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The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the significant lower completion rate of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by firms from emerging economies (EEs) (China in particular) compared with firms from advanced economies, and identify the country- and industry-level factors that affect the completion of cross-border M&As by Chinese firms.

This study explores the effects of economic, cultural and institutional distances and target firms in technology- and knowledge-intensive industries on the completion of cross-border M&As by Chinese firms. It also examines the interplay between distance factors and technology- and knowledge-intensive industries on cross-border M&A completion. This study adopts a quantitative approach and is based on a sample of 768 announced cross-border M&A deals by firms in China between 2000 and 2015.

The results indicate that economic distance increases the likelihood of the completion of cross-border M&As when the target is in a more developed economy than China, but decreases when the target is in a less developed economy. Cultural and institutional distances have a significant, negative impact on the completion of cross-border M&As. In addition, target technology-intensive industries have a significant direct negative effect on cross-border M&A completion and moderate the relationship between the distance factors and the likelihood of cross-border M&A completion.

The results reveal factors that affect the completion of cross-border M&As by emerging market firms (EMFs). Further research, however, is needed to discover how distance factors affect how EMFs find, evaluate and negotiate international bids. To broaden the scope of the research, data for firms from other EEs would also be required.

The study expands the literature that considers the effects of major distances on cross-border M&A completion. In addition, the importance of defining and measuring distances in the context of cross-border M&As is highlighted. Finally, the study expands knowledge on how cross-border M&As affect the internationalization strategies of EMFs by conceptualizing and testing how target industries affect cross-border M&A completion.

Development of intellectual capital, in conjunction with collaborative capabilities, is particularly important to continuously generating innovation. In the literature to date, the link between collaborative and intellectual capital, although key assets in knowledge-intensive industries, has rarely been investigated. This chapter introduces a model illustrating the interaction between human, intellectual, and structural capital, and their interplay. Several propositions are also derived in view of the need for companies to harness these three types of capital which are integral to implicit knowledge generation and leveraging the dynamic capabilities of the organization. As a consequence, team-based organizational forms are considered to be the most appropriate collaborative pattern for knowledge-intensive industries. This suggests that companies must increasingly focus on building valuable collaborative capital using flexible forms of organization in order to perpetuate successful product innovations.

Immersed in a global industry consolidation process, corporate managers are witnessing, in recent years, the proliferation of inter‐organizational collaborative agreements, which aim to develop, manufacture and commercialize knowledge intensive products. The decision within a knowledge management (KM) framework to collaborate in knowledge sharing networks becomes a complicated issue, since such a decision needs to be made often under conditions of uncertainty and irreversibility. The present study deals with questions such as why, how, and when to be a member of a knowledge network and provides some empirical evidence about the formation of inter‐organizational networks in knowledge intensive industries.

Recent empirical findings on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance (I–P) suggest a significant role of firm's context. Extending this line of argument, the authors study the effect of internationalization on firm's performance for emerging market firms from knowledge-intensive industries, taking into account the firm's motive of internationalization and host country’s location-based advantages.

The authors link host country-specific advantages (CSAs) with firm-specific advantages (FSAs) to identify three distinct settings of internationalization for emerging economy firms – (1) asset-exploitative internationalization in developing or least developed countries, (2) asset-exploitative internationalization in developed countries and (3) strategic asset-seeking internationalization. The authors test this study’s hypotheses on a sample of 415 Indian firms from knowledge-intensive industries.

The authors find that firm's performance upon internationalization is non-linear in each of the three different settings. The nature of the non-linear relationship depends upon location-based advantages of the host country and the motive of internationalization.

The motive of internationalization and the location-based advantages sought during internationalization are unique for emerging economy firms. Hence, the study extends understanding of the I–P linkage in an emerging economy context.

Purpose – The role that network competence, environmental hostility and knowledge intensiveness of the industry have on the propensity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to internationalise is examined.

Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are developed, based on earlier literature on the subject. Subsequently, binary logistic regression modelling using SPSS software is applied to test the hypotheses on a sample of 224 Finnish SMEs representing five industries, two of which are characterised by knowledge intensiveness and three of which are from less knowledge-intensive ones.

Findings – The propensity of SMEs to internationalise depends on both their level of network competence and their lack of perceived environmental hostility. Knowledge intensiveness of the industry is found to moderate the effect that network competence has on the internationalisation propensity.

Research limitations/implications – The present study indicates that possessing higher levels of network competence helps domestic SMEs in their efforts to turn international, and that its beneficial effect is especially important for small firms in industries characterised by high knowledge intensity. Possible limitations of the study are the small cultural context and inclusion of firms from only five industries.

Originality/value – This study is the first linking measurable network competence to internationalisation decisions of SMEs, while also including environmental and industry considerations. It also provides further evidence for the importance of networks in SME internationalisation theory, but indicates that it is not only the business networks themselves but also the competence in developing and maintaining those networks that help SMEs internationalise.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between organisational learning capabilities (OLCs) and innovation performance (IP) in organisational contexts where knowledge creation and exploitation are the business’ main source of competitive advantage.

The study hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of 74 high-performance businesses operating in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries and non-knowledge intensive sectors in 2016. The study employs a sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) based on linear regression models and qualitative interviews.

The results indicate that OLCs positively impact IP. Additionally, the findings reveal that this relationship is stronger in organisations where knowledge creation and exploitation constitute the main source of competitive advantage, namely, KIBS firms.

This paper offers insights into how the innovation outcomes of OLCs are heterogeneous across industries. This study contributes to a better understanding of the conditions under which the effects of developing learning-enhancing strategies occur in businesses operating in different industries.

Both knowledge generation and exploitation processes are critical for business success, and OLCs play a decisive role in this process. In this sense, the results suggest that managers need to turn their attention to the characteristics of business operations when considering the development of strategies aimed at enhancing OLCs.

The paper further explores the influence of OLCs on IP by analysing how organisational learning strategies interact with relevant organisational characteristics – that are linked here to the exploitation of knowledge-based resources – to yield superior IP.

Este trabajo analiza la relación entre capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo y desempeño innovador en contextos organizacionales donde tanto la creación como la explotación de conocimiento constituyen la principal fuente de ventaja competitiva de las empresas.

Para la verificación empírica de las hipótesis planteadas en este trabajo se emplea una base de datos del 2016 que incluye información de 74 empresas ‘gacela’ que operan en sectores de servicios intensivos en conocimiento (KIBS) y en industrias no intensivas en conocimiento. El estudio utiliza un análisis de triangulación secuencial deductiva (QUAN → qual) basado en modelos de regresión lineal y entrevistas en profundidad de corte cualitativo.

Los resultados indican que las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo impactan positivamente el desempeño innovador. Además, los resultados revelan que esta relación es más pronunciada en empresas – empresas KIBS – donde la creación y la explotación de conocimiento son la principal fuente de ventaja competitiva.

Este trabajo ofrece resultados sobre la heterogeneidad de los rendimientos de las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo, en términos de innovación. Además, este estudio contribuye a un mejor entendimiento de las condiciones bajo las cuales la implantación de estrategias orientadas a mejorar el aprendizaje organizacional se materializa en un mayor desempeño innovador en empresas que operan en distintos sectores económicos.

Tanto la creación como la explotación de conocimiento son procesos clave para el éxito empresarial, y las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo juegan un papel fundamental en este proceso. En este sentido, los resultados del estudio sugieren que los directores y gestores de empresas deben tener en consideración las características de los procesos operativos de sus empresas a la hora de diseñar e implementar estrategias que buscan mejorar las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo al interior de la empresa.

Este trabajo investiga en profundidad el efecto de las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo sobre el desempeño innovador mediante un análisis que busca explicar cómo las estrategias de aprendizaje organizativo interactúan con importantes características de la empresa – las cuales asociamos a la explotación de recursos basados en conocimiento – para generar mayores niveles de desempeño innovador dentro de la empresa.

The study aims to investigate the mediation effect of the Audit Committee’s (AC) effectiveness on the relationship between knowledge intensity and firm performance (FP) by considering the disparate effect of each AC characteristic on its effectiveness.

The study uses the partial least squares-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to weigh the AC characteristics for its effectiveness and analyzes the relationships between the variables included in the models. Data was collected from authentic sources for 133 National Stock Exchange (NSE)-listed companies in six industries covering the period 2016 to 2020.

The results indicate that eight out of eleven AC characteristics, namely, nonexecutive directors, independence, expertise, AC-charter, multiple directorships, frequency of AC meetings, attendance of AC meetings and board meetings by AC directors, significantly influence the AC effectiveness while mediating the relationship between knowledge intensity and FP. Further, each characteristic of AC has a disparate effect on AC effectiveness depending on the measurement context.

Apart from guiding the policymakers, management and stakeholders to effectively use AC characteristics in enhancing FP, this study further contributes to the literature by providing a new way to weight AC characteristics based on their individual contributions; and exploring new path models to analyze the multidimensional effect of various AC characteristics.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first to examine the mediation role of AC effectiveness on the relationship between the knowledge intensity of the firms and their performance. It demonstrates improvisation in measuring AC effectiveness using the disparate weights for each AC characteristic, computed based on their relative contribution to AC effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to describe different concepts of valuable knowledge that are perceived to be lost when an older expert departs from a knowledge-intensive organisation.

A multiple case research methodology and semi-structured interviews involving 17 participants from five small-to-medium enterprises (SME).

Five concepts of valuable knowledge have emerged from the interviews: subject matter expertise; knowledge about business relationships and social networks; organisational knowledge and institutional memory; knowledge of business systems, processes and value chains; and knowledge of governance.

The scope of the research project is restricted to SMEs in New Zealand and this restriction limits the generalisation of the results to other contexts. This study may serve as a starting point for future investigations including larger organisations that may have a greater number of older experts.

By identifying the different types of older experts' knowledge, organisations are able to realise the potential of retaining that knowledge within the organisation.

This is one of the first investigations of the knowledge that older experts in the professional services industry possess within a small-to-medium enterprise context.

To explore the hypothesis that differences in intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices can be explained, if in part, by industrial sector (traditional; knowledge intensive) and nationality of origin (Italy; UK).

Content analysis of the annual reports of two reasonably matched samples of both high‐technology and traditional non‐financial firms in Italy and the UK. Univariate and multivariate analyses are then used to test the hypothesis proposed.

Size and industrial sector are found to be predictors of levels of ICD; the hypothesis relating nationality of origin to ICD is not supported.

The main limitation relates to sample size due to the onerous nature of this form of research. Further research following this matched‐sample methodology should attempt to maximise sample sizes allowing for the incorporation of more specific nationally of origin factors.

Owing to the increasing importance of intangibles and intellectual capital, how these are reported is of interest to a large range of stakeholders. There is, as yet, no universally accepted form, or indeed regulation, of ICD.

The matched‐sample methodology on international ICD comparison expands on extant approaches.