Knowledge and quality-management activities’ influences on technology communication and innovation with African foreign investment experience

Abstract

We examined how psychic distance moderates the association of South Korean chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) knowledge and quality management with their predisposition to invest in African technology and innovation markets. Participants were current and prospective South Korean African business investment senior managers (n = 64; 20 females; mean years in management = 19.4) or not (n = 187; 97 females, mean years in management = 15.9). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyse the relationships. Only quality management was significantly related to technology commercialisation capabilities and innovation performance among managers with African investment experience. However, both quality and knowledge management were significantly related to the outcomes among managers without African investment experience. The effect of psychic distance might be explained by risk averseness, in that those without experience of African investment might be with more risk avoidant than those with such experience.