An Exploratory Study of Firms’ process of Imitation, Learning and Innovation by Subcontracting Network-Focus on SMEs

• Main Authors: Chi-Ming Lo, 羅啟銘
• Other Authors: Hsian-Lin Cheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/49523610631538423545

碩士 === 國立高雄第一科技大學 === 企業管理研究所 === 94 === ABSTRACT As the managing environment of enterprises has been changing fast, enterprise, which wants to become an outstanding company, must enhance its own capacities and keep doing innovations. However, innovation is not only difficult to do, but also within quite high risk. In order to reduce the risk of innovation, enterprise can efficiently gain the knowledge which it lacks by cooperating with other enterprises, and then yield twice the result with half the effort through improving its ability and developing self-innovation. This research regards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Taiwan as the objects, attempt to find out the process of imitation, learning, and then reaching the self-innovation among the manufacturers by subcontracting network. In addition, this research also try to set up an unique innovation model within subcontracting network, which provides a reference target for future innovation or transition activity of the manufacturers. Discovered from this research, because the relations within the subcontracting network of SMEs are high, which results that manufacturers would be request from each other frequently (ex: quality improvement etc.). For the sake of subsistence, the manufacturers often work cooperatively to make the innovation improved continuously. That is, like a lever concept, they obtain the knowledge of the cooperative partners by imitating and learning, and consequently innovating by themselves. Accordingly, the manufacturers can reduce the risk which must be undertaken in innovation. Besides, it ii can also be found in this research that because of long-term cooperation among manufacturers in the subcontracting network, some functions of enterprises may be transferred, for example, manufacture or quality control may be managed by cooperative partners. However, doing innovations by imitating and learning could be regarded as one way to make manufacturers grow up. The manufacturers not only have to imitate and learn, but also develop their own innovative ability, which will contribute to the transition of enterprises. When the knowledge within an industry can deliver and spread easily, the efficiency of the innovation for manufacturers will be improved, thus the whole industry will be further upgraded. In addition, imitative innovation is also the thrust for great innovation. The manufacturers must be able to make the best of its cooperative advantage, and then seek to bring out mutual innovative activities.