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1 – 10 of over 3000Xiu‐Hao Ding, Heng Liu and Yongtao Song
After identifying two kinds of internal knowledge transfer strategies, the purpose of this paper is to examine their effectiveness and whether they induce knowledge spillovers…
Abstract
Purpose
After identifying two kinds of internal knowledge transfer strategies, the purpose of this paper is to examine their effectiveness and whether they induce knowledge spillovers among firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data in China and 219 questionnaires were achieved. Then, structure equation model by LISREL was used for hypotheses testing.
Findings
The empirical results suggest that both codification and rich‐media strategies have positive effects on internal knowledge transfer. Moreover, codification strategy has a negative effect on knowledge spillovers while rich‐media strategy does not influence knowledge spillovers significantly. Thus, codification and rich‐media strategies are not double‐edged swords.
Practical implications
This study provides firms with two strategies, codification and rich‐media, to promote internal knowledge transfer. Moreover, these strategies do not accelerate knowledge spillovers, and codification strategy even reduces knowledge spillovers. Firms can use these strategies to construct and sustain competitive advantages.
Originality/value
While many knowledge creation, storage and protection strategies are studied, little is known about internal knowledge transfer strategies. This study suggests two internal knowledge transfer strategies and confirms their effectiveness. Moreover, because the relationship between internal knowledge transfer strategies and knowledge spillovers has been puzzling for a long time, this study clarifies the relationship and finds that these strategies do not accelerate knowledge spillovers and some even restrain knowledge spillovers.
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J. Ajith Kumar and L.S. Ganesh
This paper aims to understand the knowledge strategies followed by product development (PD) units in Indian manufacturing firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the knowledge strategies followed by product development (PD) units in Indian manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Following literature, knowledge strategy was characterized in terms of “codification” and “personalization”. A total of 284 employees across 19 different PD units spread across India were surveyed to understand the knowledge strategies followed. Using SPSS, various statistical tests and analyses were conducted.
Findings
Personalization was consistently the preferred strategy across the PD units; however, the balance of personalization and codification was not quite in the 80‐20 ratio (one strategy practised predominantly with the other in a supporting role) as suggested by some strands of previous research, and this did not have any strikingly visible negative influences on product development performance. Further, organizations do not differ as much from each other on levels of codification, as they do on personalization.
Research limitations/implications
In contexts such as product development, it may be important to pursue knowledge strategies with greater equanimity compared with other contexts that previous research has highlighted. The study bears implications not only for the formulation and implementation of knowledge strategies during product development, but also for the body of enquiry into managing knowledge in organizations.
Originality/value
The research contributes to a relatively less researched area in knowledge management and suggests directions for future work in the area.
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Jing Li, Saide Saide, Mohd Nasir Ismail and Richardus Eko Indrajit
Business process management (BPM) has been discussed in much literature as a crucial approach to achieve firm-enterprise business performance, however in term of digital business…
Abstract
Purpose
Business process management (BPM) has been discussed in much literature as a crucial approach to achieve firm-enterprise business performance, however in term of digital business transformation to face the current digital enterprise business era, there is still much to be explored. Drawing sociotechnical perspective of ETHICS theory, the study develops and conceptualize information technologies/systems (IT/IS) proactive capability and socialization-codification knowledge process that produce business transformation process in digital-based era.
Design/methodology/approach
Of the 173 company-enterprise respondents in Indonesia, the authors empirically test and validate the conceptual model using structural equation model tool-SmartPLS and SPSS statistical. The enterprise respondents were manufactures industry, construction services, hardware and software, plantation and agriculture, financial and insurance services, and other retail trade.
Findings
The authors found different findings of mediating effect and direct relationship effect. Socialization knowledge process has directly influence IT/IS proactive capability and enterprise digital business transformation. Codification knowledge process has successfully support IT/IS proactive capability, but unsupported correlation on enterprise digital business transformation. Also, IT/IS proactive capability positively influence enterprise digital business transformation. Enterprise business process suffers when the firm transform their business process into digital-based only using codification knowledge practices because documented knowledge (codification type) is not strong enough to help company in the way of enterprise digital business transformation. Mediating role show IT/IS proactive capability is crucial approach for enterprise business transformation to maximize codification knowledge practices. The findings present one fully supported results of mediation role through IT/IS proactive capability. A stronger support for enterprise IT/IS strategy in company, a high opportunity for codification knowledge practices to improve the digital ways to transform the enterprise business process. In short, the results can guide enterprise managers on how to manage their knowledge resources and maximizing emerging technologies to achieve enterprise digital business transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledged that future studies would be worthwhile to create, develop and strengthen the model and its related foundation. Future research may try different concept/theory that applicable in enterprise digital business transformation. Also, an opportunity for future study is how enterprise digital business transformation in different context of industries with the current emerging technologies (e.g. IoT, big data, AI).
Originality/value
This study offers a theoretical and conceptual framework to the applicable digital-based within enterprise business transformation context. A knowledge/novel contribution of this study is the integration of a sociotechnical that highly relevant and drives enterprise digital business transformation. This study also is an effort to combine some areas such as business transformation strategy, knowledge-intensive business services, knowledge management and IT/IS.
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Hongmei Liu, Kah-Hin Chai and James F. Nebus
This paper aims to provide a systematic framework for organizations to analyze their knowledge reuse processes, and balance codification and personalization within their knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a systematic framework for organizations to analyze their knowledge reuse processes, and balance codification and personalization within their knowledge strategy according to cost/benefit analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper divides knowledge reuse process into a sequence of five stages, and accordingly analyzes costs/benefits under codification and personalization strategies. Markov decision process, a mathematical framework for multi-stage decision-making, is employed to optimize a mixed strategy for knowledge reuse processes within an organization.
Findings
Organizations need to consider factors such as the number of reusable knowledge items, reuse patterns, and intra-organizational interest alignment which are critical to determine their optimal mix between codification and personalization. Companies should determine a knowledge strategy based on their knowledge reuse contexts instead of following success cases blindly.
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents an illustrative example to show how this framework might be applied by an organization. However, the validity and reliability of strategic decision-making also depends on the accuracy of the model's parameter values. Firms can adopt many methods as surveys, Delphi method, to determine the parameter values.
Practical implications
The proposed framework offers an opportunity for firms to gain insights by setting the model's parameters to their own reuse contexts/characteristics and conducting what-if analysis.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a formal framework for analyzing knowledge reuse processes and offers organizations guidelines about decision-making of knowledge strategies.
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Rachelle Bosua and Krishna Venkitachalam
Knowledge management (KM) has become a key driver of organisational performance. The existing literature suggests that many organisations fail in their attempts to align their KM…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge management (KM) has become a key driver of organisational performance. The existing literature suggests that many organisations fail in their attempts to align their KM strategies with knowledge processes within their organisation. Based on the management literature on alignment, there is a gap in the understanding of how an organisation's KM strategy and KM processes in workgroups can be aligned. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that alignment in terms of KM is important and underpins the improvement of KM processes in organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study research approach was used to examine alignment between strategy and processes of knowledge in organisations. In total, three case organisations representing different industry sectors were chosen to examine how organisations align their KM strategies with workgroup knowledge processes.
Findings
This study proposes a Strategic‐Workgroup Alignment Framework that explains the key alignment enablers and different alignment approaches required to align KM strategy with workgroup KM processes in organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge the limitations of this paper. Although the proposed framework provides valuable insights with respect to different alignment approaches, it does not specify how each alignment approach can be assessed in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. As part of the alignment approaches, this study's focus was between strategy and processes of knowledge: further research could bring to light new alignment options of knowledge and the associated implications.
Originality/value
This study illustrates that organisations can improve the management of knowledge through alignment between KM strategies and KM processes. Such an improvement is also possible in the absence of a KM strategy emphasis, where alignment would require a deeper examination of workgroup knowledge processes. This study also identifies specific alignment enablers to align KM strategy and KM processes.
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Loubna Echajari and Catherine Thomas
The purpose of this paper is to study organizational learning from complex and heterogeneous experiences. According to March (2010), this kind of high intellect learning is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study organizational learning from complex and heterogeneous experiences. According to March (2010), this kind of high intellect learning is difficult to accomplish because it requires deliberate investments in knowledge transfer and creation. Zollo and Winter (2002) emphasized how knowledge codification can facilitate this process, as long as it is “well-performed”. However, knowledge management scholars have yet to explore what is meant by well-performed codification and how to achieve it.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper addresses this gap and provides a conceptual analysis based on two related but previously disconnected research areas: organizational learning and knowledge management.
Findings
This paper contributes to the literature in three ways. First, a new understanding of different types of experiences and their effects on learning is proposed. Then the codification process using a critical realist paradigm to overcome the epistemological boundaries of knowledge versus knowing is discussed; in doing so, it is shown that codification can take different forms to be “well-performed”. Finally, appropriate codification strategies based on experience type are identified.
Originality/value
The abstraction-oriented codification outlined in this paper runs counter to the logic of concrete codification that dominates both theory and practice. Thus, going beyond the traditional debate on the degree of codification (i.e. should knowledge be fully codified or just partly codified), this paper introduced a new debate about the appropriate degree of abstraction.
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The aim of this study is to examine whether the relationship between knowledge management (KM) strategy and firm performance is contingent on human resource management (HRM…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine whether the relationship between knowledge management (KM) strategy and firm performance is contingent on human resource management (HRM) control systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys were collected in computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing industries in Taiwan. A total of 111 presidents returned usable questionnaires.
Findings
When firms emphasize personalization strategy, the use of behavior control will enhance firm performance. In contrast, when firms emphasize codification strategy, the use of output control will make firm performance better. If personalization and codification strategy were emphasized simultaneously, firms would not use single HRM control system to better performance.
Research limitations/implications
First, the use of a self‐rating performance measure may constitute a limitation of the study. Second, this study is confined to a limited scope of control system. Third, perhaps the most obvious limitation is inherent to the selected research methodology that the one‐time data resemble a snapshot. Finally, it is not known how the selection of industries and geographical areas affect this study's findings.
Practical implications
Results from this study suggest that managers can leverage their best performance by matching the HRM control system to a particular KM strategy.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the knowledge about the importance of HRM control for KM methods. The firm's HRM control systems can be expected to contribute significantly to KM‐performance. Understanding how an organization can use its control systems to support KM will help firms sustain their competitive advantage.
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John N. Walsh and Jamie O'Brien
While service scholars see modularisation as balancing the efficiency of standardisation with the value added through customisation the relationships between these concepts are…
Abstract
Purpose
While service scholars see modularisation as balancing the efficiency of standardisation with the value added through customisation the relationships between these concepts are under-theorised. In addition, although information and communication technologies can facilitate all three service strategies, the degree to which they codify service knowledge is not explicitly considered in the extant literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a model that examines service strategy trajectories by specifically considering the ICTs used and the degree of knowledge codification employed.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on three qualitative case studies of service departments of firms involved in cardiovascular applications, orthopaedic, spinal and neuroscience product development and information technology support. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, document analysis and non-participant observation.
Findings
Findings show that ICTs were increasingly used to codify both standardised and customised services, though in different ways. For standardised services ICTs codified the service process, making them even more rigid. Due to the dynamic nature of customised services, drawing on experts' tacit knowledge, ICTs codified the possessors of knowledge rather than the service process they undertook. This study also identified a duality between the tacit development of customised services and modular service codification.
Research limitations/implications
The model is validated using case studies from three companies in the medical and information technology sectors limiting its generalisability.
Practical implications
The importance of considering the degree of tacitness or explicitness of service knowledge is important for service codification. The paper provides managers with empirical examples of how ICTs are used to support all three strategies, allows them to identify their current position and indicates possible future trajectories.
Originality/value
The papers main contribution is the development of a model that integrates the literature on service strategies with knowledge management strategies to classify service standardisation, customisation and modularisation in terms of both service orientation and degree of ICT codification.
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Dmitri Sokolov and Elena Zavyalova
While prior research suggests that human resource management (HRM) practices are crucial drivers of a firms' intellectual capital, few studies have tried to deconstruct this…
Abstract
Purpose
While prior research suggests that human resource management (HRM) practices are crucial drivers of a firms' intellectual capital, few studies have tried to deconstruct this relationship and investigate how HRM practices specifically affect intellectual capital resources. Furthermore, prior research treated this relationship as universal and rarely tried to introduce important contingent factors that may alter the mechanisms involved in how HRM practices influence firms' intellectual capital. In this study, the authors examine the relationships between the ability-, motivation- and opportunity-enhancing dimensions of HRM systems and human, social and structural capital and investigate how companies' codification and personalization knowledge management (KM) strategies may alter these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected using a telephone survey of 215 knowledge-intensive companies operating in Russia. The paper utilizes partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) to evaluate the measurement model and test hypothesized relationships.
Findings
The findings indicate positive relationships between ability-enhancing practices and firms' human capital between motivation-enhancing practices and firms' human and social capital and between opportunity-enhancing practices and firms' social and structural capital. The authors’ results reveal the limited moderating role of KM strategies in the relationships between HRM and intellectual capital. While a personalization strategy had no impact on any of the proposed relationships, a codification strategy positively moderated the relationship between opportunity-enhancing HRM practices and firms' structural capital.
Originality/value
The study expands the debates in strategic HRM literature by looking “inside” the HRM–intellectual capital relationship. Additionally, the authors’ findings reveal the complexity of the contingent effect that KM strategies of codification and personalization have on the relationship between HRM practices and intellectual capital. Although some of the relationships were not moderated by the KM strategy of the firm, the HRM–intellectual capital relationship cannot be considered fully universal.
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Marco Bettiol, Eleonora Di Maria and Roberto Grandinetti
The paper aims to analyze the relationships between standardization and creativity in the process of service innovation in knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS)…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyze the relationships between standardization and creativity in the process of service innovation in knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS), specifically in those specialized in highly creative outputs (KIBS in design and communication). Studies on knowledge management and on service management emphasize the opportunity to gain efficiency through a standardization of services and organizational processes. However, creative activities are characterized by informality and difficulty to be standardized.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative research approach. Two case studies of medium‐size KIBS specialized in design and communication, localized in Bangalore (India) and in Treviso (Italy) are developed to identify how KIBS approach knowledge management both internally and externally and how firms structure the innovation process.
Findings
KIBS can use a suitable knowledge management strategy to balance creative outputs with standardization based on a working method. Standardization can refer to the way the creative effort is organized and managed internally through appropriate organizational processes, with the approach confirmed empirically.
Research limitations/implications
Main limitations are related to the case study and the industry selected. The authors acknowledge the need to compare firms belonging to other industries to strengthen the results.
Originality/value
From a theoretical point of view the paper enriches the research framework concerning knowledge management in services by exploring the relationship between standardization and creativity. From an empirical point of view, the research is able to deepen understanding on the KIBS knowledge management strategies and their impacts on processes of service provision and innovation.
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