Desiderio Juan García-Almeida

The Succession Process from a Resource- and Knowledge-Based View of the Family Firm

A major challenge facing the family firm is the succession process. One reason for this challenge might involve the successors ability to acquire the predecessors key knowledge and skills adequately to maintain and improve the organizational performance of the firm. This paper uses two theoretical approaches from the strategic management field to explore this critical process and analyze how it can be managed effectively: the resource-based theory of the firm and the emergent knowledge-based view. This conceptual framework provides a powerful tool for understanding the nature and transfer of knowledge within the family business, which becomes the basis for developing competitive advantage over nonfamily businesses.

Cultural compatibility in internal knowledge transfers: an application to hotel chain growth

This work addresses the internal transfer of knowledge from a cultural perspective when hotel chains grow. The analysis begins with an approach to the intra-organisational transfer of knowledge in hotel chain expansion. Later, culture in organisations is addressed; this gives rise to the proposal of cultural compatibility as a determinant of the intra-firm transfer of knowledge. Moreover, reference is made to possible sources of cultural incompatibility: location abroad of the new hotel, conversions where most employees stay, and small size of the new hotel. The hypotheses are tested in the Spanish hotel context. The results show effects and causes of the compatibility between the cultural context in which the knowledge to be transferred originated and the cultural framework in which it is to be implemented.

Knowledge Transfer in Hotel Firms: Determinants of Success in International Expansion

This study analyzes the determinants of knowledge transfer success in the international expansion of hotel firms. First, international growth strategies, followed by hospitality firms and their relationship to knowledge transfer, are discussed. Next, we address the determinants of knowledge transfer success in international expansion by discussing the relevance of the topic and potential barriers that may lead to failures. This leads to the presentation of four research hypotheses. The hypotheses are then empirically tested from the international expansion of Spanish hotel chains. The results demonstrate the influence of the absorptive capacity, the cultural aspects, and the motivation of the knowledge sources.

A Dynamic Network Model of the Successor’s Knowledge Construction From the Resource- and Knowledge-Based View of the Family Firm:

The article initially addresses the concept of familiness and its connection with the succession process in the family firm to emphasize the relevance of the successor’s knowledge. Then, a model is presented that evolves from a dyadic relationship in the knowledge transfer process from predecessor to successor to a network of exchanges with multiple agents and sources that enhance the successor’s construction of knowledge through time. Key aspects derived from that model about the successor’s human capital, the predecessor’s role, the knowledge network, the relational context, and the time dimension of the process are then discussed.

Accumulated knowledge and innovation as antecedents of reputation in new ventures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of an entrepreneur’s accumulated knowledge and firm’s innovation on the development of reputation in the early years of a new venture from a knowledge-based approach. Design/methodology/approach – The study proposes a model that is tested with a sample of 130 firms in non-high-tech industries from the Canary Islands (Spain) using structural equation modelling. Data were collected through a survey. Findings – This study provide interesting insights on the effect of reputation on the performance in new ventures, along with antecedents of the new firm’s reputation from the knowledge-based view. The findings confirm that innovation and prior knowledge play important roles in the development of reputation in the early years of a new venture and that reputation has a significant effect on the performance of a new firm. The entrepreneur’s stock of knowledge does not reveal itself as a significant determinant of innovation and knowledge creation in this...

The influence of knowledge recipients’ proactivity on knowledge construction in cooperative learning experiences:

Cooperative learning techniques in teaching activities are becoming increasingly popular. Many studies have documented the benefits of these techniques, but fewer have analysed the factors affecting students’ achievement. One of those factors could be the student’s proactivity, since cooperative techniques require active involvement of students. Proactivity or proactive behaviour relates to pioneering behaviour, initiative taken to exploit new opportunities, and a leading attitude. This study analyses the influence of several aspects related to students’ proactivity on knowledge construction in the context of cooperative learning. The aspects included in the proactivity framework are the student’s creativity, locus of control, self-effectiveness, and motivation towards cooperative learning. These variables and their potential effect on knowledge construction in cooperative experiences are discussed. The resulting hypotheses are tested with data from students who participated in a jigsaw, and the results show the positive impact of the internal locus of control and self-efficacy, along with the fact that the student is attending the course for the first time.