Determinants of knowledge transfer in inter‐firm new product development projects

Lawson, Benn; Potter, Antony

doi:10.1108/01443571211274530

Cited by 73 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…The antecedents and determinants of effective inter-firm learning and knowledge transfer are often discussed in the literature (cf. Cummings and Teng, 2003;Martinkenaite 2011;Lawson and Potter, 2012) which confirms the importance of the problem. Nevertheless, the understanding of critical success factors for effective inter-firm learning still seems to remain unclear and to need further exploration.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Building a Model of Successful Collaborative Learning for Company Innovativeness

Sudolska

Lis²

2014

JEMI

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Building a Model of Successful Collaborative Learning for Company Innovativeness

Sudolska

Lis²

2014

JEMI

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“…Easterby- Smith et al (2008) demonstrated that absorptive capacity has positively influenced the degree of knowledge transfer. It is also found that absorptive capacity within an organization increases the degree of knowledge transfer (Lawson and Potter, 2012). Szulanski (1996) also confirmed the lack of absorptive capacity, casual ambiguity and relationship difficulties.…”

Section: H10mentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Siemsen et al (2008) argued that ability, motivation and opportunity have been documented as the building blocks of any successful action. Lawson and Potter (2012) contended that applying the ability, motivation and opportunity framework may help overcome an organization's internal stickiness in knowledge transfer.…”

Section: Theoretical Background and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How ability, motivation and opportunity influence travel agents performance: the moderating role of absorptive capacity

Elbaz

Agag

Alkathiri³

2018

JKM

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Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of the three dimensions of travel agents’ manager competencies – ability, motivation and opportunity seeking – on knowledge transfer and travel agents’ performance. In addition, the study investigates how employee’s absorptive capacity moderates the effects of managers’ competencies on knowledge received by the employees and moderates the effects of knowledge received by the employees on travel agents’ performance. Design/methodology/approach A positivist research philosophy was adopted with a quantitative approach, in which quantitative data were gathered based on questionnaires to tackle different stages of the study. To test the hypotheses, a self-administrated face-to-face survey of about 42 questions, launched on November 7, 2016, was used to compile response from top and medium management Category A travel agents operating in Egypt. Findings Based on a sample of 577 travel agents’ frontline employees, the results showed that the three dimensions of travel agents’ competencies have a positive effect on knowledge received by the employee. Findings further indicated that knowledge received by employee mediates the link between these three competencies and travel agents’ performance. The link between the competencies and knowledge received by the employee was found to be positively moderated by employee absorptive capacity. Moreover, these findings suggested that the relationship between knowledge received and travel agents’ performance is stronger when employees’ absorptive capacity is greater. Research limitations/implications This study is bound by certain limitations that also provide fertile grounds for further research. First, the study examined how an employee’s absorptive capacity moderates the effects of managers’ competencies on knowledge received by the employees and moderates the effects of knowledge received by the employees on travel agents’ performance. However, innovation as a dependent variable can be investigated. Second, one limitation is that the study is restricted to Category A travel agents only in Greater Cairo. Third, examining the antecedents of ability, motivation and opportunity seeking to transfer knowledge is also important. Practical implications It is important for travel agents, owners, managers and employees to acknowledge absorptive capacity as a critical component for organizations to sustain, grow and compete. Travel agents can also take steps to develop their employees’ absorptive capacity. Doing so would further enhance the success of knowledge, employees and travel agents’ performance. Also, travel agents’ top management has to ensure their employees’ absorbing knowledge, identifying and recognizing external knowledge, processing and understanding it, combining it with existing knowledge and applying the new knowledge to commercial ends. Hence, the development of absorptive capacity contributes to a travel agent’s achievement of competitive advantage. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by expanding the extant literature on knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity by investigating the influence of travel agents’ manager competencies – ability, motivation and opportunity seeking – for knowledge transfer in the Egyptian context. In addition, it investigates the direct effects of the three dimensions of travel agents’ manager competencies – ability, motivation and opportunity seeking – for knowledge transfer. Finally, the paper investigates how employee’s absorptive capacity moderates the effects of managers’ competencies on knowledge received by the employees and moderates the effects of knowledge received by the employees on travel agents’ performance

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“…The present study is part of a broader research effort to investigate supplier involvement in NPD. Other papers drawing on this data set include Lawson and Potter (), Potter and Lawson (), and Lawson, Krause, and Potter (In Press). A sample of 1700 R&D intensive medium‐to‐large manufacturing firms was obtained from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Suppliers' Technical Contributions to New Product Advantage: Substitution and Configuration Options

Lawson¹,

Tyler²,

Potter³

2014

J of Product Innov Manag

Self Cite

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Current theory lacks clarity on how different kinds of resources contribute to new product advantage, or how firms can combine different resources to achieve a new product advantage. While several studies have identified different firm‐specific resources that influence new product advantage, comparatively little research has explored the contribution of strategic supplier resources. Combining resource‐based and relational perspectives, this study develops a theoretical model investigating how a strategic supplier's technical capabilities impact focal firm new product advantage and how firms combine different resources to gain this advantage. The model is tested using detailed survey data collected from 153 interorganizational new product development projects in the United Kingdom within which a strategic supplier had been extensively involved. Empirical results support our research hypotheses. First, supplier technical performance is shown to have a significant positive impact on new product advantage. Next, we show that while supplier technical capabilities have a positive influence on supplier technical performance, the a priori nature of the supplier's task moderates the relationship. Finally, our data support our hypotheses related to the positive relationship between relationship‐specific absorptive capacity and new product advantage, and the proposed negative moderation of supplier technical capabilities on this relationship. Based upon these findings, we encourage managers to recognize that strategic suppliers' with greater technical capabilities perform better regardless of the degree of creativity required by their task; but that strategic suppliers with lower technical capabilities may partially compensate (substitute) for their lack of technical capabilities, if they are able to respond to high problem‐solving task requirements. Furthermore, we suggest that the firm's development of relationship‐specific absorptive capacity is much more important when a strategic supplier is less technically capable. A buying firm's relationship‐specific absorptive capacity can, according to our data, substitute for low supplier technical capabilities. On the other hand, where the supplier has strong technical capabilities, investments in relationship‐specific absorptive capacity have no effect on new product advantage. Our findings reinforce recent calls for research on how firms can combine different resources and capabilities to achieve superior performance.

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Determinants of knowledge transfer in inter‐firm new product development projects

Cited by 73 publications

References 88 publications

Building a Model of Successful Collaborative Learning for Company Innovativeness

Building a Model of Successful Collaborative Learning for Company Innovativeness

How ability, motivation and opportunity influence travel agents performance: the moderating role of absorptive capacity

Strategic Suppliers' Technical Contributions to New Product Advantage: Substitution and Configuration Options

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