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The Relationship Between Learning Orientation
and Business Performance: Do Smaller Firms Gain More
from Learning Orientation?
--Sandeep Vij and Rayees Farooq
The purpose of this study is to measure the relationship between learning orientation of firms and their business performance. It also explores the moderating effect of firm size on relationship between learning orientation of firms and their business performance. The study was conducted on manufacturing and service sector firms from the State of Punjab, India. Self-developed non-disguised questionnaire has been used for the study. A purposive sample of 278 key informants (senior level managers who have insight about learning orientation and performance status of the firm) was used. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the learning orientation and business performance scales. The hypotheses were tested using multi-group moderation and structural equation modeling. The study shows that learning orientation has significant positive effect on business performance. The results have indicated that firm size (based on investment) significantly moderates the relationship between learning orientation and business performance. The findings of the study are relevant for practitioners as well as researchers. Practicing managers can gain insights from the suggested learning orientation and performance relationship, especially when they are engaged in small cap firms struggling to compete with relatively established businesses. Future researchers can use the scales developed in this study. The study contributes to the knowledge management literature by providing empirical evidence for relationship between learning orientation and business performance.
© 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Performance Management and Innovative Human Resource
Training Through Flexible Production Systems Aimed
at Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs
--Nunzio Casalino, Maurizio Cavallari, Marco De Marco,
Maria Ferrara, Mauro Gatti and Cecilia Rossignoli
In the current knowledge economy, companies need to develop competitive advantages based on an adequate and intensive use of innovation processes and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that are becoming essential elements of business success in today’s European market. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss the benefits of online training on automation and innovation fields and try to explain their organizational impact on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Besides, it tries to understand the main barriers to SMEs with respect to the realization of their innovative potential and their capacity to improve internal processes by ICT adoption and organizational change. They are becoming particularly important for achieving greater productivity, lower operational costs, and higher revenues (usually characterized by reduced access to external finance, unavailability of wider distribution channels, low internationalization, etc.). The goal of the paper is also to synthesize the experience and the benefits of e-learning and of a specific professional environment in the training process. The described project provides training contents to enhance the participants’ background and some innovative simulations to improve effectively the specialized knowledge of the employees on industrial automation systems. © 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Understanding Researchable Issues in Knowledge Management:
A Literature Review
--Sanghamitra Brahma and Sumita Mishra
Knowledge and Knowledge Management (KM) practices have been recognized as valuable means for tapping collective intelligence and skills of employees to create greater organization knowledge. Further, promoting conducive work culture improves productivity and enhances performance. Researches, both industrial and academic, have been undertaken to explore KM concepts, frameworks, technologies, applications, knowledge-based work culture, etc. This paper explores the development of KM through review and categorization of research papers published during the past 15 years into seven broad categories. The categories have been chosen to track the development in the field of KM from basic, foundational research to integrated research with the areas of Organization Culture (OC) and Organization Performance (OP). The objective of the researcher is to identify and define significant gap in the existing literature and suggest a direction for future research. © 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Book Review
Knowledge Creation and Management:
New Challenges for Managers
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