Bridging R&D Outsourcing and Innovation: the Role of Competitive Intensity and Speed to Market in Responsible Innovation

ABSTRACT Although R&D outsourcing has become a common strategy for strengthening firms' innovation capabilities, limited attention has been given to how outsourcing shapes responsible innovation or the conditions under which this relationship is amplified or constrained. This study investigates how R&D outsourcing influences responsible innovation and how this effect is moderated by competitive intensity and speed to market. Drawing on institutional theory and responsible innovation literature, we argue that outsourcing enables firms to access diverse knowledge and stakeholder perspectives, helping them anticipate risks, reflect on societal values, and design environmentally and socially responsible innovations. We further propose that competitive intensity enhances the positive effect of outsourcing on responsible innovation, as firms facing stronger rivalry experience greater pressure to differentiate through responsible practices. However, this moderating effect depends on firms' speed‐to‐market orientation. When speed to market is low, firms have greater opportunity to integrate stakeholder input and reflexive practices, strengthening the outsourcing–responsible innovation link. Conversely, high speed‐to‐market pressures may reduce deliberation and weaken this effect. Using survey data from 236 entrepreneurial ventures in Vietnam, the findings support all hypotheses and advance understanding of when and how outsourcing promotes responsible innovation.