Internal market knowledge sharing in medium-high-tech manufacturing company

Abstract

The goal of this study is to verify new research model among medium-high-tech manufacturing companies. First of all, the model assumes the influence of both the market knowledge base itself, and the efficiency of internal market knowledge sharing on the competitiveness of analysed entities. Second of all, it analyses the impact of market knowledge perception within business entities and the openness of technical staff on internal market knowledge sharing efficiency. Research Design & Methods:The survey consisted of five latent variables (constructs). The research was conducted by telephone among managers of medium-high-tech manufacturing companies in Poland. The sample consisted of 130 firms. The data was analysed using the PLS-SEM technique. Findings: The research findings proved that both, market knowledge and market knowledge sharing efficiency, had a strong and significant influence on the competitiveness of medium-high-tech manufacturing companies. The results also showed that market knowledge perception and openness of technical staff had statistically significant influence on knowledge sharing efficiency in such companies. Implications & Recommendations: Above all, the study implies that it is not the possession of market knowledge alone, but also importance of sharing this kind of knowledge internally. The article suggests factors that are important for market knowledge sharing, e.g. through properly trained and competent knowledge brokers that enable the examined businesses to gain a competitive edge. The efficiency of market knowledge sharing may be strengthened by putting more attention to market knowledge perception in the company and openness of technical staff. Contribution & Value Added:This study adds to the research on sharing a specific type of knowledge, i.e. market knowledge, within business enterprises and influence of this process on companies' competitiveness. Various factors important for efficient internal sharing of market knowledge have been proposed in the subject literature, however they have not been verified by quantitative research so far. Moreover, the study focuses on the oft-overlooked type of business entities, i.e. medium-high-tech manufacturing companies.

Implications for multinational enterprises from emerging market subsidiaries’ reverse knowledge transfer

“…Moreover, we propose that the context of the interaction carries more weight than the communication frequency and thus claim that the communication context, rather than frequency, should be deemed as the mediating factor in the RKT process as argued by Soniewicki (2022). This claim contradicts that of Jeong et al.…”

“…, 2017). Knowledge transfer is an important element in the success of MNEs (Soniewicki, 2022) and the context of MNEs. Nair, Demirbag, Mellahi, and Pillai (2018) and Froese et al.…”

“…When the relationship between intra-organizational actors is based on trust and constant collaboration, knowledge can be shared freely (Ferraris et al. , 2020; Soniewicki, 2022). Gaining trust in geographically and culturally distant relationships may require substantial communication efforts.…”

Is the Importance of Market Orientation Growing? A Study of High-Tech Manufacturing Companies

“…American manufacturing employers repeatedly signaled the importance of soft skills and the need to include courses such as communication in university curricula (Javdekar et al, 2016). Such courses are especially necessary at technical universities, as people in technical positions often lack soft skills (Soniewicki, 2022). Moreover, the latest studies show that more attention to technical staff openness may help in market knowledge sharing inside a company (Soniewicki, 2022), which is an important element of market orientation.…”

“…Such courses are especially necessary at technical universities, as people in technical positions often lack soft skills (Soniewicki, 2022). Moreover, the latest studies show that more attention to technical staff openness may help in market knowledge sharing inside a company (Soniewicki, 2022), which is an important element of market orientation.…”