Supporting open innovation with the use of a balanced scorecard approach: a study on deep smarts and effective knowledge transfer to SMEs

Abstract

This study aims to develop the theory of knowledge management and organizational performance within a small and medium enterprise (SME) context using action research (AR) involving a higher education institution (HEI) and an SME. The vehicle for the knowledge exchange was Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), the United Kingdom’s primary mechanism for delivering government funded knowledge transfer to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). KTPs facilitate knowledge exchange from HEIs to SMEs via the recruitment of a graduate plus an academic supervisor from the partnering HEI. The AR study was an award-winning KTP and the project deliverable included the implementation of a balanced scorecard for the SME to improve organizational performance. The transfer of knowledge was subsequently fed-back into the university in order to develop a performance framework for measuring the effectiveness of KTP research within the HEI in order to share knowledge and improve effective for other KTP projects.

Keywords:

• Knowledge transfer
• performance measurement
• SME
• open innovation
• balanced scorecard

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Graham Manville

Dr Graham Manville is a Senior Lecturer in Business & Management and Director of Employability and Innovation in Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia. He holds a PhD in Corporate Performance Management (University of Southampton). He also holds an MA and an MBA, is an Incorporated Engineer and a Certified Management Consultant. His cross-disciplinary research has won several awards including the Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) for the South West of England, an Emerald Literati Award for an Outstanding Journal Paper, a British Academy of Management Best Paper award and more recently a EURAM Best Paper Award.

Fahri Karakas

Dr Fahri Karakas is a Senior Lecturer in Business and Leadership at Norwich Business School. He joined University of East Anglia in July 2012 having previously worked at the Open University Business School as a Research Fellow in International Management Practice, Education and Learning (IMPEL). His PhD thesis on benevolent leadership (McGill University) was selected as the winner of Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in the Leadership and Organization Development category. His research interests include spirituality at work, benevolent leadership, positive management education, creativity and design thinking.

Martyn Polkinghorne

Dr Martyn Polkinghorne has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and is a Principal Academic at Bournemouth University where he teaches Business and Management. He is also a Visiting Fellow in Health & Social Sciences and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Educational Academy (HEA). Previously the Knowledge Transfer Programmes Centre Manager for Bournemouth University, and Head of Innovation and Start-up programmes at the University of Plymouth, Dr Polkinghorne has worked with over 3,000 companies including 550 start-up businesses. His current research interests include the evaluation of Student Learning Gain and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within a business context.

Nick Petford

Professor Nick Petford is Vice Chancellor and CEO of the University of Northampton. Nick is a former Royal Society University Research Fellow and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. A geologist by training, with a DSc from the University of Liverpool, Nick has worked in industry and on academic and commercial research projects throughout the world. He has held visiting research appointments at the Universities of Michigan and Vermont and NASA and is currently visiting professor at Macquarie University, Australia. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School.