Dynamic capabilities and their impact on research organizations’ R&D and innovation performance

Micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities to facilitate university technology transfer

Within the university-industry ecosystem, improvement and innovation of technology transfer involve implementing appropriate dynamic capabilities. To answer the question-What are the micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities in university technology transfer?-this study investigates in-depth organizational-level dynamic capabilities in transferring university-based knowledge to business and society. Two qualitative case studies were deployed at organizational entities at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: the Industry Alliance Office, and the Demonstrator Lab. These two organizations stimulate science- and business-oriented university technology transfer. In this context, the micro-foundations of the dynamic capabilities "sensing", "seizing" and "reconfiguring" are identified and discussed. For "sensing", which is the university's ability to explore the opportunities in the ecosystem, the micro-foundations are "selecting internal competency" and "sensing external partners". For "seizing", which supports universities in managing complementarity with industry and society, micro-foundations include "resource co-allocation" and "collaborative business model". The micro-foundations of "reconfiguring", through which universities maintain evolutionary fitness in the innovation ecosystem, are "strategic renewal", "establishing a university technology transfer-friendly environment", and "asset orchestration". This study provides researchers with a better understanding of how dynamic capabilities facilitate university technology transfer. Industrial practitioners and policymakers can consider the suggestions of the present study when pursuing collaboration with universities.

Business value of cognitive analytics technology: a dynamic capabilities perspective

Purpose

Novel and emerging technologies such as cognitive analytics attract a lot of hype among academic researchers and practitioners. However, returns on investments in these technologies are often poor. So, identifying mechanisms through which cognitive analytics can add value to firms is a critical research gap. The purpose of this paper is to theorize how cognitive analytics technologies can enable the dynamic capabilities of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring for an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper draws on the extant academic literature on cognitive analytics and related technologies, the business value of analytics and artificial intelligence and the dynamic capabilities perspective, to establish the role of cognitive analytics technologies in enabling the sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities of an organization.

Findings

Through arguments grounded in existing conceptual and empirical academic literature, this paper develops propositions and a theoretical framework linking cognitive analytics technologies with organizations’ dynamic capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguring).

Research limitations/implications

This paper has critical implications for both academic research and managerial practice. First, the authors develop a framework using the dynamic capabilities theoretical perspective to establish a novel pathway for the business value of cognitive analytics technology. Second, cognitive analytics is proposed as a novel antecedent of the dynamic organizational capabilities of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to theorize how cognitive analytics technologies can enable dynamic organizational capabilities, and thus add business value to an organization.

Dynamic Capabilities and Their Impact on Intellectual Capital and Innovation Performance

There is a high tendency for conversion from a statistical economy based on measuring tangible assets into investigating non-tangible capital drive in the present economic status worldwide. The implications of intellectual capital on innovation performance have widely attracted attention among researchers in the global arena. The present study investigated the impacts of intellectual capital on innovation performance in the banking sector as influencing non-tangible assets. Besides, the role of dynamic capabilities in moderating the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation performance was examined. A purposive sampling technique was applied to 364 participants from Iraqi commercial banks as the research context. Thereafter, structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the collected data from the survey questionnaire using SPSS.v25 and AMOS.v24. The study found that the employees’ levels of intellectual capital significantly increased toward innovativeness through the moderating role of dynamic capabilities between intellectual capital and innovation performance in the commercial banking sector for better competitive advantages. Consequently, the study provides valuable insights and guidance for academicians and practitioners on the impacts of developing intellectual capital on enhancing competitive performance, especially in the context of Iraqi commercial banks.

Tacit and explicit knowledge management and assessment of quality performance of public R&D in emerging economies

Purpose

The authors investigate the relationship between the structure and the functioning of scientific and technical (S&T) personnel and the quality research and development (R&D) performance output of laboratories functioning under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India. The purpose of this paper is to examine how rapid economic and social changes and the demand for better accountability are addressed by public R&D institutions in a specific developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the functions performed by the S&T personnel as indicators of their tacit knowledge. The authors use data from 27 different CSIR laboratories to analyze the specific functions carried out by knowledge workers (S&T personnel) in order to gauge the internal strengths and weaknesses of individual laboratories in different functional areas. The authors use the following measures to tap the quality R&D performance of these laboratories – number of Indian patents filed and granted, number of foreign patents filed and granted, and the number of published papers figuring among the top 50 CSIR publications in specific research areas over an extended period of 11 years (2003-2004 to 2013-2014).

Findings

The findings show that there is no readymade formula for identifying improvements in quality performance by a research laboratory, given a particular set of S&T worker profile in terms of the six functions defined in the study. The top-performing laboratories have excellent patent as well as publication record reinforcing the point that innovation encompasses both basic and applied research with success depending upon strategically emphasizing the different components of the innovation process.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the present research work is limited by the choice of the quality R&D performance measures adopted in the study that could be further expanded to better tap the social accountability of these public-funded institutions. In addition, inclusion of all CSIR laboratories in the study framework would add value to the study findings. The research highlights the importance of tacit knowledge management and organizational learning as central features of strategic organization development for technology practices incorporating R&D work, the support of pilot plants, experimental field stations, and engineering and design units.

Practical implications

The paper has particular implications for the leadership and management of public R&D organizations and public policy formulation for innovation in an emerging developing economy context.

Originality/value

This study extends the extant literature by drawing upon the role of tacit knowledge and organizational learning to inform the empirical research on managing public R&D and the innovations that result from it, in a particular emerging economy context, that is, India.