Does knowledge search enhance innovation performance in Chinese enterprises? A meta analysis

PurposeThis paper aims to extract the universal results or conclusions with high value from the existing research conclusions, further compares the research results of knowledge search and its various dimensions on the impact of enterprise innovation performance in the existing research and supports the decision of which knowledge search to give priority to in the context of limited resources.Design/methodology/approachBased on the resource-based theory and resource dependence theory, this paper uses meta meta-analysis method to quantitatively synthesize multiple representative literature on the relationship between knowledge search and enterprise innovation performance, build a theoretical model of knowledge search and its dimensions and enterprise innovation performance and explore the internal mechanism of enterprises to improve innovation performance through knowledge search.FindingsThe results show the following: knowledge search behavior promotes the innovation performance of Chinese enterprises; expanding the width of knowledge search and deepening the depth of knowledge search have a positive impact on improving the innovation performance of Chinese enterprises; enterprise scale, industry field, development stage and other factors regulate the contribution of knowledge search width and depth to improving the innovation performance of Chinese enterprises.Originality/valueThis paper effectively clarifies the regulatory role of each dimension of knowledge search, makes reasonable explanations for different conclusions that are ambiguous or conflicting and answers questions like how knowledge search is related to enterprise innovation performance and what kind of knowledge search is more effective so as to provide some useful practical guidance and inspiration for enterprises to carry out innovation activities.