The moderating effects of dynamic capabilities on radical innovation and incremental innovation teams in the global pharmaceutical biotechnology industry

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to conduct a qualitative, integrative systematic literature review of the moderating effects of dynamic capabilities associated with radical innovation and incremental innovation teams in the global pharmaceutical biotechnology industry. This paper utilizes a conceptual framework of dynamic capabilities and socio-technical theory to underpin the study. The study includes reading 250 peer reviewed articles which were originally surveyed from a larger set of articles, and then a final selection of 66 articles was based on a structured quality assessment tool and coding system. The study outcome reveals that knowledge sharing strengthens existing professional knowledge and enhances internal work coordination and consistency in employees’ behavior, and effectively integrates diverse team knowledge and experience. Open innovation has a positive effect on radical innovation and enables knowledge acquisition to form a symbiotic relationship with knowledge sharing. Learning orientation has a stronger effect on incremental innovation than on radical innovation. The limitations of the study are intrinsic to a systematic literature review as this research approach does not uncover causality. The mediating effects of dynamic capability on teams are not explored for this research. The implications for management practice could be highlighted as follows: teams must be given the autonomy to make decisions from a technical perspective; tacit knowledge, open innovation, knowledge acquisition and learning orientation are areas in which priority must be given during and after acquisitions in the global pharmaceutical biotechnology industry.