ABSTRACT
It is generally accepted that the
innovative activities of an organization depends strongly on her ability to
create and transfer knowledge. It is a common knowledge that Agro
allied food companies in a developing country like Nigeria have not been
coming up with innovative products in the last several years This study investigated how knowledge creation and its
subsequent transfer influence product innovation in agro allied food companies
in Ondo State, Nigeria.
The survey design was adopted for this
study. Six agro allied food companies with a total of
406 employees in Ondo State formed the population for the study. Total
enumeration technique was used to include all 406 employees in the study. The
instrument for data collection was a questionnaire; tagged KCTPIAFC
which gave a Cronbach
alpha value of 0.89. The study’s response rate was 100%. Descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentage
distribution, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Product
Pearson Moment Coefficient. Correlation and regression analysis) were used to analyse data.
The findings revealed that agro
allied food companies carry out both knowledge creation and knowledge transfer activities
on a high level with an overall mean of 3.6 and 3.5 respectively. These two
activities has in turn improved product innovation in agro allied food
companies. The study equally shows that there
was a significant positive relationship between knowledge creation and product
innovation (r = .357, p < .05);
there was also a significant positive relationship between knowledge transfer
and product innovation (r = .244, p <
.05); Knowledge creation and knowledge transfer jointly contributed 16.9% to
the variation in product innovation in agro allied food industry (R2 =
.169, P<.05) therefore an increase in knowledge creation and transfer activities will result in an increase in
product innovation among agro allied
food industries.
The study concluded that product
innovation in agro allied food companies in Ondo State, Nigeria is high; knowledge
creation and transfer is also high. The study recommends; professionals should be employed in agro allied companies
to plan and execute innovative programmes as well as the establishment
of more agro allied food industries- based training centres where leadership
and managerial courses in agricultural programmes will be taught as a means of
transferring knowledge so as to improve product innovation; equally the study
recommends more research centres to conduct research on the agro-allied
industry.
Keywords: Knowledge, Knowledge creation, Knowledge transfer, Innovation, Product innovation, Agro allied food industries.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Content Page
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgments iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures xi
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study 1
- Statement of the Problem 6
- Objective of the Study 7
- Research Questions 8
- Scope of the Study 8
- Significance of the Study 8
- Operational Definition of Terms 9
CHAPTER TWO:
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.2 Theoretical Framework 10
2.3 Review of Related Literature 13
2.4 The Concepts of Language and Learning 18
2.5 The Advent of English as an Official Language in Nigeria 22
2.6 Adopting an Effective Method for Teaching 25
2.7 Impediments to Reading and Learning Abilities of Nigerian Pupils 31
2.8 The Principles of Learning Influencing Language Learning 33
2.9 Gap in Literature 34
Content Page
CHAPTER THREE:
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 36
3.2 Population 36
3.3 Sampling Technique 36
3.4 Sample size
3.5 Research Instrument 37
3.6 Validity and Reliability of Instrument 77
3.7 Method of Data Collection 77
3.8 Method of Data Analysis 78
Ethical Consideration
CHAPTER FOUR:
DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF
FINDINGS
4.1 Analysis of Demographic Data 80
4.2 Analysis of Research Questions 82
4.3 Hypothesis Testing 92
4.4 Discussion of Findings 94
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 101
5.2 Conclusion 102
5.3 Recommendations 103
5.4 Contribution to Knowledge 104
5.5 Suggestion for Further Studies 105
REFERENCES 106
APPENDICES
LIST
OF TABLES
Table Page
2.5.1. Knowledge Creation through Industry Collaborative Research Projects 37
2.2 Knowledge Transfer Methods 45
3.1 Population 76
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Sampled Participants 79
4.2 Level of Product Innovation in the Sampled Companies 82
4.3 Level of Knowledge Creation in Agro Allied Food Industry 85
4.4 The Degree of Knowledge Transfer in Agro Allied Food Industry 89
4.5 Challenges Faced by Agro Allied Food Industry in Acquiring Knowledge for Product Innovation 90
4.6 Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis of Knowledge Creation with Product Innovation in Agro Allied Food Industry 92
4.7 Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis of Knowledge Transfer with Product Innovation 92
4.8 A Summary of Multiple Regression Analysis Showing the Influence of Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Transfer on 93
Product Innovation in Agro Allied Food Industry
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
2.1 Caltrans (knowledge transfer guidebook, 2014:3). 44
2.2 The Knowledge spiral, adapted from (Nonaka et al. 2000) 62
2.3 Conceptual Framework of Knowledge Creation, Transfer and Product Innovation 70
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background
to the Study
Historically, the growth in agricultural
output has been a key element in the successful transformation of most
economies that have seen sustained increases in their per capita incomes
(Soderborm & Teal, 2002). For instance Malaysia and Thailand became two of
the most affluent societies in the world through the execution of sound
innovation strategies clearly devised to produce high-quality and
highly-creative agro products (Kolo & Ibrahim,
2002) Similarly, middle income countries like Hong Kong, South Korea,
Singapore, the Philippines, India, Mexico and Brazil have embraced boosting
productivity schemes as an integral part of their national planning and today
they have made significant-in-roads into the world agro allied markets (Anyawu,
n.d.).
During
the first decade after independence, the Nigerian economy could reasonably be
described as an agricultural economy because agriculture served as the engine
of growth of the overall economy (Ogen, 2013:231-234). From the standpoint of
occupational distribution and contribution to the GDP, agriculture was the
leading sector. During this period Nigeria was the world’s second largest
producer of cocoa, largest exporter of palm kernel and largest producer and
exporter of palm oil. Nigeria was also a leading exporter of other major
commodities such as cotton, groundnut, rubber and hides and skins (Alkali:15-16).
The
agricultural sector contributed over 60% of the GDP in the 1960s despite the
reliance of Nigerian peasant farmers on traditional tools and indigenous
farming methods, these farmers produced 70% of Nigeria’s exports and 95% of its
food needs (Lawal, 2017:195). However,
the agricultural sector suffered neglect during the hey-days of the oil boom in
the 1970s. Ever since then Nigeria has been witnessing extreme poverty and the
insufficiency of basic food items. Historically, the roots of the crisis in the
Nigerian economy lie in the neglect of agriculture and the increased dependence
on a mono-cultural economy based on oil. The agricultural sector now accounts
for less than 5% of Nigeria’s GDP (Olagbaju & Falola, 2016:263) leaving the
agricultural sector as one of the untapped potentials of the Nigerian economy.
In
2010, the Central Bank of Nigeria released a report showing that Nigeria has
the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) behind South Africa and Algeria
in Africa. Also, in the race towards the fulfilment of her
aspiration of becoming one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020,
Nigeria attained a giant feat on October 20, 2016 when the International
Monetary Fund announced her as Africa’s biggest economy (ThisDaylive.com, 2016).
As good as this may sound, it only implies that Nigeria has great economic
potentials because ironically, she is still one of the poorest countries in the
world ranking 41st in terms of GDP and 161st in terms of GDP per capita and
currently eighth in the world in terms of population (Radwan & Pellegrini
2010). In spite of its huge potentials, including
human and natural resources, Nigeria has experienced a prolonged period of
economic stagnation, rising poverty levels and degradation of public
institutions and infrastructure in the last decades owing to the redundant
state of innovation mostly in its agro allied sector (Radwan
& Pellegrini 2010). Popularly called the giant of Africa, Nigeria’s enormous
potentials can only be realized when she makes the transition to a new economy
based on knowledge, agricultural productivity, and innovation (Bartkus, 2010). This is
largely because knowledge has always been central to development, and its
creation and further transfer would only help to achieve this great vision. The
fact that the number of
agro allied food companies and the number of people employed by them is
increasing worldwide emphasize the great potentials of this sector. This is
also affirmed by the fact that the pace and size of investments to countries
outside the developed world are expanding especially in the field of food
production (Bartkus, 2010).
Ilori et al (2002), an agricultural economy
is superior to other types because it serves as a major consumer of raw
materials and energy, provides the basis for the food and other agricultural
products, produces the products for the wholesale and retail trade, produces
raw material for the various sectors of the economy and provides a major market
for the finance and service industries. In fact, agro allied industries
generate wealth to the society by providing jobs and generating a flow of
currency among companies and individuals. Unfortunately, the Nigeria
agro-allied food companies have been described as a “sleeping giant” in
terms of service delivery and capacity to satisfy the needs of her clients
(Kolo & Ibrahim, 2010). There is a consensus among academic researchers and
professionals that the Nigeria agro allied food companies are slow to innovation
(Odediran, 2012) and lack the capacity to deliver. The
agro allied food sector in Nigeria has been noted to demonstrate weakness in
its contribution to national economy. This weakness is evident in less than 10%
contribution of manufacturing to the gross domestic product (GDP); very low
value of manufactured export which is less than 1% of total export; and low
level of employment in the industry, among others. The result is that the
sector is characterized by high production cost, low value added, grossly
underutilized capacity, low level of foreign investment in agro allied food
companies, high import content of industrial output, poor maintenance culture,
and weak linkage capabilities. It has wrong investment decision-making, and
inability to adapt foreign technology to suit local needs for sustainable
development (Ajakaiye & Akinbinu, 2000). These problems have been
blamed on faulty process of technology (knowledge) acquisition which in turn is
responsible for the dearth in innovation and the inability of agro allied
companies to retain path finding staff that have been well trained. These high
profile employees usually leave the companies with vital technical knowledge
that is crucial to the performance of the companies either when they retire or
disengage from the services of the organization. Invariably, reducing poverty,
improving nutrition and general well-being of the population would imply
improving the creativity of the agro allied companies and this hinges
critically on innovative performance. With
the present dwindling oil price in the global market and federal government ban
on importation of several agro allied food products, food companies are set to
be the new source of revenue and growth for Nigeria economy.
Since time immemorial, organized business has sought
a competitive advantage that would allow it to serve customers as efficiently
as possible, maximize profits and develop loyal customers. How and where
companies search for the knowledge to fuel their innovation processes has been a
focus of extensive research over the past decade. Innovation theory has
progressed through linear models, where knowledge was pushed, or pulled into
the market place, to collaboration and open innovation theory, where knowledge
flows between collaborating organizations. These key developments in innovation
theory have an important element in common, they all hinge on the flow of and
management of knowledge. Collaboration between companies constitutes planned
knowledge spillovers or exchanges, as firms work together at particular stages
in the production chain. This collaboration may be either vertical, that is
with suppliers, or intermediaries (e.g. agro allied companies and wholesalers
of products), or horizontal, with other agro allied food companies that may be
potential competitors (e.g. engagement in common product wide marketing
campaigns). Traditionally, cultures that knew more than others
were better able to adapt to their environments, survive, and thrive. In the
olden days, knowledge was spread through the most serendipitous ways from
migratory movements which equally involve cuneiform writings to religious
pilgrimages, from wars to intertribal marriages and, thus, knowledge is
transferred from one to the other across continents. Nowadays, the Internet has
become the primary mode of knowledge dissemination—almost the entire collection
of human history and knowledge is available at the snap of a finger and at
little cost through the World Wide Web. Knowledge
is becoming truly global, accessible, and democratic. The impacts of this
paradigm shift are all around us. Countries such as the Republic of Korea,
India, and the United States of America that can harness the power of new
technologies nurture a cadre of knowledge workers that can push the productivity
and innovation frontiers. Others that fail to do so remain mired in poverty (Radwan
& Pellegrini 2010).
Innovation
is therefore the effective harnessing of new ideas to create new or improved
goods and services, and this often forms the basis of a company’s competitive
edge. Organizations that often view knowledge as their product adopt the
transfer of such product (newly discovered knowledge) as a business strategy as
other competing industries will view them as leading in discovering creative
ideas. Such organizations pursue the discovery of new ideas seriously because
they consider knowledge to have significant positive impact on their
productivity and that their willingness to transfer such idea is key to their
ability to compete and grow. The benefits of knowledge transfer between
industry partners cannot be overemphasized. Knowledge transfer allows industry
partners to voice their challenges, opportunities, and growth focuses in order
to allow the entire sector to prosper. It doesn’t imply that businesses should
open their entire playbook to their industry; there might be competitors
listening after all to exploit such opportunities. The importance is in
strengthening other players in the supply chain. If you can help other partners
build a stronger supply chain to compete on an international scale, the
industry will benefit directly. Likewise, the industry would be getting
knowledge and feedback from all available relevant sources, as well as pull
insight from other industries as well. It has been discovered that higher
innovation capacity is linked to higher perceived profitability and business
growth; more intensive collaboration with other organizations along the supply
chain results in higher innovation capacity as it promotes trust and knowledge sharing.
Knowledge creation and knowledge transfer are
tightly connected into practice. ”Successful organizational synthesis of
knowledge requires discovering knowledge as it emerges in practice” (Brown
& Duguid 1998 p. 100). The result of knowledge creation and transfer is
measurable, and it results in organizational functioning, like profit, improved
efficiency, product innovations, human capital and product- or process-oriented
results. It is commonly said that knowledge is power. In organizations, this expression
has become even more relevant than other social settings. Knowledge is a major
factor that differentiates successful organizations from the unsuccessful ones
(businesses, not-for-profit, and public enterprises).
According to Nonaka & Tekuechi (1995), Contemporary knowledge comes in the
dimensions of explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is the type of
knowledge that can be verbally explained, codified or written down in specified
documents, while tacit knowledge as an intangible knowledge is intuitive and
difficult to express and practice.
The latter comes from the individual’s mind and is
based on life experiences, reading, learning, environment, beliefs, and other
background characteristics. When different types of knowledge are understood,
it becomes important to examine how knowledge is managed. Knowledge management
is defined by Stuhlman (2012) as a conscious, hopefully consistent, strategy
implementation to gather, store and retrieve knowledge and then help distribute
the information to those who need it in a timely manner. It entails knowledge
creation, internalization, use and transfer. It is the activity for obtaining,
sustaining and growing intellectual capital in organizations (Marr &
Schiuma, 2001). In the 21st century organization, knowledge management is
considered essential for growth and productivity. Several studies have
considered the transfer of knowledge within and between organizations and their
employees but not much research has emphasized the success of such transfers
(knowledge) and the possible role of key organizational factors, especially in
agro allied food industry in a developing sub-Saharan African country.
Knowledge
transfer has always been an important process of knowledge management as
organizations tend to keep new discoveries from other companies in order to
gain a competitive edge over other parallel organizations but knowledge
transfer makes it possible to connect to cyclic time concepts in a way that
both competing organizations can benefit from. It is not easy, yet important to
collect experiences and cultivate intuitions faced in daily routines at work
place in a way that does not increase work load or lead to overemphasized
control and then transfer such knowledge to a competitor. But the gain in transferring
knowledge has been seen to be far more than what was given away in the
knowledge transferred.
In
reality, knowledge is created in the organization by socialization as a result
of communication and interactions such as discussions, sharing experience,
simulation, practice observation and other social contacts that could exist
among members of an organization. Knowledge could also be created in an
organization by externalization which is a process that converts tacit
knowledge to explicit knowledge in the shapes of concept, metaphors,
hypothesis, description and models. This process occurs when a firm formally
articulates its internal rules of functioning or when it establishes its goals
explicitly (Martín
de Castro, 2007). The third process of creating knowledge in an organization is
by combination through a process that creates a new explicit knowledge from an
old existing explicit knowledge whereby existing explicit knowledge is merged,
categorized, reclassified and synthesized to create new explicit knowledge.
Knowledge could equally be created by the process of internalization which is
achieved through changing explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge through a
process in which abstract ideas change into concrete ones and they are finally
absorbed as an integral value. All these mode of knowledge creation could exist
in an organization either singularly or in combinations, however the mode it is
exhibited, it is paramount to make use of the created knowledge to improve the
product and service that such organization is into and to a large extent
transferred to other organization to help improve the standard and quality of
products that are released into the Nigeria consumer market.
Research
and development of new technologies, products and processes requires an
enormous amount of knowledge, given the limitations of human cognition, it is
nearly if not impossible for any one individual to be an expert in all fields
of knowledge, Even within one field, it is unlikely that one can keep ahead of
all new developments so the transfer of knowledge between companies for the
purpose of knowledge creation, expansion and development is key. Schwartz
(2004) indicated that if firms are observant and are able to leverage research
and development (R&D) and convert more meaningful arbitrary occurrences
into opportunities, they may change an economy and the world at large. Firms
need to apply thinking strategies to their surroundings, to increase
collaborations and knowledge transfer while ensuring that sufficient mutual
benefits can be derived. Only firms that are able to protect, redeploy, build,
buy, combine or recombine their knowledge assets, and then deploy them
according to rapidly changing circumstances and client needs, stand to survive
and become innovative.
According
to Grant (2002), a fundamental assumption of the knowledge-based view of the
firm is that knowledge has market value and is one of the most productive
resources for organizations. In addition, knowledge is subject to economies of
scale (i.e. initial creation costs are higher than replication costs) and is a
necessary resource for the production of goods and services for the marketplace
(Grant, 2002). The central importance of knowledge to the production and the
creation of value is an important area of study for researchers. Knowledge has emerged as the most
strategically significant resource of an organization and its management is key
to innovation. There has been very little transfer of research knowledge due to
the inherent barriers in its creation, diffusion, adoption and utilization by
practitioners. By enhancing the industry orientation of knowledge transfer and
adopting systematic processes of review and dissemination, early adopters of
research findings can experiment and learn to apply theoretical knowledge,
which, when supported by other external mechanisms (institutional,
communication with other companies), of human resource management, information
technology and knowledge management (KM), can minimize or eliminate knowledge
transfer gaps, leading to improved competitiveness and performance of the firm.
(Gera, 2012). In
order to maximize the benefit of knowledge transfer between firms,
a collaborative plan could
be implemented through
encouraging the interactions of
organizations, government, and
industry partners linkage as a
means of supporting the growth of
a mutually-supportive relationship in the local economy (Lungkana
Worasinchai et al., 2002).
An
innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product
(good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organisational
method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations. According
to literature “open innovation” has further emphasized the importance of
inter-organizational relationships in the innovation process. Organizations
increasingly rely on external sources of innovation via inter-organizational
network relationships (Perkmann & Walsh, 2007). According to Chesbrough (2003), “the role of internal Research and Development is
to identify, understand, select from, and connect to the wealth of available
external knowledge, and to fill in the
missing pieces of knowledge that are not
being externally developed.”
Bercovitz &Feldman (2007) argue that the collaboration between firms
is a unique mechanism for “cross-boundary learning”. On the other hand,
government plays an important role in facilitating the relationship between competing
organizations by offering collaborative incentives and infrastructures. Nohria
and Garcia-Pont (1991) have posited that through alliances, a firm can gain access to desired strategic capabilities through knowledge transfer by linking to a partner
with complementary resources and knowledge, or by
pooling its internal resources
with a partner possessing similar
capabilities. Harryson et al. (2008) further add that such alliances create
synergies between resources and knowledge that enhance or reshape competition
within the market.
According
to Radwan &Pellegrini (2010), Nigeria’s innovation system is not as well
developed as those of other African comparator countries. The country needs to
strengthen the collaboration between its universities and the private sector.
Higher education institutions have few formal linkages to industry, and as a
result tend to continue teaching outdated materials and producing graduates who
are ill-equipped for the working environment. In the 21st century era of the knowledge
economy, the state of the art in many disciplines changes at a much faster pace
than it did even a decade or two ago. This is especially true in ICT. It is
reported that many of Nigeria’s universities are still teaching computer
languages that are completely obsolete, like FORTRAN and COBOL.
Radwan
&Pellegrini (2010) further stressed that the first step toward adopting an
innovation culture is to adopt existing technologies and adapt them to the
local situation. As demand exceeds the supply of skilled human resources, and
labor rates in Asian economies edge upward, Nigeria has the potential to absorb
existing technologies and production systems, especially in the services
industries. Nigeria’s production systems are far from efficient and there are
great potential gains to be achieved simply by moving toward more modern and
efficient production techniques.
Inter-industry
collaboration is recognized as a critical form of learning alliance
and as an essential instrument to
gain speed and flexibility in knowledge transfer while reducing costs
in R&D and operation but it
seems that the gap between competing industries is wide that the industry
barely know when there is a research or break through in new processes or
products conducted in a particular organization, especially in this part of the
world where there is a big enmity between organizations that are into similar
products having little or no relationship with each other within the context of
research and development. It is against this background that this explores
knowledge creation, transfer and its influence on product innovation in agro
allied food industry in Ondo state Nigeria.
- Statement of the Problem
It is common knowledge that Agro-Allied food industries have not been coming up with innovative products in the last several years. It is generally accepted that the innovative activities of an organization depends strongly on the ability of the organization to create and to transfer knowledge. Added to these is the advantage of more intensive collaboration with other organizations along the supply chain results in higher innovation capacity so as to promote trust and improve the industry’s productivity at large. Several reasons are responsible for these includi
