The Efficacy of Decoupled Search : The roles of commitment, assimilation, and ownership in external knowledge transference.

Abstract: Recent development in search for external knowledge links the practise with foresight and decouples the process from the actuating firm. Enabling new opportunities for generating insights whilst raising concerns for how change is inflicted on the focal firm. Through an action research study, the implementation of externally generated knowledge is examined whilst producing concepts for future business strategy and models. Complementing the study with a comparative project, using the focal firms own external innovation lab. Resulting in findings that shows how commitment affects the roles of foresight; assimilation steers levels of innovation; and ownership, the degree of utilization. Implications which inform the managing of the search interface between the firm and search agent; the effects of such ventures; and theoretical contributions regarding knowledge transference in decoupled foresight projects. Giving rise to a conceptual model of knowledge transference that explains the dynamics between the focal firm and decoupled agent which can help to evaluate the process and direct efforts to improve upon the value output. Showing that given enough commitment, assimilation, and ownership; findings can be anchored and produce tangible outcomes.