Supplier firms, especially the more resource constraint SMEs, form alliances for product innovation. Supplier firms can try to push in creative inputs while needing to align them with the overall solution of the buyer. Our study zooms in on this push and alignment balancing act. Our theoretical model is informed by the attention-based view. It considers two centralization mechanisms, relationship intensity and formalized specifications of the buyer firm. Our dependent variable is innovation of the SME supplier. The model hypothesizes linear and non-linear effects by relationship intensity and the buyer’s detailed and formalized specifications (e.g., functional principles, features, and design elements). Data collected from 279 European supplier SMEs reveals that moderate levels of “post-formational specifications” proposed by the buyer firm are associated with greater product innovation of the supplier. Interestingly, less product innovation results when the specifications of the buyer are either minimal or high. Stronger relationship intensity allows greater product innovation as it enables partners to capture more benefits from the post-formational specifications as they constructively work together.

供应商公司，尤其是资源受限较多的中小企业，结成产品创新联盟。供应商公司可以尝试在需要将创意投入与买方的整体解决方案保持一致的同时推出创意投入。我们的研究聚焦于这种推动和对齐的平衡行为。我们的理论模型以基于注意力的观点为基础。它考虑了两种集中机制、关系强度和买方公司的正式规范。我们的因变量是中小企业供应商的创新。该模型根据关系强度和买方的详细和形式化规格（例如，功能原理、特征和设计元素）假设线性和非线性效应。从 279 家欧洲供应商中小企业收集的数据显示，买方公司提出的中等水平的“后形成规范”与供应商更大的产品创新相关。有趣的是，当购买者的规格最低或较高时，产品创新就会减少。更强的关系强度允许更大的产品创新，因为它使合作伙伴能够在他们建设性地合作时从形成后的规范中获得更多好处。