: Investigating the Factors Affecting Innovation Speed with the Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing (Case Study: Alis Corporate in Mashhad)

1- Today, rapid changes in the environment and shortened life cycle of products along with increased competitiveness have led organizations to seek new solutions for survival in the environment. In such circumstances, greater regard for factors such as innovation speed, knowledge sharing and knowledge management help companies to adapt themselves to a changing environment and remain competitive. Alis Co. has been an active player in food (beverage) industry for about 15 years. At the beginning, this company was less experienced than its rivals in some aspects and therefore it put greater efforts to attract new customers and maintain its existing customers. The achievement of both goals called for the implementation of a fundamental plan such as using organizational knowledge (knowledge sharing) and taking lead in its industry, which constitutes the main subject of this study. Hence, given the above-discussed points and the paucity of relevant studies in this area, this paper attempts to investigate the effect of knowledge leadership and social capital on innovation speed through the mediating role of knowledge sharing in Alis Co. in the city of Mashhad.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Innovation speed is defined as the time interval between the initial expansion including conceptualization and definition of innovation and final commercialization of a product or service in the market, which reflects the ability of a company to expedite activities in order to obtain competitive edge over rivals in an industry characterized with shortened life cycle of products.
In this paper, five items of rapid formulation of new ideas, production of new products, development of new products, improvement of processes and improvement of management compared to competitors to study innovation speed.
Knowledge leaders consist of official leaders with unofficial authority, who may also have a position of official authority. They are responsible for linking natural barriers to knowledge sharing. In addition, they have a significant impact on knowledge management activities. They utilize knowledge leadership for creating an environment of trust where acquisition and sharing of knowledge are encouraged and essential. To explore knowledge leadership, this paper adopts three dimensions including leadership skills, cooperation with sincerity and knowledge and innovation integration.
Social capital theory posits that social capital is a set of resources embedded in social relations between social actors, which can be considered as a valuable asset that retains the benefits of social actors. In this study, three dimensions including social interaction, trust and shared vision and perspective were adopted for the study of social capital.
Knowledge sharing is the ability to exchange knowledge and encourage creativity, which naturally leads to higher performance of intellectual capacity and intellectual capital in two dimensions of implicit and explicit knowledge sharing. In this study, the latter dimension, i.e. explicit knowledge, has been studied based on sharing reports and administrative documents, sharing reports and official documents collected by members of the organization, collecting administrative documents and reports from others, encouraging members to adopt methods of knowledge sharing, training and development programs and facilitating the use of IT systems.
3- This is an applied research that employs a descriptive and survey method for data collection. The study population consisted of all employees of Alis Co. in the city of Mashhad in the year 2016 (n=1350). Using Cochran formula, a sample size of n=300 was achieved. The questionnaire was a combination of all variables used in previous studies and its content validity had already been approved. The questionnaire was close-ended with a 5-point scale for answers, which ranged from very low to very high. The face validity of questionnaire was assessed by three university professors specialized in marketing and organizational behavior. The construct validity was also evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis techniques by Smart PLS software.
4- The results of the study on the first hypothesis, namely the effect of knowledge leadership on innovation speed, suggested that knowledge leadership did not affect innovation speed directly, but it did so through the variable of knowledge sharing. In other words, the main hypothesis, i.e. the indirect effect of knowledge leadership on innovation speed through the mediating role of knowledge sharing, was confirmed, despite the direct effect on knowledge leadership on innovation speed.
Since this is the attribute of an individual intending to play assume the role, it ensures continuous implementation of knowledge management. As for the second hypothesis, given the standard coefficient for the effect of social capital on innovation speed (α=0.796), the significant and positive impact of social capital on innovation speed was confirmed.
With regard to the third hypothesis, given the standard coefficient for the effect of social capital effect knowledge sharing (α=0.446), the positive and significant effect of social capital on knowledge sharing was confirmed. This clearly demonstrated the important role of social capital in knowledge sharing and improvement, implying that interaction based on mutual trust between members encouraged knowledge sharing.
In the fourth hypothesis, considering the standard coefficient for the effect of knowledge leadership on knowledge sharing (α=0.464), the significant and positive effect of knowledge leadership on knowledge sharing was confirmed.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Researchers recommend to the company under study and other companies to provide the necessary ground for discussion of new ideas so that new venues can be opened up for increasing market penetration. Companies spearheading the production of new and innovative products have been able to absorb new customers and then retain them all way along. It is essential for these companies to improve organizational processes to accelerate innovation and overcome challenges.
In addition, executives of Alis Co. are recommended to set up marketing units for permanent monitoring of the market and customer needs, so that demands are properly identified and opportunities are exploited.
In this way, technological innovations are applied to products, and products and services tailored to the needs of customers are distributed in the market. Moreover, by adopting innovative marketing methods such as developing a creative and innovative brand, acquiring new markets, employing new sale techniques through advertisement and using appropriate distribution channels, products are recognized in the market. Besides, drawing on executive initiatives such as changes in organizational structure and the deployment of flexible structure, these marketing units help improve working environment and the company's overall performance.
Executives should also nurture foresight and a culture of preparedness for the future so that employees feel a sense of ownership and therefore responsibility towards the company. To this end, executives can determine future goals and visions of the company in the presence and in consultation with employees so that their sense of accountability is fostered and they dedicate themselves to exploring opportunities and proposing new ideas