Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Sourcing Knowledge for <strong>the</strong> Cluster or Business System
Robertas Jucevicius
Strategic Management Department, Kaunas University <strong>of</strong> Technology, Kaunas,
Lithuania
rjucev@ktu.lt
Abstract: Knowledge acquisition processes remain an important subject in knowledge management research.
Sourcing knowledge from external sources has become increasingly important not only to a single small
company, which is not able to generate needed knowledge internally, but to <strong>the</strong> big companies as well. Ability to
accumulate external knowledge is seen as a crucial factor to economic success and competitiveness. Employing
different types <strong>of</strong> networks favor to streng<strong>the</strong>ning <strong>the</strong> ability <strong>of</strong> a single company to become more knowledge
enriched. This is one <strong>of</strong> important reasons why a big variety <strong>of</strong> business systems, clusters or business networks
are emerging all around <strong>the</strong> world. The key question in <strong>the</strong> article is: what are <strong>the</strong> preconditions for getting most
use from <strong>the</strong> external knowledge for <strong>the</strong> competitiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> networked businesses. Combination <strong>of</strong> different
<strong>the</strong>oretical concepts and practical approaches will be used to get <strong>the</strong> answer to that question. Firstly, <strong>the</strong> concept
<strong>of</strong> Business system will be presented. Second, <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> knowledge absorptive
capacity <strong>of</strong> a single company or <strong>the</strong> whole network will be discussed. Applicability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong> intelligence
will be <strong>the</strong> third dimension <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research in <strong>the</strong> article. Finally, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical model <strong>of</strong> creating a knowledgeable
(intelligent) business system by effective use <strong>of</strong> external knowledge will be presented. The business system
could be understood as <strong>the</strong> way that different institutions, organizations or o<strong>the</strong>r structures <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> state, <strong>the</strong> region
or a particular industry are integrated into a social configuration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> value creation processes. An Intelligent
business system might be described as an organized intellectual capacity <strong>of</strong> such system to perceive emerging
changes in <strong>the</strong> environment, as well as <strong>the</strong>ir reasons and effects for its development. Such business system,
cluster or a network possesses effective mechanisms for creating new understanding, knowing and competence
by integrating new knowledge with <strong>the</strong> intellectual capital <strong>of</strong> individuals, companies and institutions.
Keywords: knowledge, absorptive capacity, cluster, business system, intelligence
1. Introduction
It is commonly agreed that knowledge and innovation is a key to success ei<strong>the</strong>r to a business
company or to <strong>the</strong> region or <strong>the</strong> state. It is a particular concern for <strong>the</strong> so-called “latecomer” countries
that have belatedly entered <strong>the</strong> globalization arena ei<strong>the</strong>r because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir newly restored
independence or due to <strong>the</strong> late industrialization. The key challenge for such counties is to close <strong>the</strong>
gap between <strong>the</strong> developed countries and <strong>the</strong>mselves. In this context, industrial clusters and o<strong>the</strong>r
network-type business systems employing <strong>the</strong> world class productive knowledge look promising.
However, such countries and <strong>the</strong>ir companies <strong>of</strong>ten lack <strong>of</strong> financial and especially intellectual
resources. That is why <strong>the</strong> ability to absorb and to use external knowledge is <strong>of</strong> crucial importance.
Different aspects <strong>of</strong> knowledge absorption are broadly discussed in <strong>the</strong> scientific literature since
Cohen and Levinthal (1990) proposed that concept. It is commonly agreed that no firm can entirely
rely on its own internal knowledge capacities (Volberda, Foss, & Lyles, 2010; Zahra & George, 2002;
Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997). Linkages with <strong>the</strong> external knowledge
holders and sufficient knowledge management system in <strong>the</strong> organization are necessary. However,
very limited number <strong>of</strong> research (Giuliani, 2005; Shu-hsein Liao, 2007; Baptista, 2000, etc.) is devoted
to understanding <strong>the</strong> knowledge management processes in clusters or bigger socio-economic
systems like industrial, regional or national business systems. This paper intends to contribute to
better understanding some important aspects <strong>of</strong> absorption and making use <strong>of</strong> external knowledge for
<strong>the</strong> competitiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cluster or business system.
M. Porter is generally referred to as <strong>the</strong> “godfa<strong>the</strong>r” <strong>of</strong> clusters. At <strong>the</strong> same time R. Whitley (1992)
might be called <strong>the</strong> “godfa<strong>the</strong>r” <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> business systems. He revealed <strong>the</strong> specificities <strong>of</strong> value
creation in different industries that are determined by <strong>the</strong> variety <strong>of</strong> stakeholders in each industry, <strong>the</strong>ir
culture, technology, type <strong>of</strong> networking, etc. However, <strong>the</strong> essence <strong>of</strong> business system can probably
be best explained by employing <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong> social systems <strong>of</strong> production (Hollingsworth and
Boyer, 1997).
The business system could be understood as <strong>the</strong> way that different institutions, organizations or o<strong>the</strong>r
structures <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> state, <strong>the</strong> region or a particular industry are integrated into a social configuration <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> value creation processes. A set <strong>of</strong> interrelations between buyers and suppliers, business
companies and training institutions as well as administrative bodies and <strong>the</strong> whole range <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r
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