Maria Rosaria Della Peruta

The impact of IT-based knowledge management systems on internal venturing and innovation: a structural equation modeling approach to corporate performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the perceived importance of information technology (IT) as a core factor enabling innovation in knowledge management (KM). The aim is to propose an approach for using the IT tools for KM involved in the design of effective learning applications to help the firms to guide internal venturing development. Design/methodology/approach The research design at the base of the present research has provided a survey which was conducted on a sample consisting of 187 different companies located in the Italian provinces of Naples and Caserta, from the segments of the electronics, the computer and network systems, the software (SW) development, aimed at deepening connections and influences of the use of IT-based knowledge management system (KMS). Structural equation modeling technique has been performed to get results. Findings Consistent with what has been observed in previous studies (Del Giudice and Straub, 2011), the empirical analysis developed has confirmed that 72 per cent of companies surveyed has defined themselves much agree on the ability of KMS for supporting complex phenomena such as internal venturing: both encouraging the individual to become “intrapreneur”; and helping the employee to improve their performances within business processes in which they are likely to be involved. Originality/value This paper reviews key research literature issues on IT revolution for KM. With the growth of new and exciting IT opportunities, however, comes the daunting opportunity to experiment interoperable, easy to use, engaging and accessible IT applications that communicate the right information needed to reconfigure innovative mechanisms for entrepreneurism and organizational performance.

The role of information in the credit relationship

A relationship between banks and firms that emphasizes the qualitative aspects of the enterprises may represent a response to the increasing difficulties of the credit system in financing a business system in which the intangible assets are the main source of value. In this view, an empirical survey on 61 bank managers of large and small banks has been carried out to verify the following: (1) the role of quantitative and qualitative information in the financing of large companies and small and medium enterprises and (2) how the relationship between bank and firm varies together with the dimensional change of the actors involved in the credit relationship.

A model for the diffusion of knowledge sharing technologies inside private transport companies

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate, inside the private sector of transport, a model for the diffusion of knowledge-sharing technologies with non-uniform internal influence that has been developed by Easingwood et al. (1983). Design/methodology/approach – The authors performed an empirical evaluation of the performances of the model by Easingwood et al. (1983) by analyzing data gathered from almost 230 taxi drivers joining two of the biggest taxi brokers operating in the Southern Italian city of Naples. Findings – Such an analysis reveals that the model by Easingwood et al. (1983) provides an excellent agreement with the empirical data and allows to obtain interesting predictions on the future evolution of the sector performances in terms of increasing use of knowledge-sharing technologies within the taxi drivers’ community of practice (CoP). Research limitations/implications – In particular, the authors show that a unique solution always exists, which is defined on the whole (positive) set of times ...

Culture and Cooperative Strategies: Knowledge Management Perspectives

National culture can be defined as the set of norms, values, and beliefs that people from a certain nation have in common and that describes their identity, making them different from people from other nations. Individuals who live in a particular cultural environment may behave in a way they assume is right, but others, who live in a different context, may consider their actions inconvenient or may not comprehend them. Misunderstanding what occurs in a different culture may cause uneasiness, especially when the language and the behavioral norms differ from the ones people are accustomed to. Taking the risk of disowning ideas that have always been regarded as true is not normally convenient.

An exploration of contemporary organizational artifacts and routines in a sustainable excellence context

Purpose Organizations and their members operate in increasingly complex, dynamic and even disruptive environments, with risk and uncertainty being major challenges. To that effect, data, information, knowledge, and respective competences are increasingly instrumental in enabling and sustaining organizational intelligence that translates into resilience in the shorter and sustainable excellence in the longer term. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the artifacts and routines in a sustainable organizational excellence context. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review was used to develop the context of the paper, focusing on big data and organizational intelligence for enterprise excellence and resilience. In addition, a thematic literature review method was used to study the role and impacts of routines and artifacts in organizational change, policies, structure and performance. Findings Although many traditional management practices retain their validity, knowledge management must give a clearer view of the existing connection between firm-level competitive advantage in open economies flows and difficult-to-use knowledge assets. The proposed framework studies knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation as organizational phenomena opposed and mutually incompatible. Originality/value The paper presents a first attempt to study the linkages of organizational routines and artifacts as a cycle wherein knowledge acquisition and learning competencies form and enhance a firm’s organizational intelligence, leading to robust competitiveness and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Managing the intellectual capital within government-university-industry R&D partnerships

Purpose – As the complexity and scope of technical and social challenges increase, solutions to those challenges must be addressed by collaborative research and intellectual capital sharing efforts involving multiple organizations. One prominent type of research collaborative is the government-university-industry R&D partnership, an organizational form found in many countries. These collaboratives pose special management challenges, as they must combine the efforts of researchers coming from very different institutional and organizational cultures in order to capitalize their own intellectual capital. Many such partnerships have failed due to the inability to bridge these cultural gaps. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for establishing and managing these partnerships, using principles and constructs drawn from institutional theory, organizational learning, alliance theory, and innovation management. Design/methodology/approach – The examples of the NASA Laboratories, which are incubatin...

Knowledge sharing and exchange of information within bank and firm networks: the role of the intangibles on the access to credit

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically develop the idea that the intangible value of the collaboration between firms and the banking system can influence the probability of default (PD) on the part of firms and, therefore, their rating. The authors also propose that collaboration between banks and firms has a positive effect not only on the access to credit but also on the innovation activities and on the intervention of foreign capital in the ownership of Italian businesses. Design/methodology/approach – As pointed out by the literature on smaller businesses finance, investments widely rely on credit availability. Tests using data on a sample investigation involving 5,587 firms, operating in 17 manufacturing sectors in Italy, support the majority of the proposed ideas. Findings – The empirical investigation shows that only some aspects of the collaboration between enterprises and banks influence the PD, the investments in R&D and the internationalisation of ownership of the enterprises. ...

Student Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Success. How Much Does Knowledge Heterogeneity Really Matter?

The present research points out to investigate how knowledge heterogeneity benefits creativity and innovation of student entrepreneurs. Some authors stressed that the knowledge and social networks are fundamental elements to generate new ideas and inspire future entrepreneurs. Having analysed the data extracted by Kelley et al. (2012) on 300 Master students joining economics and biotech faculties in Europe, through the application of structural equation modelling by using IBM SPSS Amos, we confirmed the importance of social network so as to acquire efficiently new knowledge and to improve innovation performance.

Managing adaptive orientation systems for museum visitors from an IoT perspective

Starting from the premises that IoT applications can be used in museums as an aid to visiting systems, the aim of this research is to see how recommendation systems can be developed to provide advanced services to museum visitors.,The research methodology employs a qualitative exploratory multi-case study: the method used has consisted in crossing the information currently known on the most advanced communication technologies (ICT) with the requirements of enhancing museum services, in order to determine the possible trajectories of applying the former to the latter,The implementation of recommender system outlines the main implications and effects of an advanced market-driven digital orientation, as the system’s users are the starting point for innovation and the creation of value. For a museum, it will be possible to access to an additional system of knowledge alongside that of its scientific staff. This process has profound implications in the way in which a museum presents itself and how it is perceived by its visitors and, in a wider sense, by the potential demand.,Our paper consists in an exploratory effort to introduce an analytical framework for an evolved adaptive museum orientation system; the empirical investigation can be structured in the inductive-predictive view of assessing this promising debate further.,Implementing the IoT blueprint entails introducing a plethora of new products, services and business models, opening new routes to guide and direct cultural events. Now, more than ever, sustainable development involves an intrinsic balancing act between the pluralism of data and that of customer needs, which is achieved through the elaboration of digital data.

Spontaneous processes of reproduction of family-based entrepreneurship: an empirical research on the cognitive nature of the spin-offs

Spin-offs refer to the creation of new firms by employees breaking off from existing firms to give birth to companies of their own. However, this phenomenon has not been predominantly observed in the context of family businesses. Employment in the family firm creates an expectation that family members will act in a manner supportive to the family business: when an employee leaves to become an entrepreneur, parent companies also have to consider whether a spin-off could eventually become a competitor. In this view, when a spin-off process occurs, the parent company could ‘gain’ a new stakeholder. Cognitive scripts that enable codified knowledge to be transferred to a spin-off may grant the new firm a substantial advantage over the parent company. Therefore, it is assumed that such a stakeholder serves purposes similar to those of the parent company, however assuming a hostile attitude towards the latter. The plausibility of this hypothesis is subsequently tested through multivariate statistical techniques.