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From the perspective of social networks and knowledge networks, this study aims to empirically examine an updated four-dimension networking capability (NC) construct and test the relationships between it and innovation strategies through knowledge application activities in the context of Chinese manufacturing firms.

Data analysis is conducted on a quantitative survey of 219 manufacturing firms in China with a mixed method of partial least squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.

The results indicate that knowledge assimilation application (KAA) and knowledge transformation application (KTA) fully mediate the relationships between NC and ambidextrous innovation strategies. KAA has a stronger association with exploitative innovation (EL) than with exploratory innovation (ER), and KTA has a stronger association with ER than with EL.

The authors develop the conceptualization of NC and examine its role in knowledge application activities within a firm. Further, the authors adopt an alternative perspective to highlight the importance of KAA and KTA in mediating the relationships between NC and exploratory and exploitative innovation strategies.

The findings indicate that firms should build NC based on their knowledge requirements and knowledge network structure. Additionally, managers should possess in-depth insights regarding an effective knowledge application toward different types of external knowledge from partners. More specific, firms are more likely to conduct KAA for a high degree of knowledge relatedness, while for a low degree of knowledge relatedness, firms are more likely to conduct KTA.

The authors provide a novel alternative insight into knowledge application activities. From the perspective of knowledge networks, the authors argue that there are two distinct and parallel activities (i.e. KAA and KTA). The authors empirically examined the mediating roles of KAA and KTA in the NC–ambidextrous innovation strategies relationships as well as enriched the literature on their relationships.

This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge acquisition and dissemination on the sustainable performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, the mediating role of knowledge application in this relationship is investigated.

Data collected from 428 manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach.

The results reveal that knowledge acquisition significantly impacts the sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs, and knowledge application partially mediates this impact. Cutting-edge knowledge from within or outside the organization enables a deeper understanding of information regarding new products/services, a list of competing suppliers, consumer preferences and so on.

This study combined the knowledge-based view theory and the triple bottom line framework into a unified conceptual framework and examined the impact of knowledge acquisition and dissemination on manufacturing SMEs’ sustainable performance as well as the mediating role of knowledge application on manufacturing SMEs’ sustainable performance.

Manufacturing SMEs should emphasize knowledge application in business operations and encourage employees to develop and enhance their knowledge acquisition and dissemination to leverage knowledge in ways that enhance business operations, produce new products and generate new knowledge assets.

This study is unique in that it highlights the partially mediated effects of knowledge application on the linkages between knowledge acquisition and manufacturing SMEs’ sustainable performance and the fully mediated effects of knowledge application on the association between knowledge dissemination and sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs.

The key to the success of multinational corporations’ (MNCs) business models is the improvement of their innovation quality. From the cross-border knowledge management perspective, this paper aims to analyze the improvement path of innovation quality of MNCs and construct the functional path of the relationships among the knowledge creation, knowledge application and innovation quality of MNCs in the cross-border knowledge management process, so as to achieve the success of their business models. Based on this, this paper introduces cultural distance to further analyze how such relationships will change with the cultural distance level.

Using data from Chinese A-share listed MNCs with production operations located in the Asia-Pacific region from 2014 to 2018, this paper constructs a panel data model to test the mediating effect of knowledge application and the moderating effect of cultural distance on such relationships.

This paper obtains the following research findings: knowledge creation and knowledge application each have a significant, inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation quality; knowledge creation has a significantly positive correlation with knowledge application and knowledge application has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between knowledge creation and innovation quality; cultural distance has a moderating effect on such relationships. The specific moderating direction depends on the extent of the knowledge creation and knowledge application.

The findings are helpful to MNCs’ managers, providing guidance and serve as a reference for them to make strategic decisions on cross-board knowledge management and business models innovation.

The theoretical contributions are summarized as follows: First, it further enriches and expands the theoretical of knowledge management and innovation quality relationship. Second, it further enriches and expands the theoretical framework of knowledge management. Third, it further enriches the theoretical framework of cross-cultural management.

This paper aims to theoretically investigate a knowledge management model from the combined perspective of knowledge acquisition and knowledge application and its effect on organizational performance.

This study reviews prior research on knowledge acquisition and knowledge application, puts forward the concepts of “the extensiveness of knowledge acquisition” and “the concentration of knowledge application” and more importantly proposes an integrated model by combining these two dimensions. Four case examples of enterprises are subsequently described and analyzed to illustrate the sources of knowledge acquisition, the objects of knowledge application and their influences on organizational performance.

Four knowledge management modes and their impacts are confirmed in this study. Specifically, the organization of the turbojet engine mode (high extensiveness of knowledge acquisition and high concentration of knowledge application) can achieve good performance. The pipeline mode (high extensiveness of knowledge acquisition and low concentration of knowledge application) is the second, which has limited influence on good organizational performance. Organizations with the flashlight mode (low extensiveness of knowledge acquisition and high concentration of knowledge application) can achieve limited performance under the appropriate environment. The candle mode (low extensiveness of knowledge acquisition and low concentration of knowledge application) is the worst, performance of which is poor due to the break of the knowledge chain.

This paper holds that organizations should actively use the turbojet engine mode, adopt the pipeline mode and the flashlight mode cautiously, and avoid falling into the candle mode.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to propose the concepts of “the extensiveness of knowledge acquisition” and “the concentration of knowledge application,” and provides a combined model for analyzing differences in organizational performance from the perspective of knowledge.

This study aims to examine the role of organisational commitment (affective, normative, continuance) in influencing employees’ knowledge application behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also probes the moderating role of leader–member exchange (LMX) in the association between organisational commitment and knowledge application.

This study used a sample of 206 employees working in various private sector organisations in Brunei Darussalam. Structural equation modelling using Smart-PLS was used to test the hypothesised relationships.

The findings show that affective and normative organisational commitment spurred employees’ knowledge application behaviour significantly during the COVID-19 crisis. However, the moderating effect of LMX could not be established in this study.

The findings provide managers with insights into the crucial role organisational commitment can play in encouraging knowledge application in an organisation.

Studies exploring the enabling factors of knowledge application are scarce, especially in the context of a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study develops a model and empirically validates the importance of organisational commitment for knowledge application amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also provides insights for managers into how LMX can affect knowledge application outcomes, particularly during uncertain times.

For knowledge exchange systems to yield best organizational benefits, it is acknowledged that employees have to both contribute with and apply system content. This may be of particular importance in distributed environments due to limitations in alternative channels for knowledge exchange. This study investigates the effects of the gap between contribution and application on the degree of knowledge exchange within and between organizational borders and work locations.

The study is based on survey data involving 2204 respondents from a large petroleum operator company and eight of its main contractors.

An increase in the gap between contribution and application is accompanied with reduced levels of knowledge exchange between organizational borders and work locations, but has no effects on knowledge exchange between employees of the same organization working at the same location. This is explained by the availability of substitute channels for local knowledge exchange.

Knowledge exchange systems research and practice have to focus on both knowledge contribution and knowledge application as fundamental processes, and should further consider organizational structure as an important factor.

Most research on contribution and application of content in knowledge exchange systems focuses on knowledge exchange within company boundaries. This study systematically investigates the effects of the gap between contribution and application of system content at different levels of organizational distribution, and thus extends existing research by introducing organizational distribution as a conditioning variable for successful knowledge management.

The paper aims to analyze the influences of organizational context and information technology (IT) applications on employees' perceptions of knowledge acquisition and application capabilities in five public and five private sector organizations in South Korea.

The paper analyzes how employees' perceptions of organizational context and IT affect employee knowledge acquisition and application capabilities in five public and five private sector organizations in South Korea. It discusses the results of regression analyses based on a survey of 322 public and private employees that explored their perceptions of organizational vision and goals, social networks, centralization, performance‐based reward systems, the usage of IT applications, and knowledge acquisition and application capabilities.

The results of a survey of public and private employees show that clear organizational vision and goals, social networks, and employee usage of IT applications are all positively associated with high levels of employee knowledge acquisition and application capabilities. Centralization, however, was negatively associated with employee knowledge acquisition and application capabilities. Social network and IT application utilization were both positively associated with public employees' knowledge acquisition and application capabilities. Performance‐based reward systems were positively associated with private employees' knowledge application capabilities only.

In 2000, the South Korean Government established a special task committee to develop knowledge management systems (KMS) in the public sector and to initiate KM strategies. Since 1997, major South Korean corporations have been developing KM information systems to allow employees to quickly respond to complex and evolving domestic and international market environments. Some of the knowledge management practices effectively implemented in these corporations have been selected as benchmarks for developing the government KMS in the South Korean Government. However, there is limited research on comparative studies of the factors affecting employee KM capabilities in public organizations and private in South Korea.

This paper aims to analyze how formal, horizontal knowledge communities contribute to knowledge application. In large, complex organizations employees face multiple roles that compete for their time and may be conflicting. The paper seeks to analyze the interplay between the communities, the line organization, and the employees; specifically, to examine how the quality of management of the communities, the attitudes of line managers, and the employees' motivation for participating in the communities facilitate knowledge application.

The authors conducted a survey in an organization with several specialized, horizontal knowledge communities. In total, 2,517 responses were obtained from members of 131 different communities.

First, community management, line support and intrinsic motivation have a positive impact on knowledge application. Second, the effect of line support is stronger when employees are intrinsically motivated.

The study is limited to one organization. Future research could study knowledge processes in matrix‐like organization, as well as the role of community coordinators for knowledge sharing and application.

To enhance knowledge sharing and knowledge application, commitment from both line managers and community coordinators is vital. In a matrix‐like organization, dialogue and communication are important in order to reconcile supplementary goals and considerations.

The paper presents a study that is one of the first to analyze antecedents of knowledge application in formal communities of practice.

Organisations that systematically manage their knowledge based on processes of creating, storing, transferring and applying knowledge are likely to achieve both performance improvements and competitive advantages. However, companies often succeed in the first three processes only, while neglecting knowledge application. The phenomenon of employees not relying on existing knowledge when solving specific problems is referred to as knowing-doing gap. While the existence of this gap is well acknowledged, the purpose of this study is to advance the understanding how respective barriers of knowledge application can be overcome, in particular concerning the role of information technology (IT).

This study applies a case study design, thereby relying on various data sources, such as interviews, documents, field notes, observations and demonstrations. The analysis follows established guidelines for thematic analysis.

An understanding of knowledge application as a three-step process is derived. The set of knowledge application barriers, identified practices to overcome the barriers and yielded themes that explain the role of IT in bridging the knowing-doing gap are complemented.

The role of IT in bridging the knowing-doing gap and contributing to the general understanding of the knowing-doing gap by also considering practices concerning the people and process dimensions is illuminated. While IT plays a central role in applying knowledge, successfully overcoming the knowing-doing gap requires organisational practices at the people and processes dimensions that are aligned with the IT. The set of barriers of knowledge application at the individual, group and organisational levels is complemented.

The practices to bridge the knowing-doing gap at the intersection of the people, processes and technology dimensions are identified. Specifically, the role of IT in overcoming barriers to knowledge application is explored.

This thematic analysis yields a theoretical explanation for knowledge application as a three-step process and suggests practices to bridge the knowing-doing gap for each step. Furthermore, four major themes that explain the role of IT for this process in depth are derived.

Knowledge management during the pandemic has been a challenging task due to the sudden intervention of technology in the organisational environment and the unexpected shift to the work-from-home culture. This study aims to investigate the role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application.

A cross-sectional study was conducted and data were collected from 541 employees who were working from home during the pandemic in India.

This study found significant relationships between knowledge diffusion and technology intervention. This study also observed the mediating role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application.

Tis study stands with other pioneering studies that have explored the role of technology intervention in the knowledge diffusion–application relationship using the job demand-resource model.