京都大学 大学院経済学研究科・経済学部

Title："Conditional Negative Transfer in Generational Product Utilization: Moderating Roles of Focal Product Experience and Heterogeneity"

Abstract:　Although the effective utilization of innovation is crucial for sustaining firm growth, existing research has not fully addressed its complexities. Prior studies emphasize the benefits of accumulated experience, showing that experience increases post-adoption utilization by shortening learning curves. Yet organizational learning theory highlights the potential liability of experience, as firms may misapply prior knowledge across contexts. We examine this tension in the context of generational products, where firms frequently rely on accumulated knowledge to adopt new versions. We argue that continuous and discontinuous cross-generational experiences can hinder effective utilization of new products due to negative transfer. Using data on airlines’ adoption of Boeing 737 NG aircraft, we find strong support for this argument. Importantly, continuous cross-generational experience is more amenable to mitigation: when firms recognize generational differences and adjust their prior knowledge, the reduction in negative transfer is greater for continuous cross-generational experiences than for discontinuous experiences. Specifically, we demonstrate that focal product experience and resource and experience heterogeneity attenuate the negative transfer effects. Our results thus show that negative transfer is contingent rather than inevitable, extending the literature on generational products and organizational learning. (185 words)

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