ABSTRACT
This study seeks to understand the influence of specific investments (SIs) to cooperative innovation performance (CIP) by examining the mediating roles of knowledge transfer (KT) and governance mechanisms (GMs), including formal contracts (FCs) and relational trust (RT). A sample of 238 projects is used to test the proposed model through structural equation modelling. The results show SIs act indirectly through RT to influence CIP. KT plays a mediating role between the two GMs and CIP. Moreover, the results suggest that the mediating effect of KT between FCs and performance is full; however its effect between RT and performance is only partial, and the mediating effect of RT between SIs and performance is also partial.
Acknowledgements
We thank the anonymous reviewers and Prof. James Fleck, the TASM Editor-in-Chief, for their many insights and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Funding
The research is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [grant number 71203083], Chinese Ministry of Education [grant number 11YJC630222] and outstanding backbone teachers international cooperation training project of Shandong higher-education [grant number 2014].
Notes on contributor
Aihua Wu is a Professor in the School of Business at the Ludong University and Director of Financial Management Department at the same university. She earned her PhD in business administration from the Glorious Sun School of Business & Management at the Donghua University. Her research interests include technological innovation and human capital strategy as well as logistics management. She has authored or co-authored three books, many journal articles and international conference papers.