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The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of online social networks and competency-based management on innovation capability.

The paper is theory-confirming. Theoretical relationships were tested using an empirical study of 289 firms from the Spanish biotechnology and telecommunications industries.

Results confirm that online social network use for internal cognitive processes (e.g. reading, searching and storing information) and external cognitive processes (e.g. sharing and co-creating knowledge) positively affects knowledge transfer. This knowledge helps firms to achieve superior competency in R&D to succeed in innovation programs.

All survey respondents were from Spain, which may limit the generalizability of findings. A longitudinal approach was not used. However, doing so would make it possible to explore time lags between online social network use, competency-based management and innovation.

This paper highlights the potential as well as the limitations of online social networks and competency-based management in promoting innovation capability. Businesses must consciously manage the assimilation and use of online social networks to benefit from them.

The study contributes to the literature by identifying effects on innovation capability at the meso-level (i.e. online social networks). Findings highlight the need for a shift in focus away from collaborating and interacting in online social networks (micro-level) and organizational contexts (macro-level) so as to improve innovation capability.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact the quality of online and multi-channel offers have on perceived value. It is also analyzed whether customer-centric management will ensure a greater perceived value and loyalty of the customer for the hotel. The authors analyze its relationship with customer satisfaction, perceived value and switching costs related to hotels with customer-centric management.

The sample of the paper are hotel users with Internet access. The authors have obtained 420 valid questionnaires through personal interviews. The statistical methodology used is the causal analysis, using structural equation models.

The empirical results of this paper indicate that by improving the online quality offered by hotels with a personalized online service and an increased efficiency of the service, reducing information asymmetries, search and transaction time and bargaining costs, building loyalty by customization and innovation, the customer perceives more value in the service provided by hotels.

It is analyzed empirically how the customer-centric philosophy, a key philosophy for the hotel sector, allows an effective differentiation, greater customer loyalty and, therefore, an increased profitability of the company.

There is a growing research interest in the relationships between networks and the firm’s assets and between networks and innovation. Studies have shown the complexity and idiosyncrasies of these relationships for firms in clusters. The way firms in clusters build certain organizational resources and capabilities, however, remains underexplored. Based on the assumption that most of these organizational assets rely on human resources, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on the mechanisms through which a set of managerial practices (the human resource management (HRM) system) enhances innovation.

Micro-level data were collected for 139 firms located in three Spanish industrial clusters. Next, the main constructs were developed. A multiple mediator model was then used to examine how HRM systems influence innovation through strategic vision, embeddedness in local networks, the implementation of enterprise systems, and cluster characteristics.

The effect of HRM systems on innovation performance was indirect rather than direct. All four mediating variables included in the model were found to be relevant mechanisms through which HRM systems affect innovation performance. The statistical significance of these variables, however, varied depending on the type of innovation (product, process, organizational, or marketing).

Greater attention should be paid to the structure and sophistication of HRM systems. Top-level managers should be aware of the linkages between HRM systems and mediators. Greater human resource orientation in strategic planning, enterprise system design, and networking practices reinforces the association between HRM systems and innovation.

This study advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between HRM systems and innovation. From an academic perspective, this study enriches the cluster literature by better integrating human resources with innovation processes. Furthermore, this study creates research opportunities by disentangling the role of different managerial practices and refining the operationalization of the mediating variables. The findings can also help managers develop human resources and innovation strategies.

Our paper contrasts and validates the relevance of Miles and Snow (1978) and Robinson and Pearce (1988) strategic models, and their causal relationships with performance. The empirical study was carried out on a sample of 189 enterprises from the Spanish hospitality sector. The results confirm the relevance of both models, and the importance of the different strategies as a source to explain performance. The analysis uses structural equation models and variance analysis (ANOVA) methodologies.

This work aims to analyse the effect of a holistic business view, competency‐based management, continuous learning and information technology infrastructure on knowledge transfer and the subsequent effect on firm performance.

Structural equation models and a survey of 222 firms from the Spanish biotechnology and telecommunications industries verify the mediator role of knowledge transfer.

The implications of confirming these hypotheses for managers are that by emphasising the creation of a holistic business view, competency‐based management, promoting continuous learning and improving information technology infrastructure, managers will improve knowledge transfer and positively influence the creation of superior firm performance.

It is shown that in knowledge‐intensive industries, knowledge transfer acts as a mediating variable between a holistic view of the firm, competency‐based management, continuous learning and information and communication technologies infrastructure and firm performance.

Firms are adopting Web 2.0 technologies to improve collaboration, participation and communication; however there are few empirical studies testing the impact of this adoption. The purpose of this article is to analyze if there is a linkage amongst market orientation, Web 2.0 adoption and innovativeness.

Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships amongst the variables. A sample of 244 firms of the hospitality industry was used. The theoretical approach is based on the market orientation and innovativeness, concepts, which have been studied by various authors in the literature.

A positive relationship was found between market orientation and Web 2.0 adoption and between Web 2.0 adoption and innovativeness.

The study was developed in one industry, so in order to generalize the findings, additional testing in other industries should be developed. In addition a longitudinal study is encouraged.

Managers are advised to adopt Web 2.0 technologies to strengthen market orientation behaviors and innovativeness.

This article empirically tested the relationship between market orientation and Web 2.0 adoption and the impact of Web 2.0 adoption on innovativeness. Although some managers and researchers have reported some positive impacts of Web 2.0 on different aspects of the organization, there are still few empirical studies, and the authors contributed to fill this void.

This paper aims to research the effects of market orientation in the use of social networking and its relationship with organisational learning.

The empirical study was carried out in 132 recently created Brazilian biotechnology companies. Structural equation models were used in order to test the hypotheses.

The findings suggest that market orientation is positively related to social networking and organizational learning. The study also examines businesses that employ social networks and generate learning procedures within the organisations.

Statistically speaking, the use of social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have significant effects on the internal variables of the organisation, which is why businesses should develop new profiles that better reflect the company's corporate strategy.

Currently, studies carried out on technologically based social networks are a new feature of the field of management. This article brings together classic management constructs, such as organizational learning or market orientation, together with the incorporation of technological social networks.

This research proposes to study the connection between knowledge management practices and firm performance.

Theoretical relations are tested through an empirical study carried out on 222 Spanish firms in the biotechnology and telecommunications industries.

This paper shows how the firms that adopt knowledge management practices obtain better results than their competitors.

The subject of principles has not been considered a dimension of knowledge management. New avenues of inquiry are opened considering this dimension.

It determines practices that have a positive incidence on firm performance.

The conceptualization of knowledge management practices represents a theoretical innovation. This scale can be used in other knowledge‐intensive industries. The paper concludes that these practices have a positive incidence on firm performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, from the perspective of different theoretical approaches, the relationship that exists between different ontological supports of knowledge and knowledge itself (the way it is created and its characteristics).

The paper proposes two different types of knowledge (knowledge of concrete situations and abstract knowledge) and two approaches (the constructivist view and the cognitive view) and provides a general classification of the different knowledge types. Second, it examines the underlying ontological support‐knowledge creation, characteristics or types of knowledge relationship in different approaches. Finally, conclusions are drawn that show how the conception of ontological support conditions the way in which knowledge is conceived.

The results of the paper consist of making explicit the ontological support‐knowledge creation, characteristics or types of knowledge relationship in different approaches; and enabling understanding of the fact that the ideas one has about knowledge (how it is created or what its characteristics are) come from one's beliefs about the supports in, or in interaction with, which it is created.

The implications for the different approaches to knowledge theory are important. The study proposes a change with regard to how one considers the ontological supports of knowledge. The limitation of the paper lies in the fact that this proposal needs to be presented in a more extensive format, through a series of different papers and analyses.

The originality of the paper stems from the fact that it focuses on the ontological supports of knowledge and highlights the idea that the conception of these supports leads to a particular way of conceiving knowledge.