Knowledge Creation Activities Research Articles

Absorptive capacity for market knowledge and knowledge creation outcomes: the case of Thai SMEs

ABSTRACT Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) helps firms acquire, assimilate, and utilise new knowledge. Drawing on crucial managerial perspectives, this study employs a Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to scrutinise the various dimensions of ACAP (e.g. routines versus extra work, organisational culture, leadership, and the trustworthiness of knowledge sources) concerning market knowledge and knowledge creation outcomes (e.g. knowledge creation activities and firm’s private knowledge) among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. The findings indicate that all dimensions, with the exception of extra work, contribute significantly to the augmentation of firm-specific knowledge. However, only routines and knowledge-oriented leadership demonstrate a positive association with knowledge-creation activities. The results suggested that managers and top executives of SMEs should emphasise non-financial rewards more, create knowledge learning routines, and support the learning culture to enhance the ACAP for market knowledge.

How does digital transformation empower knowledge creation? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises

Knowledge creation is the foundation for indigenous innovation in manufacturing enterprises; however, the effects of digital transformation on knowledge creation are still not well understood. Nonaka put forward the model of knowledge creation, which includes four processes: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization, known as the famous SECI model. Based on the SECI model, this study analyzes the effects of digital transformation on four knowledge creation processes, using panel data from Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises from 2007 to 2020. The study provides several novel findings. First, digital transformation positively affects all knowledge creation processes, with the effects on knowledge combination capability being particularly notable. Second, the effects of digitalization inputs on externalization and combination are insignificant but exert a negative impact on socialization and internalization. Third, a heterogeneity analysis reveals that the facilitating effect of digital transformation is more significant in state-owned and large enterprises. Moreover, it primarily acts as the "cherry on top," significantly benefiting enterprises that already have strong knowledge creation capabilities. A low level of digital technology development in the region where an enterprise is located will inhibit the role of digital transformation in promoting knowledge socialization. Furthermore, enterprise innovation culture and regional innovation environments play positive moderating roles. This study contributes to further understanding of how digital transformation affects enterprises’ knowledge creation activities.

Exploring The Influence Mechanism of Strategic Leadership, Employee Engagement and Job Involvement: A Framework Model Approach

In the dynamic landscape of higher education, the enrichment of college teachers is pivotal for fostering effective learning environments and promoting student success. The paper investigated the impact of knowledge management (KM) practices on the professional development and enrichment of college teachers. Drawing upon a synthesis of existing literature and empirical studies, this research elucidates the mechanisms through which KM practices contribute to the enhancement of teaching quality, innovation, and collaboration among college faculty. It explores how institutional policies, incentives, and recognition systems can incentivize teachers to actively engage in knowledge creation, dissemination, and continuous professional development activities. Moreover, the study examines the challenges and barriers associated with implementing KM practices in college settings, such as resistance to change, time constraints, technological barriers, and cultural factors. It proposes strategies and best practices for overcoming these challenges and fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration among college teachers. The findings suggest that effective KM practices play a crucial role in enriching college teachers by enhancing their teaching effectiveness, fostering innovation and creativity, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and facilitating continuous professional development. The article concluded with recommendations for policymakers, educational leaders, and practitioners to leverage KM practices for the continuous enrichment and professional growth of college teachers, thereby enhancing the quality of higher education and student learning outcomes.

Patterns in the Growth and Thematic Evolution of Artificial Intelligence Research: A Study Using Bradford Distribution of Productivity and Path Analysis

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology with applications across multiple domains. The corpus of work related to the field of AI has grown significantly in volume as well as in terms of the application of AI in wider domains. However, given the wide application of AI in diverse areas, the measurement and characterization of the span of AI research is often a challenging task. Bibliometrics is a well-established method in the scientific community to measure the patterns and impact of research. It however has also received significant criticism for its overemphasis on the macroscopic picture and the inability to provide a deep understanding of growth and thematic structure of knowledge-creation activities. Therefore, this study presents a framework comprising of two techniques, namely, Bradford’s distribution and path analysis to characterize the growth and thematic evolution of the discipline. While the Bradford distribution provides a macroscopic view of artificial intelligence research in terms of patterns of growth, the path analysis method presents a microscopic analysis of the thematic evolutionary trajectories, thereby completing the analytical framework. Detailed insights into the evolution of each subdomain are drawn, major techniques employed in various AI applications are identified, and some relevant implications are discussed to demonstrate the usefulness of the analyses.

Assessing innovation spillovers from publicly funded R&D and innovation support: Evidence from the UK

Knowledgeembodied, explicit, and tacit - drives innovation. Research and development and other knowledge creation activities play a key role, as does the type of external knowledge sourcing central to models of open innovation. As knowledge is a semi-public or public good, however, firms may also obtain knowledge unintentionally through spillovers. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the innovation spillovers from publicly funded R&D and innovation support activities in the UK to non-participating firms. Analysis is based on matched data from Gateway to Research, the UK Innovation Survey and the Business Structures Database. Conceptually we differentiate between horizontal (intra-industry), vertical (inter-industry) and university spillovers, each of which have different impacts. We also differentiate between the type of firms impacted by spillovers of each type and their position inside and outside clusters. Both reflect firms’ ability to appropriate spillover benefits. Spillovers prove weak in some instances and often limited in scale. University spillovers prove weak, although there is some evidence of a positive effect on patenting in high-tech and larger firms, and on new-to-the-market innovation in low-tech firms. Horizontal spillovers effects prove strongest in some rather specific regions, perhaps reflecting the relevance of industrial clustering in mediating knowledge spillovers, while vertical (inter-industry) effects prove more significant across a wider range of areas. Our study sheds new light on the mechanisms through which investment in the public science system has unintended innovation effects.

Meta-data-analysis of knowledge creation pattern of small businesses in Africa: Exploring the past to predict the future

Small businesses continue to be highly supportive of global economies, particularly in emerging nations. It is projected that by 2050, Africa might face a rapid rate of urbanisation in the world, which poses a significant development challenge, requiring innovative and African-led solutions. However, African countries, with institutional weaknesses and inadequate government support, are yet to harness the rich potentials of small businesses, particularly due to inadequate knowledge-creation strategies. The study adopted a postpositivist meta-data analysis approach and study interrogated past research findings from other scientific research to gain a more integrative understanding of what has been discovered about the knowledge creation (KC) pattern of African small businesses. However, the study revealed a very insufficient number of studies that explored the KC processes of African small businesses but found best practices of multi-sectoral oragnisations from different countries that African small businesses can learn from. We identified that most of the KC activities revolve around both formal and social interactions, such as dialoguing, reflections, storytelling, and collaborative activities. Additionally, we note, among others, the role of the culture of mistake acceptance and proximity that removes social, organisational, and institutional distances. The following recommendations were made: the empirical testing of the application of the KC theory of small businesses, particularly in Africa, should be done; more studies should be done on KC processes of organisations so that best practices can be shared; there is a need for small businesses to be systematic in their approach to KC; and knowledge officers should be engaged to ensure the effectiveness of knowledge-creation initiatives in small businesses.

Developing the Driving and Dementia Roadmap: a knowledge-to-action process.

Despite three decades of research, gaps remain in meeting the needs of people with dementia and their family/friend carers as they navigate the often-tumultuous process of driving cessation. This paper describes the process of using a knowledge-to-action (KTA) approach to develop an educational web-based resource (i.e. toolkit), called the Driving and Dementia Roadmap (DDR), aimed at addressing some of these gaps. Aligned with the KTA framework, knowledge creation and action cycle activities informed the development of the DDR. These activities included systematic reviews; meta-synthesis of qualitative studies; interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders; development of a Driving and Dementia Intervention Framework (DD-IF); and a review and curation of publicly available resources and tools. An Advisory Group comprised of people with dementia and family carers provided ongoing feedback on the DDR's content and design. The DDR is a multi-component online toolkit that contains separate portals for current and former drivers with dementia and their family/friend carers. Based on the DD-IF, various topics of driving cessation are presented to accommodate users' diverse stages and needs in their experiences of decision-making and transitioning to non-driving. Guided by the KTA framework that involved a systematic and iterative process of knowledge creation and translation, the resulting person-centered, individualized and flexible DDR can bring much-needed support to help people with dementia and their families maintain their mobility, community access, and social and emotional wellbeing during and post-driving cessation.

Knowledge Spillovers, Institutional Environment, and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China

The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE) predicts a positive relationship between knowledge creation and entrepreneurial activity. As a transitional economy, China exhibits great differences among regions in advancing market reforms and opening-up, largely due to the gradual nature of its economic transformation and opening-up. This situation provides a suitable setting for exploring the role of the institutional environment in the KSTE framework. In this study, we discuss the applicability of the KSTE in the Chinese context and theoretically analyze the role of the institutional environment from aspects of market reforms and opening-up. An empirical analysis based on the data of the Chinese manufacturing sector shows that the KSTE is applicable in China and it is applicable to industries with different technology levels and regions with different levels of economic development. More importantly, we find that both market reforms and opening-up strengthen the positive effect of knowledge creation on entrepreneurship. Our exploration in this field extends the KSTE.

Exploration in Facilitating Learning Experiences Towards Inspiring Responsible Software Engineers

Johnson poses the question, “what does it mean to be a responsible engineer?” Characteristics could be wide-ranging. Engineers Canada helps by defining graduate attributes (GAs). All GAs are important. However, GA-9 “impact(s) of engineering on society and the environment” is one characteristic that this author proposes is fundamental. The idea of sustainable design and development has seen increasing conversation and engagement in our field in recent years. With initiatives such as the United Nations (UN) “decade of action (DoA),” engineers have the innate responsibility to help deliver the promise of positively transforming our world by 2030 and beyond. Exposing engineering learners to individual and collaborative knowledge-building experiences around the idea of sustainability, and what it means to be sustainable citizens may assist. It could be as we engineers become more knowledgeable in this realm, so too might everyday citizens in their interactions with our creations. Reflecting on Quan-Haase’s idea of technology as society, relating to the idea that society advancements are in large part intertwined with advancements in technology, software engineers may have a significant role to play. This role could include the engineering of community-based computer technologies that engage citizens in knowledge-creating activities towards the betterment and well-being of society. This work explores the following questions. Can inspiration towards becoming a responsible engineer be instilled in engineering learners in academia? Can this be accomplished by facilitating a learning experience that immerses engineering learners in researching and exploring the design and development of computer technologies in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Through resulting explorations, might both learners and everyday citizens who interact with the engineered creations be better equipped to participate in the UNs DoA, and beyond? This paper will describe a software systems engineering course at the University of Regina that facilitated a learning experience around these questions. A discussion regarding the structure of the course, its educational content, and results and feedback obtained on the learner experience will be provided. As well, ideas for continued exploration of this work will be discussed.

Innovating in the Desert: a Network Perspective on Knowledge Creation in Developing Countries

There is a significant body of research on knowledge creation that built on network theory. However, few studies have focused on how networks impact the value of newly created knowledge. The current study utilizes network theory to advance our understanding on how knowledge workers from developing countries can create valuable knowledge. It examines how a network of knowledge workers from developing countries can create knowledge of high value by networking with their counterparts from developed countries. It is important to study knowledge creation in developing countries because most studies on knowledge creation have focused on developed countries, where knowledge is more likely to be created. The current paper is different than previous studies in two ways. First, unlike most research that used patent data of developed countries to examine various features of networks. For the purpose of this study, Saudi Arabia was chosen as a developing country that has some knowledge creation activities. Analysis of 582 patents in the period 1983–2014 from the USPTO indicates that the value of knowledge created by knowledge workers from developing countries increases with the addition of knowledge workers from developed countries and that network size negatively moderates the relationship. The paper offers some managerial implications along with ideas for future research.

Determinants of academic staffs participation in research activities in Ethiopian universities

The study aims to promote the knowledge creation activities for the under developing countries like Ethiopia, which is the need of the hour. Faculty members' participation in research not only helps in improving the quality of faculty members but also improves the quality of the institute. In this paper, we use survey data from Wollega University to understand the factors hindering the research participation decision of faculty members at the university level. This survey tries to analyse the determinants of participation of academic staff in Wollega University. The logit model was used for analysing the data. We conclude that availability of publication incentives, work experience, speed of internet, accessibility to research funds and colleague collaboration on research participation all enhance the probability of academic staff's research participation while teaching load is negatively related to the probability of academic staff's research participation in the study area.

National innovative capacity and knowledge creation in advanced economies: an empirical investigation

The main objective of this study is to seek the robust and significant determinants of National Innovative Capacity in technologically advanced economies. In this era of knowledge-based economies having rapidly changing technology, innovation and digitization, it is very important to examine what determines innovation. For this purpose, the role of Information and Communication Technology, Exposure to external technology, R&D expenditure, Human capital, Governance and financial deepening in shaping the national innovative capacity is examined empirically. The aim is to reflect the factors that influence innovation and knowledge creation activities at national level. The study uses a panel of 13 technologically advanced countries with the aim to learn from the best practices. The fixed effect with robust standard errors estimation technique is used for estimation of the model over the period 1996–2015. Moreover, the innovative output index (IQ) is estimated to judge and analyze the national innovative capacity of selected countries. The results suggest that the core variables of estimated model remained significant with expected sings and yielded positive impact on dependent variable. Based on the results, it is suggested that the developing economies should make substantial investments in above mentioned factors in order to go along the path similar to OECD advanced economies.

BİZ BİLİNCİ VE AİDİYET OLGUSU BAĞLAMINDA ALTAY TÜRKLERİNİN CILGAYAK BAYRAMI

The celebrations / ceremonies / festivals and rituals that bring societies together also make it possible for people who make up a society to have a common historical existence via their deep meaning systems. At these meeting points, humans have the facility to widen and merge with the social horizon that is beyond individual identity. In the social sense, societies uniting around collective consciousness and sense of belonging establish themselves as ontological beings through the memory created by language, communication, objects and ancestors. As a matter of fact, meeting points such as festivals, ceremonies, celebrations and the transitional periods (namely birth, marriage and death) carried out by individual identity in the light of rituals play a dominant role in keeping the common identity alive and transferring it to future generations. The community provides a new dimension to the human relationships that have lost their values through a mythical refinement and renewal process at such times of collective acts. The ritual practices, which are demonstrations of human gains in the social sense accompanied by rituals, are indicative of the extent to which societies grasp time as a cycle of life. The Altai Turks transfer to future generations cultural value systems that they have held in their ancestral memory from the past to the present by means of the celebrations / rituals and festivals that provide national awareness and unity solidified at the moment. They gather under a single roof in ceremonial practices and communication channels, turning to the voice of the unifying spirit of their ancestors. In this context, the most important element of the unity of the Altai Turks in terms of adherence to the values and transferring them to future generations is the Cılgayak Festival. Cılgayak is “foot/head of the year”, which means to set foot in the new year. The Altai Turks celebrate the Cılgayak festival in March, with the melting of the snow, in accordance with the emergence of the new moon. In this regard, Cılgayak festival is noteworthy as it signifies Altai Turks’ adherence to the values and transferring them to future generations. Cilgayak Feast, which is described as awakening of nature, is important in terms of integrating oneself with nature and adding spirit to nature's vitality. This study will focus on the functions of Cılgayak festival in creating and sustaining national consciousness based on public knowledge creation activities which are gained from periodical field works in the Autonomous Republic of Altai.

Organisational competence vs transferability of knowledge in cluster organisations and technology parks

Abstract The main paper aims to evaluate the impact of organisational competence on knowledge and information flows within cluster organisations and technology parks, with particular emphasis on innovative content knowledge. The paper addresses the research question: “What set of competencies of cooperating companies allows access to information and knowledge in cluster and parks structures?” The authors report their findings from a quantitative study carried out in four cluster organisations and three technology parks functioning in Poland. The research sample covered a total of 269 enterprises: 132 cluster members and 137 park tenants. The primary method of data collection was a survey questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using the interdependence of variables, ANOVA, and logistic regression. The research showed that the surveyed enterprises from both analysed groups preferred cooperation with partners of a similar level of competence development and the same or complementary scope of competence. This set of competencies of cooperating organisations also guaranteed better access to information and knowledge resources, including confidential information and new knowledge. This study additionally indicated that the knowledge creation activities performed by the cooperating cluster organisations depended on the proximity of the competencies of organisations as well as on the nature of the information, disseminated within the cluster organisations. The theoretical contribution is related to the results obtained by analysing the phenomenon of information and knowledge dissemination in cluster and park structures, revealing the impact made by the competence proximity of cooperating organisations on the access to this such resources. Thus, the findings supplement the state-of-the-art knowledge of the concept of industrial clusters by presenting a broader view on cooperation developed in geographical proximity, based on a set of various partner competencies.

Geospatial Response for Innovation in the Wine Industry: Knowledge Creation through Institutional Mobility in China

Thus far, knowledge network research has been quantitative research, emphasizing that in limited industries, knowledge creation increasingly strengthens through geographical proximity or institutional connections. Although it has been suggested that knowledge networks should be researched using dynamic rather than static methods, the dynamic process of knowledge networks according to spatiotemporal changes has not been sufficiently researched. This paper uses the Chinese wine industry case to conduct related research. The results show that, first of all, wine-related knowledge creation activities were carried out in the big cities that formed the early market in the mid-2000s, and the geographical conditions in which the spatial scope was expanded were in the places that gradually developed over time. Second, although the spatial scope of knowledge creation activities is expanding with the active participation of private enterprise networks, private enterprises and the overall knowledge creation process are relatively isolated. Finally, in terms of the process of knowledge creation related to wine, in the development of regional linkages organizations relate to the knowledge providers who provide the required information, and have little to do with the geographically close knowledge providers.

SECI Model in Knowledge Management Practices

The purpose of this study was to review the socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation (SECI) model of knowledge management (KM), and to explore the trends of its use, challenges, and best practices in the model’s application in KM practice in the period from 1995 to 2018. Using the methodology known as the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), we sought to do the following: establish whether the SECI model was more widely accepted than other KM models; examine specific demographic details of research studies on the SECI model; investigate the weaknesses of the model in practice; and generate a compendium of the use of the model in respect of the period we reviewed. Four databases were explored to search for open access, peer-reviewed, empirical journal articles. The study found that the SECI model continued to be widely accepted and used in spite of criticism levelled at it. Weaknesses that we noted in our review included the limitations of certain modes of the model in some areas of application and the non-linearity of the model in other areas. The study found evidence of exponential growth in the SECI model’s usage in the period reviewed. Also noted was the wide application of the model in knowledge creation studies in Africa. The study suggested that organisations could employ the model for their knowledge creation activities, but with the support of factors that enabled knowledge sharing. The model’s socialisation mode stood out as a mode of high impact, implying that the management teams of organisations needed to pay a lot of attention to it for effective organisational KM. This study generated a compendium for the practical application of the SECI model.

Nonprofit Organizations in Mexico: A Preliminary Study on Knowledge Creation From the Beneficiaries’ Perspectives

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to assess knowledge-creation activities by nonprofit organizations in Mexico from the beneficiaries’ perspectives. The ontological shift Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Interiorization (SECI) model and nonparametric tests were applied to a sample of 429 beneficiaries of 89 nonprofit organizations. The results found socialization was the most important and externalization was the least important aspect of the four types of dynamic knowledge interaction, suggesting an imbalance in knowledge creation, specifically in the conversion from tacit to explicit knowledge, which implies a problem, failure, or explicit barrier between the nonprofit organizations and their beneficiaries. The results further suggest weak links between age and externalization activities, gender and combination activities, and educational attainment and socialization activities. In sum, nonprofit organizations should consider beneficiaries’ individual characteristics when developing activities, disseminating materials, and communicating with the public. The study contributes to our understanding of tacit and explicit knowledge-creation activities by nonprofit organizations in Mexico.

Knowledge Creation in the Hypertext Organizations

Hypertext organization perspective (Nonaka, 1994) is focused on knowledge creation and transfer between the main organization and project organization. However, initial hypertext organization perspectives did not take into the account the role of multi-membership in the project work. This article studies hypertext organization in the context of the multi-project case basing the analysis on the viewpoints of project-as-practice and auto-ethnography with the context of University. Auto-ethnography reveals the features of knowledge transfer in the multi-membership. Knowledge transfer of projects is not only based on the linkages between the separate education unit, the research unit and the unit of project activities, but also based on individual attitudes, features and capabilities on the multi-membership level. This study shows, instead of the externalization of knowledge, that plenty of knowledge creation activities - associated with hypertext organization - remain behind the individual actors in the form of tacit knowledge.

Do academic spinoffs internationalize?

Universities are key actors within the entrepreneurial ecosystems. A positive spillover of their knowledge creation and dissemination activity is the establishment of academic spinoffs. This study is one of the first to investigate the post-entry internationalization of academic spinoffs in terms of international sales. Adopting a conditional difference-in-differences approach, we matched a sample of 508 Italian academic spinoffs established between 1999 and 2014 with 404 comparable non-academic innovative start-ups. We find that university spinoffs are more prone to internationalize than their non-academic counterparts. This result is intrinsic to their affiliation with universities but is also related to the degree of internationalization of the parent university. A two-stage Heckman procedure confirms indeed that university internationalization translates into the internationalization of their spinoffs. This study contributes to different streams of literature, ranging from entrepreneurial ecosystems to academic entrepreneurship and internationalization literature due to the academic spinoffs’ nature of being a phenomenon at the confluence of several research fields.

The effects of knowledge creation process on organizational performance using the BSC approach: the mediating role of intellectual capital

PurposeKnowledge is a key success factor in achieving competitive advantage in the current fast-paced and uncertain economic environment. Several studies in the literature have analyzed the relationship between knowledge creation (KC) and organizational success; however, the mechanisms by which KC leads to accumulation of intellectual capital (IC) and thereby affects various dimensions of organizational performance are understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine how KC and IC and their relationship influence key dimensions of organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA research model was developed and tested based on the literature in the areas of KC, IC and organizational performance. This study uses a survey sent to companies in an intensive knowledge-based industry. The balanced scorecard (BSC) approach was used to measure the key dimensions of organizational performance.FindingsThe results from structural equation modeling (SEM) on 470 completed questionnaires received from the pharmaceutical companies in Iran reveal that KC activities lead to the accumulation of organizational IC and IC has a crucial and positive impact on the BSC. Furthermore, the results from the path analysis indicate that IC mediates the effects of KC on the BSC.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between knowledge and organizational performance by demonstrating that knowledge and KC lead to performance when organizations utilize KC activities and leverage them to accumulate IC. Once used effectively, IC will result in a better performance in the knowledge-intensive environments.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates how KC contributes to firm performance by incorporating the mediating impact of IC on the BSC. The proposed model and results will help organizations to identify the mechanisms through which KC initiatives improve organizational performance.