Knowledge digitization: Characteristics, knowledge advantage and innovation performance

Abstract

The expansion of application scenarios of digital technologies in enterprises has induced new changes in knowledge management approaches. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism and impact of knowledge digitization (KD) on the innovation performance (IP) of companies. The study proposes the concept of KD, which is considered to be characterized by codability, convergence and generativity. 238 Chinese furniture enterprises with digital foundation are surveyed and hypotheses are tested through structural equation modeling. The results suggest that the characteristics have a positive impact on IP. And knowledge advantage (KA) plays a mediating role between KD and IP. In addition, this finding helps to consolidate the research on digital technology and knowledge management and remedy the lack of information on the role of KD. Meanwhile, it provides the direction of improvements and references for knowledge-intensive industries to promote digital transformation, implement KD strategies, and gain competitive advantages.