research interests are strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation. He serves as a member of the Editorial Review Board of Asia Pacific Journal of Management and several leading Chinese journals, such as Quarterly Journal of Management and Foreign Economies and Management. He has been the guest editor of a special issue entitled as “Innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital era” for South China Journal of Economics, a leading Chinese entrepreneurship journal.

Ricarda B. Bouncken is the Chair of Strategic Management and Organization at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. An expert for innovation processes in and between companies with more than 200 publications (e.g., in the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Service Research, and Journal of Product Innovation Management) and numerous major third-party-funded projects, she is a leading expert in the field of innovation via inter-organizational coopetition and coworking spaces. Her current research focuses on how (digital) innovation is influenced by organizational identification and institutional logic.

Charles H. Noble is the Henry Distinguished Professor of Business in the Haslam College of Business at The University of Tennessee. He is also a Research Faculty member with the Center for Services Leadership (Arizona State University) and an Advisory Board Member for the Snyder Innovation Management Center at Syracuse University. His research interests focus generally on front end design and development processes, as applied to both products and services and has published in leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Journal of Product Innovation Management.