Organizational Learning of Absorptive Capacity and Innovation: Does Leadership Matter?

Impact of qualified gatekeepers on team absorptive capacity: the mediating role of knowledge combination capability

Purpose

This study aims to examine direct effects of qualified team gatekeepers on absorptive capacity (AC), and the mediating roles of combinative capabilities – knowledge integration capability (KIC) and interteam coordination.

Design/methodology/approach

A social networking analysis was used to analyze a unique data set collected from all members of 32 Japanese research and development (R&D) teams to identify key individuals who perform daily gatekeeping functions. This study analyzed the data through partial least squares structural equation modeling with higher-order latent variables. Finally, cross-validation tests were used with holdout samples to test the model’s predictive validity.

Findings

Qualified gatekeepers directly contribute to teams’ realized AC but not to their potential AC. Furthermore, qualified gatekeepers can improve their teams’ capability to absorb and exploit external knowledge by facilitating their capability to consolidate knowledge, that is, its KIC and interteam coordination.

Originality/value

Unlike prior research that asks top managers to identify team gatekeepers, this study used social network analysis to identify these vital individuals. This study provides a new framework indicating how qualified gatekeepers impact the AC of R&D teams through the examination of both the direct and indirect paths of gatekeeping abilities, two combinative capabilities as mediators and team AC.

Modeling Consumer’s Switching Intentions Regarding 5G Technology in China

Switching from current technology to disruptive technology entails advantages, sacrifices, and a variety of other considerations that are not encountered in the case of 5G technology. Therefore, this paper investigates consumers’ intention to shift to 5G in the light of disruptive technology innovation. An extended value-based adoption model (VAM) was used to examine the user’s switching intentions (SIs) from 4G (Existing) technology to 5G (Disruptive) technology. The proposed model was examined on data set from 361 Chinese users using the partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The outcomes illustrate the significant correlation between perceived switching benefits (PSBs) and perceived switching sacrifices (PSSs) on perceived sustainability values (SVs), which further impacts users’ SIs. Furthermore, the findings show that users perceived agility (PA) and absorptive capability (AC) moderates and encourages SIs. These findings have important implications for theory and practice. The outcomes of this research will be helpful to telecoms firms in developing consumer retention strategies. Some limitations and future research directions are also explored for scholars.

Socioeconomic status, ambidextrous learning, and farmers' adoption of biological control technology: evidence from 650 kiwifruit growers in China

BACKGROUND

Rural China is characterized as having different rates of economic growth. The resource and socioeconomic statuses of farm households greatly affect their productivity and the activities they engage in. The main objective in this study was to explore the mechanisms concerning how socioeconomic status of kiwifruit growers affects their adoption of biological control technology (BCT). To achieve this objective, field survey data from 650 kiwifruit farmers in specific kiwifruit growing areas of Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces in China were investigated. The binary probit model and Bootstrap dual mediated utility models served to assess socioeconomic status's effect on farmers' BCT adoption.

RESULTS

This study discovered a significant positive correlation between socioeconomic status and the adoption rate of biological control technology. Farmers of various socioeconomic status have significant differences in the rate of BCT adoption. This study's empirical analysis found that exploratory learning and exploitative learning under dual learning had a significant mediating effect on farmers' socioeconomic status when it came to BCT acceptance.

CONCLUSION

Results show that the rate of BCT adoption is related to farmers' socioeconomic status and dual learning mode, which provides new insights for understanding how farmers implement new technology. This study will help agricultural extension departments increase their awareness of BCT adoption by farmers, and the development of diverse learning approaches in response to differences in socioeconomic status of farmers may significantly increase their likelihood to implement BCT. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Translating knowledge in new entrepreneurial ventures: the role of business plan development

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the role of business plan development as a knowledge translation tool, especially for the creation of start-ups. In a complex knowledge ecosystem populated by multiple diverse and autonomous actors (such as potential entrepreneurs, local companies, local public entities and business consultants) bonded together by a joint search for valuable knowledge, business plan development can work as a powerful enabler for the translation of knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a qualitative multi-case study approach by examining the results of a public programme devoted to the creation of new entrepreneurial ventures. The authors analysed 418 complete business plans and followed up with all the participants with an interview. In total, 40 cases were investigated more in detail.

Findings

Results show how business plan development can function as a bridge between academic, theoretical and general knowledge on start-up creation on the one hand and practical contextualised activities of potential entrepreneurs on the other.

Practical implications

The process of knowledge translation is crucial to ensure that relevant knowledge coming from both the inside (the entrepreneur) and outside (the stakeholders) of the organisation is effectively applied. To facilitate the translation process, key knowledge users should be supported in contextualising and making sense of the research knowledge. Initiatives carried out by local entities and other actors, gathering several stakeholders to develop business plans, can become valuable opportunities to facilitate the translation process for start-up development.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to knowledge management and knowledge translation literature by demonstrating the role of business plan development as an effective knowledge translation enabler. It also adds to the understanding of innovation management and entrepreneurial education by proving the relevance of the translation of knowledge for the creation of new business ventures.

The Influence of Entrepreneurial Psychological Leadership Style on Organizational Learning Ability and Organizational Performance

In order to study the influence of different entrepreneurial psychological leadership styles on organizational learning ability and organizational performance and to provide theoretical basis for the improvement of organizational benefits of entrepreneurial enterprises in the future, 421 general managers, middle managers, and grassroots managers of 350 small- and medium-sized private enterprises in Beijing were surveyed by questionnaire in two forms: online and on-site. Then, a hypothesis model of the relationship between different entrepreneurial psychological leadership styles and organizational learning ability and organizational performance was constructed. The correlation between transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire psychological leadership styles and organizational performance and organizational learning ability was analyzed using multiple regression models. AMOS 7.0 software was used to simulate and verify the model. The results show that transformational psychological leadership style is positively correlated with organizational learning ability, financial performance, and growth performance; transactional psychological leadership style is positively correlated with organizational financial performance, growth performance, and organizational learning ability; there is no correlation between laissez-faire psychological leadership style and organizational financial performance and growth performance, but there is a significant positive correlation between laissez-faire psychological leadership style and organizational learning ability. The covariance between the error terms of the internal and external potential variables of the model is positive, and the factor load value of each potential variable and the observed variable is between 0.5 and 1, which shows that transformational and transactional psychological leadership styles have a more positive influence on organizational financial performance and learning ability than a laissez-faire psychological leadership style. The hypothesis model of the relationship between entrepreneurial psychological leadership styles and organizational learning ability and organizational performance conforms to the adaptation criteria and is feasible.