Business process digitisation and firm innovation performance: The role of knowledge search and digital culture

ABSTRACT

Drawing on the knowledge-based view, this study examines the effect of business process digitisation on firm innovation performance. Furthermore, we investigate the mediating role of knowledge search (i.e., local search and boundary-spanning search) and the moderating effect of digital culture by focusing on the relationship between business process digitisation and firm innovation performance. The results, based on 330 questionnaire survey responses, show that business process digitisation has a positive effect on firm innovation performance, knowledge search plays a mediating role between business process digitisation and firm innovation performance, and digital culture has a positive moderating effect, which is mainly reflected in business process digitisation and boundary-spanning search. This study provides inspiration for firms to improve innovation performance through business process digitisation and expands the literature on knowledge search and firm innovation in the digital context.

KEYWORDS:

• Business process digitisation
• knowledge search
• digital culture
• firm innovation performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Major Program of the National Social Science Fund of China [21&ZD130]; Post-funded Project of the National Social Science Fund of China [21FGLB024]; the Soft Science Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission [No. 22692104100].