Purpose

The discussion on co-innovation inhibitors usually focuses on external actors’ opportunism, related to the loss of intellectual property. However, from the organizational Machiavellianism perspective, inhibitors are not external as the company itself is a source of constraints. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research studies examining the possible negative impact of organizational Machiavellian behavior such as amorality or distrust and desire for control, which could destroy external partners’ trust and commitment. This paper aims to analyze the effect of organizational Machiavellianism on the relationship between co-innovation and innovation performance (product and process innovation).

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equations were used to test the research model using survey data from a sample of companies located in an emerging country with a high risk of corruption.

Findings

Surprisingly, distrust and desire for control do not moderate the relationship between co-innovation and innovation performance, but do have a positive and direct effect on innovation performance. Conversely, amorality has a negative moderating effect on this relationship.

Originality/value

The study reveals that amorality is an evident constraint of the positive impact of co-innovation, as it diminishes the amount and quality of external actors’ contributions in terms of new ideas and knowledge. In contrast, distrust and desire for control alert the firm about opportunistic behavior by external partners such as technology providers, who may induce the firm to adopt an inadequate technological standard in line with their commercial interests.

中文翻译：

---

打开组织马基雅维利主义的黑匣子：作为创新绩效驱动力的共同创新是否即将终结？

目的

关于共同创新阻碍的讨论通常集中在外部参与者的机会主义上，这与知识产权的丧失有关。然而，从组织马基雅维利主义的角度来看，抑制因素不是外部的，因为公司本身就是约束的来源。不幸的是，缺乏研究调查组织马基雅维利行为可能产生的负面影响，例如不道德或不信任和控制欲，这可能会破坏外部合作伙伴的信任和承诺。本文旨在分析组织马基雅维利主义对协同创新与创新绩效（产品和流程创新）之间关系的影响。

设计/方法/方法

结构方程用于测试研究模型，该模型使用来自腐败风险高的新兴国家的公司样本的调查数据。

发现

令人惊讶的是，不信任和控制欲并没有调节共同创新和创新绩效之间的关系，但对创新绩效有积极和直接的影响。相反，不道德对这种关系有负面的调节作用。

原创性/价值

研究表明，不道德是共同创新积极影响的一个明显限制因素，因为它减少了外部参与者在新思想和知识方面的贡献的数量和质量。相反，不信任和对控制的渴望提醒公司注意外部合作伙伴（如技术提供商）的机会主义行为，这些合作伙伴可能会诱使公司采用不符合其商业利益的技术标准。