Crisis Construction and Organizational Learning: Capability Building in Catching-up at Hyundai Motor

Abstract

Effective organizational beaming requires high absorptive capacity, which has two major elements: prior knowledge base and intensity of effort. Hyundai Motor Company, the most dynamic automobile producer in developing countries, pursued a strategy of independence in developing absorptive capacity. In its process of advancing from one phase to the next through the preparation for and acquisition, assimilation, and improvement of foreign technologies, Hyundai acquired migratory knowledge to expand its prior knowledge base and proactively constructed crises as a strategic means of intensifying its beaming effort. Unlike externally evoked crises, proactively constructed internal crises present a clew performance gap, shift beaming orientation from imitation to innovation, and increase the intensity of effort in organizational learning. Such crisis construction is an evocative and galvanizing device in the personal repertoires of proactive top managers. A similar process of opportunistic learning is also evident in other industries in Korea.

Human resource management practices and learning for innovation in developing countries: pharmaceutical firms in Mexico

“…In their view, intention and freedom are major forces motivating individuals to expand their individual knowledge. Kim (1998) complements this view by pointing out that, in addition to motivation or, perhaps, a consequence of it, intensity of effort, or the amount of energy individuals use to solve problems, constitutes a major driver in the construction of meaning in organisations. In sum, individuals are the beginning and a major source of organisational knowledge and learning.…”

“…They include external publications, universities, research institutes, government agencies, consultants and professional and personal networks. Kim (1998) and Kim and Cha (2000) developed an international dimension to this argument, by pointing out that external knowledge acquisition and imitation can function across and connect national systems of innovation.…”

“…External sources of knowledge bring fresh thinking and provide benchmarks for internal learning efforts. Kim (1998) developed an international dimension to this argument by pointing out that external knowledge acquisition and imitation can also function across and connect national systems of innovation. Recalling the notion of competitive ecology in chapter 1, adoption of mixed learning strategies leads firms to mobilise both internal and external resources, to expand physical and cognitive boundaries in order to accommodate internal and external knowledge searches.…”

Capacidade de Absorção, Aprendizagem Organizacional e Mecanismos de Integração Social

“…A partir das considerações de Cohen e Levinthal (1990), demais pesquisadores passaram a discutir sobre a capacidade de absorção com enfoque na habilidade necessária para partilhar e modificar o conhecimento existente dentro da organização (Mowery & Oxley, 1995), com base na capacidade de aprender e resolver problemas utilizando a experiência acumulada (Kim, 1998). Os autores ressaltaram a importância da aplicação interna das propriedades obtidas externamente, muito mais do que o simples reconhecimento da existência de valor externo, como também destacaram Lane e Lubatkin (1998).…”

Who captures value from science-based innovation? The distribution of benefits from GMR in the hard disk drive industry

“…It is based on the idea that exploiting external knowledge is not easy or costless, but requires effort and capabilities on the part of recipient firms or countries. Absorptive capacity consists of an array of learning and problem-solving skills needed to address the tacit components of external knowledge, make modifications, and create new value (Mowery and Oxley, 1995;Kim, 1998). These capabilities exist within both firms and countries.…”