Beyond Market Orientation: The Adoption of Knowledge Management Practices and the Innovativeness of New Zealand Firms

Document Type

Article

Department

Drucker School of Management (CGU)

Publication Date

2003

Disciplines

Business | Marketing

Abstract

Knowledge is seen as a critical resource, with both tangible and intangible attributes. Effective knowledge management is emerging as an important concept that enables all the resources of firms, including knowledge, to be used effectively. A knowledge-management orientation is positioned in this paper as a distinctive capability that supports the creation of sustainable competitive advantages such as innovation. Using an instrument to measure a knowledge-management orientation, which is grounded in Kohli, Jaworski and Kumar's work on a market orientation, this paper identifies four clusters of firms based on knowledge-management practices that exist within the New Zealand business environment. The clusters are then described according to their innovation and financial performance profiles. The study finds that firms with a knowledge-management orientation outperformed those classified as market-oriented. The study also shows a market orientation to be a subset of a knowledge-management orientation.

Rights Information

© 2003 MCB UP Ltd

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