Organizational knowledge and collaborative human resource practices as determinants of innovation

A basic premise of the literature states that innovation depends on the ability of firms to manage knowledge. However, despite the major role of services in the economy, studies that assess the role of knowledge in innovation performance are particularly limited in this sector. Moreover, knowledge and human resource practices are intrinsically related concepts, as it is people who generate processes and refine knowledge. An empirical analysis is conducted on the role of organizational knowledge and collaborative human resource practices in innovation performance. The results show that: (i) existing knowledge in a certain domain provides a base for introducing innovations into the domain; (ii) knowledge of a more general nature favours the introduction of various types of innovation; (iii) collaborative human resource practices are an antecedent of product innovation; and (iv) development of organizational knowledge may be based on a broader perspective associated with human resource management.     

An empirical study on the relationships between knowledge management,knowledge-oriented human resource practices and innovation

The main purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse relationships between human resource (HR) and knowledge management (KM) practices and their effect on the firm’s innovation performance. From the knowledge-based view of the firm, hypotheses based on the specific interactions between an integrated set of KM and knowledge-oriented HR practices were established and statistically tested in a sample of 111 Spanish companies from technological industries. Survey methodology was used with the aim to gather data about KM practices and other related organizational aspects. Overall, this paper provides empirical evidence of a moderating effect of a set of knowledge-oriented HR practices in the relationship between KM exploitation practices and innovation performance. In line with previous research, we suggest that although KM practices are important in themselves for innovation purposes, when specific organizational conditions are properly established by managers the innovation capacity of the firm will significantly be improved and more successfully utilized.     

战略人力资源管理一致性与组织绩效的关系研究——双元创新能力的中介作用

揭示战略人力资源管理一致性对组织绩效影响的作用机理一直是战略人力资源管理研究的核心问题之一。以双元创新能力为中介变量、以市场环境为调节变量,构建了战略人力资源管理一致性与组织绩效之间的关系模型。实证研究结果表明:战略人力资源管理一致性对组织短期与长期绩效的影响具有差异性,且对短期绩效的影响作用大于长期绩效;探索性创新与开发性创新能力均对组织长期绩效具有部分中介效应,市场环境对组织短期与长期绩效影响均具有调节效应。     

柔性人力资源管理对企业双元创新的影响：环境竞争性的调节作用

本文研究了柔性人力资源管理(含资源柔性人力资源管理与协调柔性人力资源管理)、环境竞争性和双元创新之间的关系。以235家高新技术企业为实证样本,结果表明：资源柔性人力资源管理、协调柔性人力资源管理均能够促进双元创新;与协调柔性人力资源管理相比,资源柔性人力资源管理对双元创新的促进作用更强。环境竞争性能够正向调节资源柔性人力资源管理与双元创新之间的关系,而环境竞争性仅正向调节协调柔性人力资源管理与突破性创新之间的关系。     

支持性人力资源实践、自我效能感与创新行为的关系研究

从Bandura的自我效能干预出发,研究支持性人力资源实践与自我效能感的关系、自我效能感与创新行为的关系以及自我效能感作为支持性人力资源实践与创新行为的中介效应关系问题.提出了支持性人力资源实践、自我效能感与创新行为的中介模型,并采用十几个省市不同行业的近百家组织的374份数据问卷进行数理统计分析,验证了本文的理论模型.在统计分析中.自我效能感在支持性人力资源实践与创新行为的完全中介效应得到验证,即支持性人力资源实践通过自我效能感对创新行为产生影响.     

Foundations of technology development,innovation and competitiveness in the globalised knowledge economy

With the growth of high‐technology industries and knowledge intensive services, the pursuit of industrial competitiveness has progressed from a broad concern with the processes of industrialisation to a more focused analysis of the factors explaining cross‐national variation in the level of participation in knowledge industries. From an examination of cross‐national data, the paper develops the proposition that particular elements of the domestic science, technology and industry infrastructure—such as the stock of knowledge and competence in the economy, the capacity for learning and generation of new ideas and the capacity to commercialise new ideas—vary cross‐nationally and are related to the level of participation of a nation in knowledge intensive activities. Existing understandings of the role of the state in promoting industrial competitiveness might be expanded to incorporate an analysis of the contribution of the state through the building of competencies in science, technology and industry.     

Extreme case learning: the manager perspective on rare knowledge and capabilities development

International strategy is enhanced by organizations’ ability to learn in host markets; yet, it remains ambiguous how post-entry knowledge gaps between home – and host country shape MNE’s absorptive capacity. This article builds on the specific contributions of ‘extreme case’ internationalization to advance literature in this field. We foster the understanding of the role of rare knowledge and the mechanisms that link knowledge acquisition to absorptive capacity dynamics used in the internationalization path of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We opt for in-depth qualitative research into the post-entry phase of ‘extreme’ (thus particularly crude) international joint venture (IJV) investment, and analyze the perspective of managers from a developed economy MNE located in a high-risk, weak-institutions host country. The firm’s absorptive capacity and its interaction with external environments that are categorized into four distinct contexts are found to be contingent upon pro-active experiential learning, concurrent to managerial willingness and simultaneous organizational commitments to learning and to exploiting rare knowledge. We thus uncover managerial perceptions of a knowledge gap identified as host-country challenges and resulting managerial solutions, which reveal rare learning opportunities and knowledge exploitation dynamics. The capacity to compensate for knowledge gaps is a critical key within the design and consolidation of an alternative internationalization path for developed-country MNEs. This challenges the traditional risk–return–commitment dependencies in prior literature.     

社会资本与核心能力关系研究：以知识创造为中介变量

 本文从社会资本的视角出发,研究企业内外部社会资本对企业核心能力的协同影响,并以知识基础理论为基础探讨知识创造在此过程中的中介作用。研究结果表明,企业内外部社会资本以及它们之间的协同机制对企业核心能力有显著的正向影响,知识创造在此过程中起着重要的中介作用。本文结论对于进一步明确社会资本、知识创造与企业核心能力之间的相互联系,特别是内外部社会资本、以及内外部社会资本的协同机制对核心能力不同维度的影响有重要的意义,有利于指导企业利用其内外部关系提升核心能力与竞争优势。     

以学习型组织理论促进高校后勤系统人力资源管理的创新

学习型组织理论是当前最前沿的管理理论之一,是用一种新的思维方式对组织的思考。将学习型组织管理与高校后勤系统传统人力资源管理进行对比,分析在高校后勤系统中建立学习型组织,给高校后勤系统人力资源管理带来新的优势,提出切实转变人力资源管理的理念和职能、大力实施人才培养战略、研究建立科学的培训体系和完善人力资源管理考核制度等创新应用学习型组织理论发展高校后勤系统人力资源管理的具体措施。     

A qualitative analysis of social intelligence in nonprofit organizations: external knowledge acquisition for human capital development,organizational learning and innovation

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are in crisis due to the introduction of new public management. Social intelligence represents organizational members’ tacit knowledge, abilities and skills to sense and understand the needs of external stakeholders, and constantly interact appropriately with the stakeholders for the benefits of their firm. Using 20 qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews across nine Australian NPOs as the central instrument, this paper argues that social intelligence acts as a catalyst to external knowledge acquisition, which can have a dynamic influence on human capital development and organizational learning for innovation in NPOs. The analysis also reveals that half of the participants’ understandings of social intelligence are different to those commonly contained in the literature. The paper argues that a better understanding of the theory–practice divide of social intelligence is necessary if knowledge management, organizational learning and an intellectual capital-view of the firm are to be fully integrated.     

IT knowledge integration capability and team performance: The role of team climate

Previous research considering a normative perspective for fostering knowledge integration at the team level of analysis underscores that teams are often reluctant to share important knowledge among their members. In the attempt to provide a wider perspective on team knowledge integration, we take a different perspective, basing our arguments on team climate theoretical framework. Specifically, we argue that an autonomy and experimental climate (i.e. shared perception that the team supports autonomous action and experimentation and risk taking) can favor the team's ability to integrate members’ knowledge. Indeed, focusing on members’ willingness to contribute to team well-being, team autonomy and experimental climate may enhance the team's capability to integrate knowledge enabled by the IT infrastructure (IT knowledge integration capability). We tested our research model on a sample of 410 members and leaders of 69 organizational work teams. Results show the critical role played by team climate in favoring IT knowledge integration capability, which in turn affects team outcomes.     

The climate for innovation in industry: The role of management attitudes and practices in consumer electronics

This article explores policy factors that may have systematically influenced the innovative vitality of the U.S. consumer electronics industry during the post World War II period. A series of successful innovations in electronic equipment that have become the foundation of international rivalry in this industry are examined with a focus on the several factors that might explain the relatively sluggish performance of U.S. firms in comparison with counterparts from Japan and elsewhere. The article suggests that the institutional climate for innovation, pertaining to considerations that are internal to the firm like management attitudes, practices and conventions, are predominantly important in explaining the innovative behavior of the industry. These tend to dominate the more frequently cited external or macroeconomic factors like inflation, industry structure, government regulation, the propensities to save and invest, etc.A great potential for improving economic progress lies in opportunities in research and education to provide a better basis for top executives to understand the key role of technology in management and corporate strategy.     

开放度与创新绩效的关系研究——动态能力的调节作用

开放度与创新绩效存在何种关系一直是创新管理领域探讨的热点问题,但是已有研究均忽略了实施开放式创新所需的动态能力的作用。文章探讨了动态能力作用下的开放度与创新绩效的关系,并以我国246家企业为样本进行了实证研究。研究发现,开放广度与创新绩效正相关,而开放深度与创新绩效的关系存在最佳开放点;动态能力对二者的关系具有调节作用,企业应根据不同的开放对象重点发展相应的动态能力。     

完善高等学校的知识创新体系——迎接知识经济的挑战

随着现代科学技术的迅猛发展,特别是以信息、通讯技术为代表的高技术产业的发展、计算机的普及、因特网的出现与网络化,通讯与计算机的数字化等,导致了工业社会的结构调整和重新组合,促进了经济结构知识化程度的提高。世界各国经济发展比以往任何时候都更依赖于知识的生产、扩散和应用,知识和技术在经济增长中的重要作用愈来愈引起人们的重视。冷战结束后,国家间的竞争也转变为经济竞争,集中表现在对一体化国际市场的占有、国家的创新能力和可持续发展能力等方面,其决定因素是知识和技术的创新。创新已成为实现经济增长的驱动器。有人预言在…     

Modes of organizing biomedical innovation in the UK and US and the role of integrative and relational capabilities

Given that biomedical innovation involves intense collaboration across disciplines, occupations and organizations, a nation's integrative capabilities (the ability to move between basic science and clinical development) and relational capabilities (the ability to collaborate with diverse organizations) have been identified as crucial. This paper deploys qualitative analysis of biomedical innovation in the UK and US to identify mechanisms influencing innovation at the project level through which these macro level capabilities may have effects. From this a propositional framework is developed that helps explain the likely impact of such capabilities for characteristically different kinds of innovation projects at the micro level.     

Taiwanese IT firms’ offshore R&D in China and the connection with the global innovation network

Although it is evident that technology is becoming increasingly globalized, resulting in the expansion of R&D internationalization by firms, despite this discernible trend, the substantial body of literature in this area is based mainly on the experience of the developed country. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of this issue by examining the R&D internationalization of a newly-industrializing country, Taiwan being a prime example, and its connection with the global production network. We begin with an examination of the literature on R&D internationalization and globalization, based upon which we propose a conceptual framework adapted from Dunning’s eclectic paradigm. In doing so, we set out to develop arguments based not only on the reasons why cross-strait R&D internationalization may be undertaken by Taiwanese information technology (IT) firms, but also the likely patterns of their R&D portfolios across the strait. Drawing on an original questionnaire survey and firm-level interviews, the paper presents and discusses empirical data on the cross-strait R&D deployment of Taiwanese IT firms. It then goes a stage further, using the ‘smiling curve’, to put forward a ‘holistic’ view of the cross-border innovation network in the IT hardware industry, in order to determine what cross-strait R&D internationalization means to the global production network.     

Switching to online learning during COVID-19: Theorizing the role of IT mindfulness and techno eustress for facilitating productivity and creativity in student learning

Online learning environments facilitate improved student learning by offering IT tools to enhance student productivity- and creativity-in-learning. COVID-19 impacted social-distancing measures forced an abrupt switch to online learning in most universities, putting immense pressure on the students to creatively adapt to new ways of online learning. Despite the purported positives of online learning, in the COVID-19 scenario, students reported mixed outcomes. While some students could adapt to the ‘new normal’, others struggled to adjust to the transformed IT-enabled learning scenario. Grounding our work in IT mindfulness literature, we posit that an IT-enabled learning environment may have differential impact on students’ productivity- and creativity-in-learning, depending on the extent of their IT mindfulness. Besides leveraging the mindfulness-to-meaning theory, we hypothesize the mediating role of techno eustress in the relationship between student IT mindfulness and learning effectiveness. We test the theorized model through data collected via a two-wave survey in a university student population exclusively using IT-enabled learning environments during the pandemic lockdown period. Results indicate that IT mindfulness has significant positive relationships with both productivity- and creativity-in- learning. Moreover, these relationships are mediated by the students’ techno eustress perceptions. Theoretical and practical implications arising from our study are also discussed.     

Users as innovators in developing countries: The global sources of innovation and diffusion in mobile banking services

This paper examines the extent to which users in developing countries innovate, the factors that enable these innovations and whether they are meaningful on a global stage. To study this issue, we conducted an empirical investigation into the origin and types of innovations in financial services offered via mobile phones, a global, multi-billion-dollar industry in which developing economies play an important role. We used the complete list of mobile financial services, as reported by the GSM Association, and collected detailed histories of the development of the services and their innovation process. Our analysis, the first of its kind, shows that 85% of the innovations in this field originated in developing countries. We also conclude that, at least 50% of all mobile financial services were pioneered by users, approximately 45% by producers, and the remaining were jointly developed by users and producers. The main factors contributing to these innovations to occur in developing countries are the high levels of need, the existence of flexible platforms, in combination with increased access to information and communication technology. Additionally, services developed by users diffused at more than double the rate of producer-innovations. Finally, we observe that three-quarters of the innovations that originated in non-OECD countries have already diffused to OECD countries, and that the (user) innovations are therefore globally meaningful. This study suggests that the traditional North-to-South diffusion framework fails to explain these new sources of innovation and may require re-examination.     

Containing the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome in external knowledge absorption and open innovation: The role of indirect countermeasures

This paper builds new theory and provides supporting evidence to contain the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome (NIHS) – a persistent decision-making error arising from an attitude-based bias against external knowledge. Conceptually, we draw on the 4i framework of organizational learning to develop a novel process perspective on NIHS. This allows us not only to unpack how and where NIHS impedes organizational learning, but also to identify the key requirements for effective NIHS countermeasures. Importantly, countermeasures fall into two categories: those that seek to change the negative attitude directly (direct NIHS countermeasures) and those that seek to attenuate the behavioral impact of negative attitudes without addressing the attitudes as such (indirect NIHS countermeasures). While the evidence base on direct NIHS countermeasures has grown over the last decade, indirect NIHS countermeasures have received little research attention. To address this gap, we adopt a mixed methods research design composed of two complementary empirical studies – the first qualitative and the second quantitative. Study 1 explores the prevalence of distinct NIHS countermeasures in collaborative R&D practice. Based on 32 interviews and three focus group meetings with R&D employees, we find that a broad array of primarily direct NIHS countermeasures is employed in R&D practice. Study 2 addresses the scarcity of scholarly and managerial insights on indirect NIHS countermeasures by testing the effectiveness of perspective taking as a debiasing technique to contain negative attitudes at the level of the individual. Based on quantitative survey data from 565 global R&D projects, it provides empirical evidence not only for the prevalence and negative effects of NIHS on project success as mediated by external knowledge absorption, but also for the effectiveness of perspective taking as an exemplary indirect NIHS countermeasure.     

Embedding with multiple knowledge sources to improve innovation performance: the learning experience of Motorola in Brazil

This article explores how a subsidiary of a multi-national enterprise (MNE) in an emerging economy embeds with multiple knowledge sources, both in its corporate network (internal) and in the host country (external), to create the capability to undertake innovative activities. Drawing on first-hand and intra-firm field evidence over the lifetime of a subsidiary in the information and communications technology industry in Brazil (1996–2009) the article finds that: (1) Within 10 years, the case subsidiary attained advanced, near-world leading innovation performance in three technological functions: project management, software engineering and product and solutions; (2) This was an outcome of how the firm simultaneously engaged in knowledge-intensive linkages based on increased frequency of use and improved quality over time, with specific internal and external counterparts; (3) However, some counterparts and linkages were more effective than others in contributing to the subsidiary's innovation performance. Drawing on a novel approach that examines the relationship between dual embeddedness and innovative performance, this article extends our understanding of embeddedness as part of knowledge-seeking strategies of MNE-subsidiaries. It also provides new insights to deepen the analysis of the nuances of subsidiaries’ multiple embeddedness, especially in emerging economies.