The effects of cross-functional coordination and competition on knowledge sharing and organisational innovativeness: A qualitative study in a transition economy

Authors

  • Nguyen Phong Nguyen University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37380/jisib.v10i1.561

Keywords:

Coopetition, coordination, competition, cross-functional knowledge sharing, organisational innovativeness, transition economy

Abstract

Adopting a coopetition framework and a qualitative study using depth-interviews of mid- and top-levels managers in Vietnamese business organisations, this study examines the potential significance of different coordination mechanisms (decentralisation, formalisation, lateral relations, informal networking, and shared vision) in fostering knowledge sharing between marketing and other departments in the presence of cross-functional competition. This study reveals the potentially significant effect of coopetition (i.e., simultaneous coordination and competition) on the degree of knowledge sharing between marketing and other departments in business organisations. The enhanced knowledge sharing can, in turn, positively improve organisational innovativeness. These findings add to limited research on intra-firm coopetition and shed light on how cross-functional coordination and competition can be managed to foster intra-organisational knowledge sharing towards enhancing innovation in the context of Vietnam, an emerging Asian country.

References

Adams, A., & A.L. Cox. 2008. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups. In Research Methods for Human Computer Interaction, edited by P. Cairns and A.L Cox, 17-34. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814570.003

Argote, Linda, & Paul Ingram. 2000. Knowledge Transfer: A Basis for Competitive Advantage in Firms. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes 82(1), 150-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.2000.2893

Atuahene-Gima, K, & Felicitas Evangelista. 2000. Cross-Functional Influence in New Product Development: An Exploratory Study of Marketing and R&D Perspectives. Management Science 46(10), 1269-1284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.10.1269.12273

Bhagat, Rabi S., Ben L. Kedia, Paula D. Harveston, & Harry C. Triandis. 2002. Cultural Variations in the Cross-Border Transfer of Organizational Knowledge: An Integrative Framework. Academy of Management Review 27(2), 204-221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2002.6588000

Calantone, Roger J., S. Tamer Cavusgil, & Yushan Zhao. 2002. Learning orientation, firm innovation capability, and firm performance. Industrial Marketing Management 31(6), 515-524. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(01)00203-6

Carter, S., & L. Henderson. 2005. Approaches to qualitative data collection in social science. In Handbook of health research methods: investigation, measurement and analysis, edited by A. Bowling and S. Ebrahim, 215–30. UK: Open University Press.

Chow, Chee W., F. Johnny Deng, & Joanna L. Ho. 2000. The Openness of Knowledge Sharing within Organizations: A Comparative Study of the United States and the People's Republic of China. Journal of Management Accounting Research 12(1), 65-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/jmar.2000.12.1.65

Creswell, John W. 2009. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3 ed. Los Angeles; London: Sage.

Evangelista, Felicitas, & Le Nguyen Hau. 2009. Organizational context and knowledge acquisition in IJVs: An empirical study. Journal of World Business 44(1), 63-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2008.03.016

Fey, Carl F., & Patrick Furu. 2008. Top Management Incentive Compensation and Knowledge Sharing In Multinational Corporations. Strategic Management Journal 29(12), 1301-1223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.712

Ghoshal, Sumantra, Harry Korine, & Gabriel Szulanski. 1994. Interunit Communication in Multinational Corporations. Management Science 40(1),96-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.40.1.96

Guest, G., A. Bunce, & L. Johnson. 2006. How many interviews are enough? An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability. Field Methods 18(1), 59-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903

Gupta, Anil K., & Vijay Govindarajan. 2000. Knowledge Flows within Multinational Corporations. Strategic Management Journal 21(4), 473-496. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200004)21:4<473::AID-SMJ84>3.0.CO;2-I

Hofstede, Geert. 2007. Asian management in the 21st century. Asia Pacific Journal of Management 24(4), 411-420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-007-9049-0

Homburg, C.;, O.; Jensen, & H.; Krohmer. 2008. Configurations of marketing and sales: a taxomomy. Journal of Marketing 72(2), 133-154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.72.2.133

Houston, Mark B., Beth A. Walker, Michael D. Hutt, & Peter H. Reingen. 2001. Cross-Unit Competition for a Market Charter: The Enduring Influence of Structure. Journal of Marketing 65(2), 19-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.2.19.18256

Jaworski, Bernard J., and Ajay K. Kohli. 1993. Market orientation: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Marketing 57(3), 53-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299305700304

Kogut, Bruce, & Udo Zander. 1992. Knowledge of The Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and The Replication of Technology. Organization Science 3(3), 383-397. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.3.3.383

Krueger, Richard A., & Mary Anne Casey. 2009. Focus groups : a practical guide for applied research. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.024.007

Kuan Yew, Wong, & Elaine Aspinwall. 2004. Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment. Journal of Knowledge Management 8(3), 44-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270410541033

Lado, Augustine A., Nancy G. Boyd, & Susan C. Hanlon. 1997. Competition, Cooperation, and the Search for Economic Rents: A Syncretic Model. Academy of Management Review 22(1), 110-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9707180261

Luo, Xueming, Rebecca J. Slotegraaf, & Xing Pan. 2006. Cross-Functional Coopetition: The Simultaneous Role of Cooperation and Competition Within Firms. Journal of Marketing 70(2), 67-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.2.67

Maltz, Elliot, & Ajay K. Kohli. 1996. Market Intelligence Dissemination Across Functional Boundaries. Journal of Marketing Research 33(1), 47-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379603300105

Maltz, Elliot, & Ajay K. Kohli. 2000. Reducing Marketing's Conflict With Other Functions: The Differential Effects of Integrating Mechanisms. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 28(4), 479-492. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300284002

Massey, Graham R., & Philip L. Dawes. 2007. The antecedents and consequence of functional and dysfunctional conflict between Marketing Managers and Sales Managers. Industrial Marketing Management 36(8), 1118-1129 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2006.05.017

Morgan, David L. 1988. Focus groups as qualitative research, Qualitative research methods ; v. 16. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications.

Narver, J.C., & S.F. Slater. 1990. The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing 54(4), 20-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299005400403

Nguyen, Nguyen Phong, Liem Viet Ngo, Tania Bucic, & Nguyen Dong Phong. 2018. Cross-functional knowledge sharing, coordination and firm performance: The role of cross-functional competition. Industrial Marketing Management 71, 123-134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.12.014

Onwuegbuzie, A.J., & N.L. Leech. 2007. A call for qualitative power analyses. Quality and Quantity 41(1), 105-121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-005-1098-1

Ritala, Paavo; Valimaki, Kari; Blomqvist, Kirsimarja; Henttonen, Kaisa. 2009. Intrafirm Coopetition, Knowledge Creation and Innovativeness. In Coopetition Strategy: Theory, Experiments and Cases, edited by Giovanni Battista; Rocco Dagnino, Elena, 64-73. New York: Routledge.

Ruekert, Robert W., &Orville C. Walker. 1987. Marketing's Interaction with Other Functional Units: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Evidence. Journal of Marketing 51(1), 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298705100101

Salomo, S., K. Talke, & N. Strecker. 2008. Innovation field orientation and its effect on innovativeness and firm performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management 25(6), 560-576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2008.00322.x

Serenko, Alexander, Nick Bontis, & Timothy Hardie. 2007. Organizational size and knowledge flow: a proposed theoretical link. Journal of Intellectual Capital 8(4), 610-627. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930710830783

Tagliaventi, Maria Rita, Fabiola Bertolotti, & Diego Maria Macrì. 2010. A perspective on practice in interunit knowledge sharing. European Management Journal 28(5), 331-345. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2010.04.001

Tsai, Wenpin. 2001. Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance. Academy of Management Journal 44(5), 996-1004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/3069443

Tsai, Wenpin. 2002. Social Structure of Coopetition Within a Multiunit Organization: Coordination, Competition, and Intraorganizational Knowledge Sharing. Organization Science 13(2), 179-190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.2.179.536

van Wijk, Raymond, Justin J. P. Jansen, & Marjorie A. Lyles. 2008. Inter- and Intra-Organizational Knowledge Transfer: A Meta-Analytic Review and Assessment of its Antecedents and Consequences. Journal of Management Studies 45(4), 830-853. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00771.x

Vietnamese-Government. 2009. 56 ND/CP- On Assistance To The Development Of Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises. In, edited by The Vietnamese Government. Hanoi.

Willem, Annick, & Marc Buelens. 2007. Knowledge Sharing in Public Sector Organizations: The Effect of Organizational Characteristics on Interdepartmental Knowledge Sharing. Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory 17(4), 581-606. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mul021

Willem, Annick, Marc Buelens, & Harry Scarbrough. 2006. The Role of Inter-Unit Coordination Mechanisms in Knowledge Sharing: A Case Study of a British MNC. Journal of Information Science 32(6), 539-561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551506067128

Downloads

Published

2024-12-11

How to Cite

Phong Nguyen, N. (2024). The effects of cross-functional coordination and competition on knowledge sharing and organisational innovativeness: A qualitative study in a transition economy. Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business, 10(1), 23-41. https://doi.org/10.37380/jisib.v10i1.561