Organizational Performance and Sustainability: Exploring the Roles of IT Capabilities and Knowledge Management Capabilities

Investigating the nexus between information technology capabilities, knowledge management, and green product innovation: evidence from SME industry

The aim of this study to investigate the relationship between information technology capabilities (ITCs) and green product innovation (GPI). The information technology (IT) capabilities with multiple dimensions, such as IT competence, IT integration, and IT infrastructure, were used in this paper. Moreover, to verify the deep relationship between ITCs and GPI, we used knowledge management (KM) as a mediator. The data were collected through a questionnaire from the senior managers, middle-level managers, and operational staff associated with the small- and medium-sized production industry of Pakistan. We collect data in two waves between January 2022 and July 2022. The data were analyzed through the partial least square structural equation modeling through SmartPLS 3.2.2. The findings of this study conclude. First, in the direct relationship, two IT capabilities, such as IT competence and IT infrastructure, have a positive and significant direct relationship with green product innovation, but IT integration has an insignificant relationship with green product innovation. Second, the results show that three IT capabilities have positively influenced knowledge management. Third, the results confirm that KM has a significant positive effect on GPI. Finally, the outcomes confirmed that knowledge management positively and significantly mediates between all IT capabilities and GPI in the indirect relationship.

The impact of organizational culture and leadership styles on the performance of public organizations

When comparing actual outputs of an organization to its expected results, aims, and objectives, this is referred to as organizational performance (Abuzarqa, 2019; Al Khajeh, 2018). Therefore, this study is to determine the impact of organizational culture and leadership styles on the performance of Jordanian government organizations. The total number of respondents in this survey was 168, and they were divided into Jordanian government employees. The quantitative analysis test, which includes the validity test, reliability test, classic assumptions test, and hypothesis test, is used in the data analysis process. Organizational culture and leadership styles are independent variables in this study. Organizations’ performance is the dependent variable in this study. The findings of this study reveal that organizational culture and leadership styles have a significant or minor impact on the performance of Jordanian public organizations. The two independent variables have a significant point that supports the hypothesis. As a result, it is widely assumed that organizational culture and leadership styles have an impact on the functioning of Jordanian government organizations. Future studies may examine managerial support as a moderating variable between organizational culture and leadership styles and performance.

Influence of supply chain resilience, information technology capabilities and agility on cost and delivery performance in construction supply chains: an Indian perspective

Purpose

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has been severely felt by India's construction industry, which contributes heavily to economic growth and employment. An analysis of the impact of supply chain agility, supply chain resilience and information technology capability on the construction supply chain cost and delivery performance is presented in this study in an Indian scenario post-COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis of moment structures-confirmatory factor analysis-based structural equation modeling is applied to a structured questionnaire received from 220 construction companies located in Southern India.

Findings

According to the results, supply chain agility, supply chain resilience and information technology capability are essential capabilities for post-COVID-19 supply chain performance. Furthermore, these factors are observed to have a positive impact on improving cost and delivery performance in construction supply chains focused on building sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study can be used by other industries to ensure robustness and sustainability of business operations during post-COVID periods. Improving supply chain agility and information technology capabilities along with building resilience results in improving cost and delivery performance against disruptive scenarios.

Originality/value

Despite previous studies addressing the effects of COVID-19 on supply chain performance, information technology capability, agility and resilience are not addressed in construction industry research. The current study examines the simultaneous effects of resilience, agility, and information technology capability on the cost and delivery performance of Indian construction projects.

Big Data Capability and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The Mediating Role of Ambidextrous Innovation Strategy

After the rapid expansion of data variety, velocity and volume, human civilization experienced rapid changes in the period between the “IT” and “Data” ages. Researchers view big data and data capability as new sustainable competitive advantages that enhance the sustainability of organizational development. This paper aims to develop and empirically test a framework that will investigate how big data capability is achieved through exploitative, explorative and ambidextrous modes of innovation strategies, and will also explore how they can, in turn, build firms’ sustainable competitive advantage. Using data from surveys of 229 respondents working in Chinese manufacturing firms, we test the framework using regression and bootstrapped mediation analyses. It also shows how big data capability will make firms more inclined to implement exploitative innovation strategy and construct sustainable competitive advantage, as opposed to explorative innovation strategy; when viewed from an ambidextrous perspective, combined dimension of ambidextrous innovation strategy is found to partially mediate between big data capability and sustainable competitive advantage while balanced dimension of ambidextrous innovation strategy does not. The conclusions are of great significance because they will help firms to deal with challenges that arise in big data applications and digital transformation. The findings offer new insight into the strategic choices of organizational innovations.

A Model for Knowledge Management Systems in the UbuntuNet Alliance Member Institutions

In the current knowledge-driven global economy, higher education and research institutions are taking a leading role as the hubs for knowledge creation and sharing. In contribution to the needed coordination of the efforts, this paper presents a guiding model thorough assessment of the prevailing status of knowledge resources sharing and collaboration in the regional alliance for education and research networks in the eastern and southern African countries—UbuntuNet Alliance. This research carried out a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with CEOs of three active national research and education networks (NRENs), representing both the government-run and private consortium-based settings. The study adopted a socio-technical perspective in assessing the technological engagements and the knowledge resources utilization within and among the NRENs in the region. The findings show that the NRENs share a similar set of challenges as well as missions and objectives; they aspire to provide technology-enhanced knowledge-sharing platforms within and across their domains. Finally, it presents UbuntuKMS Model—a comprehensive technology-enhanced knowledge management systems model that intends to provide guidance for the NRENs to orient their efforts accordingly. The research revealed that contextual considerations in developing system solutions are vital as the developing economies experience unique realities on the ground.

Unleashing the Importance of TQM and Knowledge Management for Organizational Sustainability in the Age of Circular Economy

Despite the growing importance of the concept of circular economy, the case of developing countries remains under-explored. Against this backdrop, the present research aims to examine the association between the constructs of total quality management (TQM) and organizational sustainability (OS) with the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) from the perspective of a circular economy. The data were collected from the manufacturing sector of a developing economy (n = 510) to serve the purpose of the current research through a self-administered questionnaire (paper-pencil technique). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for hypothesis testing of the current survey. Six TQM dimensions were drawn from the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award (MBNQA) model. OS is composed of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, and KM is composed of four dimensions including acquisition, creation, sharing, and application of knowledge. The empirical examination suggests that TQM positively relates to OS, with KM playing a partial mediation role between this association. This study provides important insights for the management of the manufacturing industry of Pakistan on how to ensure organizational sustainability in the age of a circular economy by using the constructs of TQM and KM.

Innovation for organizational sustainability: the role of HR practices and theories

Purpose

This paper aims to estimate the influence of HR practices and theories on organizational sustainability. The research also examines the role of innovation as a mediator among the relationship of HR practices and theories and organizational sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on the survey conducted among 386 employees of logistics firms across India. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approaches were used for analysis. Approach proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) was used to test the mediating effect.

Findings

The study finds that HR practices and theories have positive and significant influence on organizational sustainability. The research also reveals that after introducing innovation as a construct, it partially mediated the association of HR practices and theories and organizational sustainability.

Originality/value

The study inspects the extent to which innovation can acts as a mediator between the relationship of HR practices and theories and organizational sustainability in logistics sector in India, which has not been established in past studies.

The Effect of Relational Capital on Organizational Performance in Supply Chain: The Mediating Role of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Relational capital and organizational performance were important factors for achieving sustainable development of the supply chain, and knowledge sharing could create and maintain sustainable competitive advantages of the supply chain. This study examined the comprehensive relationship among relational capital, explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, and organizational performance and the mediating roles of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing between relational capital and organizational performance in the supply chain by using data collected from a questionnaire survey. SPSS, AMOS, and a structural equation model were used to analysis these data and the aforementioned relationships. The results confirmed that relational capital had a positive impact on explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, there was no relation to organizational performance, and explicit and tacit knowledge sharing played mediating roles between relational capital and organizational performance in the supply chain. The research results could provide theoretical guidance for managers to formulate sustainable development strategies that maintain good relationships and economic benefits of enterprises in the supply chain.

A Machine-Learning Classification Tree Model of Perceived Organizational Performance in U.S. Federal Government Health Agencies

Perceived organizational performance (POP) is an important factor that influences employees’ attitudes and behaviors such as retention and turnover, which in turn improve or impede organizational sustainability. The current study aims to identify interaction patterns of risk factors that differentiate public health and human services employees who perceived their agency performance as low. The 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. federal government employees, was used for this study. The study included 43,029 federal employees (weighted n = 75,706) among 10 sub-agencies in the public health and human services sector. The machine-learning classification decision-tree modeling identified several tree-splitting variables and classified 33 subgroups of employees with 2 high-risk, 6 moderate-risk and 25 low-risk subgroups of POP. The important variables predicting POP included performance-oriented culture, organizational satisfaction, organizational procedural justice, task-oriented leadership, work security and safety, and employees’ commitment to their agency, and important variables interacted with one another in predicting risks of POP. Complex interaction patterns in high- and moderate-risk subgroups, the importance of a machine-learning approach to sustainable human resource management in industry 4.0, and the limitations and future research are discussed.

Industry 4.0 implementation and Triple Bottom Line sustainability: An empirical study on small and medium manufacturing firms

Background

The current level of industrialization has generated many challenges worldwide, including ecological hazards, climate change, and the overuse of non-renewable natural resources, thereby creating an increasing demand for achieving the goal of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). In this regard, Industry 4.0 can be used as a crunch point to contribute to the production process that can help achieve sustainable development.

Purpose

While the Malaysian government proposed the “Industry4ward” approach to enhance technological adoption, there is scarce empirical evidence in the literature that validates SMEs for Industry 4.0. Using Dynamic Capability View (DCV), this study proposes a framework that includes core determinants like top management commitment, supply chain integration, and IT infrastructure, that can significantly influence Industry 4.0 implementation toward achieving TBL sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing simple random sampling, the study adopted a quantitative approach based on 199 useable respondent's feedback collected through a survey questionnaire of 900 employees from Malaysian SMEs. The statistical analysis was performed using Structural Equation Modeling (Partial Least Square, SmartPLS 3.3.2).

Findings

The results show that top management and IT infrastructure significantly impact Industry 4.0 implementation and sustainability. In contrast, the analysis also demonstrates that supply chain integration is insignificant to Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs. The findings also indicate that the relationship between the determinants of Industry 4.0 and TBL sustainability can be mediated by the “effective implementation” of Industry 4.0.

Recommendations

The study highlights the practical consequences of the role and use of the determinants in Industry 4.0 implementation. Its findings help managers and policy-makers to optimize value creation to achieve sustainable development goals.

Limitations and future research

Focusing only on Malaysian manufacturing SMEs may restrict the generalization of the study; thus, a benchmarking analysis from other industrial settings is encouraged. The questionnaire-based survey is a further limitation of the study.

Mediating Role of Knowledge Management in the Relationship between Organizational Learning and Sustainable Organizational Performance

Organizations operating in the intensive knowledge-based sector seek efficient management approaches and sustainable development practices to perform efficiently in the dynamic business environment. Knowledge management practice and organizational learning are significant factors in order to achieve sustainable organizational performance in a rapidly changing business environment. Based on the scientific literature analysis, there is still a lack of evidence related to the mediating role of the whole knowledge management cycle, including the five knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, creation, storage, sharing, and application) in the relationship between organizational learning and sustainable organizational performance for organizations operating in intensive knowledge-based sectors. This study aimed to examine the impact of the whole knowledge management cycle on the relationship between organizational learning and sustainable organizational performance in intensive knowledge-based sectors, specifically the audit and consulting companies in the Middle East region. Systematic scientific literature analysis, expert evaluation (structured questionnaire), and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique were used to develop and verify the research model. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire distributed among auditing experts working in a knowledge-based sector—audit and consulting companies in the Middle East region. The research results supported the hypotheses stating that organizational learning positively affects knowledge acquisition, storage, sharing, application processes, and sustainable organizational performance. However, the results verified that organizational learning has an insignificant impact on the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies’ knowledge creation process.

Intellectual capital and the efficiency of SMEs in the transition economy China; Do financial resources strengthen the routes?

Intellectual capital has been grabbed the attention of researchers due to its momentous role in sustainable competitive advantage and organizational success. There is a growing catalog of related assessments, publications and reviews that display the direct and indirect role of intellectual capital in business success and profitability. Despite the bourgeoning literature, studies have not yet unleashed the influence of each dimension of intellectual capital; human capital, structural capital and customer capital on SMEs' efficiency with financial resources as a moderator. The present study fills the gap and assesses if financial resources strengthen the paths between the dimensions of intellectual capital and SMEs' efficiency. A survey method was used and collected evidence from 264 Chinese SMEs. The findings exhibit that human capital directly enhances SMEs' efficiency but the presence of financial resources as a moderator weakens the influence. However, social capital and customer capital do not directly improve SMEs' efficiency but financial resources reinforce the paths social and customer capital and SMEs efficiency. This research recommends that owners and managers of SMEs need to use their financial resources complementary with structural and customer capital while human capital should be used exclusively.

The Role of Innovative Climate in the Relationship between Sustainable IT Capability and Firm Performance

Information Technologies (IT) and IT-based capabilities represent a sovereign approach to firm survival and success in today’s business environment. The reflections of information technologies on company performance has always been a controversial topic in the management literature. As previous studies examining these kinds of relationships reported mixed results in terms of information technologies efficiency paradox, scholars are still trying to specify the underlying mechanisms and organizational factors linking IT to financial performance. Building on the resource-based view and positioning theory, this paper focuses on sustainable IT capabilities to generate value from IT investments. Moreover, the conflicting results regarding the effects of IT on firm performance lead to questions such as what sort of organizational contexts influence IT usage and enable firms to achieve business goals. This study considers IT capability as a three-dimensional construct—managerial IT capability, technical IT capability, and human support—and investigates the effects of sustainable IT capability on firm performance as well as analyzing the moderating effect of innovative climate. By studying the data from 221 managers of IT companies listed in the top 500 list of Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), we found that: (1) managerial and technical IT capabilities have significant and positive effects on quantitative performance, all aspects of IT capability—managerial IT capability, technical IT capability, and human support—are significantly and positively associated with qualitative performance, and (2) the relationship between technical IT capability and quantitative performance becomes stronger when the organizational climate is more innovation-oriented. (3) Similarly, the relationship between managerial and technical IT capabilities and qualitative performance becomes even stronger when the organizational climate is more innovative. The study concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications.

Does Competitive Intensity Moderate the Relationships between Sustainable Capabilities and Sustainable Organizational Performance in New Ventures?

Competitive intensity presents challenges to new ventures. Capabilities may lead to sustainable new venture performance. Yet, few studies have explored how competitive intensity moderates the effects of capabilities on sustainable new venture performance. Based on capability-based view, this study develops a research model to investigate how new ventures translate capabilities (marketing, technology, market-linking, and information technology capabilities) to achieve sustainability of new venture growth and performance under the different levels of competitive intensity. Using data collected from 146 U.S. new ventures, this study uses ordinary least squares regression analysis to test the research model and employs “pick-a-point” approach to examine how capabilities affect sustainable new venture performance at different levels of competitive intensity. The empirical results suggest that increasing competitive intensity decreases, not increases, the positive effects of marketing capabilities on performance. When competitive intensity is very high, the positive effects of marketing capabilities on performance become insignificant. In contrast, the positive effects of market-linking capabilities on performance increase, not decrease, as competitive intensity increases. For technology and information technology capabilities, there are no moderating effects of competitive intensity. The theoretical and managerial implications are suggested for sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainable development of new enterprises.

The influence of IT-competency dimensions on job satisfaction, knowledge sharing and performance across industries

Purpose

Technology makes knowledge management easier. Knowledge sharing is essential for organizational development. Job satisfaction fosters knowledge sharing. Hence, this study aims to develop an understanding of the mutual relationship between knowledge sharing and job satisfaction when both are predicted by information technology (IT)-competency dimensions such as IT-operations, IT-knowledge and IT-infrastructure in the context of company performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The results were achieved based on the examination of 910 Polish knowledge workers with different roles and experiences across various sectors. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling method.

Findings

The findings suggest that the company’s IT-competency drives job satisfaction and knowledge sharing more strongly for IT industry knowledge workers than for other industries. Also, a stronger mediation function of knowledge sharing and job satisfaction is observed for IT-operations when the IT industry is controlled.

Originality/value

The main value of the study is the empirical evidence that the influence of a particular IT-competency dimension varies for industries when it comes to job satisfaction and knowledge sharing processes.

Does Social Network Sentiment Influence S&P 500 Environmental & Socially Responsible Index?

The influence of social network sentiment on stock market indices and companies has been proven in several studies. However, the influence of social network sentiment on sustainability indices and sustainable companies has not been analyzed so far. Therefore, this study analyzed the influence of social network sentiment on sustainability indices (S&P 500 Environmental & Socially Responsible Index) and focused on variations of this influence on sustainable and non-sustainable companies, namely, in companies included in the Information Technology sector. To this end, two methodologies were used: GARCH (1,1) models and logit-probit models. The results showed that social network sentiment influences S&P 500 Environmental & Socially Responsible Index’s volatility; this influence was greater than the influence of social network sentiment when considering the S&P 500 Index. Additionally, the results showed that social network sentiment influences sustainable companies’ returns but had no effect on unsustainable companies’ returns. These results highlighted the importance of managing the companies’ profiles in social networks and their corporate image in general, because investors will consider these aspects to design their investment strategies.

Obtaining a Sustainable Competitive Advantage from Patent Information: A Patent Analysis of the Graphene Industry

Graphene serves as the most disruptive material in the twenty-first century and plays an unsubstitutable role in solving the sustainable development problems of energy crises, water shortages, and environmental pollution. Recently, obtaining a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in the field of graphene has gained increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, few attempts have been made to summarize the SCA of this field by applying patent information. Basing on a patent-based multi-level perspective (MLP), this study aims to develop an approach to identify SCA in the target technological area by conducting a patent review from the comprehensive perspectives of the macro landscape, meso socio-technical system, and micro niches, and then integrate patent analysis with technology life cycle (TLC) theory to examine patents involving global technological competition. The effectiveness of the approach is verified with a case study on graphene. The results show that the graphene field is an emerging and fast-growing technological field, with an increasing number of patents over the year. The TLC of graphene technology demonstrated an approximate S shape, with China, the U.S., Korea, and Japan filing the largest number of graphene patents. Evidenced by Derwent Manual Codes, we found an increase in consideration given to technological application and material preparation topics over time, and research hotspots and fronts that have SCA. In terms of a leading country or region with SCA, the U.S., with a high foreign patent filing rate, large number of high forward citation patents, strong assignees’ competitive position, and large number of high-strength patents, was still the most powerful leader, with a higher SCA in the graphene industry. Korea also obtained a relatively higher SCA and will be a promising competitor in this field. Although China was shown to be catching-up very rapidly in the total number of graphene patents, the apparent innovation gaps in the foreign patent filing rate, high value patents, and Industry-University-Research Collaboration will obviously hamper Chinese catch-up efforts for obtaining SCA. As for patentees, the most powerful leaders with a higher SCA represented by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, International Business Machines Corp, and Nanotek Instruments Inc were identified. In addition, most of the high strength patents were owned by the above patentees. Further, valuable contributions to the understanding of SCA in graphene technology were summarized. First, the proposed patent-based MLP provides a new and comprehensive analytical framework for review research, as well as SCA analysis, and extends its research perspectives. Second, it introduces patent indicators to the previous MLP model, and provides a new theoretical perspective for the study of technological innovation in the previous MLP model. Third, this paper employs the TLC theory to explore the dynamic SCA in the given technology field, which further develops the concept of the MLP model from the temporal dimension. Finally, future research directions were demonstrated. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review of this field using patent analysis, comprehensively acknowledging the current technological competition and development in the graphene field and that of the future, and can be applied to various other emerging technology fields.