IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/tkmrxx/v21y2023i3p551-565.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenging the knowledge resources complementarity hypothesis: a counterexample

Author

Listed:
  • Ferran Vendrell-Herrero
  • Luis M. Molina-Fernandez
  • Oscar F. Bustinza

Abstract

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, and counter to the mainstream literature, we propose and empirically show that two knowledge resources can be substitutive (rather than complementary) for each other. Our test focuses on the interplay between managers’ and workers’ knowledge stock, considered as knowledge resources that firms can apply to improve innovation. We hypothesise a mutually exclusive effect of managerial experience (managers’ knowledge stock) and labour skills (workers’ knowledge stock) on product innovation. Drawing on the most recent waves of the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES), we construct a cross-sectional sample of 2,725 manufacturing firms. We used binary choice model to test the proposed effects. The results show negative interaction between labour skills and managers’ experience in determining the probability to achieve product innovation, putting the knowledge resource complementarity hypothesis into question, and opening an academic debate that will have implications for knowledge management practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferran Vendrell-Herrero & Luis M. Molina-Fernandez & Oscar F. Bustinza, 2023. "Challenging the knowledge resources complementarity hypothesis: a counterexample," Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 551-565, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:tkmrxx:v:21:y:2023:i:3:p:551-565
    DOI: 10.1080/14778238.2021.1967215
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14778238.2021.1967215
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/14778238.2021.1967215?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:tkmrxx:v:21:y:2023:i:3:p:551-565. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/tkmr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.