The current literature seems to agree that knowledge management (KM) can markedly improve perform... more The current literature seems to agree that knowledge management (KM) can markedly improve performance of an organization, but what particular knowledge management issues should be prioritized by ma...
Abstract This paper examines how country environment shapes the relationship between firm intelle... more Abstract This paper examines how country environment shapes the relationship between firm intellectual capital and its innovation performance. Using survey data from 649 firms in Finland, Spain and Russia complemented by archival IMD World Competitiveness Ranking data, we find that when country environment is characterised by greater availability of skilled labour and a stronger appropriability regime, a firm’s human and structural capital have a lower impact on its innovation performance. The effect of relational capital does not depend on these contextual variables. This study enriches the intellectual capital-based view of the firm by demonstrating that country-level factors moderate the performance effects of firm-level intellectual capital. It also adds to the strategic management literature by exploring the explanatory power of a combination of country-level variables and firm-level resources in understanding firm-level performance. Our findings can help practitioners focus on the elements of intellectual capital that have the greatest impact in their environment.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intell... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intellectual capital (IC), absorptive capacity (AC), innovation (IN) and organizational performance (OP).Design/methodology/approachThis paper empirically tests a model that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) based on a partial least squares (PLS). The sample is composed of 351 Brazilian and 135 Portuguese enterprises. They are micro, small and medium enterprises.FindingsThe results show that: the relation between KS and AC is partially mediated by IC; the relation between IC and IN is partially mediated by AC and the relation between KS and IN is mediated by AC and IC or both. There are relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not control for industry effects and technological differences among the firms.Practical implicationsThe use of KS mitigates the loss of knowledge associated to employees' retirement or job changes. The knowledge app...
Previous studies have demonstrated that utilization of information technology (IT) in company ope... more Previous studies have demonstrated that utilization of information technology (IT) in company operations has the potential to significantly augment a company's performance. Knowledge, too, as a key performance driver has been brought to the fore in recent discussions, has been suggested to bring an additional explanation of the role of IT in boosting performance. This paper combines these perspectives so as to address the question of how intellectual capital impacts customer value (as a specific type of organizational performance) directly or as moderated by IT practices the organization employs. We also investigate how customer value affects market performance. The research model is based on survey data collected from a cross-industrial sample of companies with at least 100 employees in Serbia. The data is analyzed by structural equation modeling with the partial least squares technique (PLS) to examine hypotheses concerning key causalities between the study variables. The resu...
Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, 2019
This chapter amplifies the understanding of organisational knowledge creation by examining the cr... more This chapter amplifies the understanding of organisational knowledge creation by examining the creation of new knowledge through the lens of improvisation. Such an approach views knowledge creation as a spontaneous process where thinking and action converge and underlines the synthesis of diverse actors’ knowledge and perspectives in a flexible and agile manner through their engagement in social practice. To increase understanding of knowledge creation as an improvisational capacity, we turn to a context in which improvisation is employed systematically: the world of theatre. We explore how and when improvisation is utilised among theatre groups in their creative processes and associate forms of theatrical improvisation with three types of knowledge creation. The chapter enriches knowledge management literature by providing alternative models of knowledge creation, and also contributes to the emerging literature on arts-based management.
The competitive environment of firms has changed dramatically during the last two decades. The ro... more The competitive environment of firms has changed dramatically during the last two decades. The role of the traditional sources for competitive advantage has deteriorated in the process of globalization and technological change. Monopolies have broken down through the deregulation of markets, and the economies of scale seem to bring diminishing returns. The high-technological change creates incentives for innovation and entrepreneurs seeking opportunities. Also, large and established companies need to adapt to the changes in the business environment. In addition to streamlining their structures and processes for increased efficiency, firms need to create new knowledge for increased innovativeness. As James March (1991) notes, firms simultaneously exploit the existing potential, but attempt to adapt to the ongoing changes by exploring new business opportunities. The discontinuities may be turned into opportunities either through proactive innovation and self-renewal (Pöyhönen, 2004), ...
To advance understanding on knowledge creation through social computing, we posed two research qu... more To advance understanding on knowledge creation through social computing, we posed two research questions: What are the processes underlying knowledge creation online? What is the role of tacit knowledge in online communication? We note that even if the online environment is beset with apparent limitations due to physical distance, tacit knowledge is by no means absent. It enables individuals to communicate with others and to build new knowledge through interpreting and reflecting the available information. On the collective level, tacit knowledge is demonstrated as the shared language and understanding of the members, and the norms of interaction.
Academic research community almost unanimously agrees upon the benefits of knowledge management, ... more Academic research community almost unanimously agrees upon the benefits of knowledge management, but practitioners seem to be more suspicious of it. One major reason for their hesitant stance could be the lack of available empirical evidence regarding the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of companies. The purpose of this study is to address that research gap by empirically demonstrating how knowledge management practices influence market performance of companies. This is done by analyzing survey data collected from 259 Finnish companies. Our results highlight the key role that knowledge-friendly managers have at the helm of company’s knowledge management journey, and point out knowledge-based learning and development activities as effective means to improve market performance. In addition, we find out that organizational learning mechanisms should be regarded with great attention, as some on-the-job learning practices may even hamper firm performance. The results of this study develop the understanding of the knowledge management practices integral to performance of companies. It also provides validated measurement scales to study knowledge management practices and market performance of companies.
Intellectual Capital Management as a Driver of Sustainability
Intellectual capital has become a prominent driver of organizational and societal performance and... more Intellectual capital has become a prominent driver of organizational and societal performance and wellbeing. However, the role of intellectual capital in the context of sustainable organizational value and wealth creation—that is, how organizations can simultaneously create customer value while also satisfying their internal stakeholders—has been virtually unexplored so far. Hence, this chapter examines the role of intellectual capital as a driver of organizational-level economic and social sustainability. It focuses on examining the effect of intellectual capital on customer value creation and the moderating role of job satisfaction in this relationship. We utilize survey data collected from 259 Finnish companies to empirically examine the research model. We find that both intellectual capital and job satisfaction are positively associated with customer value creation and that job satisfaction moderates the relationship between intra-firm relational capital and customer value creation. This shows that organizational social sustainability (measured by job satisfaction) is integrally linked with value creation in end-customer markets. Overall, our results contribute to the understanding of the role of intellectual capital as an important driver of sustainable value creation in organizations.
Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal
The theory of trying postulates that in the less technologically advanced developing countries, o... more The theory of trying postulates that in the less technologically advanced developing countries, online banking adoption behavior is a function of three attitudes rather a single attitude. These three attitudes are attitudes towards successes, failure, and learning that are expected to determine online banking adoption. These three attitudes, in turn, are dependent upon two crucial individual traits, overall self-confidence, and cynicism. However, the previous literature has not provided conclusive empirical evidence about this issue particularly in the less technologically advanced context of South Asia. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to test the role of these three attitudes and two traits as the determinants of the online banking adoption behavior. The data was collected from 215 customers who were already using the online banking in the District Attock, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares was applied for hypotheses testing. The results p...
Purpose This study aims to analyse the complementary role of structural and relational capital (a... more Purpose This study aims to analyse the complementary role of structural and relational capital (as the outcomes of codification and personalisation knowledge management strategies) in renewal capital and innovation in high- and low-tech companies. Design/methodology/approach The primary data, which were collected through a structured questionnaire from 180 Spanish companies, are analysed using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares. Findings Overall, the study offers three fundamental findings. First, it demonstrates the outstanding role of renewal capital as an intellectual capital (IC) component; second, it provides a conceptual analysis of the connection between knowledge management strategies and IC; and third, it highlights the necessity of considering the technological level of the firm as a contingency variable affecting the IC–innovation relationship. Research limitations/implications The study has three apparent limitations: The sample of firms is rest...
The current literature seems to agree that knowledge management (KM) can markedly improve perform... more The current literature seems to agree that knowledge management (KM) can markedly improve performance of an organization, but what particular knowledge management issues should be prioritized by ma...
Abstract This paper examines how country environment shapes the relationship between firm intelle... more Abstract This paper examines how country environment shapes the relationship between firm intellectual capital and its innovation performance. Using survey data from 649 firms in Finland, Spain and Russia complemented by archival IMD World Competitiveness Ranking data, we find that when country environment is characterised by greater availability of skilled labour and a stronger appropriability regime, a firm’s human and structural capital have a lower impact on its innovation performance. The effect of relational capital does not depend on these contextual variables. This study enriches the intellectual capital-based view of the firm by demonstrating that country-level factors moderate the performance effects of firm-level intellectual capital. It also adds to the strategic management literature by exploring the explanatory power of a combination of country-level variables and firm-level resources in understanding firm-level performance. Our findings can help practitioners focus on the elements of intellectual capital that have the greatest impact in their environment.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intell... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intellectual capital (IC), absorptive capacity (AC), innovation (IN) and organizational performance (OP).Design/methodology/approachThis paper empirically tests a model that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) based on a partial least squares (PLS). The sample is composed of 351 Brazilian and 135 Portuguese enterprises. They are micro, small and medium enterprises.FindingsThe results show that: the relation between KS and AC is partially mediated by IC; the relation between IC and IN is partially mediated by AC and the relation between KS and IN is mediated by AC and IC or both. There are relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not control for industry effects and technological differences among the firms.Practical implicationsThe use of KS mitigates the loss of knowledge associated to employees' retirement or job changes. The knowledge app...
Previous studies have demonstrated that utilization of information technology (IT) in company ope... more Previous studies have demonstrated that utilization of information technology (IT) in company operations has the potential to significantly augment a company's performance. Knowledge, too, as a key performance driver has been brought to the fore in recent discussions, has been suggested to bring an additional explanation of the role of IT in boosting performance. This paper combines these perspectives so as to address the question of how intellectual capital impacts customer value (as a specific type of organizational performance) directly or as moderated by IT practices the organization employs. We also investigate how customer value affects market performance. The research model is based on survey data collected from a cross-industrial sample of companies with at least 100 employees in Serbia. The data is analyzed by structural equation modeling with the partial least squares technique (PLS) to examine hypotheses concerning key causalities between the study variables. The resu...
Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, 2019
This chapter amplifies the understanding of organisational knowledge creation by examining the cr... more This chapter amplifies the understanding of organisational knowledge creation by examining the creation of new knowledge through the lens of improvisation. Such an approach views knowledge creation as a spontaneous process where thinking and action converge and underlines the synthesis of diverse actors’ knowledge and perspectives in a flexible and agile manner through their engagement in social practice. To increase understanding of knowledge creation as an improvisational capacity, we turn to a context in which improvisation is employed systematically: the world of theatre. We explore how and when improvisation is utilised among theatre groups in their creative processes and associate forms of theatrical improvisation with three types of knowledge creation. The chapter enriches knowledge management literature by providing alternative models of knowledge creation, and also contributes to the emerging literature on arts-based management.
The competitive environment of firms has changed dramatically during the last two decades. The ro... more The competitive environment of firms has changed dramatically during the last two decades. The role of the traditional sources for competitive advantage has deteriorated in the process of globalization and technological change. Monopolies have broken down through the deregulation of markets, and the economies of scale seem to bring diminishing returns. The high-technological change creates incentives for innovation and entrepreneurs seeking opportunities. Also, large and established companies need to adapt to the changes in the business environment. In addition to streamlining their structures and processes for increased efficiency, firms need to create new knowledge for increased innovativeness. As James March (1991) notes, firms simultaneously exploit the existing potential, but attempt to adapt to the ongoing changes by exploring new business opportunities. The discontinuities may be turned into opportunities either through proactive innovation and self-renewal (Pöyhönen, 2004), ...
To advance understanding on knowledge creation through social computing, we posed two research qu... more To advance understanding on knowledge creation through social computing, we posed two research questions: What are the processes underlying knowledge creation online? What is the role of tacit knowledge in online communication? We note that even if the online environment is beset with apparent limitations due to physical distance, tacit knowledge is by no means absent. It enables individuals to communicate with others and to build new knowledge through interpreting and reflecting the available information. On the collective level, tacit knowledge is demonstrated as the shared language and understanding of the members, and the norms of interaction.
Academic research community almost unanimously agrees upon the benefits of knowledge management, ... more Academic research community almost unanimously agrees upon the benefits of knowledge management, but practitioners seem to be more suspicious of it. One major reason for their hesitant stance could be the lack of available empirical evidence regarding the relationship between knowledge management and business performance of companies. The purpose of this study is to address that research gap by empirically demonstrating how knowledge management practices influence market performance of companies. This is done by analyzing survey data collected from 259 Finnish companies. Our results highlight the key role that knowledge-friendly managers have at the helm of company’s knowledge management journey, and point out knowledge-based learning and development activities as effective means to improve market performance. In addition, we find out that organizational learning mechanisms should be regarded with great attention, as some on-the-job learning practices may even hamper firm performance. The results of this study develop the understanding of the knowledge management practices integral to performance of companies. It also provides validated measurement scales to study knowledge management practices and market performance of companies.
Intellectual Capital Management as a Driver of Sustainability
Intellectual capital has become a prominent driver of organizational and societal performance and... more Intellectual capital has become a prominent driver of organizational and societal performance and wellbeing. However, the role of intellectual capital in the context of sustainable organizational value and wealth creation—that is, how organizations can simultaneously create customer value while also satisfying their internal stakeholders—has been virtually unexplored so far. Hence, this chapter examines the role of intellectual capital as a driver of organizational-level economic and social sustainability. It focuses on examining the effect of intellectual capital on customer value creation and the moderating role of job satisfaction in this relationship. We utilize survey data collected from 259 Finnish companies to empirically examine the research model. We find that both intellectual capital and job satisfaction are positively associated with customer value creation and that job satisfaction moderates the relationship between intra-firm relational capital and customer value creation. This shows that organizational social sustainability (measured by job satisfaction) is integrally linked with value creation in end-customer markets. Overall, our results contribute to the understanding of the role of intellectual capital as an important driver of sustainable value creation in organizations.
Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal
The theory of trying postulates that in the less technologically advanced developing countries, o... more The theory of trying postulates that in the less technologically advanced developing countries, online banking adoption behavior is a function of three attitudes rather a single attitude. These three attitudes are attitudes towards successes, failure, and learning that are expected to determine online banking adoption. These three attitudes, in turn, are dependent upon two crucial individual traits, overall self-confidence, and cynicism. However, the previous literature has not provided conclusive empirical evidence about this issue particularly in the less technologically advanced context of South Asia. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to test the role of these three attitudes and two traits as the determinants of the online banking adoption behavior. The data was collected from 215 customers who were already using the online banking in the District Attock, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares was applied for hypotheses testing. The results p...
Purpose This study aims to analyse the complementary role of structural and relational capital (a... more Purpose This study aims to analyse the complementary role of structural and relational capital (as the outcomes of codification and personalisation knowledge management strategies) in renewal capital and innovation in high- and low-tech companies. Design/methodology/approach The primary data, which were collected through a structured questionnaire from 180 Spanish companies, are analysed using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares. Findings Overall, the study offers three fundamental findings. First, it demonstrates the outstanding role of renewal capital as an intellectual capital (IC) component; second, it provides a conceptual analysis of the connection between knowledge management strategies and IC; and third, it highlights the necessity of considering the technological level of the firm as a contingency variable affecting the IC–innovation relationship. Research limitations/implications The study has three apparent limitations: The sample of firms is rest...
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