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Based on the knowledge management (KM) perspective, innovation diffusion theory and technology-organization-environment framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research model to investigate the influence of technological (information technology (IT) support and IT effectiveness), organizational (top management support, sharing culture, and reward system) and environmental (competitive pressure) contexts on the two-stage KM diffusion (KM adoption and implementation) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Data gathered from 119 SME senior managers (including owner, vice president, and business manager) in Taiwan were employed to test the relationships between the research model constructs using the partial least squares approach.

The results showed that technological, organizational, and environmental factors have different effects on KM adoption and implementation stages. Specially, IT support has the strongest effect on KM adoption stage, while sharing culture has the strongest effect on KM implementation stage.

IT support continues to be positively related to the level of KM implementation after adoption. KM diffusion requires managers to invest time and effort to link specific IT support and knowledge-based work activities, since effective IT deployment for KM can help SMEs move toward a knowledge society, which is vital in the contemporary knowledge economy.

Theoretically, the findings of this study contribute to empirical research on contextual factors that influence KM diffusion using a broad data set rather than a few isolated SME cases. From the managerial perspective, given the importance of KM diffusion in modern SMEs and also in the future, the findings of this study are designed to enable owner-managers and practitioners to understand how SMEs KM diffusion is influenced by contextual factors, and how the effects may vary across different stages.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the diffusion patterns of knowledge in inspiring technological innovations and to enable monitoring development trends of technological innovations based on patent data analysis, thus, to manage knowledge wisely to innovate.

The notion of knowledge innovation potential (KIP) is proposed to measure the innovativeness of knowledge by the cumulative number of patents originated from its inspiration. KIP calculating formula is regressed in forms of two specific diffusion models by conducting a series of empirical studies with the patent-based indicators involving forward and backward citation numbers to reveal knowledge managing strategies regarding innovative activities.

Two specific diffusion models for regressing KIP formula are compared by empirical studies with the result indicating the Gompertz model has higher accuracy than the Logistic model to describe the developing curve of technological innovations. Moreover, the analysis of patent-based indicators over diffusion stages also revealed that patents applied at earlier diffusion stages normally has higher forward citation numbers indicating higher innovativeness meanwhile the patents applied at the latter stages usually requiring more knowledge inflows observed by their larger non-patent citation and backward citation amounts.

Although there is a large body of literature concerning knowledge-based technological innovation, there still room for discussing the mechanism of how knowledge diffuses and inspired knowledge. To the best of authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt to quantitate the innovativeness of knowledge in technological innovation from the knowledge diffusion perspective with findings to support rational knowledge management related to innovation activities.

To summarise the findings from research in adopting and diffusing knowledge management systems.

The approach is a summary of the study findings and a discussion of these.

The findings explain the adoption and diffusion of a KMS in an organization. These include: perceived usefulness has a positive relationship with an organization embarking on a KMS; people's decision to accept and use a KMS is directly determined by perceived user‐friendliness and perceived voluntariness; and the KMS diffusion process takes place in six stages.

This study tested the entire research model. In the future, parts of the model could be extracted and investigated in detail.

The results have significant implications for managerial practices, including the need for a KMS; the cost of a KMS; significant factors of KMS adoption and diffusion; end‐user focus and involving people in the KMS; and organizational adjustment to embrace the KMS.

The study develops and tests a comprehensive model of KMS adoption and diffusion.

This study aims to develop a research model to examine the antecedents of three stages of electronic business (e‐business) diffusion (including e‐business initiation, implementation and assimilation). The research model features knowledge management (KM) capabilities (knowledge acquisition, knowledge storage, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge protection), and partnership attributes (partner interdependence, partner trust, and partner commitment) as prominent antecedents of stage‐based e‐business diffusion.

Data gathered from 398 firms were employed to test the relationships between the research model constructs using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.

The results reveal that the factors for KM capabilities and partnership attributes have different impacts on three stages of e‐business diffusion. In particular, knowledge dissemination has a positive effect on all three e‐business diffusion stages, demonstrating its importance in the decision to shape e‐business diffusion. Moreover, the findings show that three partnership attributes are important enablers during the whole e‐business diffusion process.

In the context of e‐business, knowledge dissemination activities occur not only within firms, but also between firms and their business partners. Knowledge dissemination enables employees to develop novel solutions to problems that significantly improve on current practices. Hence, the increasing importance of the field of knowledge dissemination is primarily attributed to promotion of successful e‐business activities and increased level of e‐business implementation.

Theoretically, this study aims to provide a research model that is capable of understanding the determinants of the stage‐based e‐business diffusion. From a managerial perspective, the findings of this study provide valuable guidelines to policy‐makers and practitioners in implementing e‐business and accelerating e‐business diffusion.

This paper aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of knowledge management systems (KMSs) in Australia.

A qualitative field study was undertaken, in which six Australian organizations of various sizes, all in various stages of KMS adoption and diffusion, were studied via face‐to‐face interviews with key personnel in the organizations.

A comprehensive combined model of adoption and diffusion of KMS was developed and is presented in detail.

This paper explains how the combined model can be used for practical applications in companies that are embarking on KMS adoption and diffusion.

This study contributes to the KMS literature by taking a qualitative research approach to develop a comprehensive model.

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

In the data economy era, despite the tremendous effort of governments to actively provide and use open data, its effect on national performance such as competitiveness differs widely from country to country. A sufficient knowledge base and its appropriate management are important to effectively derive the potential value from open data. A country can implement multiple and equally viable means to effectively align open data with knowledge management, which lead to high national performance. However, previous studies lack consideration of the possibility of these various configurations. To fill the research gap, this study aims to investigate the configurational patterns constituted by government data openness and knowledge management for national competitiveness.

From the open innovation perspective, this study collected data from the global reports of 76 countries and examined them through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

Four configurational patterns are identified, namely, coupled (outbound-focused)-, coupled (inbound-focused)-, inbound-focused-, and outbound-focused national competitiveness.

This study provides a foundation that enables researchers to build a holistic and balanced perspective that can manage open government data and develop knowledge management capability.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of knowledge management systems (KMSs) in Australia.

The study uses a mixed methodology approach. The research was carried out in three stages: field study, pilot survey, and national survey (top 1,500 companies). This paper reports the findings of the third phase of the study – the national survey. The data of the national survey was analyzed through structural equation modeling (LISREL).

The results indicate that individual factors and task complexity are the significant factors that influence the perceived usefulness of KMSs which, in turn, significantly influence the intention to adopt a KMS and its diffusion process. Some unexpected results were also found.

There is a scarcity of studies on the empirical perspectives of KMSs in the literature, especially in the area of adoption and diffusion. This research addresses this gap by studying the adoption and diffusion of KMSs in Australian organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a valid and quantitative measurement method of knowledge diffusion efficiency for the knowledge collaboration networks (KCNs).

This paper builds a weighted KCN model with the node and edge weights. Based on the weighted KCN, the factors of knowledge diffusion efficiency are proposed and analyzed. Then, the knowledge transfer effect between two nodes is proposed and measured by comprehensively integrating the above factors. Furthermore, the main metric of efficiency of knowledge diffusion is proposed by modifying Latora and Marchiori’s model of efficiency of network.

A case is studied to illustrate the applicability of the proposed weighted network model and the knowledge diffusion efficiency measurement method. The results show the methods proposed in this paper can better measure and analyze the knowledge diffusion efficiency of KCNs than the traditional un-weighted methods and the subjective evaluation methods.

The real KCNs are always weighted networks. The weighted model of KCN can better reflect the real networks than the un-weighted model. Based on the weighted networks, the measurement methods proposed in this paper can more efficiently and accurately measure and evaluate the knowledge diffusion efficiency than the traditional methods. This study can help researchers to better understand knowledge diffusion theoretically, and provide managers with a decision support for knowledge management in practice.