Social enterprises (SEs) are playing an increasingly important role in fostering a more sustainable and equitable society around the world. Previous studies have suggested that developing capabilities to manage knowledge is a key driver of an SE's success (Domenico et al., 2010; Guclu et al., 2002; Tracey et al., 2011). An SE operates much like a business, but manages operations and directs its surpluses towards the pursuit of social goals (Austin et al., 2006; Dart, 2004; Dees, 2001; Granados et al., 2011; Mair & Marti, 2006; Nicholls, 2006) in an unstable or unpredictable market (Jaworski & Kohli, 1993; Mair & Marti, 2009; Nicholls, 2010; Sharir & Lerner, 2006). When the market is highly turbulent, customers' product expectations and preferences change over time. In such a situation, an SE has to pay more attention to the development of high-quality new innovative products and solutions that satisfy the social needs of specific customer segments, including underprivileged groups and socially responsible consumers, thereby more effectively addressing societal problems in a sustainable way. Indeed, the question of how absorptive capacity contributes to an SE's financial and social return is largely under-researched (Dacin et al., 2011; Granados et al., 2011; Haugh, 2005). Drawing on the dynamic capabilities perspective, this study proposes a research model in which absorptive capacity affects an SE's firm performance in both financial and social terms via marketing capabilities. It advances the existing SE-related literature by investigating the mediating role of marketing capabilities in the relationship between absorptive capacity and firm performance in the context of SEs. Also, market turbulence is theorized to moderate the relationship between marketing capabilities and performance. To perform this study, I collected data using questionnaires based on a list generated randomly from the database of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service SE Directory, and the contacts obtained from other sources such as Fullness Social Enterprises Society and the Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labour Taiwan. The data collection was performed over an eight-month period, with 109 valid responses being collected for this study. Multiple regression and a bootstrapping approach were used to test the hypotheses. The results provide support for most of the proposed hypotheses. Specifically, an SE's absorptive capacity is positively related to its marketing capabilities. Likewise, an SE's marketing capabilities are positively linked to its financial performance. In addition, an SE's marketing capabilities mediate the relationship between its absorptive capacity and its financial performance. Furthermore, the results show a positive moderating role of market turbulence in an SE's marketing capabilities-financial performance relationship. In summary, this study lends support to previous studies that show dynamic capabilities do not necessarily result in better financial performance directly in the context of SEs. It contributes to unpacking the black box of the absorptive capacity-financial performance relationship, and it shows that an SE's marketing capabilities play an important role as an underlying mediation mechanism. It also extends and contributes to the social enterprises literature by revealing the mediating role of marketing capabilities between absorptive capacity and financial performance, and the moderating effect of market turbulence on the relationship between marketing capabilities and financial performance in the context of SEs.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2019-02-28T14:19:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Ballin Suzin_.pdf: 1907151 bytes, checksum: 03ffde477d20f8864e13b0ea48c24460 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-28T14:19:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Ballin Suzin_.pdf: 1907151 bytes, checksum: 03ffde477d20f8864e13b0ea48c24460 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-18 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta tese descreve o desenvolvimento e análise de uma taxonomia empírica para classificar grupos estratégicos de empresas contratantes de Serviços Intensivos em Conhecimento (KIBS) a partir de sua capacidade de absorção de conhecimento e interação com estas empresas. A taxonomia foi desenvolvida a partir de análise de cluster e está baseada na importância atribuída a sete construtos relacionados a capacidade absortiva e interação entre estas empresas. Foi conduzida uma survey com 304 empresas contratantes destes serviços e os resultados apontam a formação de cinco grupos distintos de empresas podem ser identificados pela importância que atribuem aos antecedentes organizacionais sendo eles: "Conjunto Baixa Absorção e Interação", “Conjunto Estrutura", "Conjunto Absorção e Interação", "Conjunto Conhecimento" e "Conjunto P&D. Esta taxonomia fornece evidências analíticas que suportam diferenças significativas entre empresas contratantes de KIBS em relação aos antecedentes organizacionais propostos baseados na capacidade absortiva e interação entre empresas. Os clusters encontrados diferem substancialmente em determinadas características que apontam diferentes comportamentos no que tange a capacidade de identificar, assimilar e finalmente transformar estes conhecimentos para fins comerciais. / This thesis describes the development and analysis of an empirical taxonomy to classify strategic groups of KIBS contracting companies based on their ability to absorb knowledge and interact with these companies. The taxonomy was developed based on cluster analysis and is based on the importance attributed to seven constructs related to the absorptive capacity and interaction between these companies. A survey was conducted with 304 companies contracting these services and results indicate five distinct clusters of companies. This groups can be identified by the importance they attribute to the organizational antecedents being: "Set of Low Absorption and Interaction", "Set of Structure", "Set of Absorption and Interaction","Set of Knowledge" and "Set of R&D”. This taxonomy provides analytical evidence that supports significant differences between KIBS contracting firms in relation to the proposed organizational antecedents based on absorptive capacity and interaction between firms. Clusters found differ substantially in certain characteristics and indicate different behaviors in what concerns the ability to identify, assimilate and finally transform this knowledge for commercial purposes.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-15T12:15:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Debora Novak de Souza.pdf: 924928 bytes, checksum: de4963166620013aab712a461fd21dc0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-15T12:15:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Debora Novak de Souza.pdf: 924928 bytes, checksum: de4963166620013aab712a461fd21dc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-28 / Nenhuma / A dinâmica da evolução de produtos e serviços concorrentes no ambiente de tecnologia da informação pede eficiência e agilidade na aquisição de novos conhecimentos que levem à criação de soluções inovadoras. Algumas empresas estão valendo-se do modelo de comunidades de prática para atingir esse objetivo. De forma complementar, capacidade absortiva organizacional facilita a incorporação de novos conhecimentos pela empresa, através de cinco elementos centrais: comunicação, processos, aquisição, assimilação, transformação e aproveitamento de conhecimento. Dessa forma, este estudo visa analisar como uma comunidade de prática numa empresa do setor de serviços de tecnologia da informação contribui para o desenvolvimento de capacidade absortiva. A pesquisa foi realizada através de um estudo de caso na unidade brasileira de uma empresa do setor de serviços de tecnologia da informação. Entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram realizadas com doze dos membros mais ativos de duas comunidades de prática da empresa. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que os elementos comunicação, aquisição e aproveitamento de conhecimento encontram-se presentes nas comunidades de prática investigadas. Os resultados desta pesquisa, no entanto, não indicam a presença de processos ou das dimensões assimilação e transformação de conhecimento. A partir disso, é possível entender que os participantes dessas comunidades obtêm novos conhecimentos que são válidos para seu trabalho, levando a novos produtos e soluções para dificuldades enfrentadas. Por outro lado, não é possível, apenas com esses resultados, afirmar que as comunidades contribuem efetivamente para ampliação da capacidade absortiva da organização. / The dynamics of evolving competitive products and services in the information technology industry calls for efficiency and agility in acquiring new knowledge which will lead to innovative solutions. Some companies are adopting the use of communities of practice to reach this goal. Complementarily, organizational absorptive capacity facilitates the incorporation of new knowledge in a company via five central dimensions: communication, processes, acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of knowledge. Thereby, this study aims to analyze how a community of practice in a company from the information technology services sector contributes to the development of absorptive capacity. The research was carried out through a case study with a Brazilian subsidiary of a global company from the information technology services sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve of the most active members of the two communities of practice selected for investigation. The results of this research indicate the presence of the communication, acquisition and exploitation dimensions in the communities investigated. However, there is little to no indication of the presence of the process, assimilation and transformation dimensions. From these findings it is possible to conclude that the individual community members are obtaining new knowledge which can be incorporated into their daily work, leading to new product development and problem solving. On the other hand, it is not possible to assert that the communities are effectively contributing to the development of this organization ́s absorptive capacity.

As firmas estão imersas em um ambiente altamente dinâmico, onde as transformações ocorrem em velocidades crescentes. Essas transformações derivam de uma continua capacidade de inovação que tem levado a um processo de constantes mudanças da lógica produtiva e concorrencial estabelecida, reduzindo o ciclo de vida de muitos produtos e levando ao colapso de muitas indústrias. A fim de manter-se competitiva, é preciso capacidade de inovar e se adaptar às mudanças, o que pressupõe a necessidade de criar mecanismos que lhe permitam absorver novos conhecimentos, internaliza-los e utilizá-los. A capacidade absortiva, portanto, mostra-se como um requisito fundamental para a sobrevivência e competitividade das firmas. Dada a importância do desenvolvimento dessa capacidade, esse trabalho teve por objetivo compreender o papel das redes sociais para o processo de constituição da capacidade absortiva das firmas imersas no Polo de exportação de melão de Mossoró e baixo/médio Jaguaribe. Para atingir o objetivo geral proposto, foi realizado um estudo de caso, de cunho qualitativo. Nesse sentido, buscou-se compreender, primeiramente em relação ao processo de formação do Polo, ao longo dos anos 1980, 1990 e 2000, em que medida as redes sociais permitiram a aquisição de novos conhecimentos pelas firmas que ali se estabeleciam, com consequências diretas para o processo de constituição de suas capacidades absortivas. Posteriormente, dado a sua atual estrutura, a pesquisa procurou investigar o papel das redes para a aquisição de novos conhecimentos externos ao Polo e, considerando a inserção desses novos conhecimentos na região, buscamos analisar de que forma a rede, que conecta os diversos atores ali imersos, permitiu o fluxo e dispersão desses conhecimentos, possibilitando sua aquisição, a partir do qual se dá o processo de constituição da capacidade absortiva das firmas ali estabelecidas. O estudo de caso foi desenvolvido por intermédio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, com perguntas abertas e um roteiro pré-determinado. Essas entrevistas foram gravadas, transcritas e posteriormente analisadas em acordo com a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Já os dados secundários foram analisados através da técnica de análise documental. Nossos resultados demonstraram que as redes sociais funcionaram como uma importante via para a aquisição de novos conhecimentos pelas firmas desde início da formação desse Polo. Esse processo deu-se inicialmente através do estabelecimento das grandes empresas precursoras que, principalmente através de laços fracos, foram capazes de adquirir importantes tecnologias que posteriormente difundiram-se pelo Polo. Nesse sentido, verificamos que foi através das grandes empresas, em especial da MAISA, que se inicia, por um lado, o processo de constituição de uma rede que conecta os principais atores que hoje atuam nesse Polo. Ademais, foi também através dessas grandes empresas que se deu muito do aprendizado e acumulo de conhecimento inicial nessa atividade. Esses conhecimentos, disseminados através de uma rede que conectava os diversos atores desse Polo, transbordaram para além das fronteiras dessas grandes firmas fundamentalmente através de laços fortes, o que foi decisivo para a formação de novas empresas de médio porte ao longo da década de 1990 e para a constituição da capacidade absortiva dessas firmas. Assim como observamos no seu processo de formação, nossos dados nos mostraram que, considerando a atual estrutura do Polo, a aquisição de novos conhecimentos oriundos do ambiente externo deriva em grande parte do estabelecimento de laços fracos, permitindo a inserção em redes que conectam essas firmas a atores externos. Uma vez que esses conhecimentos adentram o Polo, nossa pesquisa pôde diagnosticar que um ponto nevrálgico para compreendermos o atual papel da rede para a difusão do conhecimento e, consequentemente, para o processo de constituição da capacidade absortiva dessas firmas, está relacionada aos laços fortes que se estabelecem no nível hierarquicamente abaixo dos proprietários: trabalhadores das empresas que atuam no Polo, como agrônomos, técnicos, encarregados, dentre outros. Os dados primários nos mostraram que, ainda que se tente evitar transbordamentos, os conhecimentos acabam fluindo por intermédios desses atores em função de diferentes laços relacionais que os conectam. A consequência mais aparente desse processo é que esse passou por grandes incrementos tecnológicos ao longo das décadas, derivado de incrementos no processo de constituição da capacidade absortiva das firmas ali instaladas. Outro aspecto observado é que essa evolução não se restringiu às empresas exportadoras: também os pequenos produtores, com produção destinado ao mercado nacional e regional, conseguiram incrementar suas capacidades absortivas em função da inserção nessa rede, ainda que perifericamente. A partir dos resultados apresentados, essa Tese traz importantes contribuições teóricas, ao avançar sobre uma lacuna de pesquisa relativa ao papel desempenhado pelas redes sociais no processo de constituição da capacidade absortiva das firmas. / Firms are embedded in a highly dynamic environment where changes occur at increasing speeds. These changes stem from the growing capacity to innovate, which has led to constant variations in the production and competitive standard, reducing the life cycle of many products and leading to the collapse of many industries. To remain competitive, firms must be able to innovate and to adapt to these changes, what presupposes the need to create mechanisms that allow it to absorb new knowledge, internalize and use it. The absorptive capacity, therefore, appears as a fundamental requirement for their survival and competitiveness. Given the importance of the development of this capacity, this study aims to understand the role of social networks for the process of absorptive capacity constitution of firms embedded in the Export Pole of melon from Mossoró and low/medium Jaguaribe, in Northeast from Brazil. To achieve the proposed general objective, a qualitative case study was developed. In this way, we sought to understand, firstly analyzing the process of development of the Polo, during the decades of 1980, 1990 and 2000, to what extent the social networks allowed the acquisition of new knowledge by firms established in this Pole, with consequences on their absorptive capacities constitution. Later, given its current structure, the research sought to investigate the role of networks to acquire new knowledge outside the Pole and, considering the insertion of this new knowledge in the region, we seek to analyze how the network that connects the various actors involved in Pole, allowed the flow and dispersion of this knowledge, permitting its acquisition, from which starts the process of absorptive capacity constitution of the firms established there. The case study was developed through semi-structured interviews, with open questions and a pre-determined script. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and later analyzed according to the technique of content analysis. Secondary data were analyzed using the documentary analysis technique. Our results demonstrated that social networks functioned as an important way for the acquisition of new knowledge by firms since the beginning of the formation of this Pole. This process, as we could observe during this study, was initially achieved through the establishment of large precursor companies which, mainly through the establishment of weak ties, were able to acquire important technologies that later spread through the Pole. In this sense, we verified that it was through the large companies, especially MAISA, that the process of constitution of a network that connects the main players that currently operate in this Pole starts. In addition, it was also through these large companies that much of the learning and accumulation of initial knowledge in this activity was given. This knowledge, disseminated through a network that connected the various actors of this Pole, spillover beyond the borders of these large firms fundamentally through strong ties, what was critical for the constitution of new medium-sized companies throughout the decade of 1990. Thus, as we observed during its development process, our data showed that, considering the current structure of the Pole, the acquisition of new knowledge from outside the Pole derives in large part from the establishment of weak ties, allowing these firms access networks that connect them to external actors. Once this knowledge enters the Pole, our research diagnosed that an essential point to understand the current role of the network for the diffusion of knowledge and, consequently, for the process of these firm’s absorptive capacity constitution, is related to the strong ties established at the hierarchical level below the owners: workers from the companies of the Pole, such as agronomists, technicians, among others. The primary data showed that, even if managers try to avoid knowledge spillovers, the knowledge inevitably flows through these actors due to the relational ties that connect them. The most apparent consequence of this process is that this Export Pole has undergone great technological increases throughout the decades derived from gains in the absorptive capacity of the firms established there. Another aspect that can be observed is that this evolution was not restricted to the exporting companies: also the small producers, with production destined to national and regional market, were able to increase their absorptive capacities due to the insertion in this network, although peripherally. From the results presented, this thesis brings important theoretical contributions, in advancing on a research gap regarding the role played by social networks in the process of constituting the absorptive capacity of the firms.

Open innovation (OI) is currently being applied as a new mode for firms to utilise both internal and external resources for R&D and new product developments. Investigating the impact of OI on China's high-tech firms is becoming increasingly important. Under the guidance of China's national innovation policy and the rise of innovation in high-tech industries, OI is regarded as having a positive impact on the competitiveness of Chinese firms and as bringing a significant innovation outcome. By utilising and integrating external knowledge and resources, OI can promote high-tech firms' R&D development in China's current transitional environment. A key objective of this thesis is to examine the overall relationship between locational factors, ambidexterity in OI and innovation performance given absorptive capacity (ACAP). The thesis reviews the current literature regarding OI, ambidexterity in OI, the cluster effect and ACAP and then integrates these lenses to build links for constructing a new model of the research. This includes the relationships between locational factors, ambidexterity in OI and innovation performance. It also examines the moderating effect of ACAP and, more importantly, the mediation effect of ambidexterity in OI on the relationship between locational factors and innovation performance. The findings of the thesis reveal that locational factors positively affect ambidexterity in OI, while ACAP positively moderates the relationship between the two factors. In addition, ambidexterity in OI - an optimal combination of inbound and outbound OI - can significantly influence innovation performance and is crucial to the ambidextrous conduction of firms. ACAP also positively moderates the relationship between ambidexterity in OI and innovation performance. Finally, ambidexterity in OI can mediate the relationship between locational factors and innovation performance, and ACAP moderates the overall relationship between locational factors, ambidexterity in OI and innovation performance. This thesis makes a number of contributions to the existing OI literature. First, building on the cluster perspective, the thesis contributes to the literature on OI by recognising the influence of locational factors on the balance in OI. The examination of ACAP also contributes to the literature by highlighting the contingent value of ACAP on the relationship between locational factors and the balance in OI. Second, the thesis contributes to the OI literature by bringing a greater conceptual clarity to the view of balance. A more balanced portfolio can bring better innovation performance than those that are less balanced. The thesis also enriches the knowledge in the relationship between the balance in OI and innovation performance, which demonstrates the moderating effect of ACAP on this relationship. Third, the study conceptualises the balance in OI that mediates the relationship between locational factors and innovation performance. It is a key contribution to the existing OI literature by advancing our understanding of the overall relationship among locational factors, the balance in OI and innovation performance.

Esta tese tem como objetivo principal verificar a influência do Capital Intelectual na Capacidade Absortiva das empresas, bem como da Capacidade Absortiva (ACAP) na inovação. O argumento teórico desta tese tem como base a Visão Baseada em Recursos, onde pressupõe-se que conjuntos de recursos intangíveis, como o Capital Intelectual, são mobilizados pelas firmas através de capacidades dinâmicas, como a Capacidade Absortiva do conhecimento, levando as empresas a resultados, tais como inovação de produtos. O estudo justifica-se pelas contribuições teóricas, metodológicas e práticas que pretende aportar para as áreas de gestão do conhecimento e inovação, permitindo compreender melhor os conceitos, bem como as interrelações entre eles. Inicialmente realizou-se estudo exploratório com 12 empresas, a partir de uma abordagem qualitativa, visando ampliar os conhecimentos sobre o ambiente pesquisado e proporcionar uma estruturação mais robusta do questionário. Posteriormente, o estudo quantitativo abrangeu 500 indústrias gaúchas de portes, intensidades tecnológicas e setores variados. A partir do método de modelagem de equações estruturais, o exame dos índices de ajustamento e sua significância estatística confirmaram a validade de todos os construtos e do modelo. Também serviu para a sustentação ou refutação das hipóteses do estudo. A partir das evidências, pode-se concluir que o Capital Intelectual influencia a Capacidade Absortiva, mas os elementos que o compõe refletem de modo diferente nas dimensões da ACAP. As capacidades de Aquisição, Assimilação e Exploração do conhecimento são influenciadas de forma mais contundente pelo Capital Organizacional, seguido pelo Capital Humano. A capacidade de Transformação do conhecimento é influenciada de forma equilibrada pelo Capital Organizacional e Humano, e de forma mais moderada pelo Capital Social. Por sua vez, a Capacidade Absortiva influencia a inovação, sendo que cada dimensão impacta de modo diverso. Aquisição e Exploração do conhecimento influenciam de modo mais intenso, e Transformação do conhecimento de forma mais moderada. A validação dos construtos apresenta-se como contribuição relevante, pois demonstra empiricamente a validade dos conceitos teóricos e apresenta avanços metodológicos para a mensuração dos mesmos a partir do desenvolvimento de escalas e de um modelo integrado, servindo a acadêmicos e gestores. Especificamente para o setor industrial, esta pesquisa contribui para traçar um perfil do desenvolvimento de seus recursos intangíveis, das capacidades relacionadas ao conhecimento, de suas atividades de pesquisa e desenvolvimento, bem como dos resultados relacionados à inovação. Esta caracterização pode servir de parâmetro de comparação tanto para as empresas, como para os gestores públicos definirem políticas de incentivo à inovação. Novas pesquisas em diferentes setores e países poderão aprofundar as relações entre estes construtos, bem como incluir fatores externos e a relação específica com inovação incremental e radical. / This thesis aims to investigate the influence of Intellectual Capital on Absorptive Capacity of firms, as well as the influence of Absorptive Capacity on innovation. The theoretical argument of this thesis is based on the Resource Based View, which assumes that sets of intangible assets such as Intellectual Capital are mobilized by firms through dynamic capabilities such as knowledge Absorptive Capacity, leading to results such as product innovation. The study is justified by theoretical, methodological and practices in the areas of knowledge management and innovation, enabling a better understanding of concepts, as well as the interrelationships between them. Using the qualitative approach, an exploratory study was initially performed with 12 companies aiming to expand the knowledge about the environment researched and to provide a more robust structure to the questionnaire. Subsequently, the quantitative study covered 500 industries in southern Brazil of different sizes, sectors and technological intensities. Using the method of structural equation modeling, the examination of adjustment indexes and statistical significance confirmed the validity of all the constructs and model. It also served to support or refute the hypotheses of the study. Given the evidences, it can be concluded that the Intellectual Capital influences Absorptive Capacity, but the elements that compose the Intellectual Capital reflect differently on the dimensions of ACAP. The capabilities of Acquisition, Assimilation and Exploitation of knowledge are influenced more decisively by Organizational Capital, followed by Human Capital. The ability of Transformation of knowledge is influenced evenly by Organizational and Human Capital, and more moderately by Social Capital. In turn, the Absorptive Capacity influences innovation, and each of its dimension has a different impact. Knowledge Acquisition and Exploitation have a more intense influence, and knowledge Transformation has a moderate one. The validation of the constructs is presented as a relevant contribution, it empirically demonstrates the validity of the theoretical concepts and presents methodological advances in its measurement, from scales and development of an integrated model, serving to academics and managers. Primarily for the industrial sector, this research helps to draw a profile of the development of its intangible assets, related to the knowledge of their research and development, as well as results related to innovation capabilities. This characterization can serve as a benchmark both for businesses and for public administrators helping them to define policies to encourage innovation. New studies in different sectors and countries may deepen relations between these constructs, and include external factors and specific relationship to incremental and radical innovation.

<p>Date: 2008-06-04</p><p>Course: EIK 034 Masters Thesis</p><p>Authors: Laxmi Rao & Zarina Osmonalieva</p><p>Tutor: Ole Liljefors</p><p>Title: Which factors facilitate the management of external knowledge?</p><p>Introduction: Today more and more organisations are realising that handling internal and external knowledge is a key issue for successful performance. Different theories describe the importance of this topic, for instance, Porter’s Five Forces model and Hedman & Kalling’s General Business Model demonstrate how organizations are strongly influenced by external forces. Hedman & Kalling’s model particularly demonstrates that organizations need to have the competence, capability and resources to effectively manage external knowledge in order to increase their competitiveness and develop and improve their long term survival.</p><p>Purpose: Nicholas Carr highlights that for the past decade organizational investment in IT and IS has reached nearly 50% of capital expenditure, while the organizations see little or no performance improvement as a result of this investment. While IT systems are good at storing and retrieving information, the success of the systems heavily relies on the quality of the external and internal knowledge used both during development and usage. A deeper awareness of factors which facilitate the management of external knowledge is relevant to IT managers (indeed all managers) as it will help to facilitate the development and implementation of information systems and technology which are designed to facilitate knowledge management in organisations.</p><p>Methodology: In the thesis factors related to effective management of external knowledge are identified and described. The General Business Model was used as a tool to identify and categorize the literature review into key themes.</p><p>Conclusions One of the findings is that most published research focuses on factors internal to organizations such as activities and resources and there are few papers dealing with external factors for knowledge management. It was also found that literature which focussed on external factors mainly focused on the role of individuals as resources who cross the boundary of the organization in order to acquire and diffuse the external knowledge. In general the topic of external knowledge management is not studied in a holistic way. The acquisition and diffusion processes have been investigated as separate, but not as the whole process.</p>

<p>Over the last few decades, the industrialized world in general and the automobile industry in particular was hit by immense changes which strongly influence the management of R&D. Trends such as globalization and sharp competition on worldwide open markets, increasing product complexity in order to meet the customers’ desires for more variety and individualization, technology fusion and cross industry innovations, high level of technological and competitive uncertainty, increasing pressure to reduce R&D budgets, and shorter time to market and reduced innovation cycles in consequence of rising competition, force companies to source external knowledge and to bring in and exploit outside-in innovations instead of reinventing them their selves. In the same way, the Open Innovation concept highlights the need for organizations to open up their innovation processes. As a consequence, many R&D organizations are being transformed in order to meet the upcoming challenges and established technological listening posts to source external knowledge in centers of technological excellence and innovation.</p><p>This study focus on the knowledge acquisition, transformation and transfer from innovation cluster to central R&D, and examines the roles and typologies of technological gatekeepers. Based on a sound literature review and in-depth qualitative study of the case company BMW, this thesis explores how technological listening posts can take the mediating role of technology gatekeepers and how different mechanisms and typologies for gatekeeping can be deployed for optimal transformation and transfer of external knowledge into internal innovation.</p>

Absorptive capacity is fundamental for small-middle enterprises to increase their innovativeness and competitiveness in the market place. Human resources, being the most important asset in SMEs, might help firms to obtain adequate levels of absorptive capacity through a planned set of human resource practices. The hu-man costs of implementing such practices, however, cannot be neglected, and this paper studies the relationship between these different variables.

Over the last few decades, the industrialized world in general and the automobile industry in particular was hit by immense changes which strongly influence the management of R&amp;D. Trends such as globalization and sharp competition on worldwide open markets, increasing product complexity in order to meet the customers’ desires for more variety and individualization, technology fusion and cross industry innovations, high level of technological and competitive uncertainty, increasing pressure to reduce R&amp;D budgets, and shorter time to market and reduced innovation cycles in consequence of rising competition, force companies to source external knowledge and to bring in and exploit outside-in innovations instead of reinventing them their selves. In the same way, the Open Innovation concept highlights the need for organizations to open up their innovation processes. As a consequence, many R&amp;D organizations are being transformed in order to meet the upcoming challenges and established technological listening posts to source external knowledge in centers of technological excellence and innovation. This study focus on the knowledge acquisition, transformation and transfer from innovation cluster to central R&amp;D, and examines the roles and typologies of technological gatekeepers. Based on a sound literature review and in-depth qualitative study of the case company BMW, this thesis explores how technological listening posts can take the mediating role of technology gatekeepers and how different mechanisms and typologies for gatekeeping can be deployed for optimal transformation and transfer of external knowledge into internal innovation.