Tacit knowledge transfer and its implementation on Small and Medium Enterprises

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how firms affiliated to business groups (BGs) are able to improve their innovation capability (IC) when engaged in coopetition (collaboration between competing firms). This study aims to explore the relationship between coopetitive relationship strength (CRS), the extent of tacit knowledge transfer (TKT) and IC as well as examine the moderating effect of both BG affiliation and coopetitive experience. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines inter-firm relationships within the empirical context of Indian manufacturing and service firms, by adopting (ordinary least square) regression analysis to test the various hypotheses. The central thesis is that the TKT in coopetition constitutes an important driver to the IC. Findings The paper provides some evidence that inter-firm CRS influences the extent of TKT, and the extent of TKT affects firm IC. The results support that firms in coopetition gain more if their coopetitive partner has a BG affiliation. In absence of a BG affiliation of any of the coopetitive partners, the buildup of TKT reduces as CRS is increased. Research limitations/implications Additional large-sample of data may attempt to validate relationships. The study, however, did not consider all enablers that are critical for TKT. Despite these limitations, analysis provides important and novel perspectives. Practical implications The paper contributes to develop executives’ practices in understanding potential benefits of coopetitive relationship. The implications of this research are important for managers seeking understanding of the management of coopetition. Originality/value The paper makes a modest attempt to investigate the various scenarios of the presence or absence of the moderation of BGs and its impact on CRS in the buildup of TKT. This is the first attempt to link coopetition to the TKT in the BG literature. This study also contributes to our understanding of coopetition in a non-western context.

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The death of distance, revisited: disseminative capacity and knowledge transfer

Multinational Business Review ◽

10.1108/mbr-11-2020-0210 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Chansoo Park

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Psychic Distance ◽

Content Type ◽

Tacit Knowledge Transfer ◽

The Relationship ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Foreign Parent

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess how the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge is affected by the knowledge disseminative capacity of a foreign parent firm, with an emphasis on the moderating role of psychic distance, by developing and testing a theoretical model of international joint venture (IJV) learning. Design/methodology/approach The author tested the hypotheses with survey data collected from 199 IJVs in South Korea, estimating a structural equation model using AMOS 23.0. Findings The authors found that the capacity of the foreign parent to disseminate knowledge to the IJV has a greater impact on explicit knowledge transfer than tacit knowledge transfer. He also found that the relationship between disseminative capacity and explicit knowledge transfer is significantly moderated by psychic distance, but the relationship between disseminative capacity and tacit knowledge transfer is not. Originality/value The results are critical for IJVs and parent firms seeking to improve knowledge transfer, as they establish the importance of parent firms’ disseminative capacities and the moderating role of psychic distance in the process of both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research addresses the research gap regarding disseminative capacity by providing empirical evidence.

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Family Firms, Enterprise Development and Tacit Knowledge Transformation: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Innovation in Malaysia

Global Business Review ◽

10.1177/09721509211047648 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 097215092110476

Author(s):

John Lee Kean Yew

Keyword(s):

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Global Economy ◽

Family Firms ◽

Small And Medium Enterprises ◽

Enterprise Development ◽

Generational Change ◽

Knowledge Transformation ◽

Family Smes ◽

Medium Enterprises

In light of the global economy, it is undeniable that small businesses such as family-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affect economic performance globally. They offer a key basis of flexibility and innovation but also face some challenges along the way. Since family SMEs form a large portion in the Malaysian corporate sector, the economy of this country is highly dependent on family firms’ entrepreneurial capacity. During the past decade, although family SMEs innovation is analytically and empirically reviewed in terms of theory building, it still lacks a systematic adoption of thorough and theoretically-based frameworks to gain understanding on the evolution of knowledge transformation surrounding this topic. This study primarily focuses on the development of tacit knowledge through innovation during generational change with specific attention given to three family firms ranging from old, new and declining wealth enterprises. Besides, this article appraises the evolution of SMEs innovation when new generations attempt to transform the tacit knowledge in advancing the products innovation and quality branding in Malaysia.

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Conceptualising trust as a mediator of pro-environmental tacit knowledge transfer in small and medium sized tourism enterprises

Journal of Sustainable Tourism ◽

10.1080/09669582.2021.1942479 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Conor McTiernan ◽

James Musgrave ◽

Chris Cooper

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Tacit Knowledge Transfer ◽

Tourism Enterprises

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Theorizing on the Role of Individualism-Collectivism in Tacit Knowledge Transfer Between Agents in International Alliances

International Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/jkm.2012010104 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 71-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Kiran M. Ismail

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Cultural Difference ◽

Interpersonal Relationship ◽

Personal Communication ◽

Cultural Dimensions ◽

Cultural Management ◽

Tacit Knowledge Transfer ◽

Cross Cultural Management

Taking insights from the extant literatures in cross-cultural management and organizational knowledge management, this paper explores the role of cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism in transfer of tacit knowledge between foreign agents. Tacit knowledge transfer is positively influenced by four key factors: absorptive capacity of target unit, source unit’s motivational disposition to share knowledge, cultural compatibility, and the extent of personal communication between foreign agents. It is proposed that the level of transfer of tactic knowledge between agents from collectivist cultures will be higher than the level of tacit knowledge transfer between agents from individualist cultures. It is also proposed that when there is cultural difference between foreign agents, the level of tacit knowledge transfer involving a source from a collectivist culture and a target from an individualist culture will be lower than transfer between an individualist source and a collectivist target. However, the proposed relationships are influenced by factors such as nature of knowledge, expectations of reciprocity, and the quality of interpersonal relationship between foreign agents. Several ideas for overcoming knowledge transfer obstacles and enhancing the effectiveness of knowledge transfer, as well as research implications of the proposed model are also discussed in detail.

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