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1 – 10 of over 89000Danilo Felipe Silva de Lima, Cláudia Fabiana Gohr, Luciano Costa Santos and José Márcio de Castro
This study aims to analyze the knowledge transfer process for implementing a company-specific production system (XPS) from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) to its…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the knowledge transfer process for implementing a company-specific production system (XPS) from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) to its local suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was adopted and applied in an automotive supply chain. Empirical data were collected from interviews, observations and internal documents.
Findings
The literature shows that the successful XPS implementation depends on the ability to transfer XPS knowledge; the motivation of the source unit to share XPS knowledge; the value and nature of knowledge embedded in XPS; the effectiveness of individual, social and organizational transfer mechanisms; the motivation and absorptive capacity of the target unit and, the organizational, social and relational contexts in which XPS is transferred. Based on the research findings, we develop 12 propositions and presented them in a framework.
Research limitations/implications
This paper expands and enriches the literature on the knowledge transfer process of XPS. The proposed framework establishes theoretical propositions and associations raised by qualitative analysis. However, these propositions are potentially testable on a larger scale for broader generalization.
Practical implications
Managers can recognize critical factors and relationships needed to improve the XPS implementation from an MNC subsidiary to its local suppliers.
Originality/value
The proposed framework provides a scheme to capture the essential critical factors affecting a successful XPS implementation between MNC subsidiaries and local suppliers. Moreover, we found relevant associations between pairs of critical factors that were not identified in the literature.
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Marcus Grum and Norbert Gronau
With shorter product cycles and a growing number of knowledge-intensive business processes, time consumption is a highly relevant target factor in measuring the performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
With shorter product cycles and a growing number of knowledge-intensive business processes, time consumption is a highly relevant target factor in measuring the performance of contemporary business processes. This research aims to extend prior research on the effects of knowledge transfer velocity at the individual level by considering the effect of complexity, stickiness, competencies, and further demographic factors on knowledge-intensive business processes at the conversion-specific levels.
Design/methodology/approach
We empirically assess the impact of situation-dependent knowledge transfer velocities on time consumption in teams and individuals. Further, we issue the demographic effect on this relationship. We study a sample of 178 experiments of project teams and individuals applying ordinary least squares (OLS) for regression analysis-based modeling.
Findings
The authors find that time consumed at knowledge transfers is negatively associated with the complexity of tasks. Moreover, competence among team members has a complementary effect on this relationship and stickiness retards knowledge transfers. Thus, while demographic factors urgently need to be considered for effective and speedy knowledge transfers, these influencing factors should be addressed on a conversion-specific basis so that some tasks are realized in teams best while others are not. Guidelines and interventions are derived to identify best task realization variants, so that process performance is improved by a new kind of process improvement method.
Research limitations/implications
This study establishes empirically the importance of conversion-specific influence factors and demographic factors as drivers of high knowledge transfer velocities in teams and among individuals. The contribution connects the field of knowledge management to important streams in the wider business literature: process improvement, management of knowledge resources, design of information systems, etc. Whereas the model is highly bound to the experiment tasks, it has high explanatory power and high generalizability to other contexts.
Practical implications
Team managers should take care to allow the optimal knowledge transfer situation within the team. This is particularly important when knowledge sharing is central, e.g. in product development and consulting processes. If this is not possible, interventions should be applied to the individual knowledge transfer situation to improve knowledge transfers among team members.
Social implications
Faster and more effective knowledge transfers improve the performance of both commercial and non-commercial organizations. As nowadays, the individual is faced with time pressure to finalize tasks, the deliberated increase of knowledge transfer velocity is a core capability to realize this goal. Quantitative knowledge transfer models result in more reliable predictions about the duration of knowledge transfers. These allow the target-oriented modification of knowledge transfer situations so that processes speed up, private firms are more competitive and public services are faster to citizens.
Originality/value
Time consumption is an increasingly relevant factor in contemporary business but so far not been explored in experiments at all. This study extends current knowledge by considering quantitative effects on knowledge velocity and improved knowledge transfers.
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This paper aims to explore how supplier development programmes can be adapted to create value for organisations through generation and transfer of knowledge between supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how supplier development programmes can be adapted to create value for organisations through generation and transfer of knowledge between supply chain partners.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the existing literature on supplier development, knowledge transfer and learning and on the interaction model of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing group, certain factors that condition learning and knowledge transfer through supplier development programmes are discussed and a conceptual framework for improving knowledge transfer is developed. Empirical research is conducted in four large multinational organisations, exploring how supply chain partners can better utilise their capabilities and facilitate knowledge transfer through these programmes.
Findings
Several organisational and relational factors that affect the success of knowledge transfer in supplier development programmes are identified and discussed and several management practices are proposed to enhance the knowledge transfer process within these programmes.
Research limitations/implications
The research provides evidence that knowledge transfer requires not only financial commitment and strategic decision making, but also appropriate design and execution of certain processes and a distinctive governance structure. Based on the findings a research agenda is proposed to investigate the impact of knowledge transfer on suppliers' productivity and the associated risk arising from knowledge leakages.
Practical implications
A systematic methodology is proposed to explore how supplier development programmes can achieve their potential among supply chain partners, by examining how certain factors influence the knowledge transfer process.
Originality/value
The paper proposes an innovative framework for analysing knowledge transfer among and between organisations and a knowledge‐based perspective in the design and management of supplier development programmes, so that a learning and knowledge transfer environment can be fostered.
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Davor Vlajcic, Giacomo Marzi, Andrea Caputo and Marina Dabic
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which the geographical distance between headquarters and subsidiaries moderates the relationship between cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which the geographical distance between headquarters and subsidiaries moderates the relationship between cultural intelligence and the knowledge transfer process.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 103 senior expatriate managers working in Croatia from several European and non-European countries was used to test the hypotheses. Data were collected using questionnaires, while the methodology employed to test the relationship between the variables was partial least square. Furthermore, interaction-moderation effect was utilized to test the impact of geographical distance and, for testing control variables, partial least square multigroup analysis was used.
Findings
Cultural intelligence plays a significant role in the knowledge transfer process performance. However, geographical distance has the power to moderate this relationship based on the direction of knowledge transfer. In conventional knowledge transfer, geographical distance has no significant impact. On the contrary, data have shown that, in reverse knowledge transfer, geographical distance has a moderately relevant effect. The authors supposed that these findings could be connected to the specific location of the knowledge produced by subsidiaries.
Practical implications
Multinational companies should take into consideration that the further away a subsidiary is from the headquarters, and the varying difference between cultures, cannot be completely mitigated by the ability of the manager to deal with cultural differences, namely cultural intelligence. Thus, multinational companies need to allocate resources to facilitate the knowledge transfer between subsidiaries.
Originality/value
The present study stresses the importance of cultural intelligence in the knowledge transfer process, opening up a new stream of research inside these two areas of research.
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Pasquale De Luca and Mirian Cano Rubio
The knowledge transfer plays a key role in the firm’s capability to develop and to maintain a strategic competitive advantage over time. The capability of the firm to develop an…
Abstract
Purpose
The knowledge transfer plays a key role in the firm’s capability to develop and to maintain a strategic competitive advantage over time. The capability of the firm to develop an efficient and effective process of knowledge transfer increases the internal skills and then the capability to compete in the business with positive effects on the performance. In order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the knowledge transfer process it must be consider two main variables: the amount of knowledge to be transferred and the speed of the process. In this contest, the purpose of this paper is to developed a theoretical model, defined the knowledge transfer curve, able to evaluate the knowledge transfer process on the basis of its speed.
Design/methodology/approach
The curve of the knowledge transfer is based on the methodology of the learning curve. The curve of the knowledge transfer process can be evaluated on the basis of two main variables: the first is the content of knowledge to be transferred. It refers to the quality and quantity of the information to be transferred within the firm; and the second is the speed of the knowledge transfer process. It refers to the time in which the knowledge transfer can be realized. The function of the knowledge transfer is defined using ordinary differential equation.
Findings
There is an inverse relationship between time t and the variation rate r. The higher the variable r, the faster the knowledge transfer toward the level K. Therefore, the variable r measures the efficiency and effectiveness of the knowledge transfer process. On the basis of these considerations, manager must evaluate their policies about the knowledge transfer on the basis of their effects on the variable r: only the policy that increases its value can be considered effective for the knowledge transfer process.
Originality/value
The originality resides in the development of a theoretical model that is able to capture and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the knowledge transfer. It is possible to define a curve of knowledge transfer on the basis of these two variables: content of the knowledge to be transferred and the time of the transfer process, by using an ordinary differential equation.
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Martin Spraggon and Virginia Bodolica
To date, it remains unclear whether the experiences of large corporations with regard to knowledge transfer and process formalization can be successfully replicated in small…
Abstract
Purpose
To date, it remains unclear whether the experiences of large corporations with regard to knowledge transfer and process formalization can be successfully replicated in small companies. In this paper, the authors seek to contribute to the specialized literature on internal knowledge transfer processes and their degree of formalization in the context of small-sized innovative firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a multiple case study approach to perform an in-depth comparative analysis of processes deployed to transfer knowledge internally and their degree of formalization, relying on rich narratives shared by informants during the data gathering stage. This sample is composed of five small innovators operating in the software industry in Quebec and Ontario.
Findings
The authors identify seven knowledge transfer processes in our sample, namely communities of practice, within project teams, across project teams, non-project related meetings, in-house exchanges with clients, technological devices, and playful activities. Uncovering a high cross-case variation in terms of process formalization, the findings imply that the degree of formalization of intra-firm knowledge transfer processes has no direct bearing on the innovative success of small software companies.
Originality/value
The study sheds new light on the topic of heterogeneity of small organizations from the perspective of knowledge transfer endeavors and provides empirical evidence in support of equifinality for a subset of small-sized innovators from the software sector.
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Mette Praest Knudsen and Erik Skov Madsen
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific practices of management in the dispatching unit and to identify mechanisms for supporting transfer of shop floor knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific practices of management in the dispatching unit and to identify mechanisms for supporting transfer of shop floor knowledge embedded in operating manufacturing equipment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies an inductive and a case study approach for exploring three empirical cases that represent different manufacturing facility relocation processes and differences in the applied managerial practices.
Findings
The paper identifies two important gaps in international production literature when firms relocate equipment to other sites; a time gap (from dismantling to re-assembly of production facilities) and a space gap (from the current to the new site abroad). These gaps are important for understanding why relocation processes are difficult and what management can do to facilitate such processes.
Practical implications
The paper identifies four issues that management faces in the dispatching context when relocating manufacturing facilities.
Originality/value
The paper gives new insights to a limited literature of shop floor knowledge transfer when relocating manufacturing facilities.
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Sabrina Amir, Tyler G. Okimoto and Miriam Moeller
This paper examines how informal knowledge transfer processes unfold during the repatriation of Malaysian executives. The goal is to develop a repatriate knowledge transfer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines how informal knowledge transfer processes unfold during the repatriation of Malaysian executives. The goal is to develop a repatriate knowledge transfer process model, explaining the informal process through which repatriates make decisions about and transfer newly acquired knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the unexplored nature of the informal knowledge transfer process the study investigates, this research adopts an exploratory qualitative research approach using interview data from 10 Malaysian corporate executives over a period of 14 months, covering prerepatriation and postrepatriation stages.
Findings
The findings indicate that from the repatriates' perspectives, the process flows during repatriates' knowledge transfer depend on the ability and motivation of repatriates, as well as their opportunity to communicate the newly acquired knowledge to their home country organization. We likewise learned that the repatriates' ability to overcome repatriate adjustment and knowledge transfer challenges is crucial in order for them to proactively initiate informal knowledge transfer.
Practical implications
This research is significant as it will assist current and future expatriates to plan and prepare for repatriation and eventual knowledge transfer. The findings will also be useful to organizations that employ repatriates in preparing action plans for repatriation rather than solely focusing on expatriation.
Originality/value
Research and practice formally argue that expatriates are expected to transfer knowledge from the home country organization to the host country organization. While on assignment, expatriates become exposed to various types of new knowledge during the assignment, setting them up to disseminate this newly acquired knowledge to their home country organization upon repatriation – however, knowledge transfer upon repatriation is largely informal. This paper examines how this informal knowledge transfer process unfolds in the repatriation context over a period of 14 months by qualitatively tracing the experiences of 10 Malaysian corporate executives.
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Robin Bell and Thanh Trung Pham
The transfer of knowledge has been identified as an important part of the family business succession process. This paper examines the knowledge transfer process from the founder…
Abstract
Purpose
The transfer of knowledge has been identified as an important part of the family business succession process. This paper examines the knowledge transfer process from the founder to the successor to understand and model the factors that influence the knowledge transfer process in the Vietnamese family business context.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts an inductive qualitative approach, conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews with five father-son succession pairs. The interviews with founders and successors, ten in total, formed the basis of five case studies. The cases were all at an advanced stage of the process of business knowledge transfer and family business succession.
Findings
A contextualized model was developed, highlighting the main factors that influence the knowledge transfer process from the founder to the successor in a Vietnamese family business context. This model identifies the influence of factors, some of which are not commonly presented in western family business literature. These include the importance of the role of the mother in mediating the relationship quality between the founder and the successor and the successor pursuing education and external work experience to improve their cognitive and reflective abilities. The need for the affinity between family members is also highlighted as important.
Originality/value
In Vietnam, most family-run businesses are still under the control of the founder. This research provides insight into the succession process in Vietnam. This research addresses calls for further exploration into the factors that influence the transfer of knowledge in the family business succession process and to research this process in a collectivist society, both of which remain under-researched.
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Edward Major and Martyn Cordey‐Hayes
This article builds on existing concepts and models of knowledge transfer, presenting a conceptual framework of an integrated knowledge transfer process. It introduces the notion…
Abstract
This article builds on existing concepts and models of knowledge transfer, presenting a conceptual framework of an integrated knowledge transfer process. It introduces the notion of knowledge translation to describe the key elements within the overall process. The new perspective provided by this knowledge translation framework has implications for the foresight process, for the UK Foresight programme and foresight policy makers and for the intermediary role of the business support community.
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