What facilitates the effectiveness of innovation ecosystem-specific experimentation? A dynamic capabilities perspective

There is the bourgeoning literature arguing that successfully delivering complex innovations to mass societies requires focal firms and their key partners to first perform a series of experimentation activities at the local small-scale societal level, known as Innovation Ecosystem-Specific Experimentation (IEE). Scholars have already evidenced the IEEs’ function to create viable innovation ecosystems, yet there is a dearth of information about which factors are associated with effective IEEs. We constructed the conceptual model based on a dynamic capabilities perspective. Our PLS-SEM analysis of 111 surveys in China indicates that (1) focal firms’ dynamic capabilities in metacognition, strategic networking, and learning agility are positively correlated with effective IEEs; (2) focal firms that use geographically accessible networking and innovation facilities tend to have stronger relationships between strategic networking capability and IEE, and between learning agility and IEE, respectively. Overall, this study enriches the literature on experimentation, entrepreneurial strategizing, and innovation ecosystem emergence.