ABSTRACT Collaborating with a partner in a distant area is widely endorsed in practice as a means for inspiring novel innovations. However, empirical evidence also reports significant innovation efficiency challenges when working with distant partners due to differences in technical knowledge domain differences. In this study, we conducted a multi-method approach by using a case study of 30 interviews to develop three information technology (IT)-enabled inter-firm knowledge capabilities and testing the research model with field survey data from 258 firms. The findings of this research confirm our hypotheses that IT-enabled inter-firm knowledge exploration capability and IT-enabled inter-firm knowledge exploitation capability can help embrace the benefits of product effectiveness while IT-enabled social integration capability surmount process efficiency challenges inherent in collaboration with distant partners. This study adds a much-needed perspective to the IT and innovation literature and offers practical suggestions for firm managers to mindfully design and deploy IT resources in collaborative innovation projects.

中文翻译：

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管理知识距离：协作创新中 IT 支持的企业间知识能力

摘要 与遥远地区的合作伙伴合作在实践中被广泛认可，作为激发新颖创新的一种手段。然而，由于技术知识领域的差异，经验证据还报告了与远距离合作伙伴合作时的重大创新效率挑战。在这项研究中，我们通过使用 30 次访谈的案例研究来开发三种信息技术 (IT) 支持的公司间知识能力，并使用来自 258 家公司的实地调查数据测试研究模型，从而采用多方法方法。这项研究的结果证实了我们的假设，即 IT 支持的公司间知识探索能力和 IT 支持的公司间知识开发能力有助于实现产品有效性的好处，同时 IT 支持的社会整合能力克服协作中固有的流程效率挑战与远方的伙伴。本研究为 IT 和创新文献增添了急需的视角，并为公司管理者在协作创新项目中谨慎设计和部署 IT 资源提供了实用建议。