scholarly journals Process Innovation, Alliances, and the Interplay of Firm Age: Early Evidence from Italian Small Firms

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Cristina Bettinelli ◽  
Mara Bergamaschi ◽  
Rasmi Kokash ◽  
Silvia Biffignandi

<p>We investigate whether and how process innovation of small enterprises is influenced by allying with another firm. Drawing on resource-based view of the firm and integrating findings from studies on the liabilities of age and newness, we argue: 1) for a direct association between strategic alliances and process innovation, and 2) in favor of a moderating role of firm age on this relationship. The results from a representative sample of 159 Italian small firms shed new light on the role of strategic alliances in explaining process innovation, and support this proposal. We find a significant and positive relationship between strategic alliances and process innovation, and a moderating effect of firm age on this relationship. This suggests that a younger firm benefits more than an older one from the increase in process innovation activities occurring as a result of alliances with other firms. The age of the firm appears to dictate the nature of relationship between strategic alliances and process innovation. Significant and novel theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.</p>

2001 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 129-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAN H. M. STROEKEN

IT has become a major source of innovation, innovation that is crucial for the competitive strength of enterprises. This applies to large as well as to small enterprises. Small companies that follow technological trends are, however, confronted with a number of specific constraints that impede the application of IT. The aim of this article is to show that there are plenty of opportunities for SMEs to stimulate innovation by the implementation of IT. The second aim is to make clear what are the bottlenecks in the implementation of IT in SMEs, with the ultimate goal to formulate policy recommendations to stimulate the introduction of IT in SMEs. The structure of this article is as follows. First, we will sketch the role of IT in innovation processes. The introduction of IT first of all leads to process innovation (internal and external), followed by product innovation in the sense of more diverse, cheaper and customer specific products. Process innovation can best be described in terms of standardisation, differentiation, specialisation and (vertical and horizontal) integration. Subsequently, we will discuss the empirical results of several reports we made for the Dutch Council for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (RMK). We will make an inventory of the bottlenecks that occur during the innovation processes and the implementation of the required IT. The problem is that small enterprises often lack the necessary knowledge of the innovative possibilities of IT or find it difficult to apply it in practice. The latter is usually the case when there are considerable organisational consequences or when strategic vision is required with respect to the possible uses of IT. Finally, we will make a number of policy related recommendations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanhaiya K. Sinha ◽  
Chad Saunders ◽  
Simon Raby ◽  
Jim Dewald

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of previous venture experience on the relationship between learning breadth and innovation breadth, defined as the range of innovation types within a firm, and the impacts on SME performance.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was developed, and hypotheses were tested using step-wise multivariate regressions on survey data from 509 North American SME respondents.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the previous venture experience of a firm's top management plays a key role in enhancing the innovation breadth for a given level of learning breadth. There is a curvilinear relationship between innovation breadth and learning breadth, and increases in innovation breadth lead to increases in firm performance.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that organizations seeking higher performance returns by expanding their breadth of innovations need parallel attention on higher learning breadth in order to adequately capture the value from this broader set of innovations.Originality/valueThe paper contextualizes learning and innovation in the SMEs and argues that the consideration of diversity (breadth) of learning and innovation can help us understand their performance implications across industries. It also extends the effect of previous venture experience (PVE) of the leadership team in explaining performance. Beyond their ability to address external factors, PVE has a moderating effect on the relationship between learning and innovation breadth across the organization. Previous venture experience serves as both a guide and catalyst for investments in learning activities that lead to a broader range of innovation activities across the firm.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-216
Author(s):  
Soumya Upadhyay ◽  
Robert Weech-Maldonado ◽  
Christy H. Lemak ◽  
Amber Stephenson ◽  
Tapan Mehta ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peivand Ghasemzadeh ◽  
Jamal A. Nazari ◽  
Mandana Farzaneh ◽  
Gholamhossein Mehralian

Purpose Different studies have analyzed the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and innovation performance (IP). However, the question of how innovation culture (IC) affects the relationship between OL and IP remains unexplored. This study aims to examine the impact of IC on the relationship between OL and various dimensions of IP, including product, process and objective innovation. Design/methodology/approach A research model was developed and performed based on the relevant literature in the field of OL, IC and IP. The hypotheses are tested with the data collected from companies operating in an intensive knowledge-based industry. Findings Based on the results of 625 questionnaires completed by pharmaceutical companies, OL activities and IC can result in product and process innovation. However, this relationship was not supported for the objective innovation. Furthermore, in terms of the moderating role of IC in the relationship between OL and IP dimensions, the results were significant. Practical implications The findings help to gain a better understanding of how organizational commitment by creating a culture for innovation can help to maximize the benefits of continuous OL in product and process innovation. Originality/value Considering the three aspects of IP, it is the first survey of the contribution of OL in firms’ IP with considering the moderating role of IC. The proposed model would enrich the relevant literature and provide us with better understanding how OL contributes to the IP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Vijay Tata ◽  
Sanjeev Prashar ◽  
Chandan Parsad

With an increase in e-commerce activity, online reviews have become a pertinent source of information for shoppers. Existing research is limited to examining select predictors of shoppers' intention to write reviews; however, there exists a gap in deciphering the role of review involvement in intention to write reviews. The present study pertains to the influence of the usefulness of site and product, and shoppers' satisfaction, and also on the intention to write reviews online. Besides this, the article also explores the moderating role of review involvement on the relationship between shopper satisfaction and their intention to post reviews. The study reveals a few interesting and counter-intuitive findings that add to literature and practice in understanding online review posting behaviour. Theoretical and managerial implications based on the findings are also presented.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Mohamed Ahmed AlKerdawy

<p>This study investigates the moderating role of electronic human resource management (e-HRM) in the relationship between human resource management ambidexterity (HRMA) and talent management (TM) using data collected from 430 managers working in 10 international banks in Egypt. e-HRM was found to be an important moderator of the relationship between HRMA and TM. The more dependence on e-HRM in executing human resource policies in banks, the greater influence of HRMA on TM. The results referred also a positive and significant influence of both HRMA and e-HRM on TM. This study concludes by discussing managerial implications and the limitations should be addressed in future research.</p>


Author(s):  
Paulo Melo ◽  
Sérgio Maravilhas

The current paper investigates the role of interactions based on geographic proximity for the development of firm’s innovation activities. Many authors such as Porter (1998) argued that the formation of interactive linkages based on geographic proximity seem to facilitate the search for new knowledge, information and technologies able to impact the development of innovation activities inside the organization generating competitive advantages. To perform this research, the authors decided to investigate the interaction behavior of micro and small firms in the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector located inside and outside the technological park in the city of Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. The findings showed in general that firms which had innovation activities, also had some kind of interactions with other agents, confirming that innovation is not a solitaire phenomenon. However, the empirical evidences did not confirm that interactions based on geographic proximity were relevant for the development of firms’ innovative activities. The study showed that, nowadays, firms use to interact with others regardless of whether they are geographically close or not. This may happen due to the fact that with the facilitation and the intensive use of new communication technologies have helped firms to reach partners wherever they are located at. Also, the study may suggest that arguments such as the role of geographic proximity and business agglomerations based on spatial proximity may need to be revised


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Chaudhary

Purpose Despite the established significance of absorptive capacity, there is a worrying lack of research that empirically examines its antecedents. With a call for investigation guided by the knowledge-based theory, the purpose of this paper is to bridge any probable gap by exploring the effect that an organization’s knowledge stock and its knowledge integrating mechanisms have on the development of its absorptive capacity. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of a survey administered to a sample comprising owners of small Indian automotive firms, this paper empirically examines the direct effect of an organization’s knowledge stock (including knowledge breadth and depth) and the moderating role of its structure-related mechanisms (e.g., formalization) on its potential and realized absorptive capacities. The study uses survey data from 226 small business owners and multiple linear regression analysis to examine the significance of its hypotheses. Findings The results show that knowledge stock has a statistically notable influence on a small firm’s absorptive capacity. The enabling role of formalization in the relationship between knowledge stock and absorptive capacity is also evident. Practical implications Given the handicap of small firms vis-à-vis large firms to deploy internal R&D capabilities, business owners must ensure not to confuse absorptive capacity with the pre-existence of R&D capabilities. Originality/value The unbundling of knowledge stock into breadth and depth of knowledge enables business owners and researchers to understand how any particular knowledge stock can relate to an organization’s absorptive capacity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Hung-Yi Liao ◽  
Kang-Hwa Shaw

Based on social learning theory, this paper investigated the relationship between authentic leadership and employee voice as well as the mediating role of felt obligations for change, and the moderating role of power distance orientation. Using a questionnaire survey, we collected employee data in China, and obtained 183 usable responses to test our hypotheses. The results show that authentic leadership is positively related to employee voice, authentic leadership positively influences felt obligations for change, and felt obligations for change mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and employee voice. Further, power distance orientation moderates the influence of authentic leadership on felt obligations for change. Theoretical implications, managerial implications, and future directions are discussed.


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