The influence of proximity and knowledge base on recombination innovation in R&D Collaboration

Recombination innovation invented during organizations’ research and development (R&D) collaborations is a vital mechanism for creating new technological knowledge for organizations. This study aims to reveal the contribution mechanism of different dimensions of proximity to the recombination innovation at the dyad level and how this mechanism depends on the characteristics of organizations’ knowledge base structuration. We built a theoretical framework to explain the interactive effect of proximity and knowledge network structure on collaborative recombination innovation. We validated the theoretical hypotheses using the Logit regression models based on the longitudinal data of 150 organizations in the global nanotechnology industry. As demonstrated by our findings, technological proximity exerts a negative effect, while geographic proximity exerts an inverted U-shaped effect on joint recombination innovation. Organizations’ knowledge base decomposability plays a negative role in moderating the effect of technological proximity and plays a positive role in regulating the effect of geographic proximity. By contrast, the degree centrality of the knowledge element positively moderates the effect of both technological and geographic proximity.