University of Twente Student Theses

Login
As of Friday, 8 August 2025, the current Student Theses repository is no longer available for thesis uploads. A new Student Theses repository will be available starting Friday, 15 August 2025.

The effect of sourcing balance on innovation performance and strategic flexibility

Zaadnoordijk, Marc (2012) The effect of sourcing balance on innovation performance and strategic flexibility.

[img] PDF
1MB
Abstract:This study investigates how the process of renewing firm’s competences and its inherent sourcing balance affects innovation performance and strategic flexibility. Contemporary literature on external- and internal exploration assume that these sources of exploration are complementary. However, recent advances in the field of innovation literature question this assumption. Through a study of 56 firms located in the Netherlands, this study examines the effect sourcing balance of exploration and the subsequent processes of retaining, reactivating and applying this knowledge on innovation performance and strategic flexibility. Our data suggest that the ability of the company to retain and reactivate knowledge greatly influences innovation performance and strategic flexibility. Moreover we show that the ability to exploit technological knowledge is of great importance for innovation performance. Overall we found evidence that companies which tend to have an internally focussed sourcing balance have a higher innovation performance and higher strategic flexibility, but that this relation is being complicated by the munificence of the environment.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/61949
Export this item as:BibTeX
EndNote
HTML Citation
Reference Manager

 

Repository Staff Only: item control page