Gonzalo Maldonado-Guzmán

Bio: Gonzalo Maldonado-Guzmán is an academic researcher from Autonomous University of Aguascalientes. The author has contributed to research in topics: Small business & Empirical research. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 43 publications receiving 343 citations.

Innovation capabilities and performance: are they truly linked in SMEs?

Abstract: In an environment where business uncertainty is the norm, developing innovation capability in an organisation is increasingly important The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects that innovation capabilities have on the business performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the context of a regional developing and emerging economy of Mexico, in this case, Aguascalientes,The approach of this study is quantitative Four research hypotheses were formulated and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) Data were collected through a questionnaire survey responded by 308 SMEs located in the Aguascalientes state of Mexico,The results obtained show that innovation in products, processes, marketing and management has a positive and significant effect on the business return of Mexican SMEs,The paper complements the limited body of knowledge currently existent in the SMEs innovation literature, particularly when compared to that of large organisations Similar works in other settings have provided mixed results in regards to the effects that innovation capabilities have on the business performance of SMEs Thus, this paper offers a refined understanding and validation of the relationship between innovation capabilities and business performance, especially within the context of SMEs, and insights into some of the innovation aspects that managers may consider when formulating the strategies of their organisations Finally, it enables such relationship to be understood within a particular situation, contributing in this manner to expand the body of knowledge in the innovation field

Management of Knowledge, Innovation and Performance in SMEs

Abstract: Introduction The era of knowledge plays an essential role in the economic growth and development of all enterprises (Foray, 2004; Mosconi & Roy, 2013). With the arrival of globalization, knowledge has become an intangible resource generator of permanent competitive advantage (Ikujiro & Hiroshi, 2013; Tunc Bozbura, 2007) and contributes to the generation of intellectual capital and to the economic activities of organizations (Kristandl & Bontis, 2007). In these times of constant motion, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require the extraction of knowledge from both domestic sources and foreign sources to achieve greater participation in the markets, foster innovation, and improve performance (Gold, Malhotra, & Segars, 2001; Morgan & Berthon, 2008). Knowledge management (KM) is a comprehensive approach that includes capture, receipt, and transfer of information in a company that considers the policies, procedures, knowledge, and experience of employees (Duhon, 1998). In addition, technology systems influence the behavior of employees and strengthen a culture based on the use and transfer of information (Davenport, 1994). KM is a business practice that integrates essential strategies, policies, techniques, and procedures (Davenport, 2013; Lavergne & Earl, 2006). The alignment of corporate strategy with KM is vital for adding value and achieving results (Chuang, 2004; M. H. Zack & Singh, 2010). KM influences business systems by increasing profitability, creating a harmonious atmosphere among employees, and ensuring businesses' sustainability and competitiveness (Darvish, Mohammadi, & Afsharpour, 2012; Darvish & Nazari, 2013). However, KM is not sufficiently widespread in SMEs, mainly due to the lack of strategic planning, lack of financial resources, distaste to change cultural, uncertainty regarding benefits, and technological immaturity, which are typical in these organizations (Edvardsson & Durst, 2013; Yew Wong, 2005). A reasonable number of empirical studies have analyzed the impact of KM and innovation in SMEs (Constantinescu, 2009; C. Yu, Yu-Fang, & Yu-Cheh, 2013). However, the relationship between innovation and performance is still a wide field for exploration (Price, Stoica, & Boncella, 2013; Vaccaro, Parente, & Veloso, 2010). Works on KM have placed minimal emphasis on the benefits generated in SMEs; the majority of research focuses on large organizations (Darroch, 2005; Roxas, Battisti, & Deakins, 2014). In addition, minimal understanding of how companies create, transfer, and use knowledge has led to difficulty in transforming knowledge into a competitive advantage (C. Lin, Wu, & Yen, 2012; Perrin, Vidal, & McGill, 2006). The difficulty of measuring KM in SMEs provides a reasonable explanation for the scarcity of empirical studies in this developing discipline (Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2014; Choi, Poon, & Davis, 2008). By the great influence of the KM in the progress and development of SMEs, it is important to develop this type of study more regularly (Imran, 2014; Vaccaro et al., 2010). The objective of this work is to empirically analyze the relationships between KM, innovation, and performance in SMEs in the region of Murcia, Spain. In the current competitive global environment, it is important to analyze the key factors that affect the development and growth of these companies. The research questions that we attempt to answer are as follows: 1. Does knowledge management influence innovation activities in SMEs? 2. Does business innovation exert any influence on SME performance? Literature reveals that KM can help SMEs to professionally develop employees, improve innovation processes, grow sales, satisfy customers and thus achieve organizational success (Edvardsson & Durst, 2013; Lopez-Nicolas & Merono-Cerdan, 2011; Madrid-Guijarro, Garcia, & Van Auken, 2009). …

Knowledge management for sustainability in operations

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of Knowledge Management (KM) as a platform to enable sustainability in firms’ operations and to provide recommendations for managers to integrate sustainable operations into their business strategies. The urgency to create and implement sustainable operations in local and global firms is also argued. The conceptual framework underlying the prevalent effect of KM on sustainable practices is based on the hypothesis that KM contributes to the achievement of more suitable operations. To test this hypothesis, a model of structural equation was developed with data collected from 345 small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). Generally, the empirical evidence supported the hypothesis, indicating that KM represents an important alternative to the challenge of implementing sustainability in firms’ operations. Thus, the results of this study suggest that managers need to improve their firms’ practices, by implementing KM, as they will enable a better understanding and awareness regarding the global dangerous impacts from unsustainable operations mainly focused on sales and cost reduction. For this reason, the paper provides evidence that KM offers an alternative impulse on the quest for more sustainable operations.

Knowledge management as intellectual property: Evidence from Mexican manufacturing SMEs

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between knowledge management and creation of intellectual property within the context of small and medium size manufacturing enterprises Design/methodology/approach A hypothesis was formulated and tested using structural equation modelling Data were collected through an instrument that was developed based on key constructs adapted from the literature and that was first validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis A Cronbach’s alpha test was also conducted and the Composite Reliability Index was calculated to ensure reliability of the theoretical model The instrument was distributed among manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Aguascalientes region of Mexico, from were 125 valid responses were obtained Findings In general, the results indicate that knowledge management has positive effects on the creation of intellectual property in manufacturing SMEs This suggests that SMEs can create more intellectual property if they dedicate more efforts to the management of knowledge Practical implications The implication of this research and its findings may inform the strategies formulated by policy makers, and the managerial practices that manufacturing SMEs can adopt to protect their knowledge Originality/value Evidence suggests that studies focused on investigating the relationship between knowledge and intellectual property are limited This paper provides a refined understanding of the relationship between knowledge management and intellectual property creation

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Abstract: How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company

Abstract: How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally. The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself withthe master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline. As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.

The Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Abstract: This handbook looks to provide academics and students with a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the phenomenon of innovation. Innovation spans a number of fields within the social sciences and humanities: Management, Economics, Geography, Sociology, Politics, Psychology, and History. Consequently, the rapidly increasing body of literature on innovation is characterized by a multitude of perspectives based on, or cutting across, existing disciplines and specializations. Scholars of innovation can come from such diverse starting points that much of this literature can be missed, and so constructive dialogues missed. The editors of The Oxford Handbook of Innovation have carefully selected and designed twenty-one contributions from leading academic experts within their particular field, each focusing on a specific aspect of innovation. These have been organized into four main sections, the first of which looks at the creation of innovations, with particular focus on firms and networks. Section Two provides an account of the wider systematic setting influencing innovation and the role of institutions and organizations in this context. Section Three explores some of the diversity in the working of innovation over time and across different sectors of the economy, and Section Four focuses on the consequences of innovation with respect to economic growth, international competitiveness, and employment. An introductory overview, concluding remarks, and guide to further reading for each chapter, make this handbook a key introduction and vital reference work for researchers, academics, and advanced students of innovation. Contributors to this volume - Jan Fagerberg, University of Oslo William Lazonick, INSEAD Walter W. Powell, Stanford University Keith Pavitt, SPRU Alice Lam, Brunel University Keith Smith, INTECH Charles Edquist, Linkoping David Mowery, University of California, Berkeley Mary O'Sullivan, INSEAD Ove Granstrand, Chalmers Bjorn Asheim, University of Lund Rajneesh Narula, Copenhagen Business School Antonello Zanfei, Urbino Kristine Bruland, University of Oslo Franco Malerba, University of Bocconi Nick Von Tunzelmann, SPRU Ian Miles, University of Manchester Bronwyn Hall, University of California, Berkeley Bart Verspagen , ECIS Francisco Louca, ISEG Manuel M. Godinho, ISEG Richard R. Nelson, Mario Pianta, Urbino Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg

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