Organisational knowledge creation strategies: A conceptual framework

The main purposes of this article are to identify the dimensions of organisational knowledge creation strategies (EICE model: exploration, institutional entrepreneurship, combination, exploitation) and to clarify the relationship between the organisational knowledge creation strategies and its knowledge asset. For these purposes, guided by knowledge-based view and knowledge creation theory, we propose an EICE model and explore its effect on the knowledge asset. We further suggest the managerial implications and theoretical implications. The main managerial implication is that the knowledge creation strategies model may help manager to make effective strategies for knowledge creation within the organisation. The main contributions to organisation theory are extending Nonaka's knowledge creation theory to form a new strategic model for knowledge creation.     

Completion of knowledge codification: an illustration through the ISO 9000 standards implementation process

This paper looks at the role played by the ISO 9000 registration process in contributing to the knowledge codification within the firms. The ISO 9000 standards concern the way a company should elaborate a quality system by providing guidelines and models. They are considered as a code, i.e. a common language, which leads to communication and industrial relationship. This paper focuses on how this code might be used within the firms to enhance knowledge codification. It explains the standards implementation process by studying the three steps needed to complete codification within the firm: (1) the starting point of the implementation; (2) the subject of the codification, that means the material and behavioural characteristics of the production process; (3) the impact of the ISO 9000 implementation on knowledge accumulation within the firm. This paper addresses the fact that the ISO implementation is related to knowledge codification through a learning process, which includes both individual and collective knowledge conversions.     

The roles of gamification,knowledge creation,and entrepreneurial orientation towards firm performance

In a highly competitive industry, it has been a best practice that dynamic capabilities guide technology firms to cope with challenging situations. Meanwhile, knowledge creation enables the firm to condition the success and continuity of innovations, entrepreneurial orientation to support companies in winning the competition, and gamification to engage employees in a collaborative way towards better firm performance. This study examines how technology companies can improve their performance using gamification, knowledge creation, and entrepreneurial orientation. To test the proposed model, we collected data using a questionnaire survey of 124 technology companies in Indonesia. The theoretical model used structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 3. The results show that all constructs have a direct and positive relationship, except for the direct relationship between gamification and firm performance. Thus, entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge creation are essential components of technology companies that mediate the effect of gamification on firm performance. This study provides a theoretical and empirical basis for the antecedents of technological firm performance.     

Knowledge codification and the geography of innovation: the case of Brescia mechanical cluster

The paper re-examines the twin concepts of knowledge “tacitness” and “codification”, which both the literature on (broadly defined) industrial districts, and some recent econometric literature on “localized knowledge spillovers” have possibly mis-handled. Even within specialized local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) clusters, knowledge may be highly codified and firm-specific. The case study on Brescia mechanical firms shows that knowledge, rather than flowing freely within the cluster boundaries, circulates within a few smaller “epistemic communities”, each centered around the mechanical engineers of individual machine producers, and spanning to a selected number of suppliers’ and customers’ technicians. Physical distance among members of each community vary a lot, but even local messages may be highly codified.     

Articulation and codification of collective know-how in the steel industry: evidence from blast furnace control in France

In this article, we use the implementation of an expert system to improve blast furnace control in the French steel industry to illustrate the problem of knowledge articulation/codification. Blast furnace related knowledge still largely takes the form of empirical know-how in general and expert know-how tied to specific individuals in particular. Therefore, the articulation/codification of knowledge in this field is a difficult task requiring the identification and selection of ‘best practices’ for the purpose of codification. This process, in turn, affects daily routines and creates new forms of generic knowledge that make use of local knowledge. These new forms of generic information reinforce the tendency to appropriate private knowledge currently prevailing in Usinor, a large French steel company, and create new routes and new insights for R&D policy.     

Impact of knowledge incentive mechanisms on individual knowledge creation behavior—An empirical study for Taiwanese R&D professionals

Knowledge incentive mechanisms are a new development in the management of knowledge. The most prevalent perspective presented in the available literature is that the knowledge incentive mechanisms must have the ability to manage the flow of business knowledge. This study explores the relationship among knowledge incentive mechanisms, knowledge psychological ownership, and individual knowledge creation behavior. This study uses structural equation modeling to test a sample of R&D professionals from high-tech companies in Taiwan. Data analysis suggests that knowledge incentive mechanisms promote the psychological ownership by the knowledge owner so that he or she actively carries out knowledge innovation. This implies that knowledge incentive mechanisms stress private proprietary characteristics employees who possess real ownership when they innovate will deem such innovation as an extension of self, giving rise to a protective or defensive mindset, which then has an impact on individual knowledge creation behaviors because of the psychological ownership of knowledge.     

科研合作网络特征与团队知识创造关系研究

知识是21世纪最重要的资源,如何创造新知识成为一个关键问题,受到普遍关注。本文从社会网络结构特征的视角出发,对科研合作网络与知识创造绩效的关系展开了分析。为了验证我们的假设,本文选取了管理学领域的24个科研合作团队,收集了他们在6年时间发表的1494篇论文,并通过识别888个作者的合作关系建立合作网络模型。数据结果表明,合作网络的结构特征对团队知识创造绩效产生不同的影响:(1)合作网的派系数量与知识创造绩效呈正相关关系;(2)最大子图比例以及合作网络密度与其呈负相关关系;(3)中心性则与其无关。最后,本文从合作结构的角度提出了提高科研团队绩效的思路。     

知识管理策略与知识创造

知识创造过程是揭示显性知识和隐性知识在个体或组织中相互转化和作用从而产生新的知识的重要模型和理论。本文在分析、归纳了知识创造过程与知识管理策略的相互关系的基础上,提出了对应于不同的知识创造过程所应采用的知识管理策略。     

Facing the problem of unbalanced development of knowledge across sectors and fields: the case of the knowledge base in primary education

This paper aims at developing a framework to analyse the structure and the dynamics of the knowledge base in the education sector. The main purpose is to explain why the creation and circulation of knowledge do not work well and what kind of transformations should be implemented at the system level to improve the process of knowledge advances. Three main issues are at stake: the interface between science (in this case, the educational research) and technology (the practical knowledge used by teachers), the low level of codification, which hampers the access to and the expansion of the professional knowledge base and the incentive problems posed by the need for knowledge and innovation diffusion across classrooms and schools.     

基于B-SECI模型的颠覆性创新过程解构：知识创造视角

知识创造是创新主体不断吸收与转化知识,并将不同领域的显性知识和隐性知识进行有效利用的过程。从知识创造视角出发,构建了契合颠覆性创新特征的SECI改进模型(B-SECI),根据知识转移流动和创造演化等维度对颠覆性创新的发展特征与演化过程进行解构,旨在更能精准把握颠覆性创新演化的内在机理。研究发现,颠覆性创新主要包含隐性知识与显性知识,遵循社会化、外显化、组合化和内隐化等过程,并在具体形式上经历了创意社会化、方案外显化、技术雏形化以及最终的产品商业化阶段。     

创业企业知识异质性与公司投资者知识创造

本文基于创业企业知识异质性视角,运用沪深主板62家上市企业2000~2011期间471个公司创业投资(CVC)观测样本所构成的非平衡面板数据,采用负二项回归模型实证检验创业企业知识异质性与公司投资者知识创造之间的关系以及吸收能力、卷入强度对两者关系的调节作用,并进一步研究不同CVC项目治理结构下两者关系的差异。研究发现:创业企业知识异质性与公司投资者知识创造之间存在"U形"关系,吸收能力、卷入强度对此"U形"关系有积极的调节作用。进一步研究发现,创业企业知识异质性与公司投资者知识创造之间在控股型CVC项目治理结构下呈"倒U形"关系,而非控股型CVC项目治理结构下呈"U形"关系。因此,公司投资者应合理选择被投创业企业组合,不断提高自身的吸收能力,建立投资后互动参与式管理机制,精心设计CVC项目并采取相应的管理策略和投资策略。     

战略联盟中组织学习、知识创造与创新绩效的实证研究

 本文探讨了战略联盟中组织学习、知识创造与企业创新绩效间的关系。我们假设企业向合作伙伴学习新知识不仅会直接影响企业的创新活动,还会通过知识创造的中介作用间接影响企业创新的绩效。我们使用127个德国联盟企业数据的统计结果表明,两个假设都获得了通过。得出如下结论：联盟企业在通过学习获取外部知识的同时更应注重在企业边界内创造新知识,从而提高其创新能力和绩效水平。     

The role of knowledge codification in the emergence of consensus under uncertainty: empirical analysis and policy implications

The aim of the article is to empirically analyse the main factors, which allow the emergence of consensus. Moreover, we raise the question of the nature of the codified process involved which seems to be too reducing to promote knowledge flows within the community and, therefore, to contribute to learning processes and better choices about the future. Our analysis relies on a prospective investigation based on a Delphi type study carried out by BETA in 1994.     

Determining factors in the success of R&D cooperative agreements between firms and research organizations

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of a series of contextual and organizational factors on the success of 800 cooperative agreements between Spanish firms and research organizations, run between 1995 and 2000. Findings show that the most outstanding factors are, in the case of firms, commitment, previous links, definition of objectives and conflict, whereas for research organizations previous links, communication, commitment, trust and the partners’ reputation are more relevant. These study not only provides a comprehensive theoretical model to analyze the success of these agreements but is useful both for improving management of cooperation and for fostering collaboration both at a national an international level.     

多重网络嵌入与集群企业知识创造绩效研究

基于网络嵌入理论和动态能力理论,面对嵌入性悖论,以动态能力为中介变量,构建了多重网络嵌入影响集群企业知识创造绩效的概念模型,以福建省三大产业集群为对象,通过问卷调查并运用结构方程模型进行实证研究。结果表明:多重网络嵌入对知识创造绩效影响关系的发挥有赖于动态能力,但不同能力的中介作用机制有差异;吸收能力在关系嵌入和知识嵌入的作用过程中发挥完全中介效应,而创造能力在结构嵌入和知识嵌入的作用过程中发挥完全中介效应。因此,集群企业应注重多重网络嵌入状态和动态能力的双向动态调整,以实现资源的最佳配置,进而提升知识创造绩效。     

网络、信任和规范对知识创造的影响：知识共享的中介作用

组织的知识创造能力是组织竞争优势的重要来源,为探讨知识创造的影响因素,建立了网络、信任、规范、知识共享与知识创造之间的理论模型。通过分层回归分析,以178个样本为对象进行实证研究,研究结果证明：网络、信任和规范对知识创造有正向作用,知识共享在信任与知识创造之间起到了中介作用。本研究结论为组织通过提高社会资本和知识共享提升知识创造能力提供理论和实践基础。     

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。     

Organizational knowledge creation and the generation of new product ideas: A behavioral approach

In this paper, we address the pre-project phase of idea generation in the product innovation process, where the effective generation of new product ideas still remains an issue of high relevance for both management scholars and practitioners. We relate Nonaka and colleagues’ four knowledge creation modes of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization to the novelty of product ideas generated. Taking a behavioral perspective on the four modes, we posit positive relationships between socialization as well as internalization and the novelty of product ideas, whereas we postulate negative relationships for externalization as well as combination. Using data from multiple respondents in 33 companies, our results confirm the proposed linkages.     

The impact of knowledge stickiness on knowledge transfer implementation,internalization, and satisfaction for multinational corporations

Improving the effectiveness of knowledge transfer from a parent firm to its subsidiary is one of the most critical issues confronting management at multinational companies (MNC). Since knowledge tends to be sticky and difficult to transfer, the success of knowledge transfer is contingent not only upon various kinds of contextual variables, but also upon the process of knowledge transfer implementation and internalization. Previous studies did not consider the process of implementation and internalization variables, and failed to provide a more comprehensive research framework for MNC knowledge transfer. This study attempts to assess the impact of knowledge stickiness on knowledge transfer implementation and internalization, as well as the performance of headquarter–subsidiary knowledge transfer. Results of this study suggest that an increase in knowledge stickiness may have a positive and significant influence on knowledge implementation, internalization, and knowledge transfer satisfaction. However, increases in knowledge stickiness beyond a certain point can also deter the success of transferring knowledge. Results also suggest a significant relationship between knowledge transfer implementation and internalization, innovation and satisfaction, and between knowledge innovation and knowledge transfer satisfaction.     

An empirical investigation of knowledge management and innovative performance: The case of alliances

This paper examines firm-level performance implications of strategic alliances by employing knowledge management practices as intermediaries. Unlike previous research which focuses on partner firm factors, this study investigates how alliance characteristics (i.e., alliance scope and governance) affect interfirm knowledge sharing and creation, and how these two practices and their interaction in turn affect innovative performance. These questions are examined in a sample of 127 German partnering firms. Results show that joint ventures as opposed to contractual alliances are more effective and influential in facilitating knowledge sharing and creation. In contrast, the scope of alliance activities, while positively associated with knowledge sharing, has no direct relationship with knowledge creation. In addition to these results, the study also finds that knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and their interaction significantly contribute to partner firms’ innovative performance.