Gabriel Cepeda-Carrión

The Effect of Absorptive Capacity on Innovativeness: Context and Information Systems Capability as Catalysts

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and company innovativeness and to identify potential contexts and capabilities that can act as catalysts for these relationships. We also examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and the existence and enhancement of innovativeness. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 286 large Spanish companies. Our results show that absorptive capacity is an important dynamic determinant for developing a companys innovativeness. Moreover, this relationship is best explained by two related constructs. First, the companys unlearning context is a crucial determinant for both potential capacity and realized absorptive capacity. Second, the results also indicate a tangible means for managers to enhance their absorptive capacity through information systems capabilities.

The role of cultural barriers in the relationship between open‐mindedness and organizational innovation

Purpose – There is no empirical evidence, particularly in relation to small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), to support the concept of cultural barriers and how they relate to open‐mindedness (OM). Some of these cultural barriers can be linked to outdated knowledge, which can impede the adoption of new configurations. The purpose of this paper therefore is to test the role of cultural barriers in the relationship between OM and organizational innovation.Design/methodology/approach – These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 133 SMEs.Findings – The results show that the relationship between OM and organizational innovation is likely to suffer if a firm does not overcome previously its cultural barriers. An explanation for this could be thatoutdated knowledge can impede the adoption of new configurations. Therefore, it is important for organizations to provide an appropriate environment for overcoming cultural barriers. Otherwise new knowledge will not be acted on or incorpo...

Effect of ITC on the international competitiveness of firms

Purpose – This papers aim is to evaluate the effect of the use of information technology and communications (ITC) on the international competitiveness of firms in developing countries. The study also seeks to evaluate other factors that allow or condition the use of ITC such as: human resources, collaboration of the industrial sector, and local environment.Design/methodology/approach – These effects are examined through an empirical research of 100 small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from a developing country – Peru.Findings – SMEs from developing countries follow an isomorphic approach. This is because they tend to imitate or copy the better practices from developed countries. The results have shown that ITCs have a positive effect on the international competitiveness of firms.Research limitations/implications – A limitation is the cross‐sectional character of this research.Practical implications – Firms use ITC to manage their inventory, for the communication between manufacturers and offices, and...

How to implement a knowledge management program in hospital‐in‐the‐home units

Purpose – The Spanish health care system has undergone important changes, particularly in the development of new homecare services. In practice, however, results have been mixed. Some homecare services have been successful, but implementation failures are common and the intended patients are frequently reluctant to use home care services. A possible explanation for efficiency and effectiveness gaps of services provided by hospital‐in‐the‐home units may relate to the advantages and disadvantages of the knowledge processes that these units highlight as a result of their different structural properties. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for hospital‐in‐the‐home units developed to guide learning within the context of homecare services.Design/methodology/approach – Using data collected from the hospital‐in‐the‐home unit at a Spanish regional hospital, this work examines how the existence of some practices is linked to knowledge transfer and how this component is linked to patient s...

How entrepreneurial actions transform customer capital through time: Exploring and exploiting knowledge in an open‐mindedness context

Purpose - Today, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs must take a more strategic perspective that is evidenced by the need to scan the enterprise to discover how they might improve customer relations as well as promote improved entrepreneurial actions. The paper aims to focus on this issue. Design/methodology/approach - This study examines the impact of the existence of an “open-minded context” in an organisation at time (T) on actions that concern the challenging of entrepreneurial actions at time (T+1). It also examines the relationship between explorative and exploitation processes and customer relations. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of data obtained from 107 SMEs from the Spanish telecommunications industry, using partial least squares (PLS). Findings - The results indicate that the effects of an “open-minded context” at time (T) on customer relations at time (T+1) are mediated through the existence of explorative and exploitation knowledge processes at time (T+1). Research limitations/implications - Practices which may be based on explicit knowledge or on tacit knowledge in the form of processes and routines need to be challenged prior to the adoption of new knowledge by the organisation. In such situations, it will be necessary to modify or even delete some knowledge in order to ensure that employees have access to the up-to-date explorative and exploitative knowledge processes necessary to maintain or enhance customer relations. Practical implications - In situations where organisations and their members face rapidly changing environments it is necessary to challenge the entrepreneurial actions which have been derived from the founding entrepreneurs. Originality/value - The paper examines how the nature and existence of an open-mindedness context is linked to the nature and existence of knowledge exploration and exploitation processes enacted by the workforce of an organisation.

Finding the hospital‐in‐the‐home units' innovativeness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of an organizations unlearning context and information systems (IS) capabilities on the organizations ability to challenge basic beliefs and to implement processes that are explicitly or tacitly helpful in the reception of new ideas (absorptive capacity). The authors also seek to examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and the existence and enhancement of innovativeness.Design/methodology/approach – These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 54 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 hospital‐in‐the‐home units (HHU) in Spain.Findings – The results show that absorptive capacity is an important dynamic determinant for developing a HHUs innovativeness. Moreover, this relationship is best explained with two related constructs. Firstly, the HHUs unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between potential absorptive capacity and realized absorptive capacity. Secondly, the results also shed l...

Improving the absorptive capacity through unlearning context: an empirical investigation in hospital-in-the-home units

The Spanish healthcare system has undergone important changes, particularly in the development of new homecare services. In practice, however, results have been mixed. Some homecare services have been successful, but implementation failures are common and the intended patients are frequently reluctant to use the homecare services. A possible explanation for efficiency and effectiveness gaps of services provided by hospital-in-the-home units (HHUs) may relate to the advantages and disadvantages of the knowledge processes that these units highlight as a result of their different structural properties. This study examines the impact of an unlearning (forgetting) context on the HHUs ability to challenge basic beliefs and to implement processes that are explicitly or tacitly helpful in the reception of new ideas (absorptive capacity). These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 54 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 HHUs. The results show that the unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between potential absorptive capacity and realized absorptive capacity.

How knowledge management processes can create and capture value for firms

Knowledge has become the main competitive tool for firms. Just as knowledge is considered as the most important strategic resource, knowledge management (KM) is considered to be critical to a firm’s success. Several attempts have been undertaken to identify and define the different KM processes. From the literature review, four key dimensions stand out as affecting KM processes: knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, knowledge storage/retrieval, and knowledge application. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the KM and value literature by determining the importance of the different processes of KM for increasing value creation and value capture in firms. The context for the research hypotheses is the Spanish banking industry in 2010. The results support a positive relationship between KM and value creation, and between value creation and value capture.

An application of health-portals to improve electronic listening

Electronic listening (eListening) is an innovation that potentially provides patients and other users with the right answer in the right place at the right time. Thus, eListening can potentially improve service flexibility, adaptability and quality. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which new web-based service delivery channels, which we refer to as health-portals (he-portals), facilitate eListening in the Spanish public healthcare sector. In this paper, we investigate the relative importance and significance of hospital size and three different types of information and communications technologies (Internet, groupware and collective systems) on the use of eListening through an empirical investigation of 300 Spanish public he-portals. Our main conclusion is that the implementation of Internet systems alone does not guarantee the development of effective eListening. In addition, we demonstrate that hospital size does not affect the level of eListening achieved by hospitals.

Healthcare management in the knowledge-based economy

The current crisis and market pressure from health maintenance organizations has led hospitals and healthcare companies to reduce healthcare costs through efficiencies and be innovative, with new technologies, processes and services. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, there are few research works that study the relationship between knowledge management and the effectiveness of the innovation process. In this issue, the Service Industries Journal (SIJ) focuses on the management of health services organizations. Because the healthcare environment is indeed very diverse, and many factors come into play to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services, healthcare leaders are achieving optimal healthcare outcomes through developing the capacity to create, distil and distribute knowledge. The current crisis and market pressure from health maintenance organizations has led hospitals and healthcare companies to reduce healthcare costs through efficiencies and be innovative, with new technologies, processes and services. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, there are few research works that study the relationship between knowledge management and the effectiveness of the innovation process. In this issue, the SIJ focuses on the management of health services organizations. Because the healthcare environment is indeed very diverse, and many factors come into play to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services, healthcare leaders are achieving optimal healthcare outcomes through developing the capacity to create, distil and distribute knowledge. The guest editors of this special issue are Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro and Gabriel Cepeda-Carrion. We are associate professors at the Technical University of Cartagena and at the University of Seville, respectively. Their academic interests include the use of knowledge management, absorptive capacity, dynamic capabilities and organizational learning and unlearning. They are also experts in qualitative (case study research) and quantitative (structural equation modeling and partial least squares) methods in the management research. Their research has been published in several top-ranked journals including several in the SIJ. We are sensible to the above-commented research gap and have considered editing this special issue for The SIJ. Healthcare organizations will face major challenges in the following years: increased costs, greater pressure towards accountability and transparency, as well as a diminishing labour supply pool. Therefore, public and private healthcare services organizations are looking closely at the benefits associated with knowledge management and process management. The concept of management of health services organizations includes both the entire structure of healthcare delivery as well as individual healthcare facilities such as information communication technologies, smart devices, phones and tablets used out of the entire structure of organization. Therefore, it is useful to think about the ‘macro’ organization of health service delivery as well as the ‘micro’ organization. Because the healthcare environment is indeed very diverse, and many factors come into play to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services, healthcare leaders are achieving