Service innovation has become increasingly important for the growth of developed and developing countries. Despite an extensive body of literature on the role of joint innovation capabilities in ...improving a firm's innovativeness, the multivariate influences of operant resources and joint innovation capabilities, as well as the interplay among these in the prediction of service innovation have not been scrutinized in the context of B2B SMEs in a developing country. This study aims to fill this gap by testing a model that shows the relationships among complementarity of knowledge and capabilities as operant resources, joint innovation capabilities, and service innovation. We derive hypotheses about these relationships and test them using data from a sample of 302 respondents from 151 firms operating in the UAE. The results show that the relationships between complementarity of knowledge and joint innovation capabilities, and between joint innovation capabilities and service innovation, are significant and positive. They also show that the mediation effect of joint innovation capabilities on the relationship between complementarity of knowledge and service innovation is positive and full. This study also tests the moderating roles of competitive intensity and demand uncertainty in the relationship between joint innovative capabilities and service innovation and finds that their connection is stronger when competitive intensity is high.
•Knowledge complementarity helps develop joint innovation capabilities.•However, complementarity of capabilities has no such effect.•Joint innovation capabilities can create superior service innovation.•Competition enhances the effect of joint innovation capabilities on service innovation.•Joint innovation capability in emergent markets rely more on knowledge complementarity.
The present study scrutinizes how an incumbent solution provider executes smart solution development (SSD). We aim to contribute to digital servitization research, which primarily focuses on either ...product, service, or software development, thus overlooking the integrative aspect of SSD. We unfold the holistic SSD development process in a single case study through 23 manager interviews, observational data, and strategic document analysis. The study extends the product-service innovations (PSI) literature by 1) identifying a set of innovation routines, such as collaborative, customer-focused, and decision-making, 2) demonstrating innovation management processes and practices associated with those routines, and 3) highlighting the co-alignment of innovation processes, routines, and practices to achieve improved outcomes from SSD. The study translates the empirical work into a framework and a set of propositions to guide future research. For managers, the study provides a framework and a set of capability-enhancing practices for a benchmark.
•The single case study of Wärtsilä Corporation investigates how incumbent firms align their innovation processes, routines, and practices to facilitate smart solution development (SSD).•The present study lists altogether 14 innovation routines that help firm to overcome challenges regarding product, service, and software integration.•These routines are categorized into collaborative, customer-focused, and decision-making routines.•Firms can consider a synchronized innovation process instead of tailored models for new products, services, and software.
This study analyzes relationships between knowledge management (KM) strategies and company Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In particular, and based on knowledge-based and stakeholder ...theoretical perspectives, this paper focuses on specific connections between KM exploration and exploitation strategies and typical dimensions of a company's CSR performance -economic, social, and environmental. These connections suggest a different KM orientation of firms trying to take advantage of both long and short-term strategies based on either environmental, social, or economic goals for CSR. These relationships are reflected in different hypotheses that were tested by means of a structural equations model in a sample of Spanish firms from the renewable energy sector. The study findings show that KM exploration initiatives are closely related to social and environmental commitment to CSR, whereas KM exploitation initiatives are more related to economic CSR. Moreover, the social dimension of CSR is strongly associated to product innovation capabilities, while the economic dimension of CSR contributes in a greater extent to the development of process innovation capabilities. From these results, the study's discussion centers on how KM strategies and a firm's CSR orientation should be coherent in order to collect specific knowledge from stakeholders for the improvement of innovation capabilities. The study concludes by providing new insights about the relationship between KM and CSR dimensions as determinants of a firm's innovation capability development.
•This study analyzes relationships between knowledge management (KM) strategies and corporate social responsibility (CSR).•KM exploration is highly related to environmental and social CSR.•Environmental and social CSR are positively related to the development of product innovation capabilities.•KM exploitation is highly related to economic CSR.•Economic CSR is positively related to the development of process innovation capabilities.
The concept of the regional innovation system (RIS) has been developed into an important framework for evaluating innovation performance. The study reported in this paper explores the relationship ...between the RIS and the firm's innovation system (FIS) according to the basic premise that firms that better utilize sources of information (SI) available within their regional innovation system (RIS) perform better due effect this has in enhancing the firm's technological innovation capabilities (TICs). The different innovation capabilities of a firm are regarded as the key components of the firm's innovation system. The sources of information available within an RIS include external sources (EXT) and external expert organizations, the latter of which are referred to as knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). This study also explores the dual role of KIBS as both sources of and bridges for innovation in the RIS. Data were obtained through a mailed survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The utilization concept and the dual role of KIBS were verified. The results show that externally available information affects all innovation capabilities of the firm, while external expert organizations affect only the firm's R&D and resources allocation capabilities. This study contributes to the RIS literature by providing empirical evidence on how firms can interact with the RIS by utilizing SI to enhance their TICs and achieve global competitiveness.
This study assesses the relationship between organizational innovation and technological innovation capabilities, and analyzes their effect on firm performance using a resource-based view theoretical ...framework. The article presents empirical evidence from a survey of 144 Spanish industrial firms and modeling of a system of structural equations using partial least squares. The results confirm that organizational innovation favors the development of technological innovation capabilities and that both organizational innovation and technological capabilities for products and processes can lead to superior firm performance.
This research investigated the relationship between the digitalization of human capital, digital talent, and innovation capabilities among Business Unit employees. The mediating role of digital ...talent in the digital transformation of human resources and innovation capability among SMEs was examined. Business Unit employees were tested using the PLS-SEM method, and a survey was conducted on SME Business Unit employees. The purposive technique was developed with convenience sampling and chosen as a non-probability sampling technique. The primary data sources were 185 respondents who worked within the SME business unit in Indonesia. The findings indicate that the digital transformation of human resources, talent, and innovative capacity has a strong positive correlation. The link between innovative capabilities and digital transformation is mediated by digital talent. This study contributes to the human resources post-recruitment, talent management, and digital talent literature in the management function, and it underscores the crucial role of human and technological factors in the digital transformation of human resources, which is increasingly visible on the path to organizational success.
The development of unconventional forms of innovation relies on information and knowledge exchange and their subsequent integration. However, deceptive knowledge hiding (KH) stifles creativity and ...hinders the growth of innovative skills and corporate performance. This paper uses a cognitive collective engagement approach and an unconventional management style – knowledge-oriented leadership – to explain how to mitigate deceptive KH by focusing on reducing high levels of task management conflict, which is thought to be an antecedent of KH. We also illustrate how reducing KH has a beneficial influence on innovative capabilities, allowing businesses to achieve long-term competitive advantages. A structural equations model is used to test our assumptions in a sample of 118 inland Spanish hotels. The findings confirm that deceptive KH resulting from task management conflict erodes innovative capabilities in this industry. We also find that knowledge-oriented leadership has positive and strong direct and indirect consequences on task management conflict, knowledge hiding, and innovation capabilities. The implications of using this unconventional leadership perspective to improve innovation capabilities are discussed in detail by the study’s authors.
Firms differ not only in their investments in input for innovation but also in their innovation capabilities, i.e., their ability to transform innovation input into innovation output and commercial ...gain. This paper brings together the process- and management-oriented factors that determine innovation outcomes. Specifically, we attempt to incorporate innovation capabilities into the innovation process and analyze their role in converting innovation input into innovation output and, ultimately, value creation. We also hypothesize about the influence of contingencies on these relationships, most notably the role of procedural and contextual complexity. By using a cross-national data set of over 4500 firms along with dynamic capabilities theory, we find that innovation capabilities enhance the innovation process by improving firms’ transformation of innovation input into innovation output. We also find support for our hypothesized role of complexity.
As global digitalization accelerates, the manufacturing industry must navigate a terrain reshaped by the dual forces of technological advancement and globalization. This study, rooted in the ...resource-based view (RBV) theory, examines the unique resources and capabilities that high-technology manufacturing firms must cultivate to sustain a competitive advantage. Specifically, it investigates the roles of Big Data analytics capabilities, Internet-of-Things capabilities, and innovation capabilities as critical factors underpinning this advantage. The research hypothesizes that these strategic assets, consistent with RBV's emphasis on unique firm resources, contribute positively to competitive longevity. Empirical data from 172 Malaysian high-tech manufacturing firms supports the RBV hypothesis, revealing that these capabilities significantly impact sustained competitive advantage. Moreover, the study illuminates the moderating effect of a data-driven culture, a component that the RBV recognizes as crucial for optimizing the value of firm-specific resources. By aligning the empirical findings with RBV tenets, this research provides a nuanced theoretical understanding and actionable guidance for firms seeking to navigate the fourth industrial revolution effectively.
The potential of big data analytics in enabling improvements in business processes has urged researchers and practitioners to understand if, and under what combination of conditions, such novel ...technologies can support the enactment and management of business processes. While there is much discussion around how big data analytics can impact a firm's incremental and radical process innovation capabilities, we still know very little about what big data analytics resources firms must invest in to drive such outcomes. To explore this topic, we ground this study on a theory-driven conceptualisation of big data analytics based on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Based on this conceptualisation, we examine the fit between the big data analytics resources that underpin the notion, and their interplay with organisational contextual factors in driving a firm's incremental and radical process innovation capabilities. Survey data from 202 chief information officers and IT managers working in Norwegian firms are analysed by means of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Results show that under different combinations of contextual factors the significance of big data analytics resources varies, with specific configurations leading to high levels of incremental and radical process innovation capabilities.
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