Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation
Studies of the 'mirroring' hypothesis have demonstrated the relationships between technological modularity and explicit coordination, yet little is known about the 'mirroring' relationship between technological modularity and tacit coordination, and how the 'mirroring'...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Wiley
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30611/ |
| _version_ | 1848794024421359616 |
|---|---|
| author | Hao, Bin Feng, Yanan Frigant, Vincent |
| author_facet | Hao, Bin Feng, Yanan Frigant, Vincent |
| author_sort | Hao, Bin |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Studies of the 'mirroring' hypothesis have demonstrated the relationships between technological modularity and explicit coordination, yet little is known about the 'mirroring' relationship between technological modularity and tacit coordination, and how the 'mirroring' relationship may affect radical innovation. This paper contributes to the 'mirroring' hypothesis by identifying the interaction mechanisms embedded in and surrounded over the mirroring relationships. Using survey data of 121 high-tech firms in China, our study indicates that technological modularity enhances interfirm tacit coordination between module-makers ('mirroring' hypothesis), and will also positively influence radical innovation ('outcome' hypothesis). Moreover, tacit coordination negatively moderates the impact of technological modularity on radical innovation ('interaction' hypothesis), indicating that the 'mirroring' relationship may offset the benefit obtained from modularization. It also suggests that, in a high-technology industry in underdeveloped areas, tacit coordination could lead to exposure of hidden knowledge, thus lowering module-makers' motivation for technology breakthrough. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-30611 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:37Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-306112020-05-04T17:01:13Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30611/ Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation Hao, Bin Feng, Yanan Frigant, Vincent Studies of the 'mirroring' hypothesis have demonstrated the relationships between technological modularity and explicit coordination, yet little is known about the 'mirroring' relationship between technological modularity and tacit coordination, and how the 'mirroring' relationship may affect radical innovation. This paper contributes to the 'mirroring' hypothesis by identifying the interaction mechanisms embedded in and surrounded over the mirroring relationships. Using survey data of 121 high-tech firms in China, our study indicates that technological modularity enhances interfirm tacit coordination between module-makers ('mirroring' hypothesis), and will also positively influence radical innovation ('outcome' hypothesis). Moreover, tacit coordination negatively moderates the impact of technological modularity on radical innovation ('interaction' hypothesis), indicating that the 'mirroring' relationship may offset the benefit obtained from modularization. It also suggests that, in a high-technology industry in underdeveloped areas, tacit coordination could lead to exposure of hidden knowledge, thus lowering module-makers' motivation for technology breakthrough. Wiley 2015-01-09 Article PeerReviewed Hao, Bin, Feng, Yanan and Frigant, Vincent (2015) Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation. R&D Management, 47 (1). pp. 3-16. ISSN 1467-9310 “Mirroring” Hypothesis Technological Modularity Tacit Coordination Radical Innovation http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/radm.12106/abstract doi:10.1111/radm.12106 doi:10.1111/radm.12106 |
| spellingShingle | “Mirroring” Hypothesis Technological Modularity Tacit Coordination Radical Innovation Hao, Bin Feng, Yanan Frigant, Vincent Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title | Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title_full | Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title_fullStr | Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title_short | Rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| title_sort | rethinking the "mirroring" hypothesis: implications for technological modularity, tacit coordination, and radical innovation |
| topic | “Mirroring” Hypothesis Technological Modularity Tacit Coordination Radical Innovation |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30611/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30611/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30611/ |