A tale of two distractions: How institutional forces influence R&D‐based problemistic search in transition economies

• Published in: The Journal of product innovation management Vol. 40; no. 5; pp. 657 - 678
• Main Authors: Gao, Renfei, Lu, Jane Wenzhen, Hu, Helen Wei, Martin, Geoffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2023
• Subjects: behavioral theory of the firm; Boundary conditions; Decision making; institutional environment; Organizational behavior; Political systems; problemistic search; Profitability; Public companies; R&D; R&D search; Research & development; Searching; Transition economies; transition economy; China

The behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF) suggests that firms are motivated to increase R&D search in response to profitability shortfalls—that is, R&D‐based problemistic search. Although prior studies have provided considerable evidence for this influential explanation of R&D search, rec...