Building Competitive Advantage of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises through Knowledge Acquisition and Sharing

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
IA Diugwu
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition And Sharing

Competitive Advantage

2015 ◽  
pp. 195-210
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Management Knowledge

If a small business is going to survive it must be competitive. Internally, efficient operations will contribute to lower costs. A positive environment will allow employees to gain and apply the necessary skills. Management knowledge of information systems will provide leadership. Externally, the establishment of knowledge acquisition networks will facilitate the novel use of information systems. This chapter discusses how a strategy which integrates all of the small business resources, especially those related to information systems, will improve performance. An overall customer orientation applying internal resources and accessing external knowledge will contribute to competitive advantage.

A Cross-Team Framework of International Knowledge Acquisition on New Product Development Capabilities and New Product Market Performance

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Y. Murray ◽  
Mike C.H. Chao
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Market Performance ◽  
Product Market ◽  
New Product ◽  
Product Introduction ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
International Knowledge

Rapid new product developments (NPDs) have drastically changed the competitive landscape in the global economy. Because the time-to-market dimension of product introduction has become a crucial determinant of multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) competitive advantage, the ability of MNCs to exploit their knowledge globally across subsidiaries using cross-teams has become an important source of competitive advantage. Recognizing the crucial role of MNCs’ knowledge management in NPD, the authors develop a conceptual framework to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of international knowledge acquisition at the cross-team level. The framework suggests that though it is important to acquire necessary knowledge resources for NPD, managers must nurture an NPD project team's realized absorptive capacity to transform the acquired knowledge resources into NPD capabilities, which in turn affect new product market performance.

Dynamic Capabilities and Innovation Radicalness

2012 ◽  
pp. 384-406
Author(s):  
Jorge Cruz-González ◽  
José Emilio Navas-López ◽  
Pedro López-Sáez ◽  
Miriam Delgado-Verde
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Dynamic Environments ◽  
Organizational Capabilities ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Exploration ◽  
External Knowledge Acquisition

The aim of the present chapter is to theoretically analyze the determinants of firm’s innovation radicalness (the degree of novelty incorporated in an innovation) from a dynamic capabilities-based view of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, due to the fact that dynamic capabilities’ concept suffers from certain terminological inconsistence and its components are not entirely clear in current literature, we first need to carry out an in depth review and analysis of this construct. Based on this review, we argue that dynamic capabilities arise from firm’s orientation to knowledge exploration that enables the generation of new organizational capabilities, and suggest external knowledge acquisition and internal knowledge combination as its key components. Taking into account this reasoning, we propose a theoretical model on dynamic capabilities deriving some relevant propositions considering innovation radicalness as its core output and the key element to compete in dynamic environments.

Knowledge exchange between expatriates and host country nationals: an expectancy value perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Shan Hsu ◽  
Yu-Ping Chen ◽  
Margaret A. Shaffer ◽  
Flora F.T. Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Expectancy Value ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Country Nationals ◽  
Motivation To Transfer ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition And Sharing

PurposeDrawing on expectancy value theory (EVT), this paper examines knowledge exchange between expatriate and host country national (HCN) dyads to understand whether receivers' perceptions about senders' motivation to transfer knowledge and perceived value of the knowledge jointly affect receivers' motivation to learn and, in turn, facilitate their knowledge acquisition and sharing.Design/methodology/approachLatent moderated structural (LMS) equations were used to analyze data from 107 expatriate–HCN dyads working in the Asia Pacific region.FindingsIn general, whether senders are expatriates or HCNs, only when receivers perceive that (1) knowledge to be transferred is valuable and (2) senders are motivated to transfer, receivers are likely to be motivated to receive knowledge transferred from senders and, in turn, acquire and share knowledge with senders.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first in the expatriate and knowledge transfer literature to address the mixed findings between senders' motivation to transfer and receivers' knowledge acquisition and sharing by drawing on EVT.

Knowledge Management as a Source of Innovation and Competitive Advantage for SMEs in Peripheral Regions

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Harris ◽  
Rodney McAdam ◽  
Irene McCausland ◽  
Renee Reid
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Innovation Implementation ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Resource Limitations ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Peripheral Regions

The advent of knowledge management has offered new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in peripheral regions to leverage knowledge as a source of competitive advantage. However, few studies at firm level examine the role of knowledge management in helping to improve innovation and competitiveness in SMEs in such regions. This paper explores how SMEs in peripheral regions can use knowledge management concepts and practices of knowledge acquisition and assimilation to achieve higher levels of innovation implementation. Survey findings indicate that more innovative firms are more likely to acquire or source external knowledge through various methods, and are more likely to have higher levels of absorptive capacity. Overall, the authors conclude that SMEs in peripheral regions can use knowledge acquisition and assimilation as antecedents to innovation to help overcome innate tangible resource limitations.

scholarly journals Adapting through learning and knowledge acquisition: the cases of four global family firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Duarte Alonso ◽  
Seng Kok
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Future Events

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the importance of knowledge as a tool for adaptation and competitive advantage through qualitative research, exploring the cases of four global family firms; and second, to develop a theoretical framework based on the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm to facilitate understanding of learning and knowledge acquisition among family firms. Design/methodology/approach This investigation focusses on the cases of four family firms, two operating in a developed (Australia), and two in an emerging economy (Uruguay). In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with firm owners, co-owners and one manager. Findings Regardless of firms’ operating environment (OECD, emerging economy), similar outcomes were revealed. Indeed, firm management’s ability to gather, contextualise and synthesise knowledge, including tacit knowledge, emerged as crucial to adapt to new challenges in their business environment. Several tenets of the KBV emerged, including those associated with knowledge to solve emerging problems, specialisation through knowledge acquisition and applying specialised knowledge to produce. Importantly, firms’ ability to anticipate future events through tacit or new knowledge acquisition became evident. Originality/value The study makes two key contributions that represent originality and value. First, the presented theoretical framework facilitates understanding of various dimensions of knowledge, their resulting influence on firms’ preparedness to adapt to events in their business environment, and potential implications on their competitive advantage. Second, by qualitatively examining the participating family firms, the study addresses a recognised research gap, notably, that research investigating this group has been predominantly quantitative.

Acquiring and Sharing Knowledge Through Inter-Organizational Benchlearning

2009 ◽  
pp. 168-180
Author(s):  
Jeanette Lemmergaard
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Human Resource Professionals ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Business Objectives ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition And Sharing

This chapter introduces inter-organizational knowledge acquisition and sharing as a means to facilitate benchlearning within the field of human resource management. The chapter presents an interactive web-based portal and demonstrates how valuable knowledge can be released from organizational “silo centers” and be passed around to the benefit of both organizations and academia. In general, human resource departments struggle to demonstrate their validity to the business and their ability to accomplish business objectives. In addition, human resource departments generally lack the ability to speak of their accomplishments in a business language. The presented portal assists human resource professionals in making more efficient and qualitative decisions that are not based on good guesswork or mere instinct, but on facts and knowledge. The portal is novel in its approach of facilitating benchlearning across organizational boundaries and within the soft area of human resource management.

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