Title: Harnessing value in knowledge acquisition and dissemination: strategic sourcing in product development

Authors: Jie Yang, Fujun Lai, Liming Yu

Addresses: College of Business, University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast, 730 East Beach Blvd, Long Beach, MS 39560, USA. ' China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited, 39/F, China Merchants Tower, Shun Tak Center, Connaught Road Central 168-200, Hong Kong, China

Abstract: Knowledge acquisition and dissemination have been considered as two endpoints of knowledge management (KM) process. Knowledge management affects new product performance through the two endpoints on the knowledge value chain. This study attempts to find how the knowledge acquisition and dissemination are related to new product financial performance. Employing additivity and variance stabilisation (AVAS) analysis, this paper examines the relationship between KM and the new product financial performance, and identifies different hidden patterns in which knowledge acquisition and dissemination affect new product financial performance. These findings imply that if organisations fail to understand the subtle ways by which different dimensions of knowledge acquisition and dissemination influence new product performance, they may fail to harvest the full value of KM in developing new products.

Keywords: knowledge acquisition; knowledge dissemination; new product performance; knowledge management; strategic sourcing; product development; additivity and variance stabilisation; financial performance; knowledge value chain.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2006.008317

International Journal of Technology Management, 2006 Vol.33 No.2/3, pp.299 - 317

Published online: 02 Dec 2005 *

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