The Effects Of Interfirm Network Relationship Characteristics On The Innovation Performence Of Professional Service Firms

As a typical representative of the knowledge-intensive firms, professional service firms are important driving force of contemporary economic. Professional service firms are faced with more complex types of knowledge sources when relative to manufacturing firms. They are more dependent on interfirm networks to achieve the knowledge acquisition and integration. However, the research on how the role of firm network works on professional service firms has not been in the mainstream research.This research focuses on "the influence of interfirm network relationship characteristics on knowledge integration and innovation performance of professional service firms". By building the conceptual model "relationship characteristics of sub-network of professional service firms——knowledge integration——professional service innovation performance", this research statistically analyzed 145 valid questionnaires. Assumptions of the model from empirical view were verified and discussed.The paper's main conclusions are as follows:(1) Inter-firm knowledge integration has great significance to professional service innovation. Knowledge acquisition will not effect on innovation performance without the mediating role of knowledge integration. (2) The relationship characteristics of upstream network mainly impact knowledge acquisition. The professional service firms need to pay more attention on building mutual trust situation. (3) The key dimension of the downstream network is commitment, which impacts both of the dimensions of knowledge integration, while trust proves unsignificant.