Latest Research and Development (R&D) systems find the latent needs of prospective
customers and consider technical feasibility and marketability at the very early
stage and thereby necessitate knowledge management not only as operational vehicle but also as a systematic building block. In a turbulent and rapidly changing world, every organization faces the challenge of how best to manage its knowledge assets to generate value for the marketplace and obtain competitive advantage (Chapas and Richard, 2001). The central focus for R&D, innovation is the successful exploitation of ideas to create a new, useful offering of product or service. Chapas and Richard (2001) comment that knowledge sharing is a critical catalyst for creativity and subsequent innovation and it leverages the communal knowledge and leads to new and improved ideas.
In the paper, “R&D as Enterprise Strategy: Knowledge Management Drivers and Highlights in Nordic Countries Compared to Italy”, Marco Remondino and Stefano Bresciani, attempted to examine the importance of both knowledge management and R&D activities within the private and public sector in Italy and the Nordic countries, particularly, Sweden and Finland. It was highlighted that the biggest difference between the Italian and the Nordic countries, concerning R&D activities, is the origin of the funds—Italian R&D is financed mainly by public funds, whereas in Nordic countries like Finland and Sweden, the Government intervenes to direct some private investments to R&D. The study proposed long-term achievements for Italy: the first one recommending the government to facilitate merger and acquisition processes on the existing majority number of small- and medium-sized companies and increase the number of large companies, since large companies would increase the amount of R&D activities. They also recommended internationalization to be implemented in Italian companies and universities, since globalization and homogenization of customer needs influence more and more the way the companies operate.
According to Nelson (1993), successful knowledge sharing results in firms mastering and getting into practice product designs, manufacturing processes, and organizational designs that are new to them. Kim and Nelson (2000) stated that knowledge sharing is seen as occurring through a dynamic learning process where organizations continually interact with customers and suppliers to innovate or creatively imitate. The competences of employees are directed inward that create, maintain, and develop the organization’s internal structure. For medium- and large-sized organizations, knowledge sharing is possible through socialization to exchange processes.
Lajos Szabó and Anikó Csepregi, in their paper, “Competences Found Important for Knowledge Sharing: Investigation of Middle Managers Working at Medium- and Large-Sized Enterprises”, examined the role of middle managers of 400 Hungarian medium- and large-sized enterprises and how their competences contribute for sharing knowledge. Factor analysis of their collected data resulted in seven principal components, namely, methodological competences needed for thinking, methodological competences used for work method and style, social competences connected with communicational skills, social competences connected with cooperational skills, professional competences, personal competences, and intercultural competences. They provided support to their finding by addition of few practical applications.
Teece et al. (1997) defined dynamic capability as the ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments. According to Ibarra et al. (2009), several characteristics of dynamic capability were similar to those of innovation capability. Their study indicates how continuous innovation requires the simultaneous presence of three fundamental processes: knowledge creation and absorption, knowledge integration and knowledge reconfiguration. These processes are the driving force behind the innovation and are formed by different organizational activities, which are identified and classified in their work into four groups of resources, namely, actors, physical resources, structure and systems, and company culture.
In the paper, “Impact of Dynamic Capability on Innovation, Value Creation and Industry Leadership”, Rangarajan Parthasarathy, Chenglei Huang and Sonny Ariss, attempted to explore the impact of specific types of dynamic capabilities on specific types of innovations. Based on the existing literature, they argue that while material resource-based dynamic capability can impact product innovation, people resource-based (managerial) dynamic capability will impact process innovation. The paper presents a research model that links the different types of dynamic capabilities, different forms of innovations, and different types of innovation leadership. The paper explained different relationships shown in the model and developed seven testable hypotheses, about the strength and nature of linkages between different types of dynamic capabilities, different forms of innovations, value creation and industry leadership. They stated that while substantive capabilities may partially suffice in boom times, dynamic capabilities help firms attain and sustain industry leadership in boom times as well as during economic downturns. They finally concluded that the research model and relationships presented can be tested by a case study approach, an empirical approach, or by a combination of both approaches.
In business organizations, social interactions like business meetings, seminars, conferences, etc., pave the way to sharing of tacit to tacit knowledge. Social capital results from the ability of groups to collaborate and work together, and is a function of trust. Effective networks of relationships characterized by high levels of trust are a valuable resource in the creation and use of knowledge. Social capital reduces transaction costs, produces high quality knowledge and is a source of inimitable competitive advantage for the organizations. In the paper, “Social Network Research in Strategy and Organization: A Typology”, Angela Delli Paoli and Felice Addeo, used the classification of consequences attributed to network dimensions in the literature to identify the capital-like properties that are shared by their multidimensional concept of social capital. Along with its different forms of capital, their concept shares with other forms of capital five properties, namely, durability, flexibility, convertibility, decay and substitutability. Sampling was performed selecting articles from a set of high-rated journals. They carried out factor analysis and cluster analysis as well. They concluded that a network perspective in strategy and organization seems to provide a social capital lens which can reveal features of reality that otherwise remain invisible and undetected.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
