Abstract: Knowledge Innovation Capability (KIC) is very crucial for enterprises. Therefore, evaluation method of KIC is a hot topic in recent years. Although dynamic comprehensive evaluation of KIC is urgently needed to develop, researches have rarely taken it into consideration. In order to grasp the whole situation of KIC in consecutive multi-periods, this study proposes a new research on dynamic comprehensive evaluation model of enterprises’ KIC. First, based on the niche theory, KIC of enterprises consists of the niche-occupying capability, the niche-adapting capability and the niche-evolving capability. Each capability is further divided into more detailed elements and also an evaluation index system of KIC is proposed. Also, the proposed state evaluation model is used to describe KIC development state in a view of integration, while the trend evaluation model can represent KIC development trend by considering the change speed of KIC. Based on the above, a dynamic comprehensive evaluation model is constructed by syncretising KIC development state and trend. Moreover, a computing example is pulled into to illustrate the feasibility and availability of dynamic comprehensive evaluation model from the empirical perspective. This study is expected to be helpful for enterprises to evaluate their knowledge innovation capabilities from a dynamic perspective.
INTRODUCTION
As the core capability of enterprises, the level of Knowledge Innovation Capability (KIC) has become an important indicator to measure an enterprise's comprehensive strength.
At present, there are intensive studies on capability evaluation, but the concentration is more on static evaluation (Sun, 2010; Fan et al., 2009; Grafton et al., 2010) and fewer on dynamic evaluation. KIC development of enterprises is a continuous process with dynamic development and incessant improvement. The gaps of knowledge innovation capabilities gradually form, develop and expand over time, while some laps narrow and even disappear over time among different enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to make a dynamic comprehensive evaluation for KIC of enterprises. As the niche theory is a great research achievement of ecological development, this study proposes a dynamic comprehensive evaluation model that integrates the state and the trend of KIC based on the niche ecostate-ecorole theory. Through dynamic comprehensive evaluation, overall development situation of KIC in different periods can be analyzed, which provides strategic choices for enterprises to recognize their development status, advantages and disadvantages, then to conduct characteristics construction and to cultivate and enhance their knowledge innovation niche. The method used in this study offers a valuable reference for enterprises to identify and evaluate the overall development trend of KIC and enhance it accordingly.
NICHE THEORY AND KIC EVALUATION OF ENTERPRISES
Principle of the niche theory: The niche ecostate-ecorole theory is one of the ecological theories which not only widely used in natural ecosystems, but also has an important implication for the social and economic ecosystem. The niche ecostate-ecorole theory describes that any biological unit has two properties-“ecostate” and “ecorole”. The “ecostate” of the biological unit represents the accumulation consequences of growth, development, learning, socio-economical development and the interacting with surrounding environment in the past. The “ecorole” shows the present effects on the environments, such as the exchange rates of energy and substance, productivity, the rates of growth, economic development and expanding into new space etc (Chunquan, 1997; May, 1974). The niche is a description of the relative position and role which is formed by the interaction process between the organism units and the environment in a particular ecosystem and also a synthesis of the “ecostate” and “ecorole”.
A new interpretation of KIC based on niche theory: As a social and ecological system, the enterprise is an organic system composed of human beings with a certain ecological track that shows biological properties similar to natural species following the niche theory. Due to the strong abilities of thinking and choice selecting, the enterprise has the property combining the “ecostate” and the “ecorole”.
From the above, according to the simulation based on the niche theory, KIC of enterprises is composed of the niche-occupying capability, the niche-adapting capability and the niche-evolving capability. As shown in Fig. 1, the niche-occupying capability is represented by CO (the aspect of the “ecostate”, NOC); the niche-adapting capability is represented by CA (the aspect that combines the “ecostate” and the “ecorole”, NAC); the niche-evolving capability is represented by CE (the aspect of the “ecorole”, NEC) and KIC-synthetical effects of CO, CA and CE is represented by C. The intersection angle between C and CO is represented by α, the intersection angle between C and CA is represented by β, the intersection angle between C and CE is represented by γ.
Knowledge acquisition should be seen as a spiral of epistemological and ontological content that grows upward by transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, which in turn becomes the basis for a new spiral of knowledge generation (Cairo and Guardati, 2012). Organizational learning is regarded as the process of knowledge diffusion occurring in the internal organization and projection is regarded as the process of knowledge diffusion interacting with the external environment (Tsai, 2008). Knowledge integration is a fundamental process by which firms gain the benefits of knowledge and create competitive advantage (Yang, 2005). Knowledge sharing has implication for innovation capability and innovation performance of the firms (Yesil et al., 2013). Knowledge creation is the major resource of organizational innovation and it, therefore, plays a more crucial role in developing a sustained competitive advantage for organizations, especially in a dynamic environment (Huang, 2009; Esterhuizen et al., 2012).
On account of the previous KIC evaluation index system and analysis of the three capabilities above, the evaluation index system of KIC of enterprises is constructed based on the niche theory, which is shown in Fig. 2.
DYNAMIC COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION MODEL OF KIC OF ENTERPRISES
Some achievements are made on dynamic evaluation (Guo, 2002; Fan and Wang, 2000; Xu and Da, 2003; Jin et al., 2004; Guo et al., 2007) which concentrate upon multi-period information integration.
| Fig. 1: | A new interpretation of KIC: The composite force of NAC, NIC and NOC |
| Fig. 2: | Evaluation index system of KIC |
As KIC is changing and developing with time, dynamic comprehensive evaluation of KIC can be reflected synthetically by both considering the development state and trend of KIC. A dynamic comprehensive evaluation model which integrates the state and the trend of KIC is proposed.
KIC state evaluation model: In a certain interval, it is supposed that the KIC of enterprise i (Si, i = 1, 2, …, m) changes equably. Figure 3 shows the information aggregation situation of KIC state in multi periods.
| Fig. 3: | Multi-periods information aggregation model of KIC state |
By connecting KIC state values yij with yi, j+1 which locate in two adjacent time intervals ([Tj, Tj+1], j = 1,2,…, n-1) on X axis, the motion trail of KIC state is denoted by the connecting lines between yij and yi, j+1 (Yi et al., 2007, 2010). The area which is surrounded by xj yij yi, j+1 xj+1 and X axis reflects overall situation of KIC state in [Tj, Tj+1]. Therefore, KIC state can be denoted as a form of integral of si (xj, xj+1):
| (1) |
The integral area of KIC state of Si equals to trapezoid area, namely:
| (2) |
KIC trend evaluation model: Suppose that vij denotes the rate of KIC change of Si in [Tj, Tj+1], vij = (yi,j+1-yij/(xj+1-xj), β is the function about vij, according to the need of KIC development trend, the function of β is constructed as follows:
| (3) |
Set when vij = 0, β(vij) = 1, which denotes that there is no trend stimulation for the phase without KIC change, so we can obtain λ = 2.
When vij = 0:
nothing will be done to KIC with a even trend when KIC state is multiplied by the coefficient 1.
When vij>0:
reward will be given to KIC with a ascending trend when KIC state is multiplied by the coefficient more than 1.
When vij<0:
punishment will be given to KIC with a descending trend when KIC state is multiplied by the coefficient less than 1.
Dynamic comprehensive evaluation model: According to Newton's second law of classical mechanics:
| (4) |
Force is denoted by F, quality is denoted by m, coefficient is denoted by k and acceleration is denoted by a.
The values of dynamic comprehensive evaluation of KIC can be expressed as follows:
| (5) |
The “quality” of KIC is represented by si (xj, xj+1), namely the state of KIC; the “speed” of KIC is represented by β(vij), namely the trend of KIC; coefficient is denoted by kj, it is set that kj = 1. Then, the dynamic comprehensive evaluation value of Si in [Tj, Tj+1] can be described as follows:
| (6) |
And the total dynamic comprehensive evaluation value of KIC of Si in [T1, Tn]:
| (7) |
CALCULATION EXAMPLE STUDY
This study takes 7 enterprises (Enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G) as a calculation example to make a dynamic comprehensive evaluation of KIC from 2006 to 2011.
| Table 1: | Evaluation values of KIC of enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G from 2006 to 2011 |
| 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are represented by T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively, Enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G are represented by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, respectively | |
| Table 2: | KIC state values of enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G in multi-periods |
| 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are represented by T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively, Enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G are represented by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, respectively | |
| Table 3: | KIC trend values of enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G in multi-periods |
| 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are represented by T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively, Enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G are represented by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, respectively | |
Raw data is standardized by improved normalization method and weight is determined by the subjective and objective weight method combined AHP with entropy method. The evaluation values of KIC of 7 enterprises from 2006 to 2011 are shown in Table 1.
KIC state evaluation of 7 enterprises: According to the Eq. 2, KIC state values si (xj, xj+1) in [Tj, Tj+1] (j = 1, 2,...5) of 7 enterprises are shown in Table 2.
KIC trend evaluation of 7 enterprises: According to the Eq. 3, KIC trend values β(vij) in [Tj, Tj+1] (j = 1, 2,...5) of 7 enterprises are shown in Table 3.
Dynamic comprehensive evaluation of KIC of 7 enterprises: According to the Eq. 6 and 7, dynamic comprehensive evaluation values of KIC of 7 enterprises are shown in Table 4.
| Table 4: | Dynamic comprehensive evaluation values of KIC of enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G in multi-periods |
| 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are represented by T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively, Enterprise A, B, C, D, E, F, G are represented by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, respectively | |
RESULTS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
In 2006-2011, the descending order of dynamic comprehensive evaluation of 7 enterprises is: E>A>G>B> D>C>F. Both KIC state and KIC trend are considered in the result of each period.
In 2006, the descending order of KIC of 7 enterprises is: E>G>A>B>D>C>F; in 2011, the order is: E>A>G> B>D> C>F. The descending order of Enterprise A and Enterprise G has changed, KIC value of Enterprise A increased from 0.3168 to 0.4102 in [T3, T4] (2008-2009) with the function value of KIC trend 1.0467, while the KIC value of Enterprise G decreased from 0.3208 to 0.2885 with the function value of KIC trend 0.9839.
From dynamic comprehensive evaluation results of 7 enterprises, it shows that the state and the trend of KIC are equally important for an enterprise.
The whole development situation of KIC of 7 enterprises can be obtained by using the dynamic comprehensive evaluation model, in which the state and trend of evaluated objects are merged together. Guo (2002) proposed a dynamic evaluation method which can determine the weights for evaluation indexes at different time, without considering to synthesize the state and trend of evaluated objects. Fan and Wang (2000) proposed a new analytical method, in which the rankings of alternatives reflects not only the level but also the increase rate of attributes, while the method cannot obtain comprehensive evaluation results considering the state and trend of evaluated objects. Yi et al. (2007) proposed a multi-periods information aggregation model which can obtain evaluation results in multi-periods; however, this method ignored the development trend of evaluated objects. Yi et al. (2010) proposed another multi-periods information aggregation model which can make a dynamic comprehensive evaluation considering the state and trend of evaluated objects, while this method was not used for the evaluation of KIC of enterprises.
CONCLUSION
This study sets up a KIC evaluation index system on the perspective of the niche ecostate-ecorole theory, which introduces both KIC state evaluation model and KIC trend evaluation model respectively. On this basis, it proposes a dynamic comprehensive evaluation model synthesized KIC state and KIC trends. The method used in this study reveals comprehensive development situation of KIC of the evaluated enterprises, which contributes to analyzing and mastering the dynamic development trend of evaluated enterprises. Finally, this study takes 7 enterprises as a calculation example to illustrate the feasibility and availability of dynamic comprehensive evaluation model empirically. In further dynamic comprehensive evaluation studies, the state and the trend of KIC change speed can be integrated to make a comprehensive evaluation of KIC change speed of enterprises as well as further analyze how fast the KIC of enterprises change. In addition, the index system needs to be studied in depth in future research.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study is supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (71302028), Fundamental Scientific Research Funds for the Central Universities (HEUCF110914) and Heilongjiang postdoctoral funding (3236310094).