Knowledge management strategies and organizational improvisation: what changed after the emergence of technological turbulence caused by artificial intelligence?

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the moderating effect of technological turbulence caused by artificial intelligence on the relationship between the traditional knowledge management strategies of personalization (tacit knowledge) and codification (explicit knowledge), and organizational improvisation, which refers to the firm's ability to generate ideas and respond to changes in the technological environment in real time. Until now, individuals have played a key and indispensable role in organizational improvisation since they are the owners of tacit knowledge and users of explicit knowledge.Design/methodology/approachThe research model was tested in a sample of firms from sectors in which the adoption of intelligent robots is growing.FindingsBoth personalization and codification have a positive and significant influence on improvisation, the former to a greater extent. Nevertheless, when technological turbulence caused by artificial intelligence occurs, the relationship between personalization and improvisation is weakened, whereas the link between codification and improvisation is strengthened.Originality/valueContrary to the pre-digital literature consensus, explicit knowledge is becoming the new major driver of organizational improvisation, while tacit knowledge sharing is losing strength and relevance. This finding may be a first indication that intelligent robots are the new exponents of improvisation for their ability to respond to changes in the environment in real time because of a combination of explicit knowledge, beyond being a mere support tool for humans.

The strategic innovation under information technological turbulence: the role of organisational resilience in competitive advantage

Purpose This study aims to propose a structural model drawing from the theoretical literature, extending the relative research fields to the competitive strategy. The empirical results involve data collection of 582 data that represents various enterprises in the Indonesian context. The authors develop four scenarios of strategic innovation based on the empirical findings, which extend the discussion on the concept of competitive strategy. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to examine the impact of organisational resilience and marketing communication on competitive advantage through new product development under information technological turbulence. Findings The results indicate that product development is less effective to firm competitive advantage during the high information technological turbulence than during low information technological turbulence. This study shows that organisational resilience and marketing communication help firms achieve a competitive advantage. The authors also identify four scenarios for strategic innovation, drawing from empirical results. Originality/value This paper extends the literature of resource-based views by proposing a model that concerns product development as the primary determinant of competitive advantage. In addition, this study discusses the intersection between the concept of dynamic capability and contingency theory by examining how firms deal with information technological turbulence.

Impact of dynamic capacities on the performance of food and beverage enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria

This study examined the impact of dynamic capacities on the performance of food and beverage enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria. The following sub-variables (strategic decision-making capacity, product innovation capacity, strategic flexibility, competitive intensity, technological turbulence, and technological capability) were employed to represent the variable of dynamic capacity. Also, the following sub-variables (sales growth, enterprise survival, enterprise efficiency, and competitive advantage) were employed to represent the variable of enterprise performance. Primary data was used to achieve descriptive and inferential statistics, and the statistics is estimated by the PLS-SEM method which was calibrated on Lisrel 8.70 software. This study found that product innovation, competitive intensity and technological turbulence, technological capability and competitive intensity, and strategic flexibility are critical sub-variables in determining the robustness of dynamic capacities, as they adequately improve increasing sales growth, survival, and sustenance of enterprise into the unforeseeable future, efficiency of enterprise, and competitive advantage of food and beverage manufacturing enterprises, respectively, particularly in this trying period that is evidenced with technological change and competition, among others.

The Factors Affecting Cooperation and the Moderating Effect of Technological Turbulence

This present study examines the effect of technological turbulence in driving cooperation, the role of non-economic satisfaction in mediating between focal constructs of relationship marketing (RM) with cooperation, and the effect of interpersonal commitment on interorganizational commitment. The findings show that high technological turbulence dampens the positive relationship of two focal constructs of RM, non-economic satisfaction mediates focal constructs of RM and cooperation, and interpersonal commitment influences interorganizational commitment. The study uses empirical data from business-to-business (B2B) ICT resellers in Indonesia to test the hypotheses developed. A structured questionnaire via an online platform is used as a research instrument with one hundred and one companies participating.

Reinterpreting excellence for sustainable competitive advantage: the role of entrepreneurial culture under information technological turbulence

Purpose This study aims to understand the culture of excellence by examining the role of entrepreneurial culture in shaping how firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage (CA). This study takes into consideration the firms’ capability to transform the entrepreneurial culture into a sustainable CA by generating product development and adapting the information technological turbulence. Design/methodology/approach This study first gathers evidence from literature then carries out a detailed study to propose a structural equation model followed by an online survey that supports empirical evidence. This empirical test involves a data set with 782 usable responses following the 4,000 emails sent to the respondents and removed data due to the missing values. The population data are taken from the firm directory in Surabaya City that the Indonesian Ministry of Trade and Industry published. Findings There is a strong tendency that entrepreneurial culture is imperative for firms to attain sustainable CA by supporting new product development. The results show that product development provides a partial mediating effect, which indicates that entrepreneurial culture may affect the sustainable CA directly and with the product development support. This study also touches on dynamic capability by proposing a scenario approach that suggests that firms should refine the entrepreneurial culture to adapt to the information technological turbulence. Originality/value This study extends the understanding of the culture of excellence by underpinning the dynamic capability theory, which argues that entrepreneurial culture is a valuable resource, which helps firms achieve sustainable CA by promoting product development.

Innovation strategy beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of trust under disruptive technology

Purpose This paper aims to understand how firms promote innovation under disruptive technology by exploring the role of trust and risk-taking behaviour in enhancing product development towards competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes a structural equation model that entails seven hypotheses for the constructs and their relationship with support from the previous literature. The empirical analysis involves a survey of the 390 small firms in Indonesia to generate four scenarios following the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings The evidence indicates that trust allows the firms to take a risk for new product development, which is, in turn, help to achieve their competitive advantage. However, the impact of product development on competitive advantage varies depending on the capability of the firms to deal with the information technological turbulence. Research limitations/implications This study adopted the concept of trust at the organisational level and did not cover the concept of trust at the family and community levels. Secondly, this study focusses on small and medium-sized enterprises as unit analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results depend on the subject of study, which could be different from the normal condition. Practical implications This study provides four scenarios of foresight innovation strategy, which allow the firms to deal with various plausible futures. The proposed model devise strategies to prepare a strategy in the face of uncertainty. The findings encourage the firms to cultivate trust from their business partners to create innovation. Originality/value This study extends the discussion on how innovativeness leads to firm competitive advantage by examining the role of trust and risk-taking behaviour in product development under information technological turbulence. The results confirm the integration between social capital theory and the contingency approach.

The double-edged sword effect of social media usage on new product development performance: evidence from Chinese firms

PurposeResearch on social media frequently analyze social media usage (SMU)'s positive consequences for organizations and individuals; however, recent innovation studies caution that SMU may not always lead to positive new product development (NPD) outcomes. The competing streams of research highlight a fundamental tension that exists in the social media literature exemplified by the question: Is SMU good or bad for NPD? In this manuscript, the authors suggest that a more appropriate question as follows: What are the positive and negative indirect effects of SMU on NPD performance? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the aforementioned points in detail.Design/methodology/approachA literature review provides the model and hypotheses. Using a sample of 168 Chinese firms, the authors conducted an empirical test following multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe results demonstrate that SMU facilitates business analytics (ability) and social legitimacy (opportunity) but impairs entrepreneurial proclivity (motivation). These three constructs in turn mediate the effect of SMU on NPD performance. Moreover, this paper explores how technological turbulence moderates SMU's effects on business analytics, entrepreneurship proclivity and social legitimacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe results may be affected by both the context (solely in China) and type (cross-sectional) of the data set. Future research might take a decompositional approach to study SMU's effect on innovation in different NPD stages. Furthermore, with widely varying purposes (e.g., marketing, information searching, partner collaboration, new product launch, etc.), there is certainly a need for more clarity and understanding of how firms can leverage each of these different social media activities for successful NPD.Practical implicationsFirst, we suggest that managers in China should be explicitly aware of the double-edged sword effect of SMU on NPD performance. Second, this study encourages managers to use social media carefully when technological turbulence becomes intense.Originality/valueDrawing on the ability–motivation–opportunity framework, this is one of the first studies to simultaneously examines the benefits and costs of SMU for NPD. In addition, this paper bridges the separate literatures on social media, business analytics, entrepreneurial proclivity and social legitimacy and contributes to the NPD research.

The Influence of Marketing Innovations on Firm Performance under Different Market Environments: Evidence from China

The adoption of marketing innovations can contribute to the sustainability of a firm. However, research on the types of marketing innovations and their effects is limited. The purpose of this study is to analyze the dimensions of marketing innovations, their effects on firm performance, and how market environmental factors moderate those effects. Based on an analysis of the literature, this study discovered two types of marketing innovations and established a model to explain the dynamics of marketing innovation and firm performance under different market environments. Empirical data were collected and used to validate the model. Results show that both market-driven and market-driving innovations significantly contribute to a firm’s performance. Moreover, their effects are significantly moderated by competition intensity and technological turbulence but not demand uncertainty. This study contributes to the literature because it elaborates the conceptualization of marketing innovation and presents the dynamics of marketing innovation, market environment, and firm performance. It also provides practical implications on how firms can utilize marketing innovations to achieve business sustainability.

Understanding knowledge hiding under technological turbulence caused by artificial intelligence and robotics

Purpose Artificial intelligence (AI) will be performing 52% of the tasks in companies by 2025. The increasing adoption of AI is generating technological turbulence in the business environment. Previous studies have also shown that employees are aware of the high risk of losing their jobs when being replaced by AI. The risk of employees engaging in opportunistic behaviors, such as knowledge hiding, is thus fairly high. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze the mediating effect of employee’s AI awareness on the relationship between technological turbulence generated by AI and the three types of knowledge hiding: evasive hiding, playing dumb and rationalized hiding. Design/methodology/approach Structural equations by the partial least squares method were used to test the proposed research model. Findings The most interesting finding is that employee’s AI and robotics awareness fulfills almost all mediating functions in the relationship between technological turbulence generated by AI and the three types of knowledge hiding. Originality/value The results show that knowledge hiding in the digital age is first and foremost a strategy by employees to sabotage and induce failure in process automation, to reduce the risk of being replaced in the workplace by AI. This study indicates that employees are willing to hide knowledge in all possible ways when perception that AI is a threat to their job increases. In other words, technological turbulence generated by AI and employee’s AI awareness are the two great new triggers of knowledge hiding in the digital age.

The potential of state-corporate hybridization in the processes of traditional political regimes transformation

The purpose of this article was to identify the potential of state-corporate hybridization as one of the scenarios for the transformation of traditional political regimes. Based on the application of the methods of critical analysis and case study, the author researches the practice of adapting political regimes to the conditions of current technological transformations and the growth of the complexity of controlled socio-political systems. The results of the study allow us to confirm the hypothesis that, in order to ensure the stability and survival of national political regimes, with a high degree of probability, technologically developed states will implement scenarios of «absorption» of existing digital technologies in their own interests in order to increase their own diversity and complexity of the system of public and political administration. At the same time, the paper concludes that, in order to maintain their functionality in the new conditions of a changing technological environment, the traditional institutions of power will strive to implement the scenario of strict regulation, regulation, and restriction of the activities of global technology companies, which pose a significant threat to the political stability of the state. The alternative scenario is to integrate technological giants in state and political management processes, to include their essential resources and technologies (with subsequent implementation at a practical level) in the «smart» models of state and political management of a new type. At the same time, the author of the article expresses profound skepticism about the potential of using digital technologies in the processes of democratization of modern societies in the case of the implementation of the scenario of state-corporate hybridization, finding in digitalization a significant range of threats, risks, and challenges for contemporary social development in conditions of current technological turbulence.