Does Web 2.0 utilisation lead to knowledge quality, improvisational creativity, compositional creativity, and innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises? A sense-making perspective

ABSTRACT

A few attempts were made to investigate how sense making is triggered through Web 2.0 utilisation and how it enables the accomplishment of key organisational outcomes. The objective of this research is to examine the structural relationship between Web 2.0 utilisation, knowledge quality (KQ) aspects, improvisational creativity, compositional creativity, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovativeness in an emerging market – Malaysia. Built upon sense-making theory, this study proposes that sense making is a progression of four formative constructs. Empirical analyses are based on a sample from SMEs’ top management (N = 358, response rate = 21%) using partial least squares approach. The findings indicate that Web 2.0 utilisation influences business entities’ sense-making activities in the way they realise the intrinsic value of knowledge and take action to apply the organisational knowledge. These sense-making activities are conducive to improvisational and compositional creativity of SMEs as well. Contributions, managerial implications, and limitations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Web 2.0 utilisation
• knowledge quality
• creativity and innovation
• sense-making theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Naser Valaei is a lecturer in marketing at Sunway University Business School, Sunway University, Malaysia. He has published in several journals such as the International Review of Retail, Distribution, and Consumer Research, Hospitality and Tourism Research, Management Research Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, among others.

Sajad Rezaei is a lecturer in marketing at Taylor’s Business School, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. His recent research has been published in internationally refereed journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing and else.