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1 – 10 of over 20000Jiun‐Shiu Chen and Al S. Lovvorn
The success of knowledge transfer very much depends on a company's ability to effectively manage their knowledge transfer process. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a…
Abstract
Purpose
The success of knowledge transfer very much depends on a company's ability to effectively manage their knowledge transfer process. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a critical component in understanding knowledge transfer in the international arena is the speed of that knowledge transfer (and those factors that influence that speed) within a multinational enterprise (MNE).
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, social capital theory is used to argue that social capital is related to the speed of knowledge transfer within an MNE. The three dimensions of social capital, i.e. relational, dimensional, and cognitive, facilitate the transfer process and effect the rapidity of technology transfer.
Findings
The role of knowledge transfer speed in MNEs knowledge management has been neglected and, yet, the speed of knowledge transfer is critical for MNE organizations to build or maintain their competitive advantage. A critical component in understanding knowledge transfer in the international arena is the speed of that knowledge transfer (and those factors that influence that speed) between different units.
Originality/value
This study examines social capital to better understand knowledge management at the intra‐firm level of an MNE. The success of knowledge transfer very much depends on a company's ability to effectively manage that knowledge transfer process. Using social capital theory, we argued that the three dimensions of social capital (relational, dimensional, and cognitive) are related to the speed of knowledge transfer from the parent company to the foreign subsidiary.
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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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Bongsun Kim, Minyoung Kim and Eonsoo Kim
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate knowledge replication-imitation speed differentials in the context of patents as the target knowledge.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate knowledge replication-imitation speed differentials in the context of patents as the target knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes patent citations in the electric digital data processing class employing an accelerated failure-time model.
Findings
This study finds that replicators can turn the private aspect of knowledge into an advantage against imitators with respect to the speed of knowledge transfer, even after the knowledge is codified in a patent. Specifically, being a replicator provides no knowledge transfer speed advantage over imitators. Instead, a joint consideration of knowledge characteristics and organizational boundaries is necessary when explaining knowledge replication-imitation speed differentials. Thus, “organizational advantage” in knowledge transfer is knowledge characteristic-specific rather than general.
Originality/value
This study illuminates the differential effects of organizational boundaries on knowledge transfer by investigating both replication and imitation in conjunction with each other, which has been a weakness in previous studies. This study also investigates knowledge transfer speed, another void in extant research.
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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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Monica Riviere, Ulf Andersson and A. Erin Bass
This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategic internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment for the internationally growing firm (IGF)…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategic internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment for the internationally growing firm (IGF). Dynamic capabilities refer to a firm’s ability to adapt proactively to a changing business environment, emphasizing the importance of “doing the right things” rather than just “doing things right.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature-based, this paper proposes a model that links internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment, offering valuable insights for both research and practical application.
Findings
The study highlights that the IGF – focused on expansion and growth abroad – faces unique complexities that demand “doing the right things” in terms of strategic internationalization decisions. Three critical organizational capabilities – knowledge transfer, knowledge recombination and learning capabilities – are mechanisms linking strategic internationalization decisions to dynamic capability deployment in the IGF. These organizational capabilities enable the IGF to act entrepreneurially and deploy dynamic capabilities across borders.
Research limitations/implications
The model provides a practical framework illustrating the interconnectedness of strategic internationalization decisions and their combined effects on the ability of IGF to deploy dynamic capabilities to adapt to a changing global environment.
Originality/value
This research addresses a gap in the literature, challenging the conventional assumption that dynamic capabilities precede firms’ decisions to internationalize and that these dynamic capabilities can only be enhanced abroad.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between knowledge transfer characteristics in alliance and alliance governance mechanisms, the influence of alliance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between knowledge transfer characteristics in alliance and alliance governance mechanisms, the influence of alliance governance mechanisms on knowledge transfer consequences and investigate the role of environmental uncertainty in knowledge transfer of alliance.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected mainly in high-tech industries of China, the firms in which often establish alliance for the purpose of learning and knowledge transfer often takes place in that alliance. Finally, 293 usable samples were included in subsequent analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
The extent of relational (/formal) governance mechanism used in alliance has a stronger positive relationship with the extent of tacit (/explicit) knowledge transfer in alliance than with the extent of explicit (/tacit) knowledge transfer in alliance between them; environmental uncertainty impairs relational governance mechanisms and enhances formal governance mechanisms used in alliance; both relational and formal governance mechanisms could facilitate knowledge transfer in alliance; environmental uncertainty hinders knowledge transfer and negatively moderates the relationship between alliance governance mechanisms and knowledge transfer.
Originality/value
This paper finds the relationship between knowledge transfer in alliance and alliance governance mechanisms, and the role of environmental uncertainty, providing managers with direct implications about how to manage alliance with different knowledge transfer characteristics for the purpose of facilitating knowledge transfer in alliance; provides managers more details about the dark side of the environmental uncertainty in knowledge transfer, also reminds public policy-makers paying enough attention for the improvement of institutional environment to deal with uncertainty.
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Manuel Sáiz-Pardo, Maria Carmen Haro Domínguez and Luis M. Molina
The relationship between motivation at work and internal knowledge transfers (IKTs) is an important topic in the knowledge management literature, but evidence on the topic is…
Abstract
Purpose
The relationship between motivation at work and internal knowledge transfers (IKTs) is an important topic in the knowledge management literature, but evidence on the topic is contradictory. This study aims to analyze the mediating role of transactive memory systems (TMSs) in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from 208 military knowledge workers (analysts) from a large European army.
Findings
The results indicate that intrinsic and identified motivation positively affect IKTs, although fully mediated by the TMS. Introjected motivation, in contrast, has only a slightly significant direct influence and external motivation has no significant effect. As individual motivation is insufficient to speed up knowledge transfer, this paper proposes the solution of implementing a TMS, which generates trust and improves coordination among group members.
Originality/value
This study’s originality stems from both its context and the problem tackled. The context analyzed is the military, a group that has received very little attention in the field of management and business. Individual motivation in job performance has also received little study in a military context and even less research has related individual motivation to IKTs. To supplement the scarcity of existing studies and resolve the possible difficulties identified concerning IKT in the military, this study proposes to analyze the mediating effect of a TMS on the relationship between individual motivation to perform one’s job and IKTs.
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Hina Mehreen, Hussain Gulzar Rammal, Vijay Pereira and Manlio Del Giudice
This study aims to investigate whether the absorptive capacity, learning intent of the recipient, the attractiveness of the knowledge source and the relationship quality between…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether the absorptive capacity, learning intent of the recipient, the attractiveness of the knowledge source and the relationship quality between the recipient and the source in high-technology sectors in emerging markets influences the nature of the intra-organizational knowledge being transferred.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 180 completed survey responses from all cellular network providers operating in Pakistan were analyzed. This study uses multiple regression analysis to empirically tests the above relationships using data from the cellular network sector in Pakistan.
Findings
The findings highlight how the highly educated workforce and the motivation to learn has an impact on the effective cross-border sharing of knowledge, both technological and marketing knowledge.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few to test the factors that influence the effective and efficient transfer of knowledge from developed to emerging markets.
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Lawrence Dooley and David Kirk
The paper aims to identify the requisite attributes and organisation to be displayed by a research university in order to engage successfully in collaborative research with…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to identify the requisite attributes and organisation to be displayed by a research university in order to engage successfully in collaborative research with industry partners.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual framework contrasts the traditional public funding model against the requirements of the “triple helix” model of government‐university‐industry research funding. The framework supports the exploration of a case study of a long‐standing and successful joint research partnership, the Dundee‐Kinases Consortium, which links a world‐class life sciences research centre and a group of global pharmaceutical companies.
Research limitations/implications
The case study provides a starting point, and additional case examinations will confirm the role of resource competences and organisational capabilities in facilitating performance by way of knowledge generation and transfer between partners.
Findings
The design and leadership of the consortium achieves vital performance outcomes, namely: accelerating the production of new knowledge about cell signalling processes relating to serious diseases; and faster transfer of new knowledge into drug development processes of pharmaceutical companies. The development of key enabling capabilities by the university, allied with routines for academic‐industry researcher interface, are essential elements of the partnering design.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that university‐industry partnerships build on government‐university funding, that university‐industry relationships foster new university capabilities, and moreover, that academic publication is not displaced by the requirements of industry partners.
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The existing literature indicates that in developing countries, much remains to be done in terms of improving understanding of international joint venture (IJV) issues such as the…
Abstract
Purpose
The existing literature indicates that in developing countries, much remains to be done in terms of improving understanding of international joint venture (IJV) issues such as the motives for firms to pursue IJVs and the factors which affect their performance. In view of this, the present paper seeks to identify the motives of Malaysian firms for engaging in offshore IJVs, and analyze the interplay among four key variables – motive, strategic fit, knowledge transfer and innovation performance – from the perspective of Malaysian IJVs.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a literature review, theoretical linkages among the variables and relevant hypotheses were developed; then subsequently tested using bootstrap analysis. A total of 234 questionnaires were sent to managers of Malaysian IJVs abroad and 74 usable responses were returned, yielding a response rate of 31.62 percent.
Findings
The results suggest that Malaysian firms pursue IJVs abroad mainly to expedite profit generation and market penetration, while acquiring knowledge is considered only as a secondary motive. At the same time the results affirm that knowledge transfer mediates the effect of strategic fit on the innovative capacity of the IJVs. This implies that although knowledge transfer is very important to IJV innovation performance, that importance is seriously underestimated by Malaysian businesses.
Research limitations/implications
The study highlights the need to incorporate moderating factors in the future when examining the effect of motive and strategic fit on innovation. Results of the reliability tests also question the generalizability of existing strategic fit and knowledge transfer scales in a Malaysian setting.
Practical implications
The findings provide lessons for foreign businesses by improving understanding of what Malaysian businesses seek most in an IJV, which in turn will help foster better strategic fit between partners. For Malaysian firms and policy makers, the study should serve as a reminder that knowledge transfer is very important in improving innovativeness and deserves greater attention and commitment.
Originality/value
Research on IJV suggests interesting differences between firms from developed and developing nations. The current paper helps to enrich the literature on IJVs, particularly from the perspective of knowledge and learning orientation in developing nations.
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