Breakthrough invention and problem complexity: Evidence from a quasi‐experiment

Yuchen Zhang and Wei Yang

Strategic Management Journal, 2022, vol. 43, issue 12, 2510-2544

Abstract: Research Summary Problem formulation is central to recombinant invention, and problem complexity particularly shapes the process and outcome of knowledge recombination. However, research on the antecedents of problem complexity remains limited. This study examines how breakthrough inventions may serve as an important antecedent of the complexity of problems formulated by individual inventors. We propose that a breakthrough invention may facilitate inventors' appreciation of novel knowledge couplings and improve their overall comprehension of knowledge interdependence for problem formulation, thus increasing problem complexity. We further argue that inventors' prior search breadth and experimentation strengthen the above effect. By exploiting the unexpected victory of AlphaGo and tracking the questions posted on StackOverflow.com by developers interested in deep learning, we find empirical evidence that supports our hypotheses. Managerial Summary Because formulating complex problems may result in novel and valuable inventions, it is helpful to understand what drives inventors to formulate problems of higher complexity. In this study, we propose that breakthrough inventions can serve as an important antecedent of problem complexity. In the context of deep learning, we find that developers formulate problems of higher complexity after the unexpected victory of AlphaGo, a widely acknowledged inventive breakthrough. Further, the above effect is more pronounced when developers have broad search experience in the past or engage frequently in experimentation. The insights of this study are not only relevant to managerial practices within the dynamic field of deep learning but also generalizable to broader technological contexts with breakthrough inventions.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3431

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:stratm:v:43:y:2022:i:12:p:2510-2544

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0143-2095

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Strategic Management Journal from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().