This study focuses on how the interplay between a firm's absorptive capacity (ACAP), and its technological and customer relationship capability contributes to its overall performance. Using structural equation modeling in a sample of 158 firms (316 questionnaires, two respondents per firm) from South Korea's semiconductor industry, we find that a firm's ACAP leads to better performance in terms of new product development, market performance and profitability when used in combination with the firm's capability to engage state of the art technologies in its new product development program (NPD) (technological capability) as well as cultivate strong customer relationships to gain customer insight in NPD (customer relationship capability). By highlighting the interactive nature of absorptive capacity's antecedents and how these relate to firms' performance, this study contributes to the understanding of the role of ACAP as a mechanism for translating external knowledge into tangible benefits in high-tech SMEs, thus leading to important theoretical and practical implications.

 This paper shows the link between knowledge creation and individual learning, and the coherence that exists between the knowledge creation view and single and double-loop learning models. It does so by examining differences in levels of knowledge and their relationship with creativity and knowledge creating behaviours. The analysis shifts the focus from the abstract notion of tacit knowledge to a more specific discussion on creative human cognition. The paper is unique in adopting an endogenous perspective to the analysis of individual learning. The analysis is distinct from previous discussions on knowledge creation in three ways: (a) explicit and tacit knowledge are analysed in terms of the nature and degree of interdependence that exists between the two; (b) knowledge levels are defined in terms of their applications rather than as abstract concepts; and (c) a distinction is made between shifts and movements in knowledge to separate, and subsequently integrate, the information processing and creative dimensions of learning. Further, the paper highlights specific challenges and limitations/costs that are associated with the transfer/acquisition of knowledge levels, and argues that in the absence of a conscious effort, knowledge levels are acquired through mistakes and failures. Following that, various theoretical and managerial implications to facilitate knowledge creation are discussed.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate organizational culture’s perceived importance and practice as it unfolds across hierarchal layers of a formalized organization. Organizational culture is important in innovation and change and becomes significant if its importance and practice are shared across all levels of an organization. Highly formalized organizations are not an exception to this. Yet, there is a shortage of empirical evidence on how the organizational culture’s perceived importance and practice unfold across the senior-management, middle-management and operational levels of a formalized organization. Design/methodology/approach Applying a theoretical frame incorporating information asymmetry, knowledge sharing and cultural participation, this paper examined three important facets of culture, namely, trust, collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Using a Jordanian bank’s case study, this paper collected data using a mixed-methods approach; quantitative to identify variations across levels and, subsequently, qualitative to explore the nuanced patterns in the perceived importance and practice of the three facets across different organizational levels in the context of a formalized organization. Findings The findings suggest that the importance and practice of the three cultural facets are shared, as well as differentiated across organizational levels based on purposiveness, person/situation-dependency and nature of work and nature/relevance of knowledge. Originality/value Using a multi-level lens provided insight not yet gained by current work in the field. This allowed us to unearth nuanced differences in the perception of organizational culture across organizational hierarchies. The paper contributes to the scholarship on organizational culture in the context of formalized organizations and to managerial practice by offering insights on how a shared practice of trust, collaboration and knowledge sharing is distributed across organizational levels, not captured before. This paper also suggests propositions related to each of three cultural facets, not spelled out before.

Organizational knowledge creation, as reflected in new product/service development, is a vital process for firms to master. Critical to the development of new products/services is the management of the front-end phase, which crucially determines the eventual fate of a new product/service idea. However, studies on how knowledge is created at the front-end of the new product development process are rare. This empirical paper addresses this gap by focusing on knowledge conceptualization - where new knowledge from its generation is crystallized into a concrete and explicit form. Employing a qualitative methodology, the paper examines ten discontinuous projects and develops a front-end knowledge conceptualization framework. The framework consists of the identified knowledge conceptualization stages and illuminates the pattern of overlaps, outcomes, contributors, knowledge, interactions and volatility across each stage. Our main contribution is a knowledge-based appreciation of the dynamic and interactive nature of the new product/service development's front-end phase in the context of discontinuous innovations, and thence the paper provides clear managerial learning points for the effective management of this phase. © 2012 The Author(s). British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management