Knowledge stock, exploration, and innovation: Research on the United States electromedical device industry

This study applies the knowledge-based view of the firm to examine the relationships between exploration, characteristics of knowledge stock, and innovative performance. The article argues that the effectiveness of exploration on innovation is contingent upon two dimensions of knowledge stock: knowledge depth and knowledge breadth. Empirical findings from the US electromedical device industry between 1990 and 2000 provide support for this contingency argument.