Effect of knowledge management, management innovation and dynamic capabilities in sustaining competitive advantage in turbulent business environments

• Main Author: Lim, Ing Keat
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: HD28-70 Management. Industrial Management
• Online Access: https://etd.uum.edu.my/8065/1/s96156_01.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8065/2/s96156_02.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8065/

The main purpose of this study was to examine the association of multiple firm-level capabilities (i.e. knowledge management, dynamic capabilities, and management innovation) with a proposed sustainable competitive advantage measurement in the Malaysian Electrical and Electronic industry. While sustainable competitive advantage was examined in relationship to multiple firm-level capabilities, this study also assessed the moderating effects of perceived environmental dynamism between the predictor variables and the criterion. The motivation for this study was driven by the need to examine sustainable competitive advantage in a holistic manner. This study used the resource-based theory (RBT) as the main theory to examine the relationships between the variables in the proposed conceptual framework. The simple random sampling procedure was used to select the targeted respondents comprised of E&E manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Of the 185 usable responses, the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research hypothesis. Positive relationships were found in two direct relationships: sustainable competitive advantage and knowledge management, sustainable competitive advantage and dynamic capabilities, while perceived environmental dynamism did not moderate the relationships between the predictor variables and the criterion variable. While developing a new measure to conceptualise sustainable competitive advantage, its relationships with knowledge management, dynamic capabilities, and management innovation are hoped to contribute nascent theoretical insights. Practically, the findings provide the E&E manufacturing industry some guidance on how to sustain competitive advantage over the competitors. Likewise, the understandings may also assist the policy- makers to develop or to adjust policies to better-fabricate assistance channelled to the E&E manufacturing industry. Methodological limitations and potential avenues for future research are also identified.