Knowledge Transfer in Innovation Development Teams
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Knowledge Transfer in Innovation Development Teams A Case Study of Atlas Copco Master’s Thesis 30 credits Department of Business Studies Uppsala University Spring Semester of 2015 Date of Submission: 2015-05-29 Amanda Ask Christian van ’t Hof Supervisor: Henrik Dellestrand Acknowledgements We would like to extend our appreciation to Atlas Copco for providing us with generous access and for making it possible for us to conduct our empirical study at their company. We would especially like to thank the people at the URE Research and Development department in Örebro. Through their dedication and openness they facilitated us in going in depth in our study. We would also like to say thank you to Jimmy Ördberg, Manager R&D - Global Technology and Platforms, who has committed a great deal of time to guide us through the company with valuable inputs and explanations for our study. Special recognition is to be given to our supervisor Henrik Dellestrand from Uppsala University, who has provided us with unconstrained advice and greatly contributed by his insightful comments and critical questions. We also want to thank our opponents who contributed to the quality of this research by critically reviewing the work and creating a base for continuous improvement. Lastly, our gratitude goes to Caitlyn Couturier from the University of Alberta for proofreading our work and assisting us on linguistic matters throughout the writing process. Uppsala, 2015-05-29 Amanda Ask Christian van ’t Hof I Abstract This study addresses the research gap on knowledge transfer on a team level, by examining the potential and realized Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) on the receiver's side and potential and realized Disseminative Capacity (DCAP) on the sender's side. The research question and purpose relate to how ACAP and DCAP can aid innovation development teams in reaching their goals and what role social integration mechanisms play in this process. We develop a theoretical framework in which we synthesize existing literature and through which we analyzed the empirical data. We follow a qualitative method and employ a single case strategy that fits our empirical data and allows to gain an understanding of social dynamics underlying knowledge transfer. The data was collected through interviews in the R&D department of Atlas Copco, a large Swedish multinational corporation that operates in the mining and tunneling industry. From our analysis we conclude that social integration mechanisms can be used in order to lower the gap between potential and realized capacities. This can in turn lead to a higher innovative output of teams. Keywords: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Transfer, Absorptive Capacity, Disseminative Capacity, Social Integration Mechanisms, Boundary Spanners, Research and Development, R&D, Innovation, Innovative Output, Innovation Development Teams, Innovative Success II Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Knowledge and Research and Development .......................................................................... 2 1.3 The Mechanisms of Knowledge Transfer .............................................................................. 2 1.4 The call for more Research ..................................................................................................... 4 1.5 The Research and Company Focus ........................................................................................ 5 1.6 Research Questions................................................................................................................ 7 1.7 Purpose ................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Theory .......................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Companies and the Resource-based View .............................................................................. 8 2.2 The Knowledge-based View .................................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Explicit and Tacit Knowledge ......................................................................................... 9 2.3 Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) ............................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Exploring the two components of ACAP ...................................................................... 10 2.4 Disseminative Capacity (DCAP) .......................................................................................... 11 2.4.1 Exploring the two components of DCAP ...................................................................... 11 2.5 The Efficiency Factor ........................................................................................................... 13 2.6 Knowledge Transfer defined ................................................................................................ 14 2.7 Social Integration Mechanisms ............................................................................................ 14 2.7.1 Boundary Spanners ........................................................................................................ 14 2.7.2 Cooperative Environment .............................................................................................. 15 2.7.3 Knowledge Transfer Facilitators .................................................................................... 16 2.8 Innovative Output ................................................................................................................. 16 2.8.1 Type of Innovation ......................................................................................................... 17 2.9 Introducing the Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 18 3. Data and Methods ....................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Research Approach - Abductive Approach .......................................................................... 21 3.2 Research Method - Qualitative Method ................................................................................ 22 3.2.1 Research Strategy - Single Case Study .......................................................................... 22 III 3.3 The Company of Examination - Atlas Copco ...................................................................... 23 3.3.1 The Structure of the R&D Department .......................................................................... 24 3.3.2 The Project Teams ......................................................................................................... 25 3.3.3 The Respondents ............................................................................................................ 25 3.4 Data Collection Technique ................................................................................................... 26 3.4.1 Primary Data .................................................................................................................. 26 3.4.1.1 Interviews – Semi-structured Interviews ................................................................. 26 3.4.1.2 Interviews - Course of Action ................................................................................. 27 3.4.1.3 Interviews - Interview Guide and Operationalization of Concepts ......................... 28 3.4.2 Secondary Data .............................................................................................................. 28 3.5 Research Quality - Validity and Reliability ......................................................................... 29 3.5.1 The Research Design ..................................................................................................... 29 3.5.1.1 External Validity ..................................................................................................... 29 3.5.2 Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 30 3.5.2.1 Construct Validity ................................................................................................... 30 3.5.2.2 Reliability ................................................................................................................ 31 3.6 Treating and Analyzing the Data .......................................................................................... 31 3.7 Methodological Limitations ................................................................................................. 32 4. Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Description of the Potential and Realized ACAP ................................................................. 34 4.2 Description of the Potential and Realized DCAP ................................................................. 35 4.3 Description of the Social Integration Mechanisms............................................................... 38 4.3.1 Boundary Spanners .......................................................................................................