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1 – 10 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

José Arias-Pérez, Nelson Lozada and Edwin Henao-García

This paper aims to analyze the moderating effect of knowledge leakage on the relationship between absorptive capacity and co-innovation, which implies collaborative work and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the moderating effect of knowledge leakage on the relationship between absorptive capacity and co-innovation, which implies collaborative work and knowledge exchange with external actors on virtual innovation platforms.

Design/methodology/approach

The research model was tested in a sample of companies through the use of structural equations by the partial least squares method.

Findings

The results confirm that absorptive capacity is a prior condition for co-innovation. However, the most interesting and surprising result has to do with knowledge leakage, which actually has a negative moderating effect, but whose size is modest, which dismisses the great damages that such leakage could generate.

Originality/value

This study is pioneering in analyzing knowledge leakage in the context of virtual innovation platforms, which occurs in a different manner as compared to leakage in the context of collaborative research and development, widely analyzed in the literature. However, the main contribution of the paper lies in the fact that the results evidence the existence of an intermediate position between the traditional approach that insists on demonstrating the devastating consequences of the leakage and the emerging approach that dismisses these negative repercussions and conceives leakage as a positive organizational phenomenon, natural and inherent to the interaction of the firm with the environment. The results also contradict recent empirical evidence that completely dismisses the negative repercussions of knowledge leakage in contexts where incremental innovations prevail.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2021

Sayed Muhammad Fawad Sharif, Naiding Yang, Atiq ur Rehman, Fouzia Kanwal and Fangmei WangDu

Collaborative projects are useful tools for learning and innovation. However, there is an associated cost – knowledge leakage, which is theoretically linked to challenging…

Abstract

Purpose

Collaborative projects are useful tools for learning and innovation. However, there is an associated cost – knowledge leakage, which is theoretically linked to challenging organizational competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to examine whether knowledge-oriented human resource (HR) management practices can protect organizations from the adverse effect of knowledge leakage while investigating the moderating role of knowledge-oriented HR management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses mixed methods involving collection of qualitative data through 13 qualitative interviews and quantitative data through 398 survey questionnaires. SPSS 23 and Process Macro 3.1 have been applied to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The study finds that knowledge leakage adversely affects organizational competitiveness, whereas the effect of knowledge-oriented HR management practices on organizational competitiveness is positive. Further, knowledge-oriented HR practices negatively and significantly moderate the relationship between knowledge leakage and organizational competitiveness. As the strength of the moderator increases, the effect of knowledge leakage tends to diminish. Besides, demographic factors (age of the firm and industry type) do not influence the organizational competitiveness.

Research limitations/implications

This study has several theoretical contributions; first, it contributes to knowledge-based view by empirically establishing the adverse effect of knowledge leakage on organizational competitiveness. Second, knowledge-oriented HR management practices increase organizational competitiveness, which is contribution to HR management literature. Lastly, knowledge-oriented HR management practices protect organizational competitiveness from the adversaries of knowledge leakage, which is contribution to strategic management literature.

Practical implications

Practitioners must invest in knowledge-oriented HR management practices such as human-to-human knowledge transfer among the workers. It will increase firm-level knowledge base that will positively contribute to organizational competitiveness. In addition, such practices can evade the hostile effect of knowledge leakage.

Originality/value

The conceptual model is novel as this is the first study to establish (1) the empirical relationship of knowledge-oriented HR management practices and organizational competitiveness and (2) the moderating effect of knowledge-oriented HR management practices between knowledge leakage and organizational competitiveness.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 59 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

Susanne Durst, Lena Aggestam and Helio Aisenberg Ferenhof

This paper aims to review research on the topic of knowledge leakage to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to suggest some promising avenues for future…

1312

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review research on the topic of knowledge leakage to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to suggest some promising avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study consists of a systematic review of 57 refereed empirical articles on knowledge leakage.

Findings

The findings contribute to a more holistic view of the topic and complement the study of knowledge management. Additionally, a conceptual framework is proposed that aims at guiding and informing future research activities.

Research limitations/implications

This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all empirical articles in the field of knowledge leakage. Yet, based on the chosen research methodology, it seems reasonable to assume that the review process covered a large share of studies available.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on knowledge leakage has previously been published in academic journals.

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2018

Paavo Ritala, Kenneth Husted, Heidi Olander and Snejina Michailova

Inter-firm collaborative innovation typically requires knowledge sharing among individuals employed by collaborating firms. However, it is also associated with considerable risks…

2780

Abstract

Purpose

Inter-firm collaborative innovation typically requires knowledge sharing among individuals employed by collaborating firms. However, it is also associated with considerable risks, especially if the knowledge sharing process is not handled using proper judgment. Such risks have been acknowledged in the literature, but the underlying empirical evidence remains unclear. This study aims to examine how sharing of business-critical knowledge with external collaboration partners affects firm’s innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a mediating model and hypotheses predicting that the uncontrolled sharing of knowledge leads to accidental knowledge leakage, which, in turn, hinders particularly firm’s radical innovation performance. The authors test the model by using a survey of 150 technology-intensive firms in Finland and a partial least squares structural equation model. The mediating model is tested with incremental and radical innovation performance, and the authors control for firm size, age, R&D intensity and industry.

Findings

The authors find strong support for the model in that uncontrolled external knowledge sharing leads to accidental knowledge leaking and to lower radical innovation performance. The same results are not found for incremental innovation, implying that uncontrolled knowledge leakage is especially detrimental to radical innovation.

Originality/value

These findings help in better understanding some of the downsides of too much openness and lack of judgment about knowledge sharing beyond the boundaries of the firm. Thus, firms pursuing radical innovation should carefully guide their employees with regard to what knowledge they share, to what extent they share it and with whom they share it.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 November 2021

James M. Bloodgood and Andrew N.K. Chen

This study aims to investigate how a knowledge-seeking organization’s awareness of valuable knowledge, and the motivation and capability to acquire the knowledge, influence…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how a knowledge-seeking organization’s awareness of valuable knowledge, and the motivation and capability to acquire the knowledge, influence attempts to acquire the knowledge. This study also aims to identify how knowledge-possessing organizations recognize the possibility of and craft strategies to prevent this knowledge leakage.

Design/methodology/approach

A process model is created and an empirical examination is performed to help knowledge-possessing organizations understand and identify situations where potential knowledge-seeking organizations will attempt to acquire valuable knowledge.

Findings

Knowledge-seeking organizations must be aware of valuable knowledge, and have the motivation and capability to acquire it in order to attempt to acquire the knowledge. Accordingly, knowledge-possessing organizations can inhibit awareness, motivation and capability of potential knowledge-seeking organizations to stave off and degrade knowledge acquisition attempts.

Research limitations/implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides a comprehensive approach for researchers to hypothesize and empirically examine the factors most relevant to knowledge leakage. This approach expands the literature on absorptive capacity by increasing emphasis on awareness and motivation with regard to knowledge acquisition.

Practical implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides managers with the means to comprehensively assess the likelihood that other organizations will attempt to acquire their knowledge. It also helps managers determine efficient and effective ways to inhibit knowledge leakage.

Originality/value

The authors pioneer the application of the awareness, motivation and capability framework to knowledge leakage. The authors subsequently propose a process model and empirically examine the relationships pertaining to knowledge leakage and its prevention.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2023

Chunhsien Wang, Tachia Chin, Yuan Yin Chiew and Cinzia Capalbo

Drawing upon insights from knowledge-based theory and the learning perspective, this study aims to explore safeguarding strategies in open innovation. Geographic diversity and…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing upon insights from knowledge-based theory and the learning perspective, this study aims to explore safeguarding strategies in open innovation. Geographic diversity and collaborative breadth can effectively protect proprietary innovations that limit knowledge leakage concerns.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a cross-industry sample from the Taiwanese Technological Innovation Survey III, which covered 1,519 firms, the authors investigate the conditions under which partnership portfolios affect radical innovation.

Findings

The findings suggest that the partnership portfolio has an inverted U-shaped influence on radical innovation and that this relationship is moderated by geographic diversity and collaborative breadth. This work identifies a balance in the tension between diverse partnership portfolios and knowledge leakage with regard to open innovation activities.

Practical implications

This study provides senior managers with an indication of the relationships between partnership portfolios and innovative knowledge protection, identifying the geographic diversity and collaborative breadth that serve as safeguards to prevent leakages of a firm’s innovative knowledge.

Originality/value

This study makes an original contribution to the empirical exploration of innovation knowledge protection and provides new insights into the field of open innovation. The authors, thus, balance the tension between partnership portfolios and knowledge leakage.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2023

Felipe Chávez-Bustamante and Cristián Troncoso-Valverde

This paper aims to study the role of absorptive capacities in coopetitive alliances that involve leakages of sensitive private knowledge regarding firms’ production processes.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the role of absorptive capacities in coopetitive alliances that involve leakages of sensitive private knowledge regarding firms’ production processes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a game theoretic approach to model a differentiated product market in which two firms asymmetrically informed about the economic value of a business opportunity must cooperate to exploit this opportunity. Under coopetition, firms gain access to their partners’ core knowledge as the result of inevitable leakages of information. Firms differ in their absorptive capacities, which affects their abilities to leverage this new knowledge outside the collaborative activity.

Findings

Firms with superior absorptive capacities are more likely to devise alliances whose purpose is to gain access to their partners’ core knowledge. This opportunistic behaviour does not disappear even if firms compensate their partners for the damages caused by this deceptive business practice. This paper also finds that a highly specialised product safeguards firms with limited absorptive capacities against these opportunistic behaviours.

Originality/value

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the role that absorptive capacities and product specialisation play in influencing the emergence of opportunistic behaviours in coopetitive alliances. The theoretical analysis underscores the extent to which the risk of opportunism associated with the exploitation of a partner’s specific core knowledge outside the scope of the cooperative activity affects not only the nature and intensity of market competition but also the incentives to pursue coopetitive alliances.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2010

Antonio K.W. Lau, Richard C.M. Yam, Esther P.Y. Tang and H.Y. Sun

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between product modularity (PM) and supply chain integration (SCI), and to identify factors influencing this relationship.

3363

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between product modularity (PM) and supply chain integration (SCI), and to identify factors influencing this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study approach involving in‐depth interviews on three modular and two non‐modular design projects in the Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta region was conducted. Within and cross‐case analyses were adopted.

Findings

Results support the current view that modular design is related to a loosely coordinated supply chain, whereas integrated design is associated with a tightly coordinated supply chain. However, this relationship is affected and explained by four contingency factors: new module/component development, technological knowledge leakage and creation, project team size and supply chain efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The paper used a case study approach so the generalizability of the study is limited. This approach, however, enabled us to examine explicitly the relationship between PM and SCI, where empirical research was lacking. The rich content of each case suggested how and why modular design affects supply chain management.

Originality/value

The findings of this paper increase the understanding of the dynamics of modular product design and supply chain management. The paper also explores four contingency factors affecting the relationship.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 30 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2021

Adnan Alghail, Mohammed Abbas and Liu Yao

Knowledge protection (KP) is one of the main knowledge management (KM) processes that aim to protect the organization’s knowledge from any inside and outside force leakage. In…

Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge protection (KP) is one of the main knowledge management (KM) processes that aim to protect the organization’s knowledge from any inside and outside force leakage. In higher education institutions (HEIs), KP is rarely being discussed and covered in contrast to knowledge sharing (KS) in terms of its determinants. The purpose of this paper is to provide a deep analysis of previous research articles from 1980 to 2019 and examine the associated institutional factors on KP determinants within HEIs as a research objective.

Design/methodology/approach

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis was a well-established approach for analyzing the systematic literature review methodology. Several articles were published over the past decades collected from 5 different databases, but after the screening, 101 articles were reviewed and only 22 articles were relevant to the research objective.

Findings

The findings indicated that KP is under academic research topic in KM and has received minimal attention in HEIs compared to KS, which has been frequently studied in HEIs. The literature categorized KP determinants into four areas: technological, organizational structure, behavioral and ethics and organizational culture. It will open the door for academics to investigate further into the factors, theories and models of KP in general and HEIs from a particular perspective.

Practical implications

As evident from the paper finds, with few pieces of literature covered in this topic, HEIs have to protect the knowledge from any illegal usage or any expert’s knowledge loss after leaving the institutions. This study can help university leaders to understand how the different KP determinants can maximize KP without affecting the KS and develop the KP phenomenon for a strategic fit to enhance their institutions’ safe knowledge usage.

Originality/value

This is the first research of its type which has extensively examined the literature on KP related to HEIs. Also, this paper provides theoretical and practical insights through understanding the determinants that affect KP practices among academic staff.

Details

VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, vol. 53 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5891

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2022

Yixiao Jiang, Zongguo Ma and Xiquan Wang

Because of the globalization of the knowledge economy, intellectual property (IP) rights have become an important tool for maintaining market leadership and controlling emerging…

677

Abstract

Purpose

Because of the globalization of the knowledge economy, intellectual property (IP) rights have become an important tool for maintaining market leadership and controlling emerging market shares. This paper aims to identify the IP risks that China’s strategic emerging industries face in the process of knowledge management in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era seeking to minimize these risks and reduce unnecessary losses.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an analysis of the current situation in China’s strategic emerging industries, this paper qualitatively organizes the various types of IP risks faced by China’s strategic emerging industries in their development with knowledge creation, knowledge transfer and knowledge application. This paper further analyzes the factors triggering the risks and proposes endogenous and exogenous IP risk-prevention strategies for China’s strategic emerging industries from the perspective of knowledge management.

Findings

Adopting a knowledge management perspective, this paper identifies three main intellectual property risks in the knowledge creation, transfer, application processes of knowledge management for China’s emerging industries, including infringement risks related to independent innovation, leakage risks related to international cooperation and ownership risks related to technology transfer.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the entire technology–product–application process and from a knowledge management perspective, the IP risks in the development of China’s strategic emerging industries are comprehensively elaborated in this paper, providing a theoretical basis for avoiding IP risks that is also widely applicable to other knowledge-intensive industries.

Originality/value

This paper explicates the IP risk faced by China’s strategic emerging industries in each step of the knowledge management process and suggestions from knowledge management strategy, tools and implementation support mechanism holds promise for business, industry and government IP risk prevention are elaborated specially to promote the development of China’s strategic emerging industries. On the one hand, this paper expanded the research on knowledge management by exploring the relationship between knowledge management and intellectual property rights variables. On the other hand, the findings have practical significance for the stable, long term and efficient development of strategic emerging industries in China as well as other knowledge-intensive industries. Empirical analyses on this subject are suggested for future studies.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

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