• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.13-30
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• 2006

This study aims at exploring the relationships between knowledge activity, knowledge activity performance, and organizational performance. By adopting the balanced scorecard perspective, organizational performance was measured by product/service, customer and internal performances. Using data collected from the 36 Korean firms, this study found that knowledge creation activity was positively and significantly related to the organizational performance such as product/service performance, customer performance and internal performance. We also found that knowledge activity performance such as knowledge quality and user knowledge satisfaction mediated the positive relationship between knowledge sharing activity and internal performance.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2015

Although the interaction effects of knowledge sourcing strategies vary depending on environmental conditions such as knowledge intensity, most prior empirical research have failed to prove the effects of environmental conditions on the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and firm performance. In order to fill this gap, this study examines how knowledge intensity affects the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and firm performance. The results of this study indicate the interaction effects of knowledge sourcing strategies in high knowledge intensity environment are different from the effects in low knowledge intensity environment. This study expands knowledge management research by identifying the effects of knowledge intensity on the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and firm performance. Furthermore, it offers valuable practical guidelines for managers in selecting successful combinations of knowledge sourcing strategies with the consideration of knowledge intensity.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.165-192
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• 2001

Knowledge Management (KM) is the systematic, explicit, and deliberate building, renewal, and application of knowledge to maximize an enterprise's knowledge-related effectiveness and performance from its knowledge assets. KM applies systematic approaches to find, understand, and use knowledge to create new capabilities, solve problems, enable superior performance, and encourage innovation. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship of KM capabilities (KM infrastructures and KM processes) and organizational effectiveness and performance. An empirical research of the relationship of knowledge management capabilities and organizational effectiveness and performance is conducted from the information systems and knowledge management literature in order to access the following questions: (1) Does the knowledge management infrastructure contribute to the organizational effectiveness and peformance? (2) Does the knowledge management process contribute to the organizational effectiveness and peformance? The research design employs a mail survey questionnaire for gathering data from 500 firms in a number of industries. From a mail survey of 61 top managers of knowledge management, the results of empirical analyses provide the following major findings: (1) While the external effectiveness of organization is influenced by the cultural infrastructure of knowledge management, the overall performance of organization is influenced by the structural infrastructure of knowledge management. (2) While the external effectiveness of organization is influenced by the application and protection processes of knowledge management, the overall performance of organization is influenced by the knowledge acquisition process of knowledge management.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.10
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• pp.97-104
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• 2022

The purpose of the existing work is to inspect the impact of knowledge management on organizational performance. Business experts now appreciate how important knowledge management is for organizational performance. Earlier studies have investigated the research model with causal linkages, however, only a few of them have considered sample-selecting bias problems when analyzing the model of knowledge management on organizational performance. The number of 312 executives related to knowledge management from 312 enterprises that have been approved with quality management systems offered suitable responses for analyses. The data was employed to investigate the effect of knowledge management on organizational performance, considering sample-selecting bias. The empirical outcomes indicate that sample-selecting bias exists in the causal impact of knowledge management on organizational performance. The empirical findings are helpful to scholars of knowledge management as well as business executives by giving an insight into the casual effect of knowledge management on organizational performance with the intervention of sample-selecting bias. The acceptance of knowledge management should be tailored to improve competitive advantages that will lead to better organizational performance.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2013

This study investigates how relational activities within MNC network affect knowledge transfer and performance of subsidiary. We separated the possible relationships between headquarter and overseas subsidiaries by support level, interaction level, and conflict level, and compared the impact on knowledge transfer, and performance. To understand the knowledge sharing, development and performance, we use structural equation modeling to analyze data from subsidiaries in China.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.139-154
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• 2001

Recently, more firms have shown an interest in implementing knowledge management methods. However, few companies are capable of adopting knowledge management methods effectively to improve organizational performance because it is still unclear how these methods improve corporate performance. To find this relationship between knowledge management methods and organizational performance, this paper analyses effects of knowledge management methods on corporate performance empirically. 51 Korean firms are selected as a sample base for empirical tests. Knowledge management methods can be categorized into four styles; harmony, codification, personalization, and ignorance. For example, the emphasis of harmony style is on both knowledge reusability using information technologies and knowledge sharing through informal intimacy among employees. Corporate performance varies depending on styles. Harmony style is founded to be most effective for corporate performance. Personalization and codification styles don't show any difference. This outcome is in line with the general observation that both tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge are important for effective knowledge management.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.57-81
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• 2008

Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.

• International Journal of Quality Innovation
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.69-87
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• 2007

High-tech industries in Taiwan exist in an environment with diverse product requirements and intense cost reduction and information integration stress. They must develop new operational directions to increase industry competitiveness. Therefore, Taiwan's high-tech industries must continue R&D and creativity, establish knowledge sharing mechanisms and improve new product development (NPD) performance. This research analyzed and explored the influences of knowledge management (KM) and knowledge sharing mechanisms introduced by Taiwan's high-tech industries on new product development performance. The relationship between knowledge management capabilities and NPD performance is studied. This research considers the intervening industry and corporate position variables. Taiwan's high-tech industries have gradually entered the era of IT region integration and application with competitive advantage creation based upon core techniques. The in-depth study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing introduced by the high-tech industry revealed double meanings in academic and practical applications. The research results showed the following: (1) the stronger the knowledge management capabilities of Taiwan's high-tech industries, the more significant the NPD performance. (2) The better the knowledge sharing mechanism in Taiwan's high-tech industries, the more significant the NPD performance. (3) Corporate scale is not necessarily the critical factor in NPD success and the influence of corporate scale on NPD performance did not show significant differences. (4) The stronger the degree of leading corporate techniques, the more significant the NPD performance.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.277-306
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• 2008

Knowledge1 is considered to be a key element of understanding how organizations gain and sustain competitive advantages. But very few firms are capable of creating the requisite knowledge and thus, firms should acquire and exploit new knowledge through knowledge transfer processes. The empirical part of this study involves examining relationships among adaptability of knowledge and knowledge transfer and marketing performance and testing the moderating roles of absorptive capacity, socialization and local marketing knowledge. This study is organized as follows: (1) Previous literature on knowledge, knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity is summarized, followed by the development of hypotheses derived from the knowledge-based view and absorptive capacity. (2) The hypotheses are tested with data collected from MNCs' subsidiaries performing marketing activities in Korea.Thestudyisclosedwithfindings,implications,andconclusions. Following six research hypotheses are drawn from literature review in related areas: H1: Adaptability of knowledge transferred from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries is positively associated with knowledge inflows into the receiving subsidiary. H2: The level of marketing knowledge transferred from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries is positively associated with marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary. H3: Increases in potential absorptive capacity will enhance the relationship between adaptability of knowledge and the level of marketing knowledge transfer. H4: Increases in realized absorptive capacity will enhance the relationship between the level of knowledge transfer and marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary. H5: Increases in socialization activity among the headquarters and subsidiaries will enhance the relationship between adaptability of knowledge and the level of marketing knowledge transfer. H6: Increases in the level of locally developed marketing knowledge will enhance the relationship between the level of knowledge transfer and marketing performance of the receiving subsidiary. The research framework that illustrates the proposed hypotheses is presented in figure 1. The unit of analysis for this study is knowledge transfer from the MNCs' headquarters and other subsidiaries to their subsidiaries operating in South Korea. The population for this study consists of subsidiaries established either as joint ventures or as wholly-owned subsidiaries. A group of 603 foreign firms were drawn from diverse industry organizations and business societies. After personal contact, telephone, fax, and e-mail to request that the respondents complete the questionnaire, 282 valid questionnaires from 133 initial sample companies were collected. The results of the empirical analyses significantly support all of the proposed hypotheses except hypothesis 3. Adaptability of external knowledge promotes knowledge transfer and the relationship is moderated by a firm's potential knowledge absorptive capacity. On the other hand, knowledge transfer improves a firm's marketing performance and a firm's realized knowledge absorptive capacity and local marketing knowledge moderate the relationship. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings in this study are as follows: (1) firms must take seeking, transferring, sharing and exploiting of external knowledge into serious consideration, while simultaneously creating knowledge to support the necessary business operations, remain competitive, and achieve superior performance. (2) Firms should continuously seek to develop their knowledge absorptive capacity (both potential and realized capacity) to absorb, learn and utilize valuable external knowledge. (3) Firms should emphasize not only absorptive capacity, but also development of local knowledge. Firms with strong absorptive capability and local knowledge can learn and transfer more external knowledge, which can be translated into greater levels of competence and performance.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.95-119
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• 2013

Although merger and acquisition (M&A) has been considered as an important means to improve firm performance, most prior empirical research have failed to prove the relationship between M&A and firm performance. In order to fill this gap, this study attempts to identify the effect of M&A on firm performance based on knowledge resources relatedness and complementarity theory. For this purpose, this study examines complementarity patterns of knowledge resources and their impacts on acquirer's performance using M&A announcements of electronic commerce industry from 2001 to 2007. The results of this study indicate complementarity among knowledge resources are positively related with acquirer's market value. This study contributes to expand knowledge management research by identifying the relationship among knowledge resources and their impacts on firm performance.