Relationships between Knowledge Absorptive Capacity, Innovation Performance and Information Technology. Case study: the Romanian Creative Industries SMEs

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between absorptive capacity, innovation performance and Information Technology in Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is the first study conducted in Romania which deals with concepts regarding knowledge absorptive capacity and information technology, based on such a large sample of 357 small and medium-sized enterprises from creative industries. The findings identify the effect of multiple dimensions of knowledge absorptive capacity on SMEs’ innovation performance from an Information Technology perspective, offering new theoretical and pragmatic insights.

[1]  John E. Sawyer,et al.  Virtualness and Knowledge in Teams: Managing the Love Triangle of Organizations, Individuals, and Information Technology , 2003, MIS Q..

[2]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[3]  Victoria L. Mitchell Knowledge Integration and Infromation Technology Project Performance , 2006, MIS Q..

[4]  Lynne P. Cooper,et al.  Knowledge Reuse for Innovation , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[5]  Ramkrishnan V. Tenkasi,et al.  P ERSPECTIVE M AKING AND P ERSPECTIVE T AKING IN C OMMUNITIES OF K NOWING , 2000 .

[6]  Adriana Alexandru,et al.  Enhanced Education by Using Intelligent Agents in Multi-Agent Adaptive e-Learning Systems , 2015 .

[7]  J. Roldán,et al.  Absorptive capacity, innovation and cultural barriers: A conditional mediation model , 2014 .

[8]  M. Tortoriello The social underpinnings of absorptive capacity: The moderating effects of structural holes on innovation generation based on external knowledge , 2015 .

[9]  Shih-Wei Chou,et al.  Knowledge creation: absorptive capacity, organizational mechanisms, and knowledge storage/retrieval capabilities , 2005, J. Inf. Sci..

[10]  S. Zahra,et al.  A measure of absorptive capacity: Scale development and validation. , 2011 .

[11]  R. Purc-Stephenson,et al.  Reporting practices in confirmatory factor analysis: an overview and some recommendations. , 2009, Psychological methods.

[12]  P. Bentler,et al.  Comparative fit indexes in structural models. , 1990, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  Gashaw Kebede,et al.  Knowledge management: An information science perspective , 2010, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[14]  Tariq H. Malik,et al.  National institutional differences and cross-border university–industry knowledge transfer , 2013 .

[15]  Albert H. Segars,et al.  Knowledge Management: An Organizational Capabilities Perspective , 2001, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[16]  Torben Pedersen,et al.  Governance Mechanisms for the Promotion of Social Capital for Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Corporations , 2010 .

[17]  Dinesh A. Mirchandani,et al.  Dynamics of the Importance of IS/IT Skills , 2010, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[18]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues , 2001, MIS Q..

[19]  Michael Dinger,et al.  Absorptive Capacity and Information Systems Research: Review, Synthesis, and Directions for Future Research , 2012, MIS Q..

[20]  Heeseok Lee,et al.  The Impact of Information Technology and Transactive Memory Systems on Knowledge Sharing, Application, and Team Performance: A Field Study , 2010, MIS Q..

[21]  B. Muthén,et al.  Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling , 2009 .

[22]  Claudiu Herteliu,et al.  Evidence regarding external financing in manufacturing MSEs using partial least squares regression , 2019, Ann. Oper. Res..

[23]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  From information processing to knowledge creation: A Paradigm shift in business management , 1996 .

[24]  César Camisón,et al.  Knowledge absorptive capacity: New insights for its conceptualization and measurement☆ , 2010 .

[25]  David Lei,et al.  Dynamic Core Competences through Meta-Learning and Strategic Context , 1996 .

[26]  Yogesh Malhotra,et al.  Knowledge Management for E-Business Performance: Advancing Information Strategy to “Internet Time” , 2000 .

[27]  Terry Anthony Byrd,et al.  An Exploratory Analysis of the Value of the Skills of IT Personnel: Their Relationship to IS Infrastructure and Competitive Advantage , 2001, Decis. Sci..

[28]  J. Covin,et al.  Knowledge Acquisition in University–Industry Alliances: An Empirical Investigation from a Learning Theory Perspective* , 2008 .

[29]  Grazia D. Santangelo,et al.  Corporate strategic technological partnerships in the European information and communications technology industry , 2000 .

[30]  Yu‐Shan Chen,et al.  The positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on innovation performance and competitive advantage in industrial markets , 2009 .

[31]  S. Zahra,et al.  Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension , 2002 .

[32]  Andrea Fosfuri,et al.  Exploring the Antecedents of Potential Absorptive Capacity and Its Impact on Innovation Performance , 2008 .

[33]  K. R. Conner,et al.  A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism , 1996 .

[34]  Andrew C. Inkpen Learning Through Joint Ventures: A Framework Of Knowledge Acquisition , 2000 .

[35]  Víctor Jesús García-Morales,et al.  The effects of Information Technology on absorptive capacity and organisational performance , 2013, Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag..

[36]  George P. Huber,et al.  Transfer of knowledge in knowledge management systems: unexplored issues and suggested studies , 2001, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[37]  Victor R. Lesser,et al.  Knowledge Acquisition as Knowledge Assimilation , 1988, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[38]  Eduard Gabriel Ceptureanu,et al.  Analysis of MSEs in ICT Domain from Bucharest – Ilfov County by Using Nonaka – Takeuchi Model , 2018 .

[39]  Michael R. Mullen,et al.  Structural equation modelling: guidelines for determining model fit , 2008 .

[40]  E. Autio,et al.  SOCIAL CAPITAL, KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION, AND KNOWLEDGE EXPLOITATION IN YOUNG TECHNOLOGY-BASED FIRMS , 2001 .

[41]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[42]  Luis M. Molina,et al.  Validation of an instrument to measure absorptive capacity , 2011 .

[43]  H. Hoarau Knowledge Acquisition and Assimilation in Tourism-Innovation Processes , 2014 .

[44]  G. Ioannou,et al.  Absorptive capacity, innovation, and financial performance , 2011 .

[45]  Mariano Corso,et al.  Technological and Organizational Tools for Knowledge Management: In Search of Configurations , 2003 .

[46]  Luca Berchicci,et al.  Towards an open R&D system: Internal R&D investment, external knowledge acquisition and innovative performance , 2013 .

[47]  E. Çivi Knowledge management as a competitive asset: a review , 2000 .

[48]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  Corporate culture, absorptive capacity and IT success , 2005, Inf. Organ..

[49]  Ku-Ho Lin,et al.  Absorptive capacity and autonomous R&D climate roles in firm innovation , 2015 .

[50]  Eric Simon,et al.  Absorptive capacity: a proposed operationalization , 2011 .

[51]  Mark Hammond,et al.  e-Business Intelligence: Turning Information into Knowledge into Profit , 2000 .

[52]  Ramón Rico,et al.  Effects of task interdependence and type of communication on performance in virtual teams , 2005 .

[53]  Terry Anthony Byrd,et al.  Examining possible antecedents of IT impact on the supply chain and its effect on firm performance , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[54]  Laura B. Cardinal,et al.  The Use of Knowledge for Technological Innovation Within Diversified Firms , 2007 .

[55]  C.-J. Chen,et al.  Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance: the mediating role of knowledge management capacity , 2009 .

[56]  Boris Durisin,et al.  Absorptive capacity: Valuing a reconceptualization , 2007 .

[57]  Lisa de Propris,et al.  A policy agenda for EU smart growth: the role of creative and cultural industries , 2011 .