9. Knowledge Management of High- Tech Firms

Based on an analysis of six high-tech firms in mainland China, this chapter examines knowledge management issues by focusing on its acquisition, dissemination, and commercialization. We found that most firms emphasized knowledge acquisition. SOE-based firms relied more on their parents for early key technologies, confirming that institutional support and social capital are influential in knowledge acquisition. Social capital also help firms to overcome barriers to organizational knowledge dissemination. Its role in knowledge commercialization is also identified. Absorptive capacity is important for knowledge dissemination, since appropriate organizational arrangements have not been purposely designed. Knowledge has been regarded as a critical resource in a firm that gives rise to competitive advantages (Hoskisson, Hitt, Wan, & Yiu, 1999; Spender, 1996). The management of knowledge is recognition of the strategic value of each of a firm’s different stocks of knowledge in different contexts (Sanchez & Heene, 1997). The focus is on a firm’s ability to create, transfer, and use the knowledge in order to build up sustainable competitive advantages. Knowledge management in a firm thus receives a lot of attention from researchers and practitioners. However, the process of