Matching external search strategies with radical and incremental innovation and the role of knowledge integration capability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differential effects of two external search strategies on radical innovation (RI) and incremental innovation (II) and explore the mediating role of knowledge integration capability (KIC). Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the data collected from a sample of 241 firms from Chinese electronic information industry. The author conducted a hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS and PROCESS to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results showed that both external search breadth and depth have positive effects on RI/II performance. The author also found that the effect of search breadth on RI is greater than that on II, and the effect of search depth on RI is less than that on II. Moreover, the author discovered that KIC fully or partially mediates the relationship between external search strategies and RI/II. Originality/value The paper provides a finer grained understanding concerning the difference in the impacts of the two external search strategies on RI/II performance. The paper also adds to the existing literature by explaining the path in which external knowledge search influences RI/II through the mediation effect of KIC.