Knowledge assimilation processes of rapidly internationalising firms: longitudinal case studies of Scottish SMEs

<p>Purpose – The accumulation of knowledge and learning by firms has been identified as being critical to their internationalisation. This paper aims to explore the knowledge assimilation processes of rapidly internationalising small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).</p> <p>Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative enquiry in two stages. First, four case studies were selected from firms that were participating in an internationalisation programme run by Scottish Enterprise, the regional development agency. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) and programme providers, and archival data. Second, two focus groups were held with six CEOs participating in the programme.</p> <p>Findings – The findings indicate that knowledge sharing is important for rapidly internationalising SMEs and that firms adopted high levels of formality in assimilating knowledge. Two key aspects of formality were identified as important; formal planned events to share explicit and tacit knowledge and the codification of tacit to explicit knowledge. Knowledge may be assimilated less formally by the retention of tacit knowledge as tacit, while utilising elements of formality. The paper finds that learning for internationalisation can be transferred to support domestic growth.</p> <p>Practical implications – It is important for firms to develop appropriate knowledge assimilation processes within their management systems to support internationalisation. The CEO and management team need to take the lead in marshalling commitment to learning processes and in cultivating an organisational culture that is supportive of learning.</p> <p>Originality/value – This research contributes to international entrepreneurship by providing insights into the knowledge assimilation processes employed by rapidly internationalising SMEs to manage the tensions between the need for greater formality to be efficient at learning, and informality to enable speedy decision making.</p&gt

Investigating the technology catching-up trajectory of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs: an integrated framework from industry-, resource-, and institution-based view

Accepted for WLICSMB 2010Purpose This paper intends to review the literatures on the technology catching-up trajectory of latecomers in order to understand the innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs (Gu & Tse, 2010; Xie & White, 2006; Chen & Qu, 2003; Lee & Lim, 2001; Kim, 1997). It also tries to construct an integrated framework to investigate their innovation strategies and the impact on organizational performance from the Industry-, Resource-, and Institution-based view (Peng, Wang, & Jiang, 2008). Design/methodology/approach The authors have reviewed papers published in the leading journals in the R&D field and proposed an integrated conceptual framework of innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech firms based on Peng, Wang and Jiang (2008)’s institution-based view framework to examine the innovation strategy from Industry-, firm-specific Resource-based, and Institution-based View Originality/Value This paper pays attention to the institution factors in shaping Chinese SMEs to develop innovative capabilities. Chinese firms have comparative advantages, such as better comprehending Chinese local market, better understanding of local business environment comparing to MNEs. Our paper argues that by developing effective innovation strategies and improving innovative capabilities, Chinese SMEs will be able to survive from the severe competitions from state-owned enterprises and foreign firms in China

A meta-analysis of relationships between organizational characteristics and IT innovation adoption in organizations

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Information & Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Adoption of IT in organizations is influenced by a wide range of factors in technology, organization, environment, and individuals. Researchers have identified several factors that either facilitate or hinder innovation adoption. Studies have produced inconsistent and contradictory outcomes. We performed a meta-analysis of ten organizational factors to determine their relative impact and strength. We aggregated their findings to determine the magnitude and direction of the relationship between organizational factors and IT innovation adoption. We found organizational readiness to be the most significant attribute and also found a moderately significant relationship between IT adoption and IS department size. Our study found weak significance of IS infrastructure, top management support, IT expertise, resources, and organizational size on IT adoption of technology while formalization, centralization, and product champion were found to be insignificant attributes. We also examined stage of innovation, type of innovation, type of organization, and size of organization as moderator conditions affecting the relationship between the organizational variables and IT adoption

Innovation Capacity of Enterprises – Selected Issues

Artykuł poświęcony jest przeglądowi literatury naukowej dotyczącej pojęć i obszarów oraz specyfiki zdolności innowacyjnej przedsiębiorstw. W drugim punkcie artykułu omówiono pojęcie oraz rodzaje zdolności innowacyjnej przedsiębiorstw. Zdolność innowacyjna przedstawiana jest w literaturze naukowej jako koncepcja złożona, wieloczynnikowa i wieloobszarowa, obejmująca wiele przyczyn o charakterze wewnętrznych i zewnętrznym organizacji, ze szczególną rolą dynamicznych zdolności, które umożliwiają zarówno podejmowanie innowacji o danym charakterze i skali, jak i ich efektywną realizację. W trzecim skoncentrowano się na wybranych zagadnieniach związanych ze specyfiką kształtowania zdolności innowacyjnej, a w szczególności: motywach, modelach i strategiach kształtowania zdolności innowacyjnej w zależności od cyklu życia produktu, charakteru innowacji, roli przedsiębiorczości w kształtowaniu zdolności innowacyjnej przedsiębiorstw. Czynniki te mogą mieć różny wpływ na wynik innowacji, zwłaszcza gdy są rozpatrywane w izolacji lub w różnych częściach organizacji bez uwzględnienia synergicznych relacji między nimi

Model for Determining the Absorption Capacity of SMES in the Manufacturing Sector

This research aims at creating a model to determine the level of absorptive capacity in SMEs in the manufacturing sector through four dimensions (investment in R&D, number of patents, company structure, staff training); some authors propose measuring these or other variables separately, but based on the reviewed literature, the proposed model includes dimensions comprehensively identified as the most relevant, and the variables that allow a more accurate measurement absorptive capacity. It is important to underline that for the last ten years the research on this subject is being conducted mainly in countries of Asia

Absorptive Capabilities as Determinants of Economic Sustainability of Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises

Purpose – Drawing from the Absorptive Capabilities theory, this paper examines the role played by dimensions of absorptive capabilities (i.e., knowledge acquisition, knowledge assimilation, knowledge transformation, and knowledge exploitation) on the economic sustainability of SMEs in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a cross-sectional research design to collect quantitative data from 343 owners/managers of SMEs in Plateau State. Structural equation modeling through the use of the Analysis of Moments of Structures (AMOS) software, version 23 was employed to test the hypotheses. Findings – Research results indicate that all the dimensions of absorptive capabilities exert significant influence on the economic sustainability of SMEs. Thus the dimensions of absorptive capabilities serve as the antecedents of the economic sustainability of SMEs could be realized. Limitations- The focus of this study is on SMEs in Plateau State alone. The use of a cross-sectional design may also undermine the results of the study. Implications – This work adds to existing research on the subject of sustainability by revealing that dimensions of absorptive capabilities are necessary for the attainment of economic sustainability. Originality – Based on current literature, studies on the dimensions of absorptive capabilities as predictor variables are limited. No study has been conducted on the influence of absorptive capabilities using four dimensions, on the economic sustainability of SMEs. Thus it is a pioneering study in terms of both content and context.

Antecedents of E-Business Assimilation in Manufacturing SMEs

In order to further our knowledge on the use of the Internet and the Web in manufacturing SMEs, the present research seeks through an empirical study of 108 Canadian firms to explore the following questions: For what purposes are the Internet and the Web presently used, i.e., to what extent are e-business functions assimilated in manufacturing SMEs? What characteristics of the SMEs’ environmental, strategic, managerial, operational, and technological context are associated with e-business assimilation

Institutional Pressures, Top Management and M-commerce Adoption in Organizations: an Empirical Study of SMEs in China

Based on the institutional theory, this paper intends to clarify the relationship of institutional pressures, top management and m-commerce adoption intention in organizations. Using the data from 204 small and medium-sized enterprises in China, we examined the effect of mimetic, coercive and normative pressures on top management support and M-commerce adoption intention. The empirical result shows that: top management support and three types of institutional pressures could positively act on the adoption intention of M-commerce in organizations; top management support partly mediates the influence of two institutional pressures (coercive pressures and normative pressures) on the adoption intention of m-commerce. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed

Regional Adoption of Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce in China: Role of E-Readiness

Adoption of B2B e-commerce is a powerful driver of economic success in developed and developing countries. However, adoption rates in developing countries lag far behind. This paper draws on the Perceived eReadiness Model and research on the influence of inter-organizational relationships and economic-cultural contexts to explain the importance of three factors—inter-organizational power dependence, cooperativeness, and regional economic-cultural differences—for achieving higher levels of Internet-based Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in the developing country of China. We employ survey data to empirically test both the individual and joint influence of these factors. The findings suggest that beyond intra-organizational and external factors, managers and policy makers wanting to promote Internet-based EDI adoption in developing countries must also account for the inter-organizational relationships of firms and the economic and cultural circumstances of the regions in which they operate