Search results

In this paper the authors address the issue of the management of the marketing/entrepreneurship interface in small entrepreneurial knowledge‐based firms (EKFs). According to the perspective presented in this work, in such firms, the management of the interface is strictly related to ensuring a suitable balance of market and technological innovation capabilities throughout each phase of firm’s life. In order to contribute to the debate in this research area, the authors propose a theoretical framework based on both organizational configuration and resource‐based theories. Within this theoretical framework, a methodology to evaluate firm’s innovation capabilities based on the use of fuzzy logic is described. The proposed methodology was tested in a field analysis whose results are presented in the paper. On the basis of these empirical results, some useful indications and practical lessons concerning the relationships between marketing/entrepreneurship and innovation in small innovative firms are discussed.

This paper examines how weak ties and strong ties in the supply chain network influence the financing performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the mediation of information sharing and innovation capability.

Questionnaires were administered to 208 financial managers responsible for supply chain finance in SMEs in China. Data analysis techniques used included multiple regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.

The authors found that weak ties had a more substantial impact on the financing performance of SMEs than strong ties did. Information sharing and innovation capability played a mediating role between weak and strong ties and the financing performance of SMEs. In addition, information sharing and innovation capability complement each other and jointly influence the financing performance of SMEs.

SMEs are suggested to actively embed themselves in the supply chain network to increase financing opportunities and reduce financing costs. The authors also recommend SMEs to enhance the level of their information sharing in the supply chain network and take advantage of their network ties to access and adopt new technology from other organisations and conduct collaborative innovation with partner institutions.

The paper extends the authors’ understanding of supply chain finance by exploring the intrinsic mechanism of how various constructs (weak ties, strong ties, information sharing and innovation capability) in the supply chain network have an impact on the financing performance of SMEs. In particular, the authors explore the under-researched mediating effect of information sharing and innovation capability on the relationship between network ties and the financing performance of SMEs.

When the management of an information technology (IT) manufacturing firm perceives a need for innovation due to any threat in the external environment, it will be prompted to use organizational resources to support innovation and improve organizational performance through the implementation of the innovation. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether an IT manufacturing firm’s budget slack, information quality of information system (IS), process innovation and product innovation would interact to collectively form an innovation capacity, which is termed “innovation capability configuration (ICC)”, and whether ICC mediates the relationship between perceived innovation requirement and organizational performance.

To answer these questions, a structural equation model was built and a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from research and development and production managers of IT manufacturing companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over-The-Counter markets.

The results showed that budget slack, IS information quality, process innovation and product innovation are all significantly related to ICC, in which high-quality information and low level of budget slack are the key factors that underpin the innovation capacity. In addition, ICC has a full mediation effect, that is, perceived innovation requirement positively influences ICC, which, in turn, improves organizational performance.

Because all items in a questionnaire were answered by a manager, the common method variance might exist in this study. In addition, the effective recovery rate of the questionnaire was not high due to which the non-response bias might occur. Following the research limitations, several future research recommendations are proposed.

This study offers managerial implications for the development of an IT manufacturing firm’s innovation strategy and structure to smooth the implementation of innovation in the severe environment.

The study is the first attempt to integrate the four elements clearly illustrating the ICC, which is a more complete innovation strategy, thus contributing to improve the past fragmental studies and clarify some controversial points existing in the extant innovation research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic contingency of plant improvement capability and innovation capability.

Two forms of fit between the two capabilities and competitive priorities were empirically tested. Data collected from a sample of 238 manufacturing plants were used to test the hypotheses using regression.

The results provide partial support for fit as mediation. However, there was no evidence supporting fit as moderation. It was found that improvement capability and innovation capability are associated with different competitive priorities and also have varying impact on different operational performance dimensions.

There are two limitations to this research: only three operations management (OM) practices are included in each capability examined; and there are somewhat limited measures of competitive priorities and operational performance.

This study examines multiple forms of fit between competitive priorities and operations capabilities. The findings can inform managers to selectively implement OM practices for developing the needed operations capabilities given the chosen competitive priorities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine different types of organization of the firm considering the innovation capabilities of manufacturing firms.

The authors carried out an innovation survey with Brazilian manufacturing firms. A sample of 1,156 firms was analyzed in this paper. Collected data were analyzed using multivariate data analysis techniques. From an innovation capabilities approach, it was possible to identify different types of organization of the firm.

Results show four different types of organization of the firm: advanced, intermediate and basic stability-oriented and change-oriented. Each type presents a different innovation capabilities arrangement. The successful strategies toward innovation are related to change-oriented organization of the firm and advanced stability-oriented organization of the firm.

This study contributes to the literature by presenting a different view on the organization of the firm, encompassing the capabilities approach and thus a higher level on the perception of firms' heterogeneity. This study contributes to narrow the literature gap on how firms internally coordinate its different capabilities into a coherent organization to sustain an innovative behavior.

These straightforward findings can serve as a guideline so that managers can conduct changes within their companies toward more innovation. Managers can reconsider its organization as a way to foment innovation, once it is identified as a key strategy for competitiveness.

This study may help managers understand that focusing on stability-driven capabilities is riskier if change-driven capabilities are not present in an adequate and aligned level of development. The outcome may be the growth of the cost structure greater than the potential return. Conversely, managers should also understand that once change-driven capabilities are in a glance, they need do follow up with stability-driven capabilities. Here, the risk is not having an adequate structure to sustain the upcoming growth, arising from innovation. In short, not only “cost and value” should be taken together, but they must be arranged following the specific situation of the company. Every company should manage costs either to sustain new added value or to allow the addition of new value.

The study is based on a unique dataset that traces a large set of companies, being able to check different types of firm organization and associate it with innovation capabilities. The study relates to an emerging economy, which has not received adequate attention until now, largely because of the lack of micro-level data. The study is based on a robust theoretical model of innovation capabilities, which is being tested through such data. Finally, results elucidate ways to improve innovation performance of firms.

Collective reputation cognition is an enterprise's perception of the general rules of reputation evaluation, jointly formed by a network's collective members. It affects the choice of enterprises' innovation behavior and guides enterprises to occupy a dominant position in the innovation network, thus achieving high innovation performance. In this process, it is inseparable from the enterprise's good network competence. This study attempts to bring collective reputation cognition, network competence and innovation performance into the same framework and aims to explore the relationship among them and determine the influential roles of collective reputation perception and network capability on innovation performance.

This study uses 227 Chinese enterprises in the innovation network as samples and applies partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the questions mentioned above.

The results verify the relationship among collective reputation cognition, network competence and innovation performance. Furthermore, the results yield five paths that lead to high innovation performance, such as “putting ability first” and “both fame and competence”, which are different combinations of collective reputation cognition and network competence.

Based on institutional theory, this study considers the network context and identifies “collective reputation cognition” as a key variable. Meanwhile, it opens the “black box” of the mechanism of reputation's influence on innovation performance and finds that the combined paths of collective reputation cognition and network competence achieve high performance in terms of innovation.

The purpose of this study is to introduce a unified framework which integrates knowledge management processes (knowledge creation, sharing, storage and documentation and acquisition), innovation capability (product, process, marketing and organizational and organizational performance (operational, financial and product quality). Then empirically test the effect of knowledge management processes (KMP) on innovation capability (IC), the effect of IC on organizational performance (OP) and the impact of KMP on OP through the mediator (IC).

A questionnaire was designed and addressed to the general managers of the Jordanian companies making up the target population. Statistical techniques employed included confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 24 to test the hypotheses.

The results show that KMP influences IC, IC affects OP and KMP impacts OP through the mediator (IC).

The use of longitudinal data and comparisons with this study would provide further insights that would assist in generalizing knowledge related to the relationships among KMP, IC and Os' P.

If organizations fully comprehend KMP and IC, they would be able to implement them successfully, creating value for their companies and improving OP.

The existing research on KMP and IC is primarily conceptual and descriptive in nature, and empirical research confirming the real impact of KMP when developing IC is lacking. Also. the relationship between innovation capabilities and OP has not been adequately studied. Hence, this study introduces a conceptual framework which integrates KMP, IC and OP and simultaneously empirically tests the relationships among them.

This paper aims to identify the winning combination of innovation capabilities for selected Brazilian agribusiness firms along different value chain links.

Adopting a quantitative approach, the authors analyzed the relationship between innovation capabilities and innovative performance of 300 agribusiness firms through a multi-regression technique.

The results showed that transaction, management and development capabilities can improve agribusiness firms’ performance in underdeveloped value chains.

For future research, the authors recommend analyzing further links such as traders and retailers to find the innovation capability for the entire agribusiness value chain.

Upstream firms should adopt new management techniques and tools, efficiently using their resources, while downstream firms should absorb and transform new technologies into products and processes.

The authors suggest formulating public policies that propose the recombination of innovation capabilities to organize agribusiness firms and avoid commodity-oriented market dependence.

The literature on agribusiness explains innovation at the chain level, based primarily on scientific advancements rather than on innovation at the firm level. In this sense, this study provides empirical evidence that can help boost innovation in agribusiness firms.

Building on knowledge-based view and demographic diversity theory, the purpose of this paper is to re-conceptualize knowledge heterogeneity (KH) (i.e. diversity in individual or organizational knowledge) and to explore a broader set of relationships between KH and the multidimensional (i.e. dynamics and ambidexterity) innovation.

Case studies of organizational KH and innovation ambidexterity were conducted in four representative companies with variated characteristics. Similarities in the heterogeneity-innovation relationships were identified across four very different types of companies, providing a good exploratory base for future large-scale empirical studies.

Grounding on locus-of-knowing and timing-of-knowing dimensions, this paper utilizes an inductive approach that analyzes qualitative materials to construct the essential meanings of intraorganizational KH, and to explore the influences KH brings onto the ambidextrous innovation. A four-category typology of KH is emerged. Overall, KH is categorized into four distinctive but inter-related forms: individual professional backgrounds, collective profession backgrounds, individual evolving knowledge portfolio, and collective evolving knowledge portfolio.

Building on such typology, this paper discusses propositions for the differentiated influences of different forms of KH on dynamic and ambidextrous innovations.

Whereas individual knowledge benefits independent creativity, complex collective knowledge is more critical for organizational innovation. While research has placed more emphasis on the effects of knowledge accumulation or flow, it neglects the knowledge profile and structure for innovation. The present study explores the effect of heterogeneous knowledge structure on dynamic and ambidextrous innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the interdisciplinary debate promoted by service research community by establishing the conceptual frame within which different perspectives addressing systemic and multifaceted approaches to innovation are framed. Growing research interest in innovation has led to different definitions, which are referred to here as “innovation system(s)”, “innovation network(s)” and “innovation ecosystem(s)”. The paper examines the theoretical foundations, outcomes, and patterns of contributions to which each innovation perspectives is tied and proposed a subject and the framework allowing an exploration of an interdisciplinary dialogue between the different research positions.

A literature review was conducted to discern differences in concepts and their meanings. An overview obtained using Web of Knowledge leads to a focus on studies, followed by a content analysis using NVivo, which enables identification of key concepts and their definitions. By highlighting relationships among terms, the paper establishes a framework of the ontological assumptions of different innovation discourses and explores their contribution to the interdisciplinary dialogue promoted by service research perspective on innovation.

A comparison among the three innovation perspectives leads us to focus on innovation itself, alongside context, actors, enablers, and governance, which are useful to mark the commonalities and differences among the three research approaches. The framework is helpful to break down the fragmented and sometimes overlapping points of view of innovation and provides a more integrative stance from which to address the emergence of the service ecosystems approach on innovation.

The investigation focuses on three innovation perspectives and on top-cited articles alone; hence, it can be complemented with a full analysis through a bibliometric approach to test whether the features highlighted are linked to other elements. Moreover, the different approaches grouped on “innovation ecosystems” perspective suggest the possibility to enhance service ecosystems discourse on innovation by looking at different knowledge and contributions that are rapidly growing in this area.

The central idea this work puts forward is that after some decades of separation, there is a need to move towards an increasing convergence of economics, business and service based on the milestones of innovation systems, innovation networks, and innovation ecosystems thoughts.

This research sheds light on the different ways innovation, in multi-actor and the interconnected setting, is theoretically framed and described. By capturing established thinking in different innovation perspectives, the paper provides an integrated framework to making sense of the full picture of economies and societies seen as complex networks and systems of service systems.