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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 purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent different obstacles (financial, knowledge, market, and perception) affect the propensity of Mexican family firms to engage in innovation activity. Second, it examines whether the perception of these obstacles differs between two subgroups of family firms, considering levels of ownership and family management control.

Information was gathered through a CIS methodology-based questionnaire applied to 161 CEOs of Mexican family firms. Binomial logistic regressions were performed identifying obstacles that were truly relevant for the family firm subgroups in the sample.

For subgroup 1, knowledge and market factors were significant and negatively related to the propensity to engage in innovation activities; for subgroup 2, only market factors were relevant. The results also show how the tenure of the CEO, the number of generations involved, and the family involvement in management and non-management positions affect the results obtained.

Implications for family business scholars embrace the assessment criteria of different family business definitions. While the implications for managers and policy makers include the recognition of the factors that affect innovation in Mexican family firms in order to design and implement adequate strategies to overcome them.

This study addresses some of the raised demands in the literature. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first attempt to explore the factors hampering innovation in family firms in Latin America. Second, this study was undertaken in response to the call for exploring variations in innovation behavior across different family business types in regards to ownership and family management control. Moreover, this study responds to the call to analyze financial and non-financial factors separately and to expand the geographical areas, sectors, and sizes of family firms, more specifically in Latin America.

En este trabajo se explora hasta qué punto los diferentes obstáculos (financieros, de conocimiento, de mercado y de percepción) afectan a la propensión de las empresas familiares en México para participar en actividades de innovación. En segundo lugar, se examina si la percepción de estos obstáculos se diferencia entre los dos subgrupos de empresas familiares, considerando los niveles de propiedad y el control de la gestión familiar.

La información se obtuvo a través de un cuestionario basado en la metodología CIS aplicado a 161 CEOs de empresas familiares mexicanas. Se llevaron a cabo regresiones logísticas binomiales para la identificación de los obstáculos verdaderamente relevantes para los subgrupos de empresas familiares en la muestra.

Para el subgrupo 1, los factores de conocimiento y de mercado fueron significativos y negativamente relacionados con la propensión a participar en actividades de innovación; para el subgrupo 2, sólo los factores de mercado fueron relevantes. Los resultados también muestran como la permanencia del director general, el número de generaciones que participan, y la participación de la familia en puestos directivos y no directivos afectan los resultados obtenidos.

Implicaciones para los investigadores en empresas familiares incluyen los criterios de evaluación de diferentes definiciones de empresa familiar. Mientras que las implicaciones para gerentes y responsables políticos incluyen el reconocimiento de los factores que afectan a la innovación en las empresas familiares mexicanas con el fin de diseñar e implementar estrategias adecuadas para superarlas.

Este estudio aborda algunas de las demandas planteadas en la literatura. En primer lugar, en la medida del conocimiento de los autores, se trata del primer intento por explorar los factores que dificultan la innovación en empresas familiares en Latinoamérica. En segundo lugar, este estudio se llevó a cabo en respuesta a la llamada para explorar variaciones en el comportamiento innovador entre diferentes tipos de empresas familiares considerando los niveles propiedad y el control de la gestión familiar. Por otra parte, este estudio responde al llamado para analizar los factores financieros y no financieros por separado y para expandir a otras áreas, sectores geográficos y tamaños de empresas familiares, más específicamente en América Latina.

The purpose of this paper is to study the relation between to export performance measures; growth exports and export intensity with the resources, capabilities and characteristics of the firms as factors determining its success.

The study used a questionnaire, answered by 133 firms from a random sample of 480 Chilean firms.

The two performance measures of the study, export intensity and growth of the exports resulted equally predictive of the export success, but with a different set of variables. The export growth was strongly related with the firms that had recently started, that have executive staff with an overseas education and a long term commitment to export, did research and development, followed market developing strategies and strategic alliances. The export intensity shows a strong relation with smaller firms, more experienced and involved in foreign markets. The successful companies in the foreign markets are very opportune and flexible in satisfying the needs of their clients and innovate their products.

The biggest limitation of this research is that it was conducted only in one South American country with a limited sample size.

Smaller firms require support from the State, to finance market studies, to access international fairs and financial sources. The findings are innovative for the export management in developing countries, intensive in natural resources, especially those of small size such as the case of Chile.

Estudiar la relación entre dos medidas del desempeño exportador, crecimiento de exportaciones e intensidad de exportaciones, con los recursos, capacidades y características de la firma como factores determinantes de su éxito.

Un estudio basado en un cuestionario, respondido por 133 firmas de una muestra aleatoria de 480 firmas chilenas, representativa de las firmas exportadoras, seleccionadas aleatoriamente.

Las dos medidas de desempeño exportador del estudio, intensidad de exportaciones y crecimiento de las exportaciones resultaron igualmente predictivas del éxito exportador, pero con diferentes conjuntos de variables predictivas.

La mayor limitante de esta investigación es que fue realizada en sólo un país de Sudamérica con un tamaño de muestra algo limitado.

El crecimiento de exportaciones estuvo fuertemente relacionado con las firmas que se iniciaron recientemente, que poseen personal ejecutivo educado en el extranjero y un compromiso de largo plazo a exportar, realizan investigación y desarrollo, siguen estrategias de desarrollo de mercados. La intensidad de exportación expresa una relación fuerte con las firmas más pequeñas, más experimentadas e involucradas en los mercados extranjeros. Las compañías exitosas en los mercados de exportación son muy oportunas y flexibles en satisfacer las necesidades de sus clientes, innovan en sus productos y siguen estrategias de alianzas cooperativas y redes.

Los gobiernos deberían apoyar a las firmas pequeñas, financiando estudios de mercado, apoyando su acceso a ferias internacionales y financiamiento.

Los hallazgos son originales para la gestión de exportaciones en países en desarrollo, intensivos en recursos naturales, especialmente aquéllos de un pequeño tamaño, como Chile.

The purpose of this paper is to design a system for measuring the level of internationalisation of companies in the field of developing countries, through latent variables based on multiple indicators, external and internal orientation.

From a sample of 112 international companies in Colombia, the methodology of latent variable analysis (LPA) is applied to a series of complementary tools, such as a model of structural equations, regression models and cluster analysis of companies.

The paper allows to verify the identification of six latent variables and their relationships, as well as to identify four levels of internationalisation from the structure of latent variables identified.

This is the first application of this recent and sophisticated statistical technique to the field of measuring the level of business internationalisation, especially indicated in the Latin American area, where an increasing number of companies are advancing in their process of international expansion.

Diseñar un sistema de medición del nivel de internacionalización de las empresas en el ámbito de los países en vías de desarrollo, mediante variables latentes basadas en múltiples indicadores, de orientación externa e interna.

A partir de una muestra de 112 empresas internacionales de Colombia, se aplica la metodología de Análisis de Variables Latentes (LPA) unod a una serie de herramientas complementarias, como un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, modelos de regresión and análisis cluster de empresas.

Que permite verificar la identificación de seis variables latentes and sus relaciones, así como identificar cuatro niveles de internacionalización a partir de la estructura de variables latentes identificadas.

Se trata de la primera aplicación de esta reciente and sofisticada técnica estadística al ámbito de la medición del nivel de internacionalización empresarial, especialmente indicada en el ámbito latinoamericano, donde un creciente número de empresas están avanzando en su proceso de expansión internacional.

This paper aims to study whether Peruvian manufacturing firms that implement innovation have positive performance and whether R&D activities moderate these relationships.

Using a data set of Peruvian manufacturing firms from the 2018 National Survey of Innovation, a LOGIT model analysis was applied to 774 companies. In addition, the authors fitted different models into subsamples to explore the moderating effects of R&D on manufacturing firms. Finally, the regression models were computed using R software.

The results indicate that product, service and marketing innovation are associated positively with an increase in market share, while process and organizational innovations are associated positively with productivity. Moreover, companies with R&D are more productivity-oriented than companies without R&D.

This study contributes to the literature on innovation management by supporting the assumption that innovation results in increased productivity and expands market demand. In addition, findings highlight that R&D is essential for boosting firms’ productivity.

Managers should consider an appropriate combination of the innovation portfolio and R&D investments to make progress and increase performance in the company. In addition, policymakers should consider that investments to promote the development of R&D activities in manufacturing companies will likely lead to médium- or long-term returns.

The correct use of indicators to measure these relationships could help the policymaker to design and measure policy instruments more efficiently.

These results provide a deeper understanding of how the effects of innovations implemented by manufacturing firms, especially service and process innovation, improve their performance.

The purpose of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis between the productivity metrics recommended in the literature and those that companies in the knowledge-intensive services sector use in practice.

To collect information, a systematic review of the literature was used, to apply virtual surveys and interviews among managers of different companies representing the sector. For data analysis, categorical optimal scales, homogeneity tests, tetrachoric correlation matrices, word clouds and association coefficients for dichotomous variables were used.

There are association patterns between the metrics used and the nature of the work performed. Despite the heterogeneity observed in the productivity metrics, categorization guidelines related to the traditional, human resources and customer-oriented approaches emerge.

Possible neglects using metrics aimed at valuing the intellectual capital immersed in human resources are evident, particularly in the follow-up to autonomy, knowledge management, human capital, teamwork, training and capacity building metrics, among others. Conversely, face-to-face monitoring metrics, such as absenteeism, are overvaluation.

The approaches and metrics discussed and the results obtained, provide information so that knowledge-intensive companies have a reference framework to identify and select useful metrics to assess the work carried out by their workforce.

The purpose of this paper is to test whether knowledge-intensive business services (KIBSs) contribute to international business activity. In line with studies from the servitization, the territorial competitiveness and the global value chain realm, it can be hypothesized that if KIBS consumption has a positive effect on business competitiveness, a correlation is discernible between “intensity of KIBS uptake” and “turnover and export performance at industrial sector level”.

To test this hypothesis, the authors make use of input-output tables from the Basque Country for the period 2000-2012 and regional accounts regarding turnover and export per sector and calculate how consumption of a series of KIBS correlates with turnover and export evolution for 14 industrial sectors.

The authors find a strong fit between consumption of KIBSs and international competitiveness parameters for the industrial sectors screened.

The authors postulate that the use of KIBS is beneficial for consuming industries. Accordingly, the authors posit that having a sound KIBS basis in a territory contributes to (international) business competitiveness, and that industrial policies should foster the rapprochement of manufacturing sectors to KIBS. At the same time, the authors assume that reverse causalities may be at play (international competitiveness of manufacturing sectors boosts KIBS consumption through backward linkage effects).

The paper posits that having a sound KIBS basis in a territory contributes to international business competitiveness, and that industrial policies should foster a rapprochement of manufacturing sectors to KIBS. A further implication would be to look after a minimum critical mass and or to engage in KIBS capacity building in a territory. Absence of competitiveness-enhancing KIBS in a region may hamper business performance and staying power of user industries. The paper’s findings also imply that the posture of manufacturing firms towards uptake of knowledge-intensive services matters, and that fostering their proactiveness to interact with KIBS is indicated. Similarly, they form an argument in favour of considering KIBS as active subject matters for industrial policy design.

Amidst the several perspectives adopted upon KIBS’ role to foster business and territorial competitiveness, what is largely absent is the examination of how uptake of KIBS by respective sectors relates to the turnover or export evolutions that the sectors in question reveal. Consequently, the present paper sets out to examine this research question.

The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the structural capital of SMEs in the capacity of innovation and organizational performance, in the context of an emerging country.

The sample consisted of 259 industrial SMEs from the province of Córdoba Argentina. The data was analyzed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM).

The study provided evidence that acquisition of information and knowledge management, organizational culture and structure, systems and processes have positive and significant effects on the innovation capacity of SMEs. Only the communication and cohesion component did not show positive and significant results on it. It also showed a positive and significant relationship between the capacity for innovation in processes and performance, contributing to the scarce empirical literature in the context of SMEs.

The research exposes some limitations that uncover a path for the development of future lines of research. In the first place, the work focuses on the use of a single source of information, the consultation at the managerial level of the company, without considering other representative variables to measure the capacity for innovation. Second, the study covered only companies in the industrial sector and country. Future studies should focus on other sectors and countries.

The results of the study can have important practical implications for the owners and managers of SMEs. The results offer a vision of the dimensions of structural capital that most influence the innovative capacity of the organization. This is especially useful given that in the context of Argentina there is a low level of knowledge and structural capital is key to being more competitive. The managers of SMEs can thus increase the innovative potential of the company and favor the acquisition of information and knowledge and improve its processes and systems to contribute to the development of innovation capabilities to make SMEs more competitive.

The results obtained can be useful for those responsible for making public policy decisions, since in the knowledge of the economy to maintain a developed state and nation, it is necessary to include as one of the main issues on the national agenda the improvement of intellectual capital of its people to promote the competitiveness of companies.

The research contributes to the development of intellectual capital literature focused on the generation of innovation and performance in the perspective of SMEs in emerging countries.