A Study On The Relationship Between U-I Collaboration And Dynamic Capabilities Of Enterprises’ In Theorety And Expiricalism

Since the concept of the Dynamic Capabilities (abbreviated as DC in the paper) wasproposed formally by Teece et al. in1994, it has been regarded as one of the sources ofsustainable competitive advantages in the mainstream school in strategic management field.After an extensive discussion on the concept and its meaning, as well as the theoretical basis ofDC, it seems that people remove their attentions and begin to concern more on the usefulness ofDC, that is how to foster or enhance the DC in enterprises. At the same time, although a numberof scholars study some factors inside enterprises about the DC’s cultivation, more and morescholars have started to pay their attention to factors outside enterprises, such as co-operation,alliance, holding stocks each other, and so on.In the premise that the current business environment is becoming increasingly uncertain,and that enterprises increase their needs to the DC, it is necessary and reasonable that enterprisesbegin to seek all available methods, including using the University-Industry Collaboration(abbreviated as U-I-C in the paper) to enhance their DC. However, we find that only a fewresearches analyzed the influence the U-I-C on the promotion of the DC by sorting out therelated research literatures, especially, less empirical ones. Also, only a few empirical reseaschesconcern on cultivation of the DC as one of the main motivation of the U-I-C. Therefore, wechoose the topic,“A Study on Relationship between U-I-C and DC in enterprises in Theorety andEmpiricalism", to study, in order to prove empirically the fact that the U-I-C is an effective pathto enhance the DC. It is not only can enrich related researches about the motivation of theU-I-C’s and enhancement of the DC’s, but also can give some guidance and references forenterprises to understand the mechanisms that how the U-I-C influence on the DC’ cultivationand understand some key factors about the mechanisms. So, our research has its importantsignificance theoretically and practically.To prove the path’s existence and effectiveness, the paper proposes four questions: First,what is the connotation and dimension constitute of the DC? Second, how the U-I-C influencesthe promotion of the DC? Thirdly, how about the effects of the influence? Lastly, how about the effects the DC on the cooperative performance? The answers of these four questions constitutethe main content and the framework of the study. Of course, the four questions are answered byempirically method.The full text is divided into seven chapters. Major contents of each chapter are outlined asfollows:Chapter1is the introduction, which introduces the practical and theoretical backgroundsand significance of the paper, the definition of some concepts related to the theme. The object ofthe research, the contents, methods and processes are introduced, too.Chapter2is the literature review, which provides a summary about the DC, the U-I-C, andtheir relationship by souting out the literatures related.Chapter3describes the theoretical basis of the DC’s promotion, which includes theories ofenterprise capabilities, such as the Resource-based Theory, the Core Competence Theory, theKnowledge-base Theory; and then its related theories about DC’s promotion, such as EvolutionTheory, Knowledge management Theory and Learning Theory, are outlined; and at last sometheories about collaboration innovation, such as Trade Cost Theory, Resource dependenceTheory, are introduced. This chapter has constructed the theoretical background for the DC’spromotion.Chapter4analyzes the meaning and dimension constitute of the DC’. First, the needs ofoperational capabilities and dynamic capabilities is analyzed in the process of U-I-C byanalogizing to the process of enterprise technological innovation; then the paper gives theconnotation of the DC and its composition; lastly, the composition dimensions is measured byempirical analysis. This chapter answers the first question of the research.Chapter5analyzes the mechanisms of the U-I-C influencing the DC’s promotion. Thesemechanisms are analyzed from the perspective of knowledge management, practice evolution,and organizational learning. These mechanisms are verified through case studies of threeenterprise’s U-I-C. This chapter answers the second question.Chapter6analyzes the effects of the U-I-C to the DC’s promotion. First some factors and itsmeasurement are given combining with the previous studies, and then the hypotheses and theconceptual model are given. And then, the hypotheses and the conceptual model are tested byusing the method of Structural Equation Modeling analysis (SEM), based on285cases. Again, the effect of the DC’s four dimensions to cooperative performance is test. At the same time theregulatory role of the environment varies is tested about the relationship between DC andcooperative performance. This chapter answers the third and the forth question.Chapter7sums up the research findings of this dissertation, and reports the implications ofthis study and the limitations of the present study, and finally points out the direction for furtherresearch.This dissertation has reached the following conclusions:1. The connotation of the Dynamic Capabilities in the enterprises which take part in theU-I-C, is practices or their sets that embedded in the process of cooperation, and can coordinateor integrate internal and external competences (resources or junior capacities) when the externalenvironment changes. The composition dimension of the DC is a first-order multi-dimensionalmodel, which including environmental insighting abilities, learning abilities, the abilities ofintegration and coordination, and the abilities of innovation and restructuring.2. The mechanism of the U-I-C influencing the DC’s promotion is as follows: first, thetechnical knowledges which come from universities or institutes are absorbed, innovated orintegrated by enterprises, according to a process of knowledge management; during the process,some competences or capabilities are promoted. And to use this technical knowledge effectively,the configuration knowledge or integration knowledge (as defined the dynamic capabilities in thepaper) are developed. And these configuration knowledge or integration knowledge becomepractices, and are evoluted as the process of variation-selection-dissemination-retention, bythemselves or as the idea of senior in the enterprises. The whole process is full of the extensiveorganizational learning.3. Of all the cooperative factors, the role that the capacity basis factor and cooperationrelationship factor influence the DC and its sectors is more significant. And the factor of resourcedependence and the one of internal support have a significant effect also to the whole DynamicCapabilities, but not significant its sectors. And the effect of cultural synergy factor on theDynamic Capacities and its sectors is not obvious.4. Dynamic Capabilities play a part intermediary role in the Cooperative relevant factors onthe performance of the co-operation. The regulation role of the environmental varies is: in adynamic environment, the relatively larger contribution occurs in the dynamic capabilities to the cooperation performance; while in the steady-state environment, the dynamic capability has arelatively smaller impact on the cooperation performance. As the business environment thatenterprises are facing is becoming increasingly uncertain, many companies will have to activelyfoster their Dynamic Capabilities to maintain or improve competitive advantage.In summary, this paper confirms that the U-I-C is an effective way to enhance thecorporate’s dynamic capabilities. Enterprises should pay more attention to the U-I-C, and use itas one of the effective tools to enhance the Dynamic Capabilities.