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The purpose of this paper is to analyse a firm’s internal and external drivers of formal and informal open innovation (OI) practices. To enrich the analysis and to obtain more robust results, the authors checked the study’s hypotheses using samples from two European regions, Navarre (Spain), classified an innovator follower, and Noord-Brabant (Netherlands), an innovator leader.

The sample selected includes manufacturing and service firms that completed the Community Innovation Survey for the year 2008 in both regions. The final sample had 1,288 observations from Navarre and 623 observations from Noord-Brabant. The authors consider two OI dimensions, breadth of information sources for informal OI practices and breadth of cooperation agreement for formal OI practices. Finally, the estimates were performed by means of a negative binomial regression.

Results indicate that for the internal drivers, product-related motives to innovate and in-house R&D intensity are strong drivers for both formal and informal OI engagement in general, while the influence of process- and environmental-related motives are context dependence.

This study distinguishes between formal (i.e. cooperation activities) and informal (i.e. external sources of information used for new ideas) inbound OI practices, while most of the literature has focussed on one single type of OI practice. The use of two samples coming from two different European regions allows observe whether the adoption motives of the OI practices are robust independently from the firms’ location or if they vary across regions owing to context dependence.

La innovación abierta (IA) ha demostrado ser crucial para aumentar la innovación y el desempeño económico de las empresas. Sin embargo todavía existe una comprensión limitada de los factores que impulsan realizar esta IA. El principal objetivo de este artículo es arrojar luz en esta dirección al analizar simultáneamente los determinantes internos y externos que llevan a las empresas a realizar prácticas formales e informales de IA.

Las hipótesis son contratadas con muestras de dos regiones europeas, Navarra (España), calificada como región seguidora en innovación, y Noord Brabant (Países Bajos), líder innovador. La muestra seleccionada incluye empresas manufactureras y de servicios que completaron la Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2008.

Los resultados indican que, para los determinantes internos, los motivos relacionados con la búsqueda de innovaciones en producto y la intensidad interna de I + D son fuertes impulsores para todas las prácticas de IA, mientras que la importancia de los motivos relacionados con la obtención de innovaciones en proceso y medioambientales dependen del contexto regional. En cuanto a los factores externos, la política pública influye en la adopción de IA tanto formal como informal, pero estos resultados varían entre las regiones dependiendo del origen de los fondos.

El estudio presenta importantes implicaciones para la literatura en IA. En primer lugar, mientras la mayoría de la literatura analiza un único tipo de prácticas de IA, este estudio distingue prácticas formales e informales de IA y estudia sus determinantes internos y externos simultáneamente. Segundo, las hipótesis son contrastadas en dos regiones europeas diferentes. Esto permite observar si los resultados obtenidos son robustos independientemente de la localización de las empresas o si varían dependiendo del contexto de ambas regiones.

A inovação aberta (IA) provou ser crucial para aumentar a inovação e o desempenho económico das empresas. No entanto, ainda há uma compreensão limitada dos fatores que conduzem essa IA. O principal objetivo deste artigo é lançar luz nessa direção, analisando simultaneamente os determinantes internos e externos que levam as empresas a realizar práticas de IA formais e informais.

As hipóteses são contratadas com amostras de duas regiões européias, Navarra (Espanha), classificada como uma região de inovação, e Noord Brabant (Holanda), um líder inovador. A amostra selecionada inclui empresas de fabricação e serviços que completaram o Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2008.

Os resultados indicam que, para os determinantes internos, os motivos relacionados à busca de inovações no produto e na intensidade interna de P & D são fortes impulsionadores para todas as práticas de IA, enquanto a importância dos motivos relacionados à obtenção Inovações em processo e ambientes dependem do contexto regional. Em relação aos fatores externos, observamos que a política pública influencia a adoção de IA formal e informal, mas esses resultados variam de acordo com as origens dos fundos.

O estudo apresenta implicações importantes para a literatura em IA. Primeiro, enquanto a maioria da literatura analisa um único tipo de práticas de IA, este estudo distingue práticas formais e informais de IA e simultaneamente estuda seus determinantes internos e externos. Em segundo lugar, as hipóteses são contrastadas em duas regiões européias diferentes. Isso permite verificar se os resultados obtidos são robustos independentemente da localização das empresas ou se variam de acordo com o contexto de ambas as regiões.

In large companies, technological knowledge lies dispersed over individual specialists, business units and locations. Communities of practice (CoPs) are a structure for sharing this dispersed knowledge. However, CoPs are usually seen as being emergent, evolving and elusive. This study aims to investigate if and how it is possible to purposefully create CoPs.

This study describes and evaluates the launch of four CoPs within Rolls‐Royce. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is used to determine and explain the activities and outcomes of the CoPs.

Each of the CoPs provided benefits to its members, but performance differences were found between the CoPs. Longer existing CoPs were more active as the structural elements and dimensions of CoPs take time to evolve and become balanced. But more active CoPs were not necessarily more beneficial to their members. This is partially explained by the degree to which a CoP focuses on local issues.

It is worthwhile to actively pursue the development of CoPs to manage technological knowledge. However, it takes time for CoPs to mature and become effective, and they are never fully under managerial control. Focusing on local issues increases the direct benefits for community members and therewith their commitment to the CoP.

This is one of the few evaluation studies of CoPs. While literature often assumes that CoPs have to emerge, this paper finds that it is also possible to purposefully create CoPs.

The purpose of this study was to develop a measurement instrument for organizational learning capability (OLC) in a Chinese management context. Previous research has indicated a need for measurement instruments with proven ecological validity in China, because the learning capability of organizations is influenced by the organization’s external environment.

The authors followed a consequent inductive procedure from item sampling through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and nomological validation. The initial part sampled relevant descriptors from a diverse sample of 159 employees from heterogeneous backgrounds in China. After sorting by an expert panel, EFA of data from a sample of 161 executive students yielded a three-dimensional construct comprising knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. These three constructs were again tested in CFA using a sample of 357 employees from five companies.

The findings across the three samples resulted in a three-dimensional measurement scale that is called as the organizational learning capability questionnaire (OLCQ). The OLCQ displayed high internal consistency, reliability and nomological validity.

This focus of this study has only been to establish a measurement instrument that allows indigenous research on organizational learning in China. The approach was statistically driven grounded approach, not a theoretical assumption of learning mechanisms special to the Chinese culture. Further research is needed to estimate how this approach yields results that are different from other cultures or the extent to which our findings can be explained by features of the Chinese culture or business environment.

This study offers a practical measurement instrument to assess practical and scientific problems of organizational learning in China.

The work here emphasizes the necessity of a knowledge sharing community for organizational learning to appear. It addresses a call for more indigenous Chinese management research.

The authors provide a measurement instrument for OLC with proven ecological validity and with promising consequences for research and practice in China. The instrument is empirically grounded in the practices and behaviors of Chinese managers, avoiding biases that stem from previously identified shortcomings in cross-cultural management research. To the knowledge, it is the first of its kind and a contribution to a call for indigenous management theories with contextual validity.

This paper reviews the current literature of knowledge management systems (KMS) studies in organizations. The authors systematically review the literature according to the principle of innovation studies approach, i.e. variance and process approaches. The purpose of this paper is to identify the current state of KMS studies in organizations. By doing this, the way is paved for the authors to find the research gaps, which would facilatively suggest the direction for future research. The authors hope that this review will be regarded as a source for those who share mutual interests in KMS research and could stimulate further research being conducted in the area with different approaches in the future.

Journal articles published within the period 2003‐2013 were collected. The articles were sourced mainly from Emerald, Science Direct, IEEE, MIS Quarterly, as well as some other academic databases. The search was conducted using such keywords as “knowledge management system” “knowledge repository” “knowledge management tools” “system for knowledge management” and “knowledge‐based system”.

It was found that the majority of KMS studies primarily pertain to adoption, diffusion, usage, and implementation, which are fundamentally based on a variance approach. The studies based on a process approach, however, are found to be scarce and still lacking. The authors highlight the findings and provide a critical review of the current approach, as well as commenting on the traditional theories that have been applied, unified, and modified for the studies of KMS in organizations. The authors also suggest some appropriate approaches to studying KMS in organizations and future directions for further research in this field.

The paper has produced a certain result of review studies from the existing literature during the period 2003‐2013. However, the review mainly focused on different approaches that looked into the classification of study schemes and theories being applied for research, while not focusing on other aspects that may be relevant to the area of studies.

The result of this review highlights some gaps in the literature in terms of findings and critical observation of the theoretical and methodological approaches to the research of KMS studies in organizations. Directions for future research are suggested.

Work on construction sites involves individuals with diverse character, temperament,age, physical strength, culture, religion and experience level. A good number of these individuals are also alleged to involve themselves in substance and alcohol abuse due to the physically demanding nature of their work. These could promote the prevalence of violence on construction sites which could in turn affect safety on construction sites. However, there is a lack of empirical insight into the effect of violent behaviour and unsafe behaviour on construction sites. This study therefore pioneers an empirical inquiry into the relationship between violent behaviour and unsafe behaviour on construction sites.

Seventeen violent behaviours and 15 unsafe behaviours were measured on 12 construction sites among 305 respondents using a structured questionnaire. A total of 207 valid questionnaire responses were collected from site workers. Partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to examine the relationship between violent behaviour and unsafe behaviour.

The results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between violent behaviour and unsafe behaviour on construction sites.

The findings from this study provide valuable insight into a less investigated dimension of the problem of construction site safety management. A focus on attitudinal issues such as how workers relate toward others and toward self should be an important consideration in safety improvement interventions on construction sites.

Inter-organisational collaboration (IOC) across healthcare settings has been put forward as a solution to mounting financial and sustainability challenges. Whilst ingredients for successful IOC have been explored, there remains limited understanding of the development of IOCs over time.

The authors systematically reviewed the literature to identify models applied to IOCs in healthcare across databases such as Healthcare Management Information Consortium (HMIC) and MEDLINE, identifying 2,763 titles and abstracts with 26 final papers included. The authors then used a “best fit” framework synthesis methodology to synthesise fourteen models of IOC in healthcare and the wider public sector to formulate an applied composite model describing the process through which collaborations change over time. This synthesis comprised extracting stages and behaviours from included models, selecting an a priori framework upon which to code these stages and behaviours and then re-coding them to construct a new composite model.

Existing models often did not consider that organisations may undergo many IOCs in the organisations' lifetime nor included “contemplation” stages or those analogous to “dissolution”, which might negatively impact papers using such models. The formulated' composite model utilises a life-cycle design comprising five non-linear phases, namely Contemplating, Connecting, Planning, Implementation and Maintenance or Dissolution and incorporates dynamic elements from Complex Adaptive Systems thinking to reflect the dynamic nature of collaborations.

This is the first purpose-built model of the lifecycles of IOCs in healthcare. The model is intended to inform implementers, evaluators and researchers of IOCs alike.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of strategic flexibility on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance, and how such effects are mediated by business model innovation (BMI).

Data was collected in the form of surveys from 200 SMEs located in Saudi Arabia. The collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling using Amos 23.

The results highlighted that strategic flexibility has a direct and significant influence on SME performance. Moreover, BMI partially mediates the relationship between strategic flexibility and SME performance.

The findings of this study suggest that managers should be made aware that strategic flexibility can be an important driver for BMI which in turn would enhance SME performance. This study argues that the perks of strategic flexibility are irrespective of firm size. Furthermore, BMI can help improve the performance of SMEs by unlocking new opportunities for value creation and value capture

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is one of the first to test the relationship between strategic flexibility and SME performance through BMI.

This study aims to develop a better understanding of radical innovation performance and proposes a comprehensive and theoretical model of the barriers impeding radical innovation from the perspective of researchers working in research institutions in China. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to test the hypotheses regarding barriers to radical innovation and the model proposed in this research.

The data was collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with researchers from different research institutions across several cities in China. Next, the data was analyzed by deploying the structural equation modeling technique and calculating the statistical significance of correlations, regression and path coefficients among the latent variables.

The results indicated the major barriers impeding radical innovation in Chinese research institutes. Based on these findings, suggested policies, regulations and business models are put forward that can promote radical innovation in these institutes through increasing research freedom, enhancing organizational flexibility, attracting talented researchers and expanding research collaboration.

The research proposes a comprehensive and theoretical model of the barriers impeding radical innovation from the perspective of researchers working in research institutions in China.

Ever since Sarasvathy’s (2001) seminal article, scholars have sought to test effectuation’s affect on firm performance. Although recent work has begun the arduous process of testing effectuation’s effect on entrepreneurial performance, there is still much to learn about its impact on firm performance. One such area is the relationship between effectuation and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to first, propose a scale suitable to the explication of the effectuation construct relative to innovation. Second, it proposes a more parsimonious scale for the measurement of innovation. Third, these scales are tested relative to firm performance.

This paper develops and tests a structural model, which investigates aspects of effectuation as mediators between innovation orientation and product/service innovation. This is accomplished using a sample of 169 electronic product manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Subjective measures of performance are used as the dependent variable.

The three most widely used measures of innovativeness were found to break cleanly into two sub-constructs, namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Effectuation measures included means (who I know), leverage contingencies (experimentation), pre-commitments and affordable loss. Means and leverage contingencies were found to positively mediate innovation orientation and product/service innovation leading to increased firm performance. Affordable loss did not show a mediating role, but had a direct effect on firm performance.

This study establishes two distinct sub-constructs of firm-level innovation; namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Second, by testing an innovation-centric effectuation model, this research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance.

Practical implications include establishing a relationship between means, leverage contingencies and innovation-performance, indicating that the ways through which small and medium-sized enterprises use their innovation networks may affect innovation outcomes and ultimately firm performance.

This research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance, extending effectuation theory from the entrepreneurship to the innovation literature.