The Impact of Virtual Integration on Innovation Speed

Yan Tang, Ping Zhang

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:298702 • DOI: 10.4018/JOEUC.298702

In the current environment, rapid innovation has become an essential source of time-based competitive advantage. Based on the theory of organizational information processing, this work explores the effects of virtual integration on product innovation speed in a competitive environment. Samples of Chinese manufacturing enterprises provide evidence in this study. The results show that the effects of virtual integration in different degrees vary. Among them, information sharing plays an active role in innovation speed, which is weaker in a highly competitive environment. The effect of knowledge collaboration on innovation speed is positive and becomes stronger in a highly competitive environment. The results also show that the moderating roles of inter-organizational guanxi are different. When inter-organizational guanxi is close in a highly competitive environment, the effects of information sharing and process integration on innovation speed become weaker. Nevertheless, the relationship between knowledge collaboration and innovation speed gets stronger in such a context.

End-User Computing Social Sciences and Humanities Human Aspects of Technology