Exploring new opportunities through collaboration within and beyond sectoral systems of innovation in the fourth industrial revolution

This article investigates how a leading Chinese multinational enterprise in a core sector of the fourth industrial revolution manages research collaborations within and beyond its sectoral systems of innovation to create novel innovations and push the technological frontier of the industry. We find the firm expanded its technology boundaries through collaborations, particularly multidisciplinary collaborations in both core and noncore technological areas of the industry to establish and maintain its leadership in this dynamic sector. High disciplinary diversity in the company's collaborative research portfolio is positively associated with the novelty of its innovation outputs. Promising noncore technologies have been integrated into its production through collaborative research, thus promoting technological convergence at both the firm and the sectoral levels. As a result, the boundary of the industry is expanded