Dynamic interactions between knowledge creation and resource mobilization in R&D management: A case of the inkjet innovation in Japan

Based on dynamic interactions between knowledge creation (KC) and resource mobilization (RM), we propose a new research method for a firm´s R&D management using two indicators: transition of new product technologies for KC, and dynamic change in the number of inventors for RM. We apply the proposed method to the R&D competition between Canon´s thermal inkjet (TIJ) and Seiko Epson´s piezoelectric inkjet (PIJ) over three decades. The results suggest that a firm´s KC direction is controlled by its technology selection, and its RM is influenced by the competitor´s KC rather than its own KC. RM rate seems to reveal a firm´s strategic position: “competition between technologies” or “habitat segregation of technologies”.