Changes in knowledge coupling and innovation performance: the moderation effect of network cohesion

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Jin ◽  
Naiding Yang ◽  
Sayed Muhammad Fawad Sharif ◽  
Ruimeng Li

Purpose Collaborative research and development have remained a pertinent mechanism for conducting technological innovations. With the lens of knowledge-based view (KBV), this study aims to examine the role of changes in knowledge couplings and network cohesion to elevate innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach Data analysis has been performed on 53,459 patents through regression analysis with random effects. These independent and joint patents are extracted from Derwent Innovation Database. Findings Findings explicate that change in external existing or existing and new knowledge couplings have inverted U-shaped effects on a firm’s innovation performance. Changes in internal existing or existing and new knowledge couplings have direct positive effects on firm’s innovation performance. The moderation effect of network cohesion flattens the inverted U-shaped effect of external new and existing knowledge coupling, whereas it has no significant effect on external existing knowledge coupling. Network cohesion further elevates the effects of internal knowledge couplings – existing or existing and new. Research limitations/implications This study theoretically contributes to KBV and innovation management literature by highlighting the scope of changes in internal and external knowledge couplings and subsequent output. Network cohesion flattens the curviness of changes in external new and existing knowledge couplings, which is a contribution to strategic management literature. Practical implications Organizations need to carefully manage changes in knowledge couplings and ensure their benefits (obtain new knowledge domain or new combination) outweigh liabilities (damages to organizational routines or increase in collaboration costs). Managers must consider four kinds of knowledge coupling changes along with developing network cohesion as an R&D strategy. Originality/value This study is one of its types to flatten the curve through network cohesion. This study divided the changes in knowledge coupling into four types and two dimensions; external existing and new and existing knowledge couplings and internal existing and new and existing knowledge couplings.

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1271-1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Natalicchio ◽  
Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli ◽  
Silvio Cardinali ◽  
Tommaso Savino

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand if and how the adoption of an open innovation (OI) strategy, that is acquiring externally developed knowledge, influences the innovation performance of firms and how this relationship is moderated by the recruitment of highly educated employees and the implementation of employee training activities.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an analysis based on the results of the 2010-2012 Italian Innovation Survey and considered only manufacturing firms. Accordingly, the econometric analysis was based on 2,836 firm-observations.FindingsThe study reveals that acquiring externally developed knowledge positively affects the innovation performance of firms. Additionally, while the moderation effect due to recruiting highly educated employees is not statistically significant, the implementation of training activities negatively moderates the investigated relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research confirms the positive effects of the adoption of OI strategies on the innovation performance of firms and, additionally, shows that implementing employee training activities may negatively influence the abovementioned relationship.Practical implicationsThe present study suggests that firms acquiring externally developed knowledge should be careful in performing employee training activities, since they may hinder the positive effects of adopting OI strategies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the OI literature, by showing the positive effects of the acquisition of externally developed knowledge on the innovation performance of firms and by analysing the moderating role of human resources management practices, which is an aspect scantly discussed in the literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1609-1637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Tai Tsou ◽  
Ja-Shen Chen ◽  
Ya-Wen (Diana) Yu

Purpose In the contemporary business environment, companies must constantly consider methods to enhance their competitive advantage and create value for their customers. The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model based on a business ecosystem view. Within a business ecosystem, the authors identified the key factors of co-development and the manner in which these factors affect a company’s innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical hypotheses are confirmed by partial least squares analysis of survey responses collected from information and communication technology (ICT) and hotel industries in Taiwan. Findings In both industries, the results suggest that a firm’s co-development within its own ecosystem has positive effects on innovation performance. For companies in the ICT industry, collaborative networks and partner selection have significant impacts on the firms’ co-development, but their information technology (IT) capability does not; in contrast, in the hotel industry, partner selection and IT capability have significant impacts on firm co-development, but their collaborative network does not. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature of business ecosystem and co-development by offering a co-development model. As both conceptual and empirical research on this topic is still underdeveloped, this study provides fresh insights into collaboration management and offers significant theoretical and managerial implications from a business ecosystem perspective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sladjana Cabrilo ◽  
Aino Kianto ◽  
Bojana Milic

Purpose In investigating the linkage between intellectual capital (IC) and innovation, it is important not only to explore how IC as a whole is associated with organizations’ innovative performance but also to gain a deep understanding of the role of different IC components (groups of intangibles) in companies’ innovation performance, which is the purpose of this paper in the context of Serbian companies. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on survey data collected from 100 Serbian companies with at least 100 employees during 2014/2015. Six IC components were analyzed (human, structural, internal relational, external relational, renewal and entrepreneurial) in terms of their effect on innovation performance. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling and correlation analysis. Findings Findings demonstrate that renewal capital, internal relational capital and structural capital have statistically significant positive effects on overall innovative performance in Serbian companies. Practical implications The outcomes reveal potential and barriers within IC that are crucial to innovation performance in Serbian companies. In this way, this study enables a deeper understanding of intangible drivers of innovation and highlights possibilities to foster intangible innovation potential in Serbian companies. Originality/value As context (economic and cultural) has emerged as a relevant factor in researching IC, this study is original in investigating IC effect on innovation within the Serbian business environment. Additionally, the broad sexpartite taxonomy of IC contributes to a wider understanding of knowledge and its linkages to innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 821-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Li ◽  
Shuihua Han ◽  
Sameer Kumar ◽  
Wei-Xi Feng

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define the conceptualization and measurement of informatization according to a capability perspective reflected in three aspects: IT managerial capability, IT-enabled capability and IT infrastructure capability.Design/methodology/approachManufacturing enterprises in China’s Northeast and Pearl River Delta regions in China were selected to empirically examine, using structural equation modeling, the association between a firm’s senior executive support informatization and radical innovation performance.FindingsResults show a significant positive relationship between senior executive support and IT-enabled capability. However, there are no significant positive influences uncovered between senior executive support and IT managerial capability and IT infrastructure capability. The authors find significant positive effects of IT managerial capability, IT-enabled capability and IT infrastructure capability on radical innovation performance. Lastly, the joint effect of senior executive support and external institutional environment has no significant influence on informatization.Originality/valueThis study offers improved understanding for enterprises and academia about the effect of senior executive support informatization on radical innovation performance. It also suggests taking effective measures to highlight the management level and enterprises’ radical innovation performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengqiao Liu ◽  
Yongzhong Jiang ◽  
Zhu Yao ◽  
Xiliang Liu ◽  
Li Zhao ◽  
...  

Purpose Based on self-consistency theory and conservation of resource theory, this study aims to discuss the impact of career calling congruence on employees’ innovation performance (IP) and analyzes the mediating effect of work passion [harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP)]. Design/methodology/approach To avoid serious common method biases, data in this paper were collected at three-wave. This paper investigated 381 employees to assess their career calling in time 1, measured their work passion in time 2 and assessed the IP of these employees in time 3. This paper also conducts confirmatory factor analysis, polynomial regression, response surface analysis, bootstrapping test and simple slope test to verify the research hypothesis in this paper. Findings In the career calling congruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher when both levels of serving oneself career calling and helping others career calling are high than when both are low; In the career calling incongruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher in the “low serving oneself and high helping others” case than in the “high serving oneself and low helping others” case; The more congruent the “serving oneself” and “helping others” career calling are, the higher the employees’ HP, OP and IP will be; and HP and OP mediate the relationship between career calling congruence and IP. Originality/value This study further clarifies the structure of career calling and find the positive effects of career calling on IP. The results present a deeper understanding of career calling and are universal applicable to the eastern culture context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M.E. Van Pinxteren ◽  
Mark Pluymaekers ◽  
Jos G.A.M. Lemmink

PurposeConversational agents (chatbots, avatars and robots) are increasingly substituting human employees in service encounters. Their presence offers many potential benefits, but customers are reluctant to engage with them. A possible explanation is that conversational agents do not make optimal use of communicative behaviors that enhance relational outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to identify which human-like communicative behaviors used by conversational agents have positive effects on relational outcomes and which additional behaviors could be investigated in future research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a systematic review of 61 articles that investigated the effects of communicative behaviors used by conversational agents on relational outcomes. A taxonomy is created of all behaviors investigated in these studies, and a research agenda is constructed on the basis of an analysis of their effects and a comparison with the literature on human-to-human service encounters.FindingsThe communicative behaviors can be classified along two dimensions: modality (verbal, nonverbal, appearance) and footing (similarity, responsiveness). Regarding the research agenda, it is noteworthy that some categories of behaviors show mixed results and some behaviors that are effective in human-to-human interactions have not yet been investigated in conversational agents.Practical implicationsBy identifying potentially effective communicative behaviors in conversational agents, this study assists managers in optimizing encounters between conversational agents and customers.Originality/valueThis is the first study that develops a taxonomy of communicative behaviors in conversational agents and uses it to identify avenues for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-450
Author(s):  
Karmin Gray ◽  
Frank Ulbrich

Purpose The project management literature provides a fairly united picture of the importance of projects being successful. One success factor is represented by project managers themselves, whose personality, skills, knowledge, competencies, and traits affect project success. To better understand various project manager types, the purpose of this paper is to review the extant project management literature and propose a framework for categorising project managers based on the traits that they possess or lack. Design/methodology/approach The research commenced with identifying and collecting articles from the academic project management literature. The articles were then coded to identify different competencies and traits that a project manager needs to be successful. Based on this analysis, a framework with four main project manager types was developed. Findings The results indicate that ambiguity acceptance and translation skills are two important dimensions that project managers need to be successful. The four project manager types were arranged around two dimensions. Research limitations/implications The framework presented is based on previous research. Empirical testing of the proposed framework would be a promising direction for future research. Practical implications The framework assists reflective practitioners in identifying what kind of project manager they currently are, suggesting how they might transition into a different project manager type to increase their project management success rate. Originality/value This paper conceptualises project managers and how their personal traits relate to project success. It offers practical help to project managers in understanding their strengths and limitations, and how to become a different type of project manager.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Baoliang Hu

Purpose This paper aims to identify the relationships of both organizational isomorphism and knowledge search with the innovation performance of cluster enterprises. It also specifies the mechanism by which organizational isomorphism affects innovation performance, through knowledge search. Design/methodology/approach Firm-level data were collected with questionnaires distributed to cluster enterprises in Zhejiang Province, China, which produced 165 usable responses for the analysis. Both multiple regression analyses and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses. Findings Normative isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism have inverse U-shaped effects on the innovation performance of cluster enterprises, as does exploratory knowledge search. Exploitative knowledge search and the balance between two types of knowledge search have positive effects on the innovation performance of cluster enterprises; exploratory and exploitative knowledge searches exert partial mediation effects between the organizational isomorphism and innovation performance of cluster enterprises. The mediating effect of knowledge search transforms the inverse U-shaped effect of normative isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism on innovation performance into a positive effect. Originality/value This study provides new insights into the effects of organizational isomorphism on innovation performance by showing the indirect influence of organizational isomorphism in clusters. The study proposes a strategic logic of moderate isomorphism, clarifies the innovative effect of different knowledge search modes and reveals the construction and management mechanisms of organizational isomorphism and knowledge search strategy of firms in clusters.


2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 432-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Sotelo ◽  
M. Lema ◽  
P. Soengas ◽  
M. E. Cartea ◽  
P. Velasco

ABSTRACTGlucosinolates (GSLs) are secondary metabolites found inBrassicavegetables that confer on them resistance against pests and diseases. Both GSLs and glucosinolate hydrolysis products (GHPs) have shown positive effects in reducing soil pathogens. Information about theirin vitrobiocide effects is scarce, but previous studies have shown sinigrin GSLs and their associated allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) to be soil biocides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biocide effects of 17 GSLs and GHPs and of leaf methanolic extracts of different GSL-enrichedBrassicacrops on suppressingin vitrogrowth of two bacterial (Xanthomonas campestrispv. campestris andPseudomonas syringaepv. maculicola) and two fungal (AlternariabrassicaeandSclerotiniascletoriorum)Brassicapathogens. GSLs, GHPs, and methanolic leaf extracts inhibited the development of the pathogens tested compared to the control, and the effect was dose dependent. Furthermore, the biocide effects of the different compounds studied were dependent on the species and race of the pathogen. These results indicate that GSLs and their GHPs, as well as extracts of differentBrassicaspecies, have potential to inhibit pathogen growth and offer new opportunities to study the use ofBrassicacrops in biofumigation for the control of multiple diseases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Ling-hsing Chang ◽  
Tung-Ching Lin

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to focus on the enhancement of knowledge management (KM) performance and the relationship between organizational culture and KM process intention of individuals because of the diversity of organizational cultures (which include results-oriented, tightly controlled, job-oriented, closed system and professional-oriented cultures). Knowledge is a primary resource in organizations. If firms are able to effectively manage their knowledge resources, then a wide range of benefits can be reaped such as improved corporate efficiency, effectiveness, innovation and customer service. Design/methodology/approach – The survey methodology, which has the ability to enhance generalization of results (Dooley, 2001), was used to collect the data utilized in the testing of the research hypotheses. Findings – Results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects on employee intention in the KM process (creation, storage, transfer and application), whereas a tightly controlled culture has negative effects. Research limitations/implications – However, it would have been better to use a longitudinal study to collect useful long-term data to understand how the KM process would be influenced when organizational culture dimensions are changed through/by management. This is the first limitation of this study. According to Mason and Pauleen (2003), KM culture is a powerful predictor of individual knowledge-sharing behavior, which is not included in this study. Thus, this is the second limitation of this paper. Moreover, national culture could be an important issue in the KM process (Jacks et al., 2012), which is the third limitation of this paper for not comprising it. Practical implications – In researchers’ point of view, results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects, whereas a tightly controlled culture has a negative effect on the KM process intention of the individual. These findings provide evidences that challenge the perspective of Kayworth and Leidner (2003) on this issue. As for practitioners, management has a direction to modify their organizational culture to improve the performance of KM process. Social implications – Both behavioral and value perspectives of the organizational cultural dimensions (results-oriented, tightly control, job-oriented, sociability, solidarity, need for achievement and democracy) should be examined to ascertain their effects firstly on KM culture and then on the KM process intention of the individual. It is hoped that the current study will spawn future investigations that lead to the development of an integrated model which includes organizational culture, KM culture and the KM process intention of the individual. Originality/value – The results-oriented, loosely controlled and job-oriented cultures will improve the effectiveness of the KM process and will also increase employees’ satisfaction and willingness to stay with the organization.


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