Technology management practices and innovation: Empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Kalko, Mesfin Mala; Erena, Obsa Teferi; Debele, Sara Adugna

doi:10.1080/20421338.2022.2040828

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 86 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…With regard to the target firm category, we followed the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (2014) benchmarks to classify firms into medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms. Accordingly, firms with more than ten but less than 51 employees are classified as medium scale, whereas firms with 51 or more employees are classified as large scale (Kalko et al , 2022). This study focuses on medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms because medium and large-scale firms and firms in the manufacturing sector are more likely to engage in innovative activities (Daksa et al , 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational factors, knowledge management and innovation: empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Erena

Kalko

Debele

2022

JKM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the mediating role of knowledge management (KM) in the linkage between organizational factors, namely, organizational culture (OGCUL) and leadership and management support (LMS) and innovation in medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 200 firms has been used to gather data using simple random sampling and to test the proposed hypotheses. Structural equation modeling and cross-sectional design were used to analyze the data using LISREL 8.80 SIMPLIS program software tool. Findings Organizational factors (i.e. OGCUL and LMS) are positively associated with KM and innovation. KM constructs, namely, knowledge sharing, knowledge conversion and knowledge storage, have a significant positive influence on innovation. Knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between organizational factors and innovation. Research limitations/implications This study has three potential limitations: first, this study is based on a cross-sectional research design. Future research should include longitudinal design to get in-depth insights into the causal inferences. Second, only a few Ethiopian medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms were included in the sample. As a suggestion for future research, other researchers can include small-scale enterprises using large sample sizes and should examine the effects of organizational factors, KM and innovation across different industries. Finally, this study has only focused on investigating the mediating role of knowledge sharing between organizational factors and innovation. Future research should test the mediating role of the KM process and its constituents (knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, knowledge sharing and knowledge storage) between organizational factors and specific aspects of innovation to gain a full understanding of the critical role of KM in organizational innovation. Practical implications The findings of this study would serve as a guide for policy-makers and managers of manufacturing firms in developing countries in the formulation of policies and long-term strategies. It may also provide a better understanding of the causal relationship between organizational factors, KM and innovation, which in turn has value to directors and managers in manufacturing firms in developing countries as a reference for building a good OGCUL, serving as practical guidance for effective leadership and providing organizational or management support. Specifically, the findings would have the following practical implications: first, firms need to have a combination of KM processes (such as acquisition, storage, sharing and conversion). In practice, developing countries such as Ethiopia have based their innovation strategy on knowledge and technology acquisition through encouraging foreign direct investment. It is not in doubt that Ethiopia has been benefiting from the strategy as a lot of foreign companies have opened their subsidiaries in the country. However, in the authors’ view, more emphasis on knowledge acquisition strategy would not take a firm a long time to sustain its innovative activity because it is likely available to firms operating in the same industry, as well as it may hurt a firm’s competitive advantage. In addition, by its nature, knowledge may not be retained for future use; it may expire soon. Second, the current highly impulsive and rapid change in the business environment changes the way firms have to operate and deliver products or services. Knowledge (both tacit and explicit) is a resource that can provide a competitive advantage if used well for the intended purpose. In real practice, firms often face challenges in determining where to get knowledge from and how to value or manage it. Besides, knowledge can be obtained from three sources: knowledge can exist in individuals’ minds (skills, experience, ideas and insight); knowledge can dwell in a group, which we can call collective knowledge (a team of scientists or researchers); and knowledge can be embodied in an organization's systems, tools, procedures, policies, etc. Knowledge cannot be a valuable resource unless it is obtained and used in designing or producing a product or service. To integrate knowledge with business strategies, there should be a platform or framework that helps to manage it properly. Firm managers, policy-makers and other concerned bodies would consider the three sources of knowledge to foster innovative activities and obtain a competitive advantage. In addition, the authors recommend more emphasis be placed on firm-specific factors (such as OGCUL, leadership, management support and KM) to enhance the innovative capacity of a firm. Finally, the most critical issue to be raised while designing an innovation strategy would be employees’ willingness and passion to collaborate with others to develop new ideas, share ideas or implement policies. As knowledge resides in individuals’ minds, the knowledge holder should have a passion to share it with those working with him or her. In practice, knowledge sharing depends extremely on the passion and voluntariness of the two parts: knowledge provider and receiver. Therefore, firm managers would design a platform on how to motivate individuals to share their skills, experience and ideas with others through providing incentive packages, punishment and commitment. In this regard, the authors believe that the results would help individuals who are in the position to manage or regulate the manufacturing sector in designing innovation policies, KM policies or technology management policies and business strategies. Originality/value This study provides new empirical insight into the relationships between organizational factors (such as OGCUL and LMS), KM and innovation in a large sample of firms. To date, the empirical research on these relationships has been mainly limited to descriptive case studies (Chen and Huang, 2009; Zack et al., 2009; Donate and Guadaumillas, 2011), and there is thus a lack of empirical evidence with large samples of firms. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the relationship between organizational factors, KM and innovation in developing countries, especially in Ethiopia. This paper intends to fill this gap and nurture future research studies in the area.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational factors, knowledge management and innovation: empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Erena

Kalko

Debele

2022

JKM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this scenario, Law et al (2021) have examined the impacts of knowledge management practices on innovation activities in high-and-low-tech firms in China and noted that knowledge management practices have positive relationship with innovation activities and innovation sources. Likewise, Kalko et al (2022) have empirically investigated the impacts of technology management practices on innovation in medium and large-scale manufacturing firms and noted that technology transfer and technology acquisition have significant positive effects on process innovation, product innovation and method innovation. Further, technology process has a significant positive effect on process and method innovation, while technology absorption has a significant positive effect on product innovation.…”

Section: Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development 21 Managem...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study streamed focus to further explore the firm level management practices in specific context, as there are little theoretical advances and implications for firms in other economical and geographical settings. It is also not clear how the various aspects of management practices contribute to the firm's innovation (Ode and Ayavoo, 2020;Kalko et al, 2022). Moreover, Romano (2019) also observed that so far, the management practices and innovation strategies have been analyzed in separate ways and need to examine the role of management practices into firms' innovation and economic performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Interplay in management practices, innovation, business environment, degree of competition and environmental policies: a comparative study

Rehman

Prokop

2023

BPMJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe study aims to examine the impacts of management practices on innovation along with the mediating and moderating role of degree of competition, business environment and environmental policies.Design/methodology/approachData were derived from the World Bank Enterprise Survey 2019 for Greece, Italy, Turkey, Portugal and Jordan and analyzed by using PLS-SEM to find results.FindingsFindings revealed that management practices have positive significant relationship with the innovation among firms for Greece, Turkey, Portugal and Jordan but surprisingly insignificant relationship in Italy. Further, management practices have positive significant relationship with the environmental policies, business environment and degree of competition among firms in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Portugal and Jordan. In addition, environmental policies, business environment and degree of competition have positive significant relationship with innovation among firms in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Portugal and Jordan.Practical implicationsThese useful insights would enable practitioners and policy makers to develop and apply more influential management practices to boost up the level of innovation among firms.Originality/valueAlthough the topics of management practices and innovation have received a great concern of academia, but this is the first study that offers a comprehensive model of the relationship in these domains.

show abstract

Technology and innovation development in Ethiopian construction industry: the challenges and improvement mechanisms

Mengistu

Ashene

Halabo

2023

JEDT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and potential improvement mechanisms for the development of technology and innovation in the Ethiopian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach In this study both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted. While a structured questionnaire was used for the quantitative data collection, semi-structured interview was used for qualitative data collection. In analyzing the quantitative data, mean score was used to rank the variables and factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying dimensions of the research constructs. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically focusing on specific objectives of the study; the challenges and improvement mechanisms of technology and innovation development. Findings The findings indicate that the major challenges are nature of the industry and lack of awareness, weak capacity of companies and the regulatory instruments, inadequate tender duration and poor monitoring and controlling practice. The suggested improvement mechanisms are effective coordination of the process and awareness creation, promoting technology and innovation in the procurement process and technology and innovation consideration in construction project registration. Originality/value Effectiveness of construction industry improvement programmes is affected by inappropriateness of the adopted implementation mechanisms. Understanding the operating environment; the enablers and potential barriers, is important for the success of any envisioned improvement programme. The improvement framework proposed by this study indicates the potential intervention areas and improvement mechanisms to effectively induce and enhance technology and innovation development in the construction industry. Major pillars of the improvement framework are improving regulatory framework, raising awareness and stakeholder engagement and continual monitoring and controlling of the practice.

show abstract

Technology management practices and innovation: Empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Cited by 3 publications

References 86 publications

Organizational factors, knowledge management and innovation: empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Organizational factors, knowledge management and innovation: empirical evidence from medium- and large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Interplay in management practices, innovation, business environment, degree of competition and environmental policies: a comparative study

Technology and innovation development in Ethiopian construction industry: the challenges and improvement mechanisms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About