Relationships among organizational culture, knowledge sharing, and innovation capability: a case of the automobile industry in Taiwan

Knowledge sharing and innovation in business organization: A literature review

BACKGROUND: This study is a review of the literature related to the linkage of knowledge sharing and innovation in organizations. This is among the very few studies related to analyzing the extant literature about the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation to reveal the knowledge gaps and recommend future research directions. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this review of literature is to highlight the most essential concepts that may affect knowledge sharing and innovation, as well as to provide a foundation for future research on knowledge sharing and innovation through bibliometric analysis. The study identifies perhaps the most important popular keywords directly related to knowledge sharing and innovation. METHODS: This study systematically reviews papers on knowledge sharing and innovation extracted from the Web of Science. RESULTS: The study identified the five clusters, each comprising a set of closely related concepts of knowledge sharing and innovation. The first cluster was comprised of the concepts directly revealing the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation. This stream of research consists of a well developed of research. The other clusters such as knowledge management, innovation performance, mediation processes underlying the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation also revealed the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation. IMPLICATIONS: This research has a number of theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study identifies knowledge gaps and new avenues for future research. This study also helps managers and decision makers to identify and examine trends in promoting the linkage between knowledge sharing and innovation.

Impact of knowledge management capabilities on new product development performance through mediating role of organizational agility and moderating role of business model innovation

In several studies, knowledge is witnessed as one of the foundations of long-term competitive edge and is also a basic source of new product development (NDP) performance. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of knowledge management capabilities (KMC) in new product development performance with the mediating role of organizational agility. Additionally, this study also intends to examine the moderating role of business model innovation on the relationship of KMC with organizational agility. This study was conducted on the Chinese automobile sector, and the NPD project managers, supervisors, and engineers of the sector were respondents of this study. A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data from 201 respondents, and data were analyzed using the Smart PLS 3 software. The findings of this research, although limited to the automobile industries, indicate that knowledge sharing and knowledge application have significant and positive effects on the development of new products. Organizational agility significantly mediates the relationship of KMC with NPD. The results found that business model innovation has a significant moderating role in the relationship between KMC and organizational agility. Moreover, the results of this study will assist the managers in developing a modern competitive business environment by implicating KMC in the process of NPD. Lastly, organizations may improve the sustainability of their product and their overall performance by using organizational agility and modern ways of value delivery.

Organizational factors, knowledge management and innovation: empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the mediating role of knowledge management (KM) in the linkage between organizational factors, namely, organizational culture (OGCUL) and leadership and management support (LMS) and innovation in medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 200 firms has been used to gather data using simple random sampling and to test the proposed hypotheses. Structural equation modeling and cross-sectional design were used to analyze the data using LISREL 8.80 SIMPLIS program software tool.

Findings

Organizational factors (i.e. OGCUL and LMS) are positively associated with KM and innovation. KM constructs, namely, knowledge sharing, knowledge conversion and knowledge storage, have a significant positive influence on innovation. Knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between organizational factors and innovation.

Research limitations/implications

This study has three potential limitations: first, this study is based on a cross-sectional research design. Future research should include longitudinal design to get in-depth insights into the causal inferences. Second, only a few Ethiopian medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms were included in the sample. As a suggestion for future research, other researchers can include small-scale enterprises using large sample sizes and should examine the effects of organizational factors, KM and innovation across different industries. Finally, this study has only focused on investigating the mediating role of knowledge sharing between organizational factors and innovation. Future research should test the mediating role of the KM process and its constituents (knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, knowledge sharing and knowledge storage) between organizational factors and specific aspects of innovation to gain a full understanding of the critical role of KM in organizational innovation.

Practical implications

The findings of this study would serve as a guide for policy-makers and managers of manufacturing firms in developing countries in the formulation of policies and long-term strategies. It may also provide a better understanding of the causal relationship between organizational factors, KM and innovation, which in turn has value to directors and managers in manufacturing firms in developing countries as a reference for building a good OGCUL, serving as practical guidance for effective leadership and providing organizational or management support. Specifically, the findings would have the following practical implications: first, firms need to have a combination of KM processes (such as acquisition, storage, sharing and conversion). In practice, developing countries such as Ethiopia have based their innovation strategy on knowledge and technology acquisition through encouraging foreign direct investment. It is not in doubt that Ethiopia has been benefiting from the strategy as a lot of foreign companies have opened their subsidiaries in the country. However, in the authors’ view, more emphasis on knowledge acquisition strategy would not take a firm a long time to sustain its innovative activity because it is likely available to firms operating in the same industry, as well as it may hurt a firm’s competitive advantage. In addition, by its nature, knowledge may not be retained for future use; it may expire soon. Second, the current highly impulsive and rapid change in the business environment changes the way firms have to operate and deliver products or services. Knowledge (both tacit and explicit) is a resource that can provide a competitive advantage if used well for the intended purpose. In real practice, firms often face challenges in determining where to get knowledge from and how to value or manage it. Besides, knowledge can be obtained from three sources: knowledge can exist in individuals’ minds (skills, experience, ideas and insight); knowledge can dwell in a group, which we can call collective knowledge (a team of scientists or researchers); and knowledge can be embodied in an organization's systems, tools, procedures, policies, etc. Knowledge cannot be a valuable resource unless it is obtained and used in designing or producing a product or service. To integrate knowledge with business strategies, there should be a platform or framework that helps to manage it properly. Firm managers, policy-makers and other concerned bodies would consider the three sources of knowledge to foster innovative activities and obtain a competitive advantage. In addition, the authors recommend more emphasis be placed on firm-specific factors (such as OGCUL, leadership, management support and KM) to enhance the innovative capacity of a firm. Finally, the most critical issue to be raised while designing an innovation strategy would be employees’ willingness and passion to collaborate with others to develop new ideas, share ideas or implement policies. As knowledge resides in individuals’ minds, the knowledge holder should have a passion to share it with those working with him or her. In practice, knowledge sharing depends extremely on the passion and voluntariness of the two parts: knowledge provider and receiver. Therefore, firm managers would design a platform on how to motivate individuals to share their skills, experience and ideas with others through providing incentive packages, punishment and commitment. In this regard, the authors believe that the results would help individuals who are in the position to manage or regulate the manufacturing sector in designing innovation policies, KM policies or technology management policies and business strategies.

Originality/value

This study provides new empirical insight into the relationships between organizational factors (such as OGCUL and LMS), KM and innovation in a large sample of firms. To date, the empirical research on these relationships has been mainly limited to descriptive case studies (Chen and Huang, 2009; Zack et al., 2009; Donate and Guadaumillas, 2011), and there is thus a lack of empirical evidence with large samples of firms. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the relationship between organizational factors, KM and innovation in developing countries, especially in Ethiopia. This paper intends to fill this gap and nurture future research studies in the area.

A Study of the Relationship between Corporate Culture and Corporate Sustainable Performance: Evidence from Chinese SMEs

Sustainable development is a significant issue facing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on the literature of corporate sustainable development and the resource-based view, this study aims to examine how corporate flexibility and control culture influence sustainable performance by triggering innovation capabilities and investigate the moderating role of leadership style (i.e., transformational and transactional). The 186 matched questionnaire data from managers and employees in Chinese SMEs reveal that the flexibility and control culture are positively and negatively related to innovation capability, respectively, and that the latter mediates their influence on sustainable performance. Moreover, transformational leadership positively (negatively) moderates the relationship between flexibility (control) culture and innovation capability, while transactional leadership positively moderates the relationship between control culture and innovation capability. This study enriches the theoretical literature on corporate sustainable performance and provides management insights into how SMEs could survive and achieve sustained growth through corporate culture.

Will goal clarity lower team innovation? A moderated mediation model of inter-team trust

Purpose

Based on two dominant perspectives, team climate and knowledge integration, on team innovation, this study aims to propose a moderated mediation model to examine the interactive effect of inter-team trust and goal clarity on team innovation through knowledge inflows into a team. Considering the two perspectives at the same time will provide a more complete picture on our understanding on team innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research model is tested on 150 retail teams of a large apparel firm. Data are collected from two separate surveys, one to store managers and one to store staff members. Moderation mediation regression analysis is conducted on the survey data.

Findings

The regression analysis identified both a positive direct effect of goal clarity on innovation, and a negative moderating effect of goal clarity on the mediation of knowledge inflows between inter-team trust and innovation. In other words, inter-team trust is positively related to team innovation through knowledge inflows when goal clarity is low.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors identify an indirect and negative role of goal clarity on team innovation, and examine the mechanism and boundary of inter-team trust on team innovation. Managers are advised to foster a trusting environment and be aware of cognitive bias in their teams so that their teams can be more innovative.

Clients and Service providers Relationship in IT Outsourcing Project Success

The role of organizational attitude for an effective knowledge sharing (KS) in IT outsourcing (ITO) relationships has not been adequately addressed. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between KS and ITO success as well as the potential moderating effect of organizational attitude on the relationship between KS and partnership quality in ITO. By leveraging structural equation modeling (SEM) on survey data from 153 ITO projects, results show that organizational attitudes significantly influence knowledge sharing and partnership quality, which in turn, results in successful ITO project. Moreover, the relationship between knowledge sharing and partnership quality is more pronounced when the partner firms have positive attitudes to KS. We further showed that partnership quality mediates the relationship between knowledge sharing and the success of an ITO project. Finally, the results of this study indicate that positive organizational attitude improves knowledge sharing between the client and service providers (i.e vendors), and creates stronger outsourcing partnerships.

The Development of a Transdisciplinary Framework to Overcome Energy Efficiency Barriers in Shipbuilding: A Case Study for an Iranian Shipyard

Through a systematic literature review and a holistic perspective, the study proposes a conceptual transdisciplinary framework to overcome energy efficiency barriers during the shipbuilding phase. The process of the proposed transdisciplinary framework consists of five steps of “goal formation”, “system analyzing”, “scenario construction”, “multi-criteria decision making assessment” and “strategy building” to identify and rank the energy efficiency barriers during ship construction based on decision makers’ priorities. The framework categorizes the barriers into five disciplines—operations, policies and regulations, technology and innovation, the human elements, and economics—and the framework is applied to an Iranian shipyard. The results show that the economic barriers have the greatest impact, while the human barriers have the least impact on the shipyard’s energy performance. Due to the generalized structure of the framework, it categorizes not only energy efficiency barriers according to the importance and priorities of stakeholders in the shipbuilding industry, but can also be applied to other phases of the ship life cycle and even to other industries. By applying the framework, decision-makers can make rational and optimal decisions to be able to invest in energy efficiency measures based on their priorities.

Innovative Culture and Firm Performance of Medical Device Companies: Mediating Effects of Investment in Education and Training

This research explored the mediating effect of investment in education and training relating to the innovative culture and organizational performance of medical device companies. We used the Human Capital Corporate Panel data provided by the Korea Vocational Competency Development Institute. In the industrial classification system of panel data, the industries related to medical devices were extracted and conclusively analyzed for 8629 workers and 368 companies. The independent and dependent variables were innovative culture and corporation performance, respectively. Investment in training and education was a mediating variable between the independent and dependent variables. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS software. A higher level of organizational satisfaction emerged in an innovative culture. Innovative culture positively affected organizational satisfaction. Further, investment in education and training to promote an innovative culture positively affected organizational satisfaction. Medical device companies should improve their performance by creating an innovative culture.

Innovation speed and quality in higher education institutions: the role of knowledge management enablers and knowledge sharing process

Purpose

Higher education institutions, particularly in developing countries, are striving for superior innovation performance to cope with the challenges of contemporary educational environment. Drawing on the knowledge management capability model and knowledge-based view of firms, this study aims to determine the impact of knowledge management enablers, namely, top management knowledge value, knowledge-oriented culture and knowledge-based rewards, on innovation speed and quality and assessing the mediating role of knowledge sharing process.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from 234 academics of higher education institutions in Pakistan and analyzed through the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

The results indicate that top management knowledge value and knowledge-based rewards have a positive effect on innovation speed and quality. Although knowledge-oriented culture also contributes to innovation quality, it does not influence the innovation speed. Moreover, the knowledge sharing process mediates the effect of all these knowledge management enablers on innovation speed and quality.

Practical implications

This study underscores the importance of three key knowledge management enablers in higher education institutions. The findings of this study suggest that signaling knowledge value from the top management, fostering knowledge-oriented culture and enacting a knowledge-based reward system are critical in facilitating knowledge sharing process and enhancing innovation speed and quality in higher education institutions.

Originality/value

This is among one of the earlier studies that investigates the influence of top management knowledge value, knowledge-oriented culture and knowledge-based rewards on innovation speed and quality, particularly in higher education institutions, and determines the mediating role of the knowledge sharing process.

Organizational culture, organizational citizenship behavior, knowledge sharing and innovation: a study of indigenous people production organizations

Purpose

Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationships among OC, KS, OCB and OI “Organization” is often seen as a company and few studies pay much attention to tribes and other related organizations and communities of Indigenous peoples. However, Indigenous peoples production organizations (IPPOs) would be certainly influenced by factors from the internal/external, including organizational culture (OC), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), knowledge sharing (KS) and organizational innovation (OI). Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationships among OC, KS, OCB and OI.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on valid 139 Indigenous workers in IPPOs, this study used structural equation modeling to validate the relationships among OC, OCB, KS and OI.

Findings

The empirical findings indicate that OC would significantly influence OCB and OI, whereas KS would not have significant impact on OI. In addition, OC would not influence KS as usual, whereas OCB would do. Finally, OCB would impact KS.

Practical implications

As OCB acts as a complete mediator in OC–KS relationship, it means that these IPPOs already have OCB to motivate their staffs to do KS, but not enough to achieve more excellent performance on innovation.

Originality/value

Compared to past studies, this study aims to investigate the theory of organizational behavior and whether it is suitable between general businesses and IPPOs.

Fostering exploitative and exploratory innovation through HRM practices and knowledge management capability: the moderating effect of knowledge-centered culture

Purpose

Given the important role of knowledge resource for organizational innovation, the purpose of this study is to examine the mediating mechanism of knowledge management capability (KMC) and the moderating role of knowledge-centered culture (KCC) in the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and firms’ innovation capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis of moment structures and structural equation modeling are applied to examine the correlation among the constructs based on the survey data collected from 135 manufacturing firms.

Findings

The empirical findings reveal that KMC positively mediates the relationship between HRM practices and innovation capability. Especially, KCC of organization significantly fosters the impacts of HRM practices on KMC and aspects of innovation capability, namely, exploitative and exploratory innovation.

Practical implications

Chinese firms should invest in HRM practices and KMC to improve their innovation capabilities. In addition, developing KCC is suitable for Chinese firms to foster the effects of HRM practice on innovation capability.

Originality/value

By investigating the different moderated-mediation mechanisms, the paper has significantly contributed to advancing the body of knowledge of innovation theory and providing deeper insights on the correlation between HRM practices and firm’s capability for ambidextrous innovations.

Leveraging knowledge sharing and innovation culture into SMEs sustainable competitive advantage

Purpose

This study aimed to examine and explain the role of knowledge sharing in shaping innovation culture to improve business performance and build sustainable competitive advantage. Most empirical research tended to be conducted in large companies, and there are limited studies on this topic in the SME sector. Thus, the study needs to re-examine whether the theories developed to understand large companies apply to SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative study involved 259 respondents from a 59 sampling frame consisting of three levels of management of export SMEs in the Bali province of Indonesia. The questionnaire used to gather the data used a semantic differential scale, and the data were analyzed using SmartPLS software.

Findings

The results showed that knowledge sharing significantly influenced innovation culture, business performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Theoretically, this research provides insight into the body of knowledge in innovation culture and business performance as a mediator variable.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-sectional design limits the authors from drawing definitive generalizations, and self-reported measures used in the study increase the chances of bias.

Practical implications

The study's findings could motivate managers and practitioners to place emphasis on knowledge sharing and innovation culture in the SME sector.

Originality/value

The role of knowledge sharing has been focused on large companies in several countries. However, research examining the role of knowledge sharing in building an innovation culture is still rare in the SME sector, particularly in Indonesian SMEs. Therefore, research on this topic is needed because Indonesia has not only a different culture but also different business practices.

Developing a collaborative culture for radical and incremental innovation: the mediating roles of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the influence of collaborative culture on employee’s knowledge sharing and how it associated with radical and incremental innovation in Chinese firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the quantitative approach and structure equation model to test hypotheses with data collected by questionnaire from 371 participants in 68 Chinese firms.

Findings

The research findings indicated that collaborative culture positively fosters the KS behaviors of employees for radical and incremental innovation. The findings confirm the mediating role of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing and reveal that collaborative culture has a significant impact on incremental innovation, whereas knowledge sharing behaviors have greater impacts on radical and incremental innovation.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should investigate the impact of collaborative culture on innovation under moderating effects of ownership form or mediating roles of behavioral variables to have better understanding on the relationship among them.

Practical implications

This study offers leaders a deeper understanding of the necessary factors and new pathways to stimulate employees’ tacit and explicit knowledge sharing for innovation.

Originality/value

The paper has significant contributed to theoretical and practical initiatives on the theory of innovation which highlighted the crucial role of collaborative culture in facilitating a positive climate for knowledge sharing and innovation.

Firms’ Reputation for Innovation: Role of Marketing Capability, Innovation Capability, and Knowledge Sharing

In the current day competitive business environment, continuous innovation has become a central strategy for most firms. The ability to achieve continuous innovation has been observed to facilitate the growth and profitability of a firm. Innovation can not only lead to new customers and market segments, but it also enables firms to develop a reputation for being innovative. In today’s world of fast-changing preferences and trends, such a reputation for a firm is likely to considerably add to its brand equity and growth prospects. The current study investigates the role of knowledge sharing, innovation capability, and marketing capability in a firm’s reputation for innovation. A set of hypotheses were developed to analyse these relationships using structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were collected from seventy-five (75) senior executives spanning across five different industries in the Indian service and manufacturing sector. The findings of the study indicated that a firm’s reputation for innovation is influenced by factors like innovation capability, which in turn is an outcome of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing within the firm. Further, marketing capability plays a positively moderating role between innovation capability and the firm’s reputation for innovation. Overall, the study highlights that the innovation capability of a firm is a result of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing inside the firm. However, such innovation capability alone is not sufficient for a firm to be viewed as “innovative”. The firm must develop and use appropriate marketing and knowledge management capabilities to highlight such an innovative nature of the firm in order to be viewed as innovative in the market.

From knowledge management to organizational performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of knowledge management (KM) enablers on KM processes in research universities and testing the direct relation between KM processes and OP. This study also proposes to examine the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) and innovation in the relationship between KM processes and performance of universities.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 217 academic and administrative personnel from research universities of Pakistan, the hypothesized relationships were tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

The results reveal that KM enablers have a significant impact on KM processes. The results also indicate that KM processes influence organizational performance (OP) directly and indirectly through innovation and IC.

Practical implications

Findings of this study reinforce the corporate experience of KM and suggest how administrators of research universities and higher educational institutions can promote innovation and IC, which in turn enhance OP.

Originality/value

Despite the augmented importance of KM in higher education institutions or research universities, there is a dearth of studies that investigate the interplay of KM, innovation, IC and OP. This is one of the earliest studies that not only empirically investigate the interaction of KM enablers, KM processes and performance of research universities but also shed insights into the existing literature by simultaneously investigating mediating role of IC and innovation in the underlying relationship.

Knowledge Portals

Knowledge portals are a method to provide integrated access to users of multiple systems through a single-entry point. A large body of literature exists on knowledge portals; however, the only published literature reviews are outdated, as they only cover material prior to the 21st century. The purpose of this article is to present review on some major papers about knowledge portals that were published from 2000-2017. The review takes a holistic perspective based on systems development life cycle to critique the literature and identifies key challenges that enlighten future directions. Trends in the first decade of the 21st century include the desire to formalize and standardize a model of knowledge portals, while major challenges for the future include the need to maintain cybersecurity across users and platforms.