Organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation and innovation

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-hong Song

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation and innovation in the Chinese context. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the organizational learning theory and innovation theory, the paper presents a framework linking organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation and innovation. Using a key informant technique, a survey questionnaire was designed and sent to the middle or top management managers of 115 firms located in Peking, People’s Republic (PR) of China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation procedures was applied to test the hypotheses developed in the research. Findings – The empirical results show that both organizational learning and absorptive capacity have positive impacts on innovation; imitation has a positive impact on absorptive capacity; absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between imitation and innovation. Practical implications – This study has implications for firms aiming to enhance innovation by organizational learning, absorptive capacity and imitation. Originality/value – Despite the number of studies concerning organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation and innovation, research that encompasses the interrelationships between the four concepts simultaneously remains scarce. The paper provides a framework linking organizational learning, imitation, absorptive capacity and innovation, and it advances the argument that absorptive capacity is an important factor in predicting the Chinese firms’ transition from imitation to innovation.

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-bumm Kim ◽  
Sanggun Lee

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationships of city personality and city image, together with the possible effect of city image on the revisit intention of visitors, through empirical validation, so that some meaningful implications can reveal to city planners and marketers how the city tourists can be affected by the personality and image of the city. Design/methodology/approach – This study offers an integrated approach to understanding the relationship between city personality and city image. The research model investigates the relevant relationships among the underlying dimensions of city personality and city image by using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Data obtained from a sample of 302 respondents drawn from a web-based survey in South Korea were analyzed with AMOS program. Findings – The results of this empirical study indicate that city personality positively or negatively affect city image depending on the nature of constructs. Positive relationships are found to exist between excitement as well as sophistication personality and dynamic image of city. On the contrary, the relationship between sincerity personality and dynamic image is negative. All the specific three images of city: dynamic, specific, and static image show positive impact on revisit intention of city tourists. Originality/value – The empirical results of this study provide tenable evidence that the proposed SEM designed to consider city personality and city image, and revisit intention simultaneously is acceptable. Even though in the previous literature, researchers tried to explain the relationship between city personality and city image, the conceptual model and empirical studies pertaining to causal relationships among those constructs have not been thoroughly examined. It is believed that this study has a substantial capability for generating more precise applications related to city tourism, especially concerning city personality and city image.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 802-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gholamhossein Mehralian ◽  
Jamal A. Nazari ◽  
Peivand Ghasemzadeh

PurposeKnowledge is a key success factor in achieving competitive advantage in the current fast-paced and uncertain economic environment. Several studies in the literature have analyzed the relationship between knowledge creation (KC) and organizational success; however, the mechanisms by which KC leads to accumulation of intellectual capital (IC) and thereby affects various dimensions of organizational performance are understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine how KC and IC and their relationship influence key dimensions of organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA research model was developed and tested based on the literature in the areas of KC, IC and organizational performance. This study uses a survey sent to companies in an intensive knowledge-based industry. The balanced scorecard (BSC) approach was used to measure the key dimensions of organizational performance.FindingsThe results from structural equation modeling (SEM) on 470 completed questionnaires received from the pharmaceutical companies in Iran reveal that KC activities lead to the accumulation of organizational IC and IC has a crucial and positive impact on the BSC. Furthermore, the results from the path analysis indicate that IC mediates the effects of KC on the BSC.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between knowledge and organizational performance by demonstrating that knowledge and KC lead to performance when organizations utilize KC activities and leverage them to accumulate IC. Once used effectively, IC will result in a better performance in the knowledge-intensive environments.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates how KC contributes to firm performance by incorporating the mediating impact of IC on the BSC. The proposed model and results will help organizations to identify the mechanisms through which KC initiatives improve organizational performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taghreed Al Dari ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen ◽  
Matloub Hussain ◽  
Dana Al Khawaja

Purpose This study aims to develop a theoretical framework of the impact of clan and hierarchy cultures and knowledge technological capabilities on organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 693 employees working in knowledge management centers in various law and enforcement units in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between the variables. Findings The findings show that the clan culture had a significant negative effect on organizational learning. However, hierarchy culture and knowledge technological capabilities had a significant positive impact in predicting organizational learning behavior. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on a specific type of public organization only, which somewhat limits the generalizability of the research results. Second, as the study was cross-sectional, the causal relationships could not be inferred directly. The study results will help policymakers create a learning organization by examining the impact of organizational culture and knowledge of technological capabilities. Originality/value This paper has added knowledge about the relationship between culture types, knowledge technological capabilities and organizational learning, particularly in the UAE. This study helps to bridge the gap in research on culture and knowledge technological capabilities and organizational learning.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermín Mallén ◽  
Ricardo Chiva ◽  
Joaquín Alegre ◽  
Jacob Guinot

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between altruistic leader behaviors, organizational learning capability and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The sampling frame consists of several databases or listings of business that consider people as a key element of the organization and are considered by their employees to be good firms to work for or organizational environments where human resources management has high priority (n=251). The authors use structural equation modeling to test if the relationship between altruistic leader behaviors and organizational performance is mediated by organizational learning capability. Findings – Results suggest that organizational learning capability fully mediates between altruistic leader behaviors and organizational performance. Thus, organizational learning capability plays a key role in explaining how altruistic leader behaviors affect organizational performance, essentially because it facilitates the creation of a creative, participatory and dialogue-based environment that promotes organizational learning. Research limitations/implications – The database used in the study is very heterogeneous. Future research might delimit the database by organization size or sector. Qualitative studies may also improve our understanding of the relationships studied and enable other concepts to be included. Practical implications – This study provides evidence of the positive relationship between altruistic leaders and performance. However, recruiting and fomenting altruistic leaders is not sufficient on its own to improve performance, and should be accompanied by implementing other facilitating factors of organizational learning such as dialogue or experimentation. Originality/value – In recent years some studies have linked leadership with organizational learning. However, this is one of the first studies to concentrate on altruistic leader behaviors as such, a concept that has received scant mention in the literature despite its importance in a number of leadership styles, and its relevance today as an alternative to the egotistic leader. The authors offer empirical evidence of the role of altruistic leader behavior as an antecedent of organizational learning capability and subjective measures of performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Ying Chang ◽  
Ian Hodgkinson ◽  
Paul Hughes ◽  
Che-Yuan Chang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of intermediate knowledge mechanisms on the participative leadership–employee exploratory innovation relationship using a distal mediation model. Design/methodology/approach Deploying a time-lagged questionnaire method implemented over four business quarters, data are generated from 1,600 responses in R&D units of Taiwanese technology firms. Findings The structural equation modeling results reveal that participative leadership is positively related to employee exploratory innovation; coworker knowledge and absorptive capacity partially mediate the relationship between participative leadership and employee exploratory innovation independently; and coworker knowledge sharing in combination with absorptive capacity partially mediates this relationship. Originality/value The findings contribute new knowledge on the relationship between participative leadership and employee exploratory innovation by uncovering intermediate knowledge mechanisms that augment this relationship.


Author(s):  
Ismail Raisal ◽  
Arun Kumar Tarofder ◽  
Aboobucker Ilmudeen

PurposeDeveloping countries’ economic growth very much depend on the successful performance of entrepreneurial-oriented firms. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a valuable conjecturer of firm success. This study mainly focuses on analyzing the effect of EO on the firm performance (FP) with the mediating role of absorptive capacity (ACAP).Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypothetical model, we collected 226 valid responses from senior managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The structural equation modeling technique is performed and research hypotheses are validated.FindingsThe findings show that the strong causal relations exit between EO, ACAP and FP. In brief, EO was found to be a predictor of ACAP, and ACAP has a strong positive impact on FP. Moreover, ACAP substantiated to be a mediator between EO and FP.Research limitations/implicationsA notable ramification of this finding is that for SMEs to enhance their performance via EO, the presence of ACAP as a mediator is essential.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used as a basis to consider EO to increase firms' level of ACAP and to enhance FP. As a whole, the findings offer pragmatic insights for SMEs and pertinent stakeholders.Originality/valueSo far, little is known about the interrelationship between EO, ACAP and FP. Importantly, the mediating role of ACAP between EO and FP has remained unexplored. This study fills this gap in the existing literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joonghak Lee ◽  
Steven Kim ◽  
Youngsang Kim

PurposeResearch on diversity climate has shown that diversity climate as an employee's perception of an organization's diversity-related practices or procedures has a positive impact on reducing turnover intentions. However, we know little about which intervening mechanism explains the relationship between diversity climate and employee's turnover intentions. In this study, we suggest that individual employee's perceived diversity climate influences turnover intentions through personal diversity value and affective commitment.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 901 employees in more than 50 companies affiliated in South Korea, the authors test the hypothesized relationship, using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsOur findings show that personal diversity value and affective commitment sequentially mediate the relationship between perceived diversity climate and turnover intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study can enhance the understanding about the mediating mechanism linking the relationship between perceived diversity climate and turnover intentions and how personal diversity value and affective commitment link the relationship.Originality/valueThe authors theorize and find that perceived diversity climate can influence personal diversity value that results in employee commitment and turnover intentions.


Author(s):  
Ismail Raisal ◽  
Arun Kumar Tarofder ◽  
Athambawa Haleem

Organizations needs knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting to enrich their innovative performance in ever-changing business setting.The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of knowledge creation capability, organizational forgetting and absorptive capacity on Firm’s innovative performance. We test the model using Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze empirical data collected from 194SMEs listed in Sri Lanka inventors’ commission.The findings of the study show that in addition to their individually positive impact of knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting on firm’s innovative performance, the absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between knowledge creation capability, organizational forgetting and innovation performance. As one of the first studies to integrate the  capabilities of creating internal new knowledge and unlearning outdated knowledge for advancing firm innovativenessthrough the mediating effect of absorptive capacity. A major implication of this finding is that absorptive capacity enhances the effect of knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting on firm's innovativeness and affects the types of innovation strategies adopted by firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyun Tian ◽  
Shuja Iqbal ◽  
Farooq Anwar ◽  
Shamim Akhtar ◽  
Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study examines the impact of network embeddedness (NE) on innovation performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and analyses absorptive capacity as mediator and openness as moderator.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 209 employees of SMEs using a convenient sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS was used to analyze the various constructs.FindingsThe results exhibit a positive and significant relationship in NE and absorptive capacity. Also, this study found a positive and significant relationship in absorptive capacity and innovation performance. Moreover, absorptive capacity has a positive and significant mediation role in the relationship between NE and innovation performance. Also, openness positively moderated the relationship of NE and absorptive capacity.Practical implicationsSMEs should try to implement the functions of NE, such as interaction with other firms in higher frequency, developing trust among all parties, clear alliance among the partners to enhance innovation performance. Similarly, SMEs should focus on absorptive capacity and openness to enrich innovation performance.Originality/valueThis study adds in the current literature of the chosen constructs and empirically contributes the effects in the manufacturing industry of Jiangsu Province, China.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Maria Beuren ◽  
Vanderlei dos Santos ◽  
Daniele Cristina Bernd

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine the effects of using the management control system (MCS) on individual performance mediated by organizational learning. Complementarily, it evaluates the moderating effect of feedforward on the relationship between MCS use and organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling and mediation and moderation analyses were used in a sample of 194 managers from Brazilian companies listed in the Exame Magazine’s “Best and Biggest” ranking. Findings The results reveal that using the MCS from a cybernetic perspective contributes to organizational learning, contradicting theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that this hinders learning and that feedforward can strengthen this relationship, as long as it is in line with the way of using the MCS. A mediating effect of organizational learning on the relationship between MCS use and individual performance has also been confirmed. Practical implications The results demonstrate the effects of MCS use on individual performance and organizational learning by taking a taxonomy of cybernetic use and comprehensive MCS use as a basis. The results provide insights to managers by revealing that MCS use not only influences task performance through organizational learning but also tends to generate cooperative, persistent and initiative-taking behaviors. Originality/value The study provides an approach to the behavioral consequences of using the MCS (score-keeping use and comprehensive MCS use) and the role of specific cognitive and motivational mechanisms in individual performance from a multidimensional perspective (task-based, contextual and general).


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