A Resource Based View on the Relationship between Organizational Learning and Excellence in Business in SMEs in IT

This thesis takes a resource based view on the relationship between organizational learning and excellence in business in small and medium size enterprises (SME). The focus of the research is SMEs in. the information technology sector (IT) in the Nordic countries. It looks at how these companies learn from leveraging their intangible resource base to increase their competitive advantage and achieve excellence in business. Businesses employ learning and�· knowledge when they process and generate information, formulate plans and strategies, make decisi?ns, monitor behaviour and experiences, and learn, create and use know-how. The importance of leveraging knowledge, as a key success factor in business, is captured by Drucker (1993) and there are further indications to the increasing importance of learning and knowledge in business. The Usbon meeting of the European Council in March 2000 has set the objective of making Europe the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world based on the arguments that the economy is rapidly becoming a global marketplace characterized by fierce competition, increasing consumer demands, and the need for value added products and services. The only way for enterprises to survive in this knowledge-based economy is to differentiate themselves by continuous innovation in order to improve their processes, products, services, networks, and reputation (RICARDIS 2006). The theoretical basis for the discussion is in organisational learning, as identified by Field and Ford (1995), Pedler, Boydell et al. (1989) and Senge (1990). It further looks at the idea of dynamic capabilities that is outlined by Teece, Pisano et al. (1997) and builds on the theoretical foundations of Schumpeter (1934) on innovation and Penrose (1959) on the resource based view of the firm. In particular, it agrees with the view that new products are the results of new combinations of knowledge and that competitive success arises from the development and utilization of firm-specific assets. The resource-based paradigm assumes that value is a function of the way in which resources are managed. The resource base perspective used; is that of intangible resources, intellectual capital, or intellectual assets. The concept of intellectual :