Firm-competitor Relationship: An Empirical Study Of Its Impact On Innovation Performance

Under the globalization of markets and economy, the increasing technical complexity and shorter product life cycle have determined the difficulty to complete the access and breakthroughs of technology by relying solely on internal R&D. By acquiring technologies from outside sources, firms can better cope with the increasing speed, cost, and complexity demands of technological developmentsMeanwhile, with the continuous wave of globalization, the nature and intensity of competition has undergone major changes. The pure competition between enterprises has changed. Firm-competitor relationship as a win-win strategy has become the new choice. Managerially speaking, the focal firm can attempt to manage its relationship with competitors for effectively improving innovation performance. To understand innovation generation, this article examined the influence of firm-competitor relationship strength and Relationship quality on focal firms'innovation performance. Considering the environmental impact, the article also examined the moderating effect of environmental dynamism. The article then examined the influence factors of resource complementarity, goal consistency and cultural difference on firm-competitor relationship. This research is the first comprehensive conceptual examination the relationship between firm-competitor relationship and innovation performance. It extends knowledge in the firm-competitor relationship and technology innovation domains and may offers insights for managerial practice.Empirically, this research was conducted with a questionnaire effectively distributed among 98 firms.We apply factor analysis and Hierarchical Regression Analysis (HRA) to test the hypothesis raised in the conceptual framework. The main contents and results of this research are listed as follows:(1) Firm-competitor relationship, with two dimensions of relationship strength and relationship quality included, has a positive impact on its technology innovation performance.(2) Environmental dynamism moderates the impact of firm-competitor relationship on innovation performance. The greater the environmental dynamism is the closer relations between firms and competitor, the higher organizational performance the focal firms will obtain.(3) Resource complementarity, goal consistency and cultural difference are effect factors of firm-competitor relationship. Resource complementarity and goal consistency has positive effect on firm-competitor relationship strength. Resource complementarity and goal consistency has positive effect on firm-competitor relationship quality. Cultural difference has negative effect on firm-competitor relationship.