Knowledge creation in small-firm network

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to aim to understand how the dynamic of knowledge creation takes place within a small‐firm network (SFN).Design/methodology/approach – The research, qualitative in nature, was developed through the case study of the Clothing Industries Association, called AGIVEST, formed by 35 small clothing industries located in southern Brazil. This article attempts to offer a more comprehensive approach towards the creation of organizational knowledge, by shifting from an endogenous process of the individual firm to a multidirectional exogenous process within networks.Findings – The research presents evidence that the context of a cooperation network may provide an environment of collective learning, represented above all by the interaction dynamic that occurs between the firms through the creation of several types of ba (specific context in terms of time, space and relationship), which support the process of knowledge creation.Originality/value – This approach should consider ...

[1]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Knowledge Creating Company , 2008 .

[2]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Studying Knowledge Management in Information Systems Resarch: Discourses and Theoretical Assumptions , 2002, MIS Q..

[3]  John Seely Brown,et al.  Internet technology in support of the concept of “communities-of-practice”: the case of Xerox , 1998 .

[4]  Lucy Suchman.  Plans and situated actions: the problem of human-machine communication , 1987 .

[5]  K. Provan,et al.  An Emergent Theory of Structure and Outcomes in Small-Firm Strategic Manufacturing Networks , 1997 .

[6]  J. Barney.  Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage , 1991 .

[7]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[8]  Wenpin Tsai.  Social Structure of Coopetition Within a Multiunit Organization: Coordination, Competition, and Intraorganizational Knowledge Sharing , 2002 .

[9]  Margaret A. White,et al.  Learning and Knowledge Transfer in Strategic Alliances: A Social Exchange View , 2005 .

[10]  J. Brown,et al.  Bridging epistemologies: The generative dance between organizational knowledge and organizational knowing , 1999 .

[11]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Use and Effects of Knowledge-Based System Explanations: Theoretical Foundations and a Framework for Empirical Evaluation , 1996, Inf. Syst. Res..

[12]  George J. Stigler,et al.  The Organization of Industry , 1969 .

[13]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The Core Competence of the Corporation , 1990 .

[14]  Amalya L. Oliver,et al.  Networking Network Studies: An Analysis of Conceptual Configurations in the Study of Inter-organizational Relationships , 1998 .

[15]  S Lee,et al.  An experimental investigation into the process of knowledge-based systems development , 1996 .

[16]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[17]  John Sparrow,et al.  Knowledge management in small firms , 2001 .

[18]  S. Winter,et al.  Understanding corporate coherence: Theory and evidence , 1994 .

[19]  Richard J. Boland,et al.  Knowledge management technology and the reproduction of knowledge work practices , 2000, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[20]  Elaine Aspinwall,et al.  Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment , 2004, J. Knowl. Manag..

[21]  G. Richardson,et al.  The Organisation of Industry , 1972 .

[22]  B. Kogut,et al.  Social Capital, Structural Holes and the Formation of an Industry Network , 1997 .

[23]  I. Nonaka,et al.  Knowledge Creation within Industrial Systems , 1999 .

[24]  Lucy A. Suchman,et al.  Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (Learning in Doing: Social, , 1987 .

[25]  Dick Stenmark,et al.  Leveraging Tacit Organizational Knowledge , 2000, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[26]  Tim Beal,et al.  Knowledge Management in a Business-to-Business Context: An Indian Exemplar? , 2009, J. Inf. Knowl. Manag..

[27]  M. Ruef,et al.  Strong ties, weak ties and islands: structural and cultural predictors of organizational innovation , 2002 .

[28]  Akhil Kumar,et al.  Workflow-Centric Information Distribution Through E-Mail , 2000, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[29]  Christine W. Soo,et al.  Knowledge Management: Philosophy, Processes, and Pitfalls , 2002 .

[30]  Rodney McAdam,et al.  SME and large organisation perceptions of knowledge management: comparisons and contrasts , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[31]  Rob Kling,et al.  Learning in context: Extensively computerized work groups as communities-of-practice , 1995 .

[32]  A. Chandler,et al.  Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 , 1994 .

[33]  Jennifer W. Spencer,et al.  Firms' knowledge-sharing strategies in the global innovation system: empirical evidence from the flat panel display industry , 2003 .

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

[35]  H. Triandis,et al.  Cultural Variations in the Cross-Border Transfer of Organizational Knowledge: An Integrative Framework , 2002 .

[36]  D. Shepherd,et al.  Knowledge‐based resources, entrepreneurial orientation, and the performance of small and medium‐sized businesses , 2003 .

[37]  Giorgio Inzerilli,et al.  The Italian Alternative: Flexible Organization and Social Management , 1990 .

[38]  W. Powell.  Learning from Collaboration: Knowledge and Networks in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries , 1998 .

[39]  R. Nelson.  Why do firms differ, and how does it matter? , 1991 .

[40]  A. Chua.  The influence of social interaction on knowledge creation , 2002 .

[41]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Explanations From Intelligent Systems: Theoretical Foundations and Implications for Practice , 1999, MIS Q..

[42]  Stuart A. Rosenfeld.  Bringing business clusters into the mainstream of economic development , 1997 .

[43]  Gianni Lorenzoni,et al.  Constellations of Firms and New Ventures , 1988 .

[44]  Mark E. Nissen,et al.  An Experiment to Assess the Performance of a Redesign Knowledge System , 2000, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[45]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[46]  Robert S. Frey.  Knowledge management, proposal development, and small businesses , 2001 .

[47]  Sebastiano Brusco,et al.  Local government, industrial policy and social consensus: the case of Modena (Italy) , 1989 .

[48]  G. De Michelis,et al.  Cooperation and Knowledge Creation 1 , 1998 .

[49]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The core competence of the corporation’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. pp. . , 1990 .

[50]  Jane E. Klobas,et al.  Knowledge management in small enterprises , 2000, Electron. Libr..

[51]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[52]  Roelof P. uit Beijerse.  Knowledge management in small and medium-sized companies: knowledge , 2003 .

[53]  I. Nonaka,et al.  Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory: Evolutionary Paths and Future Advances , 2006 .

[54]  M. Gordon,et al.  PUBLICATION RECORDS AND TENURE DECISIONS IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1996 .

[55]  M. Polanyi.  Chapter 7 – The Tacit Dimension , 1997 .

[56]  I. Nonaka,et al.  SECI, Ba and Leadership: a Unified Model of Dynamic Knowledge Creation , 2000 .

[57]  Alfred D. Chandler,et al.  The Visible Hand , 1977 .

[58]  G. Ahuja.  Collaboration Networks, Structural Holes, and Innovation: A Longitudinal Study , 1998 .

[59]  Sundeep Sahay,et al.  Transforming Work Through Information Technology: A Comparative Case Study of Geographic Information Systems in County Government , 1996, Inf. Syst. Res..