In this paper, graphene-coated Al powders prepared by in situ reduction method were directly used for cold spraying, obtaining a graphene-reinforced Al matrix composite coating with more compact structure and better performance. Cross-sectional analysis revealed that compared with the pure Al powders, the graphene-coated Al powders were more severely deformed, and the resulting coating was denser and its porosity was reduced by over 80%. The hardness of the graphene-coated Al coating was increased by 40%, and its brine immersion time was prolonged by nearly three times. However, the graphene increases the pitting sensitivity of the Al coating; so, the enhanced corrosion resistance of the graphene-coated Al coating is mainly attributed to the improvement of its structure densification.

This study examines when high tech firms are better off specializing in either exploration or exploitation learning strategy. Drawing on the organizational learning literature, we hypothesize that a firm’s imbalance between exploration and exploitation (or specialization strategy) has differential impacts on firm performance depending on its structural characteristics and external environment. A survey data of 180 high tech firms in China shows that firm age and scarcity of R&D resources moderate the relationship between specialization and business performance. Moreover, specialization strategy works better when competitive intensity is low.

We propose that while EMFs’ international diversification promotes new product performance, technological capability actually mediates the relationship between international diversification and new product performance. We further argue that focusing on more developed markets strengthens the positive effect of EMFs’ international diversification on their technological capability accumulated over the process of internationalization, whereas it weakens the impact of EMFs’ technological capability on their new product performance because EMFs have to compete with local and global firms in the more developed target countries. Analysis on Chinese manufacturers’ international efforts provides support for these hypotheses.

We integrate institutional theory and the resource-based view of capability to examine the interplay of institutional environments and firm-specific capabilities on value-creating synergy by emerging market firms (EMFs). We argue that EMFs expand into countries with better-developed institutions as a means to overcome poor institutions at home. EMFs that develop strong absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer capability are better able to benefit from a portfolio of complementary sources of knowledge across multiple markets. We analyze data on a sample of manufacturing firms’ international expansion to demonstrate that expansion into a host country with a better-developed institutional environment promotes innovation success. This effect was found to be stronger for firms with strong absorptive capacity and well-developed knowledge transfer capability.

In an increasingly dynamic business environment, innovation output occupies a central position among all organizational outputs, not only because it is a primary way in which firms compete and grow, but also because it profoundly influences social and economic evolution (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995; Sorensen & Stuart, 2000). Understanding the factors that determine an organization’s ability to produce new ideas and continually innovate thus is a fundamental issue in strategic management and marketing fields. Among all sort of determinants, collaboration with buyers to create value through innovation has attracted particular attention from scholars (von Hippel, 1988; Thomke & von Hippel, 2002; Sawhney, Verona, & Prandelli, 2005). This study examined the role of Internet-based collaboration in the buyer-supplier relationship in promoting product innovation of supplying firms. Drawing on the juxtaposition of the governance literature and social exchange theory, we proposed that Internet-based collaboration positively affects product innovation performance of supplying firms, but too much dependence on it impedes product innovation. That is, Internet-based collaboration has an inverted U-shaped relationship with product innovation performance of supplying firms. It further posited that in-person interaction between buying and supplying firms strengthens the positive effect of Internet-based collaboration on product innovation, such that when the degree of in-person interaction is high, Internet-based collaboration is associated with better innovation performance. These propositions were tested using data from a large survey conducted by a survey data on buyer-supplier relationships in China. The results show that Internet-based collaboration has a stronger positive relationship with innovation performance and this positive effect declines after the degree of Internet-based collaboration goes beyond a threshold. Moreover, the first-order effect of Internet-based collaboration is stronger when the degree of in-person interaction is high than when it is low. The optimal level of Internet-based collaboration in low degree of in-person interaction is moderate, whereas when in-person interaction is more frequently used in connecting with buying firms the optimal level rises. These results provide strong supports for the predictions of hypotheses.

This study examined the impact on a firm’s product innovation success when it expands internationally into a host country with political, economic and cultural institutions different from those it is accustomed to at home. Data on 917 Chinese manufacturing firms’ international activities were analyzed to demonstrate that expansion to countries with political institutions better developed than those of a firm’s home country promotes innovation success, as does expansion to countries characterized by greater individualism than the home country. A more advanced economy in the host country strengthens these relationships. This study was designed to contribute to the extant literature in three areas. First, it was designed to enrich the theory explaining how the institutional environment affects firm performance in an emerging economy. Most previous studies have examined the relationship between the institutional environment and the probability of organizational survival or financial performance (e.g., Xu & Shenkar, 2002; Gaur & Lu, 2007), but this study instead examined the institutional environment and product innovation. Product innovation is, after all, a primary way in which many firms compete and grow (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995; Wu, 2012). Second, previous research has not clearly identified how different components of the institutional environment individually relate to product innovation success, nor have previous studies sufficiently explored their interactions. This study was designed to fill that gap by integrating the literature on new institutional economics, product innovation and the international expansion of emerging market firms. It sought to derive and test propositions explaining how political institutions and cultural norms relate to product innovation success, and to what extent the relationships depend on economic development. Then, this study extended previous research on the institutional environment to an emerging market context. Evidence clarifying the relationships between different components of the institutional environment and the innovation performance of emerging market firms would be relevant for designing effective and efficient international expansion strategies for emerging market firms. These findings therefore enrich our understanding of the impact of the institutional environment by showing its multifaceted influence on product innovation. Previous research has highlighted the important role of institutional differences between the home and foreign countries in strategic decision making and performance (e.g., Kostova & Zaheer, 1999; Xu & Shenkar, 2002). This study has extended that by clearly demonstrating the importance of differences in political institutions and individualism with respect to innovation performance. This is consistent with the idea that expanding to foreign countries with better-developed political institutions helps a firm avoid the institutional void and political hazards at home and gain access to better-functioning institutions in the host country, which can promote successful product innovation. Individualism in a host country drives a firm to experiment with new technologies and develop new products to satisfy diverse customer needs.