Abstract
The radical improvements and massive diffusion of information and communication technologies within the last decade have fostered the development and exchange of new knowledge. Firms realize that they now compete in their abilities to access, acquire and appraise new information in order to enhance their innovation capacity by applying it. Davenport and Prusak (1998) note that though spontaneous and unstructured transfers of knowledge routinely take place across organizational and geographical boundaries, independently from the management of the process, companies are now expected to have well defined systems of knowledge management. A substantial literature addressing the competitive dimensions of information management is, therefore, developing. The important and not yet solved questions concern the conditions needed for effective information and knowledge transfer and how to establish them (Zahra and George, 2002). The exploration of these conditions is the principal concern of this essay which studies three very different kinds of firms: new, venture firms (our principal focus); serial acquirers (Cisco), operating at scale in world markets but rooted in a local ecology of venture firms, and Japanese majors, such as Toshiba, NEC and Fujitsu operating, in their rapid growth period, far from such an environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abegglen, James C. and Stalk, George Jr. (1985). Kaisha, The Japanese Corporation, Basic Books, New York.
Abramovitz, M. (1986). Catching up, forging ahead, and falling behind. Journal of Economic History, June 1986, 46(2): 385–406.
Arora, A., Gambardella, A. (1990). Complementarity and external linkages: The strategies of the large firms in biotechnology. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 38(4): 361–379.
Bhagat, R.S., Kedia, B.L., Harveston, P.D. and Triandis, H.C. (2002). Cultural variations in the cross-border transfer of organizational knowledge: An integrative framework. Academy of Management Review, 27: 204–221.
Berg, S., Duncan, J., Friedman, P. (1982). Joint Venture Strategies and Corporate Innovation. Cambridge, MA. Olegeschlager, Gunn & Hain.
Berger, P. and Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Garden City, New York.
Bode, J. (1993). Betriebliche Production von Information, Wiesbaden.
Bower, G.H. and Hilgard, E.R. (1981). Theories of Learning, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Bühner, R. (1997). Betriebswirtschaftliche Organisationslehre, 8. Auflage, Oldenburg.
Bunnell, David (2000). Making the Cisco Connection, New York.
Cash, J.I., McFarlan, F.W., McKenney, J.L. (1992). Corporate Information Systems Management: Text and Cases, 3rd edition.
Cohen, S.S. and Fields, G. (2000). Social capital and social gains: An examination of social capital in Silicon Valley. In: Kenney, M., Understanding Silicon Valley, Stanford University Press.
Cohen, Stephen S. and Zysman, John (1987). Manufacturing Matters, Basic Books, New York.
Cohen, W. and Levinthal, D. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 128–152.
Criscuolo, Paola and Narula, Rajneesh (2001). National absorptive capacity and the stage of development. Paper presented at the “Innovation, Learning and Technological Dynamism of Developing Countries” Conference, Maastricht 2001.
Crossan, M.M. and Lane, H.W. (1999). An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review, 24: 522–537.
Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. (1998). Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School press.
Drumm, H.J. (2000). Personalwirtschaft, 4. Auflage, Berlin/Heidelberg.
Dyer, J. and Singh, H. (1998). The relational view: cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive strategy. Academy of Management Review, 23: 660–679.
Ellis, H.C. (1965). The transfer of learning. Macmillan, New York.
Eschenröder, G. (1985). Planungsaspekte einer ressourcen-orientierten Informationswirtschaft. Eul, Bergisch Gladbach 1985.
Estes, W.K. (1970). Learning Theory and Mental Development, Academic Press, New York.
Fransman, Maratin (1990). The Market and Beyond: Cooperation and Competition in Information Technology Development in the Japanese System (sic), Cambridge University Press.
Gemünden, H.G. (1993). Informationsverhalten. In: Frese, E. (Hrsg.): Handwörterbuch der Organisation, 3. Aufl., C.E. Poeschel, Stuttgart.
Grant, R.M. and Baden-Fuller, C. (1995). A knowledge-based theory of inter-firm collaboration, Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, 17–21.
Grant, R.M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theories of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (Winter Special Issue): 109–122.
Gulati, R., Gargiulo, M. (1999). Where do interorganizational networks come from? American Journal of Sociology, 104(5): 1439–1493.
Gutenberg, E. (1983). Grundlagen der Betriebswirtschaftslehre, Bd. 1: Die Produktion. 24. Auflage, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York.
Heckhausen, H. (1989). Motivation und Handel, 2. Auflage, Berlin/Heidelberg.
Heinrich, L. (2002). Informationsmanagement—Planung, überwachung und Steuerung der Informationsinfrastruktur, 7. Aufl., Oldenbourg, München.
Horvath, A.T., Fulk, J. (1994). Information technology and the prospects for organizational transformation. In: B. Kovacic (Ed.), New Aapproaches to Organizational Communication. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY.
Huber, G.P. (1991). Organizational Learning: The contributing process and the literatures. Organization Science, 2: 88–125.
Kraatz, M.S. (1998). Learning by association? Interorganizational networks and adaptation to environmental change. Academy of Management Journal, 41: 621–643.
Krcmar, H. (2000). Informationsmanagement. Springer, Berlin.
Lane, P.J. and Lubatkin, M. (1998). Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning. Strategic Management Journal, 19: 461–477.
Larsson, R., Bengtsson, L., Henriksson, K., Sparks, J. (1998). The interorganizational learning dilemma. Collective knowledge development in strategic alliances. Organization Science, 9(3): 285–305.
Lechner, C. (2001). The competitiveness of firm networks, Peter Lang, Frankfur/Main.
Leontiades, M. (1982). Choosing the right manager to fit the strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, 3: 58–69.
Leonard, D. (1995). Wellsprings of Knowledge: Building and Sustaining the Source of Innovation. Harvard Business School, Boston.
Mahlich, Joerg C. (2000). Innovation in the Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry, Wien.
Mansfield, Edwin (1988). Industrial innovation in Japan and the United States. Science, Sept. 30.
Martiny, L., Klotz, M. (1989). Strategisches Informationsmanagement—Bedeutung und organisatorische Umsetzung. Handbuch der Informatik, Bd. 12.1, Oldenbourg, München Wien.
Mayer, David and Kenney, Martin (2002). Economic action does not take place in a vacuum: understanding Cisco’s acquisition and development strategy. BRIE working paper 148, September 16.
McDougall, P., Shane, S. and Oviatt, B.M. (1994). Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research. Journal of Business Venturing, 9: 469–487.
Mitchell, W., Singh, K. (1996). Survival of businesses using collaborative relationships to commercialize complex goods. Strategic Management Journal, 17: 169–196.
Mowery, D.C., Oxley, J.E. and Silverman, B.S. (1996). Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer. Strategic Management Journal, 17: 77–91.
Nicholls-Nixon, C. (1993). Absorptive capacity and technological sourcing: Implications for the responsiveness of established firms. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue University.
Österle, H. (1987). Erfolgsfaktor Informatik—Umsetzung der Informationstechnik in Unternehmensführung. Information Management, 3: 24ff.
Penrose, E. (1959). The Growth of the Firm, Oxford University Press.
Picot, A., Franck, E. (1988). Die Planung der Unternehmensressource Information (I)+(II). WISU, 17. Jg., pp. 544–549, and pp. 608–618.
Porter, L.W. and Lawler, E.E. (1968). Managerial attitudes and performance, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., Homewood, Illinois.
Rifkin, Glenn (1997). Growth by acquisition: The case of Cisco Systems. In: Strategy and Business, Booz Allen and Hamilton.
Rocha, Federico (1997). Interfirm technological cooperation: Effects of absorptive capacity, firm size and specialization, Discussion paper #9707, INTECH, The United Nation University, Maastricht.
Rohlen, Thomas P. (1992). Learning. In: Kumon, Shumpei and Rosovsky, Henry, The Political Economy of Japan, Vol. 3, Stanford Univ. Press.
Rosenberg, Nathan and Steinmueller, W.E. (1988). Why are Americans such poor imitators? American Economic Review, 78: 2.
Spender, J.-C. (1996). Making knowledge the basis of a dynamic theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17: 45–62.
Strassmann, P. (1997). The Squandered Computer. The Information Economics Press, New Canaan (Connecticut).
Taylor, Mark (1995). Dominance through technology: Is Japan creating a Yen bloc in Southeast Asia? Foreign Affairs, November/December.
Temple and Johnson (1998). Social capability and economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 113(3): 965–990.
Tsai, W. (2001). Knowledge transfer in intraorganizational networks: Effects of network position and absorptive capacity on business unit innovation and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 996–1004.
Venture Economics (2001).
Vroom, V.M. (1964). Work and Motivation, Wiley, New York.
Wachovia Securities, Hunt, George, Strauss, Robert and Barre, Bert (2000). IJL Financial Center, 201 North Tryon St., Charlotte, NC, 28202 (November 16).
Weinert, A.B. (1992). Motivation. In: Gaugler, E., Handwörterbuch des Personalwesens, 2. Auflage, Stuttgart, pp. 1429–1442.
Witte, E. (1972). Field research on complex decision-making precesses—The phase theorem. International Studies of Management and Organization. Fall, pp. 156–182.
Wittman, W. (1959). Unternehmung und unvollkommene Information, Köln/Opladen.
Yli-Renko, H., Autio, E. and Sapienza, H.J. (2001). Social capital, knowledge acquisition, and competitive advantage in technology based young firms. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 587–613.
Zahra, S.A. and George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27: 185–203.
Zollo, Maurizio and Harbir, Singh (2002). Post acquisition strategies, Integration capability and the economic performance of corporate acquisition. In: Strategic Management Review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cohen, S.S., Zotto, C.D. (2007). Inter-Organizational Knowledge Transfer as a Source of Innovation: The Role of Absorptive Capacity and Information Management Systems. In: Apte, U., Karmarkar, U. (eds) Managing in the Information Economy. Annals of Information Systems, vol 1. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36892-4_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36892-4_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-34214-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-36892-4
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)