Factors influencing knowledge creation and innovation in an organisation

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireille Merx‐Chermin ◽  
Wim J. Nijhof
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Learning To Learn ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Organisation ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence the innovative power of organisations. The concept of innovation and innovative power was examined by analysing the relationship between the construct of the learning organisation, knowledge organisation and innovative organisation, and has resulted in an innovation process model. This model consists of three processes: knowledge creation, innovation and learning to learn. The factors that might influence this cycle are: added value for stakeholders, leadership, climate, structure and strategic alignment.Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study that was conducted at Océ Technologies in The Netherlands.The case study consisted of a qualitative and a quantitative stage and comprised a selection of two innovation projects separated in time. The purpose of the first phase was to collect information about the innovation spiral, through interviews with members of three divisions in each innovation process. After this, a survey was designed and sent to all employees and managers of the three divisions involved in the two innovation cases.FindingsOn the basis of a data analysis, factors explaining variance in terms of innovation, learning and knowledge creation were identified. If innovation is discontinuous, the innovation spiral is not valid; if innovation has a strength in critical reflection on cases from the past to mould the future, the model has some explanatory power.Research limitations/implicationsUsing a survey technique to retrieve data from a current innovation experiment has a set of possible risks like maturation, forgetting, selection and a different context. Reflection and reconstruction, however, are the only possible means to achieve this. A case study does not guarantee generalisation of results.Originality/valueBy studying the model and the factors that can influence them, organisations understand that it is necessary to integrate their initiatives in organisational learning, knowledge creation and innovation for the benefit of the organisation, to find a better way to adjust to discontinuous change and finally gain innovative power.

The impact of an urban facilities management summer school on the participants

Facilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Collins ◽  
Coline Senior ◽  
Mina Jowkar ◽  
Alenka Temeljotov Salaj ◽  
Agnar Johansen
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Summer School ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how an Urban Facilities Management (Urban FM) focused summer school in Norway in 2019 impacted knowledge creation, as well as the host and foreign educators, along with the international student participants. Design/methodology/approach This paper’s data collection is formed as a “post-event study” using interviews and a quantitative survey from both the students and educators to look at the impact of the summer school on the student and the associated educational programs. Findings The outcomes of this study indicate that the impact on educators and their educational programs was substantial with regard to their teaching experiences. The study confirmed that foreign experience allowed not just for greater potential for cross institution cooperation for the future but also allowed for the usage of the summer school case studies in host and guest educational programs. For the students, the added value was in the international experience primarily and a chance to study on a case study project. The study was also successful in the dissemination of Urban FM knowledge. Originality/value This paper also offers added theoretical value in the development of a model in future projects on how to capitalize on the potential impact of the summer school on educators and students. The possibilities for increased dissemination and knowledge creation in Urban FM is also significant.

Ba virtual and inter-organizational evolution: a case study from a EU research project

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 793-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Bartolacci ◽  
Cristina Cristalli ◽  
Daniela Isidori ◽  
Federico Niccolini
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Enterprise ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seci Model ◽  
Ex Post

Purpose Taking Nonaka’s SECI model as the main reference, this paper aims to offer reflections on the virtual evolution of ba, the places for knowledge creation. Indeed, looking at the current scenario, widening the knowledge spiral to the inter-organizational epistemological level is inevitable. To this aim, information technology tools and virtual communities can establish effective interactions to exchange knowledge, making ba evolve congruently. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes the exemplary case of a platform developed during a European research project called “BIVEE: Business Innovation in Virtual Enterprise Environments”. The investigative approach chosen is participatory action research (PAR), with two researchers conducting PAR in real time, and two others involved ex post. Findings The paper shows that the virtual evolution of ba can lead the SECI model towards an inter-organizational level. Moreover, through a learning history, it describes how all the phases of the SECI process, even the Socialization one, can take place or be supported in virtual spaces. Research limitations/implications Taking into account just one single exemplary case study provides a rich, contextualized understanding of phenomena, while allowing only some theoretical generalizations. Originality/value This paper contextualizes the SECI model within a Web platform for open innovation, to investigate whether the knowledge creation process can take place entirely within a virtual environment linking subjects from different organizations. In so doing, it applies the SECI model to the phases of the innovation process, called waves.

Modeling detoxification treatment relationships: a longitudinal case study from Finland

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Anita Virta ◽  
Jaana Tähtinen
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resultant Data ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Development State ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe an episodic detoxification treatment relationship as a complex dyadic interaction. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is inspired by a grounded theory approach. The first author worked in the field at a Finnish detoxification center in the autumn of 2007, 2008, and 2009. The resultant data have been analyzed thematically to form a process model. Findings – An empirically grounded process model consisting of four states; an initiation state, a fading state, a development state, and an ending state. Each state may include events enabling the process to progress and others that hinder it. Originality/value – By focussing on an under-studied view of relationships, as dyadic, mental and behavioral, and successful and failing, the model highlights the complexity of the treatment. Furthermore, the model can be used to allocate resources (time, work) to the process states in which they are most needed to aid the success of the relationship.

University social responsibility and empathy in organizations during COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariane Lemos Lourenço ◽  
Mara Rosalia Ribeiro Silva ◽  
Rafael Santana Galvão Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Psychological Assistance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between empathy and social responsibility (SR) practices in a university organization in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Design/methodology/approach The research was qualitative, using case study methodology. The case study was about the Brazilian organization Ânima Educação, which is the greatest among the five largest publicly traded education companies in Brazil. Secondary data collection and content analysis was carried out. Findings As emotional response toward the problems caused by the pandemic, the company's leadership adopted an empathic behavior, allowing traces of its empathic culture to emerge. Empathy was expressed through the implementation of SR practices aimed at workers (policy of not firing in the first two months of the pandemic), at students (provision of technological apparatus, online classes, physical/psychological assistance and negotiation of late fees) and at the society (assistance to the elderly). Originality/value It was concluded that empathy can be taken as the emotional motivator for companies to engage in SR practices, especially in extreme circumstances in society, as the economic and health challenges that the world is experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic nowadays. SR practices, in turn, can foster even more empathy in organizations, mobilizing leaders and their respective groups in the creation and implementation of new practices, thus demonstrating that the relationship between empathy and SR practices is a “two-way street.”

Understanding the influence of technological capability and exogenous pressure on business model dynamics: insights from a longitudinal case study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingqin Su ◽  
Shuai Zhang ◽  
Huanhuan Ma
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Technological Capability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to explore how technological capability and exogenous pressure interactively influence business model (BM) dynamics over time in new technology-based ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a longitudinal case study of the BM innovations of a Chinese financial technology venture. The structural approach and temporal bracket are used to analyze and theorize the data.FindingsThe findings indicate that distinct contextual changes impel a firm to refine or abandon existing BMs over time. In different stages, the antecedents interactively influence BM dynamics with three successive patterns, namely pressure dominance, parallel influence and hybrid influence. While both antecedents trigger changes during the initiation and implementation of new BMs, they also serve as the filter and the enabler, respectively, during the ideation and integration of BMs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study inductively develops three propositions regarding the relationship between BM dynamics and its antecedents, which is based on the data collected from one single firm. Future research should test the propositions in other domains and take more cross-level antecedents into consideration.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the nascent research stream of BM dynamics by offering in-depth insights into the interaction of internal and external antecedents and by linking the differentiated roles of antecedents to the BM innovation process. The research offers some practical implications for new technology-based ventures seeking to develop BMs in a fast-changing environment.

Using action research in innovation project management: building legitimacy and organizational learning in an SME during a merger process

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Elizabeth Kampf ◽  
Charlotte J. Brandt ◽  
Christopher G. Kampf
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Project

PurposeThe purpose is to explore how the process of action research (AR) can support building legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation project management and portfolio practices in merger contexts.Design/methodology/approachMeta-reflection on method issues in Action Research through an action research case study with an innovation group during an organizational change process. This case demonstrates an example of an action research cycle focused on building practitioner legitimacy rather than problem-solving.FindingsKey findings include (1) demonstrating how AR can be used for building legitimacy through visualizing the innovation process, and embedding those visuals in top management practices of the organization; and (2) demonstrating how AR can work as an organizational learning tool in merger contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on an action research cooperation during a two-and-a-half-year period. Thus, findings offer the depth of a medium term case study. The processes of building legitimacy represent this particular case, and can be investigated in other organizational contexts to see the extent to which these issues can be generalized.Practical implicationsFor researchers, this paper offers an additional type of AR cycle to consider in their research design which can be seen as demonstrating a form of interplay between practitioner action and organizational level legitimacy. For practitioners, this paper demonstrates a connection between legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation contexts. The discussion of how visuals were co-created and used for building legitimacy for an innovation process that differs from the standard stage gate model demonstrates how engaging in AR research can contribute to developing visuals as resources for building legitimacy and organizational learning based on connections between theory and practice.Originality/valueThis case rethinks AR practice for innovation project management contexts to include legitimacy and organizational learning. This focus on legitimacy building from organizational learning and knowledge conversion contributes to our understanding of the soft side of innovation project management. Legitimacy is demonstrated to be a key concern for innovation project management practices.

Understanding the relationship between organizational culture and inbound open innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Barjak ◽  
Fabian Heimsch
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
External Control ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Process Innovations ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe relationship between corporate culture and inbound open innovation (OI) has been limited to two sub-constructs: a culture for openness and an innovation culture, but until now a richer conceptualization of corporate culture is missing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework and regress these together with company internal and external control variables on five measures of inbound OI, reflecting product innovation, process innovation and the sourcing of innovation activities. The authors use data from a survey of more than 250 Swiss companies, primarily SMEs.FindingsThe importance of the firms' market environments suggests that the results are affected by the specific situation in which the firms found themselves at the time of the survey: after a strong currency shock, inbound OI activities seem to be a reaction to external pressure that favored planning and rule-oriented (formal) cultures to implement cost-cutting process innovations.Practical implicationsCompanies should develop a vision and a strategy, ensure open and transparent communication, have suitable reward and support mechanisms in place, adjust structures and processes, and institutionalize and formalize any change whenever they are confronted with a situation that requires a quick reaction and an adjustment to their degree of openness.Originality/valueThe paper clarifies the relationship between cultural traits and inbound OI, using a well-established understanding of corporate culture and differentiating between innovation types. It points to the importance of the external environment in order to understand the role of culture.

scholarly journals Do entrepreneurial knowledge and innovative attitude overcome “imperfections” in the innovation process? Insights from SMEs in the UK and Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1637-1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Usai ◽  
Veronica Scuotto ◽  
Alan Murray ◽  
Fabio Fiano ◽  
Luca Dezi
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Asymmetric Information ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ◽  
The Uk

PurposeEntrepreneurial knowledge spurs innovation and, in turn, generates a competitive advantage. This paper aims to explore if entrepreneurial knowledge combined with the attitude to innovate can overcome the key “imperfections” of the innovation process generated by dynamic, current technological progress in the knowledge-intensive sector. The “imperfections” identified in risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process and hold-up problems can all disrupt collaborative partnerships and limit opportunities for innovation.Design/methodology/approachA theory-building approach is applied which offers a case study analysis of two small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These two SMEs operate in Europe but in two different territories: the UK and Italy. The study explores three key imperfections, risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process and hold-up problems, which occur in the innovation process.FindingsThe entrepreneurs face these imperfections by adopting an open innovation model. Notwithstanding, both entrepreneurs had to deal with all “imperfections”, and their skills, attributes, attitude and aptitude allowed them to grow their business and continually develop new products. Therefore, the imperfections do not limit the innovative capacity of an entrepreneur but rather enhance their challengeable attitude. In this regard, the case studies induce a further analysis on entrepreneurial knowledge intertwined with entrepreneurial risk management and networking skills.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical significance of the two cases does not allow theorisation. However, this research offers interesting results which can be strengthened by a comparative case study with other countries or deeper investigation by applying a quantitative approach.Originality/valueBy leveraging entrepreneurial knowledge, the imperfections noted in the innovation process can be overcome. Entrepreneurial knowledge is recognised as the main asset of an enterprise if it is combined with external talent or human resources. Entrepreneurs aim to develop innovative approaches and ideas through establishing both formal and informal collaborative partnership relationships which are used thanks to the entrepreneurs’ networking skills, knowledge and abilities.

Design workshops in the age of climate change

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen De Waegemaeker ◽  
Eva Kerselaers ◽  
Maarten Van Acker ◽  
Elke Rogge
Keyword(s):  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Water System ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regional Project ◽  
Design Workshop ◽  
Specific Barriers

Purpose As policy makers address the issue of climate adaptation, they are confronted with climate-specific barriers: a long-term horizon and a high degree of uncertainty. These barriers also hamper the development of spatial planning for climate adaptation. So how can spatial planners encompass these barriers and steer the general debate on climate adaptation? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This research analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of an international design workshop on climate adaptation, and drought issues in particular. Design workshops are originally an educational setting but they are increasingly employed as a tool to explore alternative futures on a complex, real-life design problem. The case study illustrates how climate-specific barriers emerged throughout the design workshop and clarifies how they were encompassed by the participating design students. Findings The research clarifies the added value of a design workshop on climate adaptation. The paper highlights specific promising characteristics of the design workshop: the visualization of future adaptation challenges and the current water system, the focus on a regional project instead of sectoral adjustments and the integration of the adaptation challenge with other socio-economic goals. In the case study Flanders, however, the necessary participation of climate experts and policy makers of other domains proved challenging. Originality/value The paper argues that a design workshop has the potential to enrich the debate and policy work on climate adaptation. In many countries with low-planning tradition, however, additional tools are needed to help set the “adaptation agenda.”

Intellectual capital and performance of listed companies: empirical evidence from Italy

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Celenza ◽  
Fabrizio Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The One ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate performance and Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) on the one hand, and the relationship between the variations in market value and the variations in VAIC on the other hand. Design/methodology/approach – Starting from the VAIC model, 23 Italian listed companies were examined with the aim of investigating the relationship between VAIC and the performance of the firms in the sample. The analysis was divided into two stages. In the first stage, eight models of linear regression were estimated to verify the presence of a positive and statistically significant relationship between M/BV and VAIC and between accounting performance indicators (ROE, ROI, ROS) and the VAIC. In the second stage, six other models were tested, considering as an independent variable the variations in VAIC and the variations in profitability indicators. Findings – The outcomes of the application stress the importance of VAIC in the explanation of the variations in MV and its role as “additional coefficient” in the analysis of equity performance. Originality/value – This methodology highlights some very interesting aspects. In particular, whereas the relationship between M/BV and VAIC and between profitability indicators (ROI, ROE, ROS) and VAIC is statistically insignificant, the subsequent analysis highlights the importance of VAIC as a variable capable of increasing the explanatory power of the regression in a cross-sectional perspective.

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