IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jikmxx/v15y2016i03ns0219649216500271.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Competing Through Knowledge and Information Systems Strategies: A Study of Small and Medium-Sized Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Yolande E. Chan

    (The Stephen J.R. School of Business, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6)

  • James S. Denford

    (Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7K 7B4)

  • Joyce Y. Jin

    (The Stephen J.R. School of Business, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6)

Abstract

In this study, we investigated strategies that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada employ to create, transfer, and apply knowledge, and we evaluated the importance of supporting dynamic knowledge capabilities and information systems. To examine the empirical support for a model based on the resource-based view of the firm, we conducted a survey of SMEs operating in knowledge-intensive industries. We tested relationships among knowledge strategy, information systems strategy, dynamic knowledge capabilities, and firm performance. SME performance was measured by their physical and financial capital, as well as four intangible types of capital: structural, human, innovation, and relational. We observed that dynamic knowledge capabilities only partially mediate the link between knowledge strategy and performance in SMEs. However, dynamic knowledge capabilities fully mediate the link between information systems (IS) strategy and performance in the small and medium-sized firms studied. We observed that information systems only indirectly influence firm performance, but they directly support the knowledge and innovation capital of SMEs. Further, our results indicated that, in SMEs, knowledge strategies directly influence IS strategies, and that alignment between knowledge strategies and IS strategies positively impacts dynamic knowledge capabilities, and hence firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Yolande E. Chan & James S. Denford & Joyce Y. Jin, 2016. "Competing Through Knowledge and Information Systems Strategies: A Study of Small and Medium-Sized Firms," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(03), pages 1-37, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jikmxx:v:15:y:2016:i:03:n:s0219649216500271
    DOI: 10.1142/S0219649216500271
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219649216500271
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S0219649216500271?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jay B. Barney, 1986. "Strategic Factor Markets: Expectations, Luck, and Business Strategy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(10), pages 1231-1241, October.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    4. John Hulland, 1999. "Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: a review of four recent studies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 195-204, February.
    5. Macpherson, Allan & Holt, Robin, 2007. "Knowledge, learning and small firm growth: A systematic review of the evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 172-192, March.
    6. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    7. Schroeter, John R, 1988. "Estimating the Degree of Market Power in the Beef Packing Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(1), pages 158-162, February.
    8. Patrick Lambe, 2002. "Ignorance Management: The Lessons of Small Enterprises for Knowledge Management," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(01), pages 41-47.
    9. Henry Mintzberg, 1978. "Patterns in Strategy Formation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(9), pages 934-948, May.
    10. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    11. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    12. Yolande E. Chan & Sid L. Huff & Donald W. Barclay & Duncan G. Copeland, 1997. "Business Strategic Orientation, Information Systems Strategic Orientation, and Strategic Alignment," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 125-150, June.
    13. Michael J. Tippins & Ravipreet S. Sohi, 2003. "IT competency and firm performance: is organizational learning a missing link?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 745-761, August.
    14. Jaflah Al-Ammary, 2014. "The Strategic Alignment between Knowledge Management and Information Systems Strategy: The Impact of Contextual and Cultural Factors," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(01), pages 1-12.
    15. Thong, James Y. L., 2001. "Resource constraints and information systems implementation in Singaporean small businesses," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 143-156, April.
    16. Deborah Dougherty, 1992. "Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 179-202, May.
    17. Jaeyong Song & Paul Almeida & Geraldine Wu, 2003. "Learning--by--Hiring: When Is Mobility More Likely to Facilitate Interfirm Knowledge Transfer?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 351-365, April.
    18. Cepeda, Gabriel & Vera, Dusya, 2007. "Dynamic capabilities and operational capabilities: A knowledge management perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 426-437, May.
    19. Paul E. Bierly III & Paula S. Daly, 2007. "Alternative Knowledge Strategies, Competitive Environment, and Organizational Performance in Small Manufacturing Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(4), pages 493-516, July.
    20. Raghu Garud & Praveen R. Nayyar, 1994. "Transformative capacity: Continual structuring by intertemporal technology transfer," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 365-385, June.
    21. Dale Goodhue & William Lewis & Ronald Thompson, 2007. "Research Note---Statistical Power in Analyzing Interaction Effects: Questioning the Advantage of PLS with Product Indicators," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 18(2), pages 211-227, June.
    22. Samuel Kai Wah Chu & Kin Hang Chan & Ka Yin Yu & Hing Tai Ng & Wai Kwan Wong, 2011. "An Empirical Study of the Impact of Intellectual Capital on Business Performance," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(01), pages 11-21.
    23. Barbara Piazza-Georgi, 2002. "The role of human and social capital in growth: extending our understanding," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 26(4), pages 461-479, July.
    24. Gianmario Verona & Davide Ravasi, 2003. "Unbundling dynamic capabilities: an exploratory study of continuous product innovation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 12(3), pages 577-606, June.
    25. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    26. Jarvis, Cheryl Burke & MacKenzie, Scott B & Podsakoff, Philip M, 2003. "A Critical Review of Construct Indicators and Measurement Model Misspecification in Marketing and Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(2), pages 199-218, September.
    27. Premkumar, G. & Roberts, Margaret, 1999. "Adoption of new information technologies in rural small businesses," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 467-484, August.
    28. Maurizio Zollo & Sidney G. Winter, 2002. "Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 339-351, June.
    29. Constance E. Helfat, 1997. "Know‐how and asset complementarity and dynamic capability accumulation: the case of r&d," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 339-360, May.
    30. Joanna DiPasquale & Claire R. McInerney, 2010. "Knowledge Management in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(04), pages 341-353.
    31. Linda Argote & Bill McEvily & Ray Reagans, 2003. "Managing Knowledge in Organizations: An Integrative Framework and Review of Emerging Themes," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 571-582, April.
    32. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    33. Gary C. Moore & Izak Benbasat, 1991. "Development of an Instrument to Measure the Perceptions of Adopting an Information Technology Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 2(3), pages 192-222, September.
    34. Paul L. Robertson & Richard N. Langlois, 1994. "Institutions, Inertia, and Changing Industrial Leadership," Industrial Organization 9406005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    35. Hüseyin Tanriverdi & Arun Rai & N. Venkatraman, 2010. "Research Commentary ---Reframing the Dominant Quests of Information Systems Strategy Research for Complex Adaptive Business Systems," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 822-834, December.
    36. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Teubner, Alexander & Stockhinger, Jan, 2020. "IT/IS strategy research and digitalization: An extensive literature review," ERCIS Working Papers 34, University of Münster, European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS).
    2. Yolande E. Chan & James S. Denford & Junjun Jane Wang, 2019. "The Co-Evolution of IT, Knowledge, and Agility in Micro and Small Enterprises," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(03), pages 1-34, September.
    3. Trujillo-Gallego, Mariana & Sarache, William & Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes de, 2022. "Digital technologies and green human resource management: Capabilities for GSCM adoption and enhanced performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ulrich Lichtenthaler & Eckhard Lichtenthaler, 2009. "A Capability‐Based Framework for Open Innovation: Complementing Absorptive Capacity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 1315-1338, December.
    2. Maria Chiara Di Guardo & Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Elona Marku, 2019. "M&A and diversification strategies: what effect on quality of inventive activity?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 669-692, September.
    3. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    4. Tan, Justin & Wang, Liang, 2010. "Flexibility-efficiency tradeoff and performance implications among Chinese SOEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 356-362, April.
    5. Jan-Erik Vahlne & Jan Johanson, 2017. "From internationalization to evolution: The Uppsala model at 40 years," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(9), pages 1087-1102, December.
    6. Braganza, Ashley & Brooks, Laurence & Nepelski, Daniel & Ali, Maged & Moro, Russ, 2017. "Resource management in big data initiatives: Processes and dynamic capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 328-337.
    7. Jorge Ferreira & Sofia Cardim & Arnaldo Coelho, 2021. "Dynamic Capabilities and Mediating Effects of Innovation on the Competitive Advantage and Firm’s Performance: the Moderating Role of Organizational Learning Capability," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(2), pages 620-644, June.
    8. Peeters, T.J.G., 2013. "External knowledge search and use in new product development," Other publications TiSEM 300ebb34-b090-4210-b95e-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Isabelle Le Breton-Miller & Danny Miller, 2015. "The paradox of resource vulnerability: Considerations for organizational curatorship," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 397-415, March.
    10. Schriber, Svante & Löwstedt, Jan, 2015. "Tangible resources and the development of organizational capabilities," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 54-68.
    11. Lin, Yini & Wu, Lei-Yu, 2014. "Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 407-413.
    12. Giovanni. Gavetti & Daniel A. Levinthal, 2004. "50th Anniversay Article: The Strategy Field from the Perspective of Management Science: Divergent Strands and Possible Integration," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(10), pages 1309-1318, October.
    13. Kotabe, Masaaki & Jiang, Crystal Xiangwen & Murray, Janet Y., 2011. "Managerial ties, knowledge acquisition, realized absorptive capacity and new product market performance of emerging multinational companies: A case of China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 166-176, April.
    14. Wolfgang H. Güttel & Stefan Konlechner & Barbara Müller, 2012. "Entscheidungsmuster und Veränderungsarchitekturen in Wandelprozessen: Eine Dynamic Capabilities-Perspektive," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 64(6), pages 630-654, September.
    15. Mohamed Mansouri & Cheklekbire Malainine & Hayat Souti & Ikram Cadimi, 2022. "Dynamic capabilities, competitiveness and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises: a systematic literature review [Capacités dynamiques, compétitivité et performance des petites et moyenn," Post-Print hal-03794567, HAL.
    16. Frank T. Rothaermel & Andrew M. Hess, 2007. "Building Dynamic Capabilities: Innovation Driven by Individual-, Firm-, and Network-Level Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 898-921, December.
    17. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    18. Heimeriks, K. & Duysters, G.M., 2004. "A study into the alliance capability development process," Working Papers 04.21, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    19. Corinne A. Coen & Catherine A. Maritan, 2011. "Investing in Capabilities: The Dynamics of Resource Allocation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 99-117, February.
    20. Jaideep Anand & Raffaele Oriani & Roberto S. Vassolo, 2010. "Alliance Activity as a Dynamic Capability in the Face of a Discontinuous Technological Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(6), pages 1213-1232, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:jikmxx:v:15:y:2016:i:03:n:s0219649216500271. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/jikm/jikm.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.