Knowledge sharing for innovation performance improvement in micro/SMEs: an insight from the creative sector

Abstract

As economies become more reliant on innovative, knowledge-intensive firms, understanding the interaction between knowledge and improving innovation performance is increasingly important. Although most UK businesses are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (micro/SMEs), knowledge management research has tended to focus on large companies Knowledge sharing can be critical for innovation performance, especially for smaller players with limited resources. Our study presents an insight from micro/SMEs operating in the highly knowledge-intensive and innovative games/entertainment software development sector. Using a mixed method approach, we investigate knowledge sharing and its contribution to firm innovation performance improvements. Our findings suggest that micro/SMEs are at the forefront of the creative sector precisely because of their smaller size. Our study reveals evidence of knowledge donation but limited evidence of knowledge collection in the knowledge sharing process. We develop a model highlighting the importance of industry context, individual knowledge and organizational size in knowledge sharing for innovation performance.     

基于高校知识三角的产学研协同创新实证研究——自组织视角

产学研协同创新体现了系统集成的思想,本文以协同学为基础,从自组织理论视角分析了高校创新能力在产学研协同创新过程中的动态演化规律。研究表明:复杂性科学可以有效地解决公共管理问题的不确定性,本文以具有自组织特征的"B-Z"反应模型为基础,建立了高校知识生产能力、知识传播能力和知识转移能力构成的Logistic模型,通过稳定性分析与仿真模拟,讨论了高校三个能力子系统在产学研协同创新过程中的演化规律,并进一步确定了主导能力要素的序参量模型,并且对我国31所高校在产学研协同创新过程中的演化规律进行了验证性实证分析。本文的研究为我国研究型大学通过调整内部能力结构促进产学研协同创新提供了定量的分析视角与科学的政策讨论依据。     

技术创新网络的知识权力、结构权力对网络惯例影响

网络惯例是维系和协调技术创新网络顺畅运转的核心要素,权力和关系承诺作为技术创新网络中的关键因素,也影响着网络惯例的形成和发展。构建技术创新网络环境下知识权力、结构权力对网络惯例影响的结构方程模型,结合中国13个省、市高新技术企业的样本数据,利用SPSS和AMOS进行实证分析,检验组织成员间关系承诺的中介效应。研究结果表明,知识权力积极显著影响规范性承诺和工具性承诺,结构权力积极显著影响工具性承诺而对规范性承诺没有影响;知识权力和结构权力积极显著影响网络惯例;规范性承诺和工具性承诺积极显著影响网络惯例;规范性承诺在知识权力与网络惯例关系中具有中介效应,但是在结构权力与网络惯例关系中不具有中介效应,而工具性承诺在知识权力和结构权力对网络惯例的关系中均具有中介效应。深入探索网络惯例的内在规律,对指导技术创新网络情境下组织成员间的网络关系治理具有实践意义。     

The Effect of Language Differences and National Culture on Operational Process Compliance

With increasing frequency, firms are locating their operations in disparate countries with distinct national cultures and languages. This study develops and empirically tests hypotheses relating an operation's process compliance performance to (1) the presence of a language difference between the location of the operation and that of headquarters and (2) the national culture of the location of the operation and that of headquarters. Employing an international sample of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants located primarily in Western nations, the analysis reveals that a language difference between the location of a plant and the firm's headquarters is consistently related to decreased process compliance at the plant level. Regarding national culture, only limited evidence of a direct relationship between national cultural dimensions (at either the plant or headquarters location) and process compliance exists. However, the analysis does suggest that cultural congruence between the location of the plant and that of headquarters can relate to improved compliance performance. Such a relationship depends on the specific national cultural dimension studied. While these results are obtained in a specific manufacturing setting, they potentially have implications for process compliance in any global operation.     

The place of informality and illegality in planning education in Nigeria

This paper discusses the extent to which topical planning issues of informality and illegality are incorporated into the educational curricula in Nigerian planning schools. Given the scale and enormity of informal and illegal settlements in Nigeria and other African cities, these issues should be emphasized in the education and training of planning professionals. Yet, few curricula in Nigerian planning schools, including the Nigerian Town Planners Registration Council’s professional curriculum, incorporate informal urban issues. The paper recommends an educational interventionist approach based on recognition of the potential of indigenous knowledge as a means of producing critical and reflective planning graduates who possess the competencies to deal with contemporary settlement challenges. It presents the institutional landscape for planning education and the processes of planning curricular reform and accreditation with a view to revitalizing planning education in Nigeria.     

知识流模型及其在航天企业中的应用

知识管理的理论和实践吸引了众多学者和企业家的关注,但在具体的实施方法上一直没有形成共识。管理的对象是“知识”,对于知识流动的理解、监测乃至控制是顺利实施知识管理项目的基础。已有的研究对知识流的讨论集中于描述概念,或通过统计分析或调查问卷得到对专利、引用等知识流动的描述。把Petri网理论用在对知识流进行刻画中,提出知识流的Petri网模型,能够描述知识分布的拓扑结构、知识存量、一定时期的知识流量和流速,使得管理人员便于监控和管理知识流动,更好地实施知识管理。把基于Petri网的知识流模型应用于航天企业中,通过实证分析说明该知识流模型对知识流动的刻画能力,并通过对现状的分析,为改进知识流动效率,实现知识管理目标提供支持。     

组织冗余的利用对中国企业创新产出的影响

从冗余的控制权的角度将企业已吸收的冗余划分为分散冗余和组合冗余,分析了这两种冗余的利用对企业创新的影响,构建了一个包含冗余、吸收能力与创新之间关系的结构方程模型,并运用在607家企业进行的问卷调查所获取的数据实证检验了这个模型。结果显示,分散冗余和组合冗余分别与产品创新和过程创新存在显著的正相关关系,不同的冗余与不同的吸收能力之间存在一定的匹配关系,这种关系能够导致不同的创新产出。结果表明,中国企业的冗余与西方企业的冗余一样,都能够促进企业的创新产出,因此,广泛采用一刀切式的“减员”手段未必是中国企业“增效”的最有效率的策略。     

Task partitioning in new product development teams: A knowledge and learning perspective

R&D alliances and outsourcing elements of the new product development process are now commonplace practices among many firms. However, little previous work has examined how these organizational choices influence project knowledge and learning. Based on a comparison of three new product development projects in the software industry, this paper examines how task partitioning in the project influences learning and knowledge development within the firm. The paper suggests that internal development projects encourage synthetic learning and development of architectural and tacit knowledge; in contrast, outsourcing and joint ventures encourage analytic learning and development of component and explicit knowledge.     

A knowledge chain management framework to support integrated decisions in global supply chains

Knowledge management has been identified as a key enabler to achieve organisation’s value chain competitiveness. It, however, has been facing fresh challenges in a global supply chain setting. This paper proposes a global knowledge chain management (GKCM) framework that identifies and prioritises critical knowledge that a global supply chain can focus on to support integrated decisions. The framework explores three types of global context knowledge, namely global market knowledge, global capacity knowledge and global supply network configuration knowledge. Empirical study has been undertaken within the manufacturing industry to evaluate the GKCM framework. Analytic network process has been explored as a key method to assess the importance of the global knowledge constructs from supply chain managers’ perspectives. A key contribution of the paper is that it advances existing knowledge chain management approaches within one organisation and its local supply chain to include the global context knowledge applicable to global manufacturing settings, and highlights how the GKCM framework can support global supply chain integrated decisions.     

IT外包中企业绩效的影响因素实证研究

在已有文献的基础上,识别了关系治理的三个维度：良好冲突处理、相互依赖和关系规范,并从关系治理角度出发,构建了IT外包企业绩效影响因素的概念模型。通过对北京、上海和西安三地20多家外包企业进行问卷调查,利用结构方程模型进行实证分析。实证结果表明：信任、承诺和知识共享对企业绩效有显著的正向影响,其中信任和承诺对企业绩效的影响既有直接的影响又有间接的影响,知识共享对企业绩效有直接的影响;信任、承诺和知识共享具有很强的中介作用,良好冲突处理和相互依赖以信任、承诺和知识共享为中间变量间接影响企业绩效,关系规范以承诺和知识共享为中间变量间接影响企业绩效。