How Do Innovation Types and Collaborative Modes Drive Firm Performance? An FsQCA Analysis Based on Evidence From Software Ecosystems

Firm survival in dynamic software markets depends on collaboration with ecosystem complementors and exploitative and/or explorative innovation. Such activities have been widely accepted as crucial antecedents for collaboration success, but few studies have analyzed the configurational effects of collaborative modes effect on firm performance. Based on a sample of 224 software firms and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, results show that four causal configurations equivalently explain high innovation performance, in which exploitation, exploration, and collaboration with academic and governmental institutes are proven to be core causal conditions. Theoretically, this article contributes to the literature on collaborative innovation in terms of causality research and collaborative pathways but also enriches the literature on software ecosystems regarding partnerships and collaborative processes. Practical guidance and flexible choices for software firms to achieve high innovation performance are provided by offering four equivalent configurations.