Toward understanding inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs in SMEs:insight from a UK investigation

Purpose - External knowledge is generally believed to be of prime importance to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, a review of the literature shows that no empirical research has looked at knowledge management issues at the inter-organizational level in SMEs. This paper seeks to report on an empirical investigation with UK SMEs in the service sector to identify their needs and practices regarding inter-organizational knowledge transfer, and thus provide empirical evidence to support the above belief. Design/methodology/approach - A two-tier methodology (i.e. using both questionnaire survey and interview approaches) is deployed to address the main research objectives. A questionnaire survey of SMEs is carried out to investigate their current inter-organizational knowledge transfer situation and managers' perception on various relevant issues. Then 12 face-to-face interviews with SME managers are conducted to further validate key findings drawn from the questionnaire survey. Findings - The empirical evidence collected from the survey and interviews confirms the general belief that external knowledge is of prime importance for SMEs, and demonstrates that SMEs have very strong needs for external knowledge and inter-organizational knowledge transfer. Research limitations/implications - The findings provide very strong underpinning for further theoretical research on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in SMEs. However, this study has certain limitations: its results may not be applicable to other industrial sectors or the same sector in other countries; or to micro or large companies; nor does it involve cross-cultural issues. Originality/value - By adopting a two-tier research methodology, this study provides more reliable understanding and knowledge on SMEs' inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs and practices, and fills the gap that exists in the empirical investigations on the subject. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Knowledge, capabilities and manufacturing innovation: a US-Europe comparison

In this paper we report a comparative analysis of the factors which contribute to the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in the US state of Georgia, and three European regions, the UK regions of Wales and the West Midlands, and the Spanish region of Catalonia. We consider the factors which shape firms’ ability to generate new products and processes and undertake various forms of organisational and structural change. We are particularly concerned with how firms collect the knowledge on which they base their innovation and their effectiveness in translating that knowledge into new innovations. Three main empirical conclusions result. First, US firms have more widespread links to external knowledge sources than those in Europe and notably the universities make a greater contribution to innovation in the US than in Europe. Second, UK firms prove more effective at capturing synergies between their innovation activities than US and Catalan firms. Third, firms’ operating environment proves more conducive to innovation in the US than in either the UK regions or Catalonia. Our results suggest the potential for mutual learning. For the UK there are lessons in terms of the way in which the universities in Georgia are supporting innovation. For firms in Georgia and in Catalonia the potential lessons are more strategic or organisational and relate to how they can better capture potential synergies between their innovation activities.

Openness, knowledge, innovation and growth in UK business services

We explore the causal links between service firms' knowledge investments, their innovation outputs and business growth based on a bespoke survey of around 1100 UK service businesses. We combine the activity based approach of the innovation value chain with firms' external links at each stage of the innovation process. This introduces the concept of 'encoding' relationships through which learning improves the effectiveness of firms' innovation processes. Our econometric results emphasise the importance of external openness in the initial, exploratory phase of the innovation process and the significance of internal openness (e.g. team working) in later stages of the process. In-house design capacity is strongly linked to a firm's ability to absorb external knowledge for innovation. Links to customers are important in the exploratory stage of the innovation process, but encoding linkages with private and public research organisations are more important in developing innovation outputs. Business growth is related directly to both the extent of firms' service innovation as well as the diversity of innovation, reflecting marketing, strategic and business process change.

Learning from openness : the dynamics of breadth in external innovation linkages

We explore how openness in terms of external linkages generates learning effects, which enable firms to generate more innovation outputs from any given breadth of external linkages. Openness to external knowledge sources, whether through search activity or linkages to external partners in new product development, involves a process of interaction and information processing. Such activities are likely to be subject to a learning process, as firms learn which knowledge sources and collaborative linkages are most useful to their particular needs, and which partnerships are most effective in delivering innovation performance. Using panel data from Irish manufacturing plants, we find evidence of such learning effects: establishments with substantial experience of external collaborations in previous periods derive more innovation output from openness in the current period. © 2013 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Learning from openness:the dynamics of breadth in external innovation linkages

We explore how openness in terms of external linkages generates learning effects, which enable firms to generate more innovation outputs from any given breadth of external linkages. Openness to external knowledge sources, whether through search activity or linkages to external partners in new product development, involves a process of interaction and information processing. Such activities are likely to be subject to a learning process, as firms learn which knowledge sources and collaborative linkages are most useful to their particular needs, and which partnerships are most effective in delivering innovation performance. Using panel data from Irish manufacturing plants, we find evidence of such learning effects: establishments with substantial experience of external collaborations in previous periods derive more innovation output from openness in the current period. © 2013 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Managing supply chain knowledge-based linkages for improving operational performance

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of internal and external knowledgebased linkages across the supply chain in achieving better operational performance. It investigates how knowledge is accumulated, shared, and applied to create organization-specific knowledge resources that increase and sustain the organization's competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a single case study with multiple, embedded units of analysis, and the social network analysis (SNA) to demonstrate the impact of internal and external knowledge-based linkages across multiple tiers in the supply chain on the organizational operational performance. The focal company of the case study is an Italian manufacturer supplying rubber components to European automotive enterprises. Findings: With the aid of the SNA, the internal knowledge-based linkages can be mapped and visualized. We found that the most central nodes having the most connections with other nodes in the linkages are the most crucial members in terms of knowledge exploration and exploitation within the organization. We also revealed that the effective management of external knowledge-based linkages, such as buyer company, competitors, university, suppliers, and subcontractors, can help improve the operational performance. Research limitations/implications: First, our hypothesis was tested on a single case. The analysis of multiple case studies using SNA would provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the knowledge-based linkages at all levels of the supply chain and the integration of knowledge. Second, the static nature of knowledge flows was studied in this research. Future research could also consider ongoing monitoring of dynamic linkages and the dynamic characteristic of knowledge flows. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, the phrase 'knowledge-based linkages' has not been used in the literature and there is lack of investigation on the relationship between the management of internal and external knowledge-based linkages and the operational performance. To bridge the knowledge gap, this paper will show the importance of understanding the composition and characteristics of knowledge-based linkages and their knowledge nodes. In addition, this paper will show that effective management of knowledge-based linkages leads to the creation of new knowledge and improves organizations' operational performance.

Knowledge sources, innovative activity and the performance of UK new technology based firms

We present an innovation value chain analysis for a representative sample of new technology based firms (NTBFs) in the UK. This involves determining which factors lead to the usage of different knowledge sources and the relationships that exist between those sources of knowledge; the effect that each knowledge source has on innovative activity; and how innovation outputs affect the performance of NTBFs. We find that internal (i.e. R&D) and external knowledge sources are complementary for NTBFs, and that supply chain linkages have both a direct and indirect effect on innovation. NTBFs' skill resources matter throughout the innovation value chain, being positively associated with external knowledge linkages and innovation success, and also having a direct effect on growth independent of the effect on innovation. ©2010 IEEE.

Knowledge sources, innovative activity and the performance of UK new technology based firms

We present an innovation value chain analysis for a representative sample of new technology based firms (NTBFs) in the UK. This involves determining which factors lead to the usage of different knowledge sources and the relationships that exist between those sources of knowledge; the effect that each knowledge source has on innovative activity; and how innovation outputs affect the performance of NTBFs. We find that internal (i.e. R&D) and external knowledge sources are complementary for NTBFs, and that supply chain linkages have both a direct and indirect effect on innovation. NTBFs' skill resources matter throughout the innovation value chain, being positively associated with external knowledge linkages and innovation success, and also having a direct effect on growth independent of the effect on innovation. ©2010 IEEE.

Firms’ knowledge search and local knowledge externalities in innovation performance

We use an augmented version of the UK Innovation Surveys 4–7 to explore firm-level and local area openness externalities on firms’ innovation performance. We find strong evidence of the value of external knowledge acquisition both through interactive collaboration and non-interactive contacts such as demonstration effects, copying or reverse engineering. Levels of knowledge search activity remain well below the private optimum, however, due perhaps to informational market failures. We also find strong positive externalities of openness resulting from the intensity of local interactive knowledge search—a knowledge diffusion effect. However, there are strong negative externalities resulting from the intensity of local non-interactive knowledge search—a competition effect. Our results provide support for local initiatives to support innovation partnering and counter illegal copying or counterfeiting. We find no significant relationship between either local labour quality or employment composition and innovative outputs.

The innovation value chain in new technology based firms:evidence from the UK

We present the first innovation value chain analysis for a representative sample of new technology based firms (NTBFs) in the UK. This involves determining which factors lead to the usage of different knowledge sources and the relationships that exist between those sources of knowledge; the effect that each knowledge source has on innovative activity; and how innovation outputs affect the performance of NTBFs. We find that internal and external knowledge sources are complementary for NTBFs, and that supply chain linkages have both a direct and indirect effect on innovation. NTBFs’ skill resources matter throughout the innovation value chain, being positively associated with external knowledge linkages and innovation success, and also having a direct effect on growth independent of the effect on innovation. Exporting matters for performance, but not through any effect on innovation.

Organizing the innovation process:complementarities in innovation networking

This paper contributes to the developing literature on complementarities in organizational design. We test for the existence of complementarities in the use of external networking between stages of the innovation process in a sample of UK and German manufacturing plants. Our evidence suggests some differences between the UK and Germany in terms of the optimal combination of innovation activities in which to implement external networking. Broadly, there is more evidence of complementarities in the case of Germany, with the exception of the product engineering stage. By contrast, the UK exhibits generally strong evidence of substitutability in external networking in different stages, except between the identification of new products and product design and development stages. These findings suggest that previous studies indicating strong complementarity between internal and external knowledge sources have provided only part of the picture of the strategic dilemmas facing firms.

The innovation decision:an economic analysis

Studies of the determinants and effects of innovation commonly make an assumption about the way in which firms make the decision to innovate, but rarely test this assumption. Using a panel of Irish manufacturing firms we test the performance of two alternative models of the innovation decision, and find that a two-stage model (the firm decides whether to innovate, then whether to perform product only, process only or both) outperforms a one-stage, simultaneous model. We also find that external knowledge sourcing affects the innovation decision and the type of innovation undertaken in a way not previously recognised in the literature. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The innovation value chain in new technology-based firms:evidence from the U.K.

Innovation is central to the survival and growth of firms, and ultimately to the health of the economies of which they are part. A clear understanding both of the processes by which firms perform innovation and the benefits which flow from innovation in terms of productivity and growth is therefore essential. This paper demonstrates the use of a conceptual framework and modeling tool, the innovation value chain (IVC), and shows how the IVC approach helps to highlight strengths and weaknesses in the innovation performance of a key group of firms-new technology-based firms. The value of the IVC is demonstrated in showing the key interrelationships in the whole process of innovation from sourcing knowledge through product and process innovation to performance in terms of the growth and productivity outcomes of different types of innovation. The use of the IVC highlights key complementarities, such as that between internal R&D, external R&D, and other external sources of knowledge. Other important relationships are also highlighted. Skill resources matter throughout the IVC, being positively associated with external knowledge linkages and innovation success, and also having a direct influence on growth independent of the effect on innovation. A key benefit of the IVC approach is therefore its ability to highlight the roles of different factors at various stages of the knowledge-innovation-performance nexus, and to show their indirect as well as direct impact. This in turn permits both managerial and policy implications to be drawn. © 2012 Product Development & Management Association.

The innovation value chain and export performance:a study of Taiwanese manufacturing industries

This thesis involves the secondary data of 1806 innovative manufacturing firms derived from the database of 2nd Taiwanese Innovation Survey. Three topics are researched. The first topic investigates the innovation value chain (IVC) in Taiwanese manufacturing firms. Previous IVC studies are all done in developed countries such as UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Switzerland, and it leaves the gap of those non-developed countries. The result shows the overall knowledge sourcing pattern of Taiwanese manufacturing firms presenting a complementary relationship which is consistent to the previous IVC studies. The main innovation input is still derived from internal R&D which suggests more utilisation of external knowledge may boost innovation outcome. Product innovation does enhance firm growth while process innovation reduces a firm’s productivity. The second topic uses the lens of IVC to investigate the difference of the innovation process from knowledge linkages to value added between high-tech and low- tech sectors. The findings indicate (1) there are significant differences in the IVC between high- and low-tech sectors, however these are defined; (2) how you define ‘sector’ matters i.e. the nature of the high-tech and low-tech differences varies depending on whether the technology definition is carried out at the industry or firm level; and (3) the high uncertainty of innovation cause the difficulty to predict firm performance especially for those firms with high intensity of innovation. The third topic investigates the innovation-exporting relationship and explores the determinants of export performance. Product innovation enhances export performance once a firm enters international markets while process innovation affects negatively on a firm’s likelihood of being an exporter. Furthermore, IP protection is found to affect directly export performance positively.