The roles of knowledge management and cooperation in determining company innovation capability: A literature review

Abstract

Aim/Purpose The aim of this study is to develop a research model derived from relevant lit-erature to guide empirical efforts. Background Companies struggle to innovate, which is essential for improving their perfor-mance, surviving in competition, and growing. A number of studies have dis-cussed company innovation capability, stating that innovation capability is in-fluenced by several variables such as cooperation and knowledge management. Therefore, further research is necessary to identify factors playing a role in en-hancing innovation capability. Methodology This study is based on systematic literature review. The stages are: (1) research scope review, (2) comprehensive online research, (3) journal quality assessment, (4) data extraction from journals, (5) journal synthesis, and (6) comprehensive report. The online research used Google Scholar database, by browsing titles, abstracts, and keywords to locate empirical research studies in peer-reviewed journals published in 2010-2020. Furthermore, 62 related articles were found, of which 38 articles were excluded from further analysis and 24 articles were selected because they were more related to the topic. Contribution The results of this study enrich the research in the field of knowledge manage-ment, cooperation, and innovation capability by developing a conceptual framework of innovation capability. The proposed theoretical model may be fundamental in addressing the need of a research model to guide further em-pirical efforts. Findings This study provides a research model derived from systematically reviewing rel-evant literature. The proposed theoretical model was done by incorporating the aspects of knowledge management, cooperation, and innovation capability. The model shows that knowledge management and cooperation are essential aspects of innovation capability. Furthermore, this study also provides the di-mensions and sub dimensions of each variable that was established after syn-thesizing the literature review. Recommendations for Practitioners Business practitioners can use the identified predictors of innovation capability and the dimensions of each variable to explore their company's innovation ca-pability. They can also take the relevant variables into consideration when mak-ing policies regarding innovation. Recommendations for Researchers The theoretical model proposed in this study needs validation with further em-pirical investigation. Impact on Society Readers of this paper can obtain an understanding that knowledge manage-ment and cooperation are essential aspects to consider in enhancing innovation capability. Future Research Future studies should explore other dimensions of knowledge management and cooperation through alternative approaches and perspectives.