Journal of Digital Convergence (디지털융복합연구)

The Society of Digital Policy and Management (한국디지털정책학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Research on Supplier's Absorptive Capacity, Knowledge Creation, Intellectual Capital and Competitive Advantage

공급업체의 흡수능력, 지식창출, 지적자본 및 경쟁우위에 관한 연구

  • Si-Chao Wang (Graduate School of Technology Management, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Yan-Nan Li (Graduate School of Technology Management, Kyung Hee University)
  • 왕사초 (경희대학교 테크노경영대학원) ;
  • 이염남 (경희대학교 테크노경영대학원)
  • Received : 2023.11.15
  • Accepted : 2023.12.20
  • Published : 2023.12.28
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This raises the question of how competitive advantage can be created, prompting firms to enhance their capacity for change. In this context, the role of knowledge creation becomes increasingly vital. This research aims to explore the role of intellectual capital and how to improve knowledge cration ability through absorptive capacity framework. It examines the links among knowledge acquisition, learning of new knowledge, knowledge creation, intellectual capital, and competitive advantage, drawing from both internal and external sources. The study focuses on small and medium-sized supplier firms in Korea, with data collected from 15 industries, totaling 106 responses. The research model employs structural equation modeling (SEM) and utilizes AMOS 22 for analysis. As anticipated, all hypotheses were supported. The study provides robust evidence that absorptive capacity is a pivotal factor in cultivating suppliers' competitive advantage. Furthermore, it posits that intellectual capital should be viewed as a criucial component of suppliers' knowledge stock, significantly enhancing the impact of absorptive capacity on their competitive edge. Future studies should aim to validate the research model in different international settings or across multinational corporations to enhance its generalizabulity.

변기업은 변화하는 환경 속에서 생존하기 위해 다양한 전략으로 경쟁우위를 창출하고자 한다. 이에, 경쟁우위를 창출하는 방법에 대한 연구도 끊임없이 전개되고 있다. 이러한 상황은 기업의 혁신능력을 강화하도록 촉구하며 또한 지식창출의 변화가 매우 중요한 역할이 되었다는 것을 의미한다. 본 연구는 자원기반 관점을 바탕으로 지적자본과 흡수능력 프레임워크가 경쟁우위에 미치는 영향을 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 한다. 이에, 한국 중소기업의 샘플을 통해 지식흡수능력, 지식 창출, 지적 자본 및 내/외부 소스의 경쟁 우위 사이의 연계를 수행하는지 확인해보고자 한다. 이러한 목적을 검증하기 위해 15개 산업에서 106개의 공급업체의 설문이 수집되었다. 연구 모델은 SEM(구조 방정식 모델링)을 채택하고 AMOS 22를 적용하여 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 모든 가설은 채택되었다. 따라서 본 연구는 흡수 능력이 공급업체의 경쟁 우위를 키우는 데 있어 중요한 요소임을 의미한다. 또한, 지적 자본은 공급업체의 지식 재고의 중요한 구성 요소로 간주되어야 하며, 이것이 경쟁력에 대한 흡수 능력 영향을 크게 강화한다는 것을 제시한다. 향후 연구는 연구 모델을 다양한 국제적 환경이나 다국적 기업에서 검증하여 일반화 가능성을 향상시키는 것을 목표로 할 것이다.

Keywords

References

  1. C. Zook, D. Rigby. (2002). Open-Market Innovation. Harvard Business Review, 80(10), 80-93
  2. J. B., Barney.(1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120. DOI : 10.1177/014920630101700108
  3. S .A. Zahra & G. George, (2002). Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension. The Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185-203 DOI : 10.5465/amr.2002.6587995.
  4. J. C. Spender, R. M. Grant, (1996). Knowledge and The Firm: Overview. Strategic Management Journal, 17(2), 5-9. DOI : 10.1002/smj.4250171103
  5. S. Colakoglu. (2009). Enhancing Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity: The Role of Knowledge Acquisition Practices and Intellectual Capital," PhD. dissertation, New Brunswick, The State University of New Jersey, United States.
  6. Y. Caloghirou, I. Kastelli, & A. Tsakanikas. (2004). Internal Capabilities and External Knowledge Sources: Complements or Substitutes for Innovative Performance?. Technovation. 24(0), 29-39. DOI : 10.1016/S0166-4972(02)00051-2.
  7. W. M. Cohen & D. A. Levinthal. (1990). Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152. DOI : 10.2307/2393553
  8. P. J. Lane & M. Lubatkin. (1998). Relative Absorptive Capacity and Interorganizational Learning. Strategic Management Journal, 19(5). 461-477. DOI : 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199805)
  9. A. Y. Lewin, S. Massini & C. Peeters. (2010). Microfoundations of Internal and External Absorptive Capacity Routines. Organization Science,22(0), 81-98, DOI : 10.1287/orsc.1100.0525.
  10. E. Galy. (2003). The Mediating Role of Organization Learning between Absorptive Capacity and Performance in Companies Employing Enterprise Resource Planning Software," Ph.D dissertation, Univ. Texas-Pan American.
  11. Y. S. Chen, M. J. Lin & C. H. Chang. (2009). The Positive Effects of Relationship Learning and Absorptive Capacity on Innovation Performance and Competitive Advantage in Industrial Markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(2), 152-158. DOI : 10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.12.003.
  12. Y. Y. Chang, Y. Gong & M .W. Peng. (2012). Expatriate Knowledge Transfer, Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity, and Subsidiary Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 927-948, DOI : 10.5465/amj.2010.0985.
  13. P. F. Daniel. (2013). The Relationship of Market Orientation, Absorptive Capacity, Organizational Learning, and Positional Advantage to Corporate Performance in Turbulent and Non-turbulent Environments. Ph.D. dissertation, Wayne State University, Michigan, USA.
  14. B. Ahlin, M. Drnovsek & R. D. Hisrich.(2014). Exploring the Moderating Effects of Absorptive Capacity on the Relationship between Social Networks and Innovation. Journal of East European Management Studies, 19(2), 213-235. DOI : 10.1688/JEEMS-2014-02-Ahlin.
  15. I. Nonaka, K. Umemoto & D. Senoo. (1999). From Information Processing to Knowledge Creation: A Paradigm Shift in Business Management. Technology in Society. 18(2), 203-218. DOI : 10.1016/0160-791X(96)00001-2.
  16. H. Kamran, A. Noman & M. Mubbasher,. (2021) Role of Knowledge Creation and Absorptive Capacity: A Panel Data Study of Innovation. Journal of Management, 4(2), 25-44, DOI : 10.33215/sjom.v4i2.579.
  17. P. M. Senge. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. Doubleday/Currency, United States.
  18. B. Kogut, U. Zander. (1992). Knowledge of The Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and The Replication of Technology. Organization Science, 3(3), 383-397. DOI : 10.1287/orsc.3.3.383.
  19. K. G. Smith, C. J. Collins & K. D. Clark. (2005). Existing Knowledhe, knowledge creation capability, and the rate of new product introduction in high technology firms. Academy of Management Journal, 48(2). DOI : 10.5465/amj.2005.16928421.
  20. J. Kimberly & M. Evanisko. (1981) Organizational Innovation: The Influence of Individual, Organizational, and Contextual Factors on Hospital Adoption of Technological and Administrative Innovations. Academy of Management Journal, 24, 689-713. DOI :10.2307/256170
  21. M. S. Mubarik, N. Bontis, M. Mubarik & T. Mahmood. (2021). Intellectual Capital and Supply Chain Resilience. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 23(3), 713-738. DOI : 10.1108/JIC-06-2020-0206.
  22. T. A. Stewart. (1991). Brainpower: Intellectual Capital is Becoming Corporate America's Most Valuable Asset and Can be Its Sharpest Competitive Weapon; The Challenge is to Find What You Have And Use It. Fortune, 123(11), 4460.
  23. J. Roos, L. Edvinsson & N. Dragonetti.(1997). Intellectual Capital: Navigating In The Business Landscape. New York University Press, London.
  24. V. Dermol & C. Slovenia.(2013). Relationship between Learning, Knowledge Creation and Organizational Performance. Scientific Annals of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi Economic Sciences, 60(1), 67-82. DOI : 10.2478/aicue-2013-0008.
  25. O. Ludewig & D. Sadowski. (2009). Measuring Organizational Capital. Schmalenbach Business Review, 61, 393-412. DOI:10.1007/BF03396793
  26. L. Feng, D. K. Dutta & K. Park. (2020). From External Knowledge to Competitive Advantage: Absorptive Ccapacity, Firm Perdormance, and the Mediating Role of Labour Productivity. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 33(1), 18-30. DOI : 10.1080/09537325.2020.1787373.
  27. S. H. Cho, J. H. Song, S. C. Yun & C. K. Lee. (2013). How the Organizational Learning Process Mediates the Impact of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Performance in Korean Organizations. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 25(0), 23-42. DOI : 10.1002/piq.21127.
  28. C. Soo, A. W. Tian, S. T. T. Teo, J. Cordery. (2017). Intellectual Capital-enhancing HR, Absorptive Capacity and Innovation. Human Resource Management, 56(3), 431-454, DOI : 10.1002/hrm.21783.
  29. M. S. Mubarik, N. Naghavi & R. T. Mahmood. (2019). Intellectual Capital, Competitive Advantage and The Ambidexterity Liaison. Human Systems Management, 38(3), 267-277. DOI : 10.3233/HSM-180409.
  30. M. A. Youndt, M. Subramaniam, & S. A. Snell. (2004). Intellectual Capital Profiles: An Examination of Investments and Returns," Journal of Management Studies, 41(2), 335-361. DOI : 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00435.x.
  31. Z. Wang, T. Schoenherr, X. Zhao, & S. Zhang. (2019). Intellectual Capital, Supply Chain Learning, and Adaptability: A Comparative Investigation In China and The United States. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 66(0), 1-16. DOI : 10.1109/TEM.2019.2956471.
  32. J. J. P. Jansen, F. A. J. Van Den Bosch & H. W. Volberda.(2005). Managing Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity: How Do Organizational Antecedents Matter?. Academy of Management, 48(6). DOI : 10.5465/amj.2005.19573106.
  33. U. Andersson, M. Forsgren & U. Holm. (2002). The Strategic Impact of External Networks: Subsidiary Performance and Competence Development In The Multinational Corporation. Strategic Management, 23(0), 979-996. DOI : 10.1002/smj.267.