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Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
"... This concluding article in the special issue of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes on the foundations of knowledge transfer in organizations argues that the creation and transfer of knowledge are a basis for competitive advantage in firms. The article builds on a framework of knowl ..."
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Cited by 391 (4 self)
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This concluding article in the special issue of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes on the foundations of knowledge transfer in organizations argues that the creation and transfer of knowledge are a basis for competitive advantage in firms. The article builds on a framework of knowledge reservoirs to show why knowledge transfer can be difficult and to identify the kinds of knowledge that are most difficult to transfer to differ-ent contexts. The article develops the proposition that interac-tions among people, tasks, and tools are least likely to fit the new context and hence are the most difficult to transfer. This theoretical result illuminates how organizations can derive com-petitive advantage by transferring knowledge internally while preventing its external transfer to competitors. Because people are more similar within than between organizations, interactions involving people transfer more readily within than between firms. By embedding knowledge in interactions involving people, organizations can both effect knowledge transfer internally and impede knowledge transfer externally. Thus, knowledge embed-ded in the interactions of people, tools, and tasks provides a basis for competitive advantage in firms. q 2000 Academic Press The ability to transfer knowledge from one unit to another has been found to contribute to the organizational performance of firms in both the manufacturing
A pragmatic view of knowledge and boundaries: Boundary objects in new product development
, 2002
"... This study explores the premise that knowledge in new product development proves both a barrier to and a source of innovation. To understand the problematic nature of knowledge and the boundaries that result, an ethnographic study was used to understand how knowledge is structured differently across ..."
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Cited by 389 (6 self)
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This study explores the premise that knowledge in new product development proves both a barrier to and a source of innovation. To understand the problematic nature of knowledge and the boundaries that result, an ethnographic study was used to understand how knowledge is structured differently across the four primary functions that are dependent on each other in the creation and production of a high-volume product. A pragmatic view of “knowledge in practice ” is developed, describing knowledge as localized, embedded, and invested within a function and how, when working across functions, consequences often arise that generate problematic knowledge boundaries. The use of a boundary object is then described as a means of representing, learning about, and transforming knowledge to resolve the consequences that exist at a given boundary. Finally, this pragmatic view of knowledge and boundaries is proposed as a framework to revisit the differentiation and integration of knowledge.
Bridging Ties: A Source of Firm Heterogeneity in Competitive Capabilities
, 1997
"... What explains differences in firms' abilities to acquire competitive capabilities? In this paper we propose that embeddedness, in terms of firms' network of bridging ties and linkages to regional institutions, are important sources of variation in firms' acquisition of competitive cap ..."
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Cited by 202 (3 self)
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What explains differences in firms' abilities to acquire competitive capabilities? In this paper we propose that embeddedness, in terms of firms' network of bridging ties and linkages to regional institutions, are important sources of variation in firms' acquisition of competitive capabilities. We argue that firm networks rich in bridging ties and firms' participation in regional institutions are critical vehicles for accessing new information, ideas, and opportunities leading to the acquisition of competitive capabilities in geographical clusters. Hypotheses are tested on a stratified random sample of 227 job shop manufacturers located in several regions of the US Midwest using data gathered from a mailed questionnaire. Results from structural equation modeling broadly support the embeddedness hypotheses and suggest a number of novel insights about the link between firms' networks and competitive capabilities.
Exploitation, exploration, and process management: The productivity dilemma revisited
- Academy of Management Review
, 2003
"... Organization and strategy research has stressed the need for organizations to simultaneously exploit existing capabilities while developing new ones. Yet this increasingly crucial challenge has been accompanied by an ongoing wave of managerial activity and institutional pressures for process managem ..."
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Cited by 192 (7 self)
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Organization and strategy research has stressed the need for organizations to simultaneously exploit existing capabilities while developing new ones. Yet this increasingly crucial challenge has been accompanied by an ongoing wave of managerial activity and institutional pressures for process management and control. We argue that these pressures stunt a firm’s dynamic capabilities. We develop a contingency view of process management’s influence on both technological innovation as well as organizational adaptation. We argue that while process management activities are beneficial for organizations in stable contexts, they are fundamentally inconsistent with all but incremental innovation and change. We argue that process management activities must be buffered from exploratory activities. As dynamic capabilities are rooted in both exploitative and exploratory activities, ambidextrous organizational forms provide the complex contexts for these inconsistent processes to co-exist. 3 More than twenty years ago, Abernathy (1978) suggested that a firm’s focus on productivity gains inhibited its flexibility and ability to innovate. Abernathy observed that in the automobile
The leveraging of interfirm relationships as a distinctive organisational capability: a longitudinal study
- Strategic Management Journal
, 1999
"... In this paper we present a study of the structure of three lead firm-network relationships at two points in time. Using data on companies in the packaging machine industry, we study the process of vertical disintegration and focus on the ability to coordinate competencies and combine knowledge acros ..."
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Cited by 177 (0 self)
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In this paper we present a study of the structure of three lead firm-network relationships at two points in time. Using data on companies in the packaging machine industry, we study the process of vertical disintegration and focus on the ability to coordinate competencies and combine knowledge across corporate boundaries. We argue that the capability to interact with other companies—which we call relational capability—accelerates the lead firm’s knowledge access and transfer with relevant effects on company growth and innovativeness. This study provides evidence that interfirm networks can be shaped and deliberately designed: over time managers develop a specialized supplier network and build a narrower and more competitive set of core competencies. The ability to integrate knowledge residing both inside and outside the firm’s boundaries emerges as a distinctive organizational capability. Our main goal is to contribute to the current discussion of cooperative ties and dynamic aspects of interfirm networks, adding new dimensions to resource-based and knowledge-based interpretations of company performance. Copyright Ó 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Capabilities
- Academy of Management Journal
, 2005
"... We examined how aspects of intellectual capital influenced various innovative capa-bilities in organizations. In a longitudinal, multiple-informant study of 93 organiza-tions, we found that human, organizational, and social capital and their interrelation-ships selectively influenced incremental and ..."
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Cited by 133 (1 self)
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We examined how aspects of intellectual capital influenced various innovative capa-bilities in organizations. In a longitudinal, multiple-informant study of 93 organiza-tions, we found that human, organizational, and social capital and their interrelation-ships selectively influenced incremental and radical innovative capabilities. As anticipated, organizational capital positively influenced incremental innovative capa-bility, while human capital interacted with social capital to positively influence radical innovative capability. Counter to our expectations, however, human capital by itself was negatively associated with radical innovative capability. Interestingly, social capital played a significant role in both types of innovation, as it positively influenced incremental and radical innovative capabilities. It is widely accepted that an organization’s capa-bility to innovate is closely tied to its intellectual capital, or its ability to utilize its knowledge re-sources. Several studies have underscored how new products embody organizational knowledge (e.g., Stewart, 1997), described innovation as a knowledge management process (e.g., Madhavan & Grover, 1998), and characterized innovative com-panies as knowledge creating (e.g., Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). So close are the ties between re-search on knowledge and research on innovation, in fact, that in recent years scholars have seen a blurring of the boundaries between these areas. It is now quite common for studies examining innova-tion to use knowledge or intellectual capital as antecedents, and studies investigating knowledge and intellectual capital frequently use innovation
Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications
- Journal of Management Studies
, 2006
"... We describe a variety of perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR), which we use to develop a framework for consideration of the strategic implications of CSR. Based on this framework, we propose an agenda for additional theoretical and empirical research on CSR. We ..."
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Cited by 127 (1 self)
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We describe a variety of perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR), which we use to develop a framework for consideration of the strategic implications of CSR. Based on this framework, we propose an agenda for additional theoretical and empirical research on CSR. We
THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF INTERCONNECTED FIRMS: AN EXTENSION OF THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW
, 2006
"... I extend the resource-based view to incorporate the network resources of intercon-nected firms. My model distinguishes shared resources from nonshared resources; identifies new types of rent; and illustrates how firm-, relation-, and partner-specific factors determine the contribution of network res ..."
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Cited by 123 (2 self)
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I extend the resource-based view to incorporate the network resources of intercon-nected firms. My model distinguishes shared resources from nonshared resources; identifies new types of rent; and illustrates how firm-, relation-, and partner-specific factors determine the contribution of network resources to the rents extracted from alliance networks. After reassessing the heterogeneity, imperfect mobility, imitability, and substitutability conditions, I conclude that the nature of relationships may matter more than the nature of resources in networked environments.
First-Mover (Dis)Advantages: Retrospective and Link with the Resource-Based View
- Strategic Management Journal
, 1998
"... This article reflects upon and updates our prize-winning paper, ‘First-mover advantages, ’ which was published in SMJ 10 years ago. We discuss the evolution of the literature over the past decade and suggest opportunities for continuing research. In particular, we see benefits from linking empirical ..."
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Cited by 120 (1 self)
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This article reflects upon and updates our prize-winning paper, ‘First-mover advantages, ’ which was published in SMJ 10 years ago. We discuss the evolution of the literature over the past decade and suggest opportunities for continuing research. In particular, we see benefits from linking empirical findings on first-mover advantages with the complementary stream of research on the resource-based view of the firm. Ó 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. We were honored to receive the 1996 prize of the Strategic Management Society (in cooperation with John Wiley & Sons) for our 1988 paper, ‘First-Mover Advantages. ’ It is customary for the award recipients to write a brief article reflecting on the original work. As our paper aimed to provide a unified conceptual framework and criti-cal assessment of the literature, we have chosen to write a somewhat longer piece to update our survey and suggest opportunities for continuing research. Our prize-winning paper began as a series of healthy disagreements between the authors, which took place over brown bag lunches during the summer of 1986. ‘First-mover advantage ’ (FMA) was a term widely invoked in strategic man-agement, marketing, and economics. We found, however, that our interpretations of the concept differed greatly. We wondered if our disagree-ments stemmed from the contrast in our discipli-nary backgrounds, or if they reflected a broader lack of consensus among business scholars. During a sabbatical at Northwestern University, Key words: first-mover advantage; pioneer advantage; follower advantage; resource-based view; market entry
