ABSTRACT
Research on boundary-spanning has found that the individual brain is capable of amazing things, like making connections that gave rise to Darwin’s theory of evolution and the creation of Virgin Atlantic Airlines (Johansson 2006). Yet the most interesting inventions occur collectively, across groups of individuals, such as at the technology or industry level (Dosi 1982). Invention is a unique solution to a practical problem, a solution that can be the outcome of recombination involving spanning knowledge boundaries. As Schumpeter (1934) describes, recombination can be finding novel combinations of old ideas or having new eyes but not new things, as well as novel combinations of novel ideas, where the former is recombination of near knowledge and the latter of far knowledge. In particular, we characterize knowledge recombination as a form of boundary-spanning or bridging of two previously unrelated technology spaces to come up with a knowledge outcome (A+B = C). For example, as Diamond (1999) describes, James Watt designed his steam engine to pump water from mines, but it soon was supplying power to cotton mills, then (with much greater profit) propelling locomotives and boats. As elaborated in a long literature, knowledge can often be used over and over without losing its value (Arrow 1971), and collective action propels technologies to evolve in number (depth) and variety (breadth). While the literature has studied boundary-spanning at macro levels, i.e., spanning across group of individuals, organizations, and regions, we claim that studying the knowledge recombination process and performance outcomes is justified since this process is the building block underlying the phenomenon captured at macro levels of theorizing and analysis. In this sense, we address the micro-foundations driving effect of macro-level boundary-spanning on invention.
