The effect of enterprise social networks use on exploitative and exploratory innovations. Mediating effect of sub-dimensions of intellectual capital
| Pages | 426-452 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-02-2019-0030 |
| Published date | 17 June 2019 |
| Date | 17 June 2019 |
| Author | Sarra Berraies |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The effect of enterprise social
networks use on exploitative and
exploratory innovations
Mediating effect of sub-dimensions of
intellectual capital
Sarra Berraies
Department of Management,
Higher Institute of Management of Tunis, Laboratory ARBRE,
University of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between the enterprise social networks (ESN)
use and the exploitative and exploratory innovations and deepen the analysis by examining the mediating
role of the sub-dimensions of intellectual capital (IC) in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors use a quantitative method based on the questionnaire
administrated to a sample of 248 middle managers working in Tunisian ICT firms. Regarding the data
analysis, the authors use a partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method.
Findings –Results highlight that whereas exploratory innovation is positively linked to human capital (HC)
and social capital (SC), exploitative innovation is positively associated with HC. Findings show that the ESN
use is linked positively to exploitative innovation and this link is mediated by HC. The data analysis also
revealed that HC and SC mediate the link between ESN use and exploratory innovation.
Originality/value –Although limited studies have investigated the effect of the ESN use on firms, this
research pioneers the examination of the effect of the ESN use on exploitative and exploratory innovations
within ICT firms and the mediating roles of HC, SC and organizational capital that have never been explored.
Findings are highlighted along with interesting insights for managers and outline the key aspects related to
the ESN use that may improve the sub-dimensions of IC and boost exploitative and exploratory innovations.
Keywords Social capital, Human capital, Exploitative innovation, Exploratory innovation,
Organizational capital, Enterprise social networks, Digitalization
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Firms face nowadays a turbulent environment characterized by rapid technological change,
increased competition, shortened product lifecycles and changing customer needs. This
context offers challenge to companies to embark on new innovation opportunities (Berraies
and Ben Rejeb, 2019; Zuraik and Kelly, 2019). Companies must, in particular, digitize and
integrate new collaborative technologies to synergize diverse knowledge, a diversity that is
particularly related to the divergent thinking that positively affects innovation. In this line,
social networks represent a social phenomenon that tends to affect the behavior and habits
of individuals and have undeniably changed the way they interact and communicate. In
recent years, to be in tune with these changes, firms have also embraced the social networks
for their internal organizations to optimize interpersonal collaborations and transversal
knowledge flows and strengthened links between organizational members and their
stakeholders (Riemer, 2016). Through these collaborative tools, companies benefit from the
knowledge deposits and skills of their members and from the synergy created by interactive
networks both formal and informal. Nevertheless, the question of the effect of the enterprise
social networks (ESN) on firms remains a subject that has been little studied and lacks
empirical support. Some prior research stressed in this sense that ESN can bring
considerable benefits, as lever for optimizing transversal communication (Mäntymäkia and
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 20 No. 3, 2019
pp. 426-452
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-02-2019-0030
Received 9 February 2019
Revised 14 March 2019
Accepted 10 May 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
426
JIC
20,3
Riemer, 2016) and knowledge sharing within firms (Riemer, 2016). In particular, to the best
of our knowledge, studies that have particularly investigated the link between ESN use and
innovation are limited. In this line, we seek in this research to analyze the link between ESN
use and two types of innovation, namely, exploitative and exploratory innovations. We
defend in the perspective of O’Reilly and Tushman (2013) that the most successful
firms –called ambidextrous –are those that are capable to maintain balance between
exploiting the existent knowledge and skills and exploring new ones, achieve exploitative
innovation and exploratory innovation and ensure short- and long-term profits. Along with
this idea, it is interesting to highlight the determinant of each type of innovation.
Researchers have investigated for long time the antecedents of innovation rather than
differentiating between exploratory and exploitative innovations. Some authors claimed
that achieving ambidextrous innovation is based on structural and organizational context
such as structural differentiation ( Jansen et al., 2009) and innovation climate (Zuraik and
Kelly, 2019). In this perspective, an interesting area that can be investigated and that is
underexplored is how collaborative technologies and, in particular, ESN promote
exploitative and exploratory innovations. One exception is the exploratory case study of
Dalmasso et al. (2017) in which they emphasized that ESN may contribute to organizational
ambidexterityin an “exploitation-oriented”organization. Theidea defended in this research is
that the ESN use canpromote contextual ambidexterity by building collective know-how and
boostingsharing of ideas between diverseusers and collaboration whetherin exploitation and
explorationprojects. ESN provides knowledge,human, social and organizational benefits that
may conduct ambidexterity. Falkowski (2014) outlined that social networks contribute to
intellectualcapital (IC) growth. Kline and Konstanze (2013) also stressed that ESN is linkedto
increased SC. Delgado-Verde et al. (2015) emphasized that a firms’IC is associated with
innovation.Kang and Snell (2008) also highlightedthat ambidextrous learningis derived from
IC that integrates the unique configurations of human capital (HC), social capital (SC) and
organizationalcapital (OC) (Cabrita and Bontis,2008). The knowledge integratedin these sub-
dimensionsof IC is considered as a key ingredient for exploratory and exploitative innovation
activities (Duodu and Rowlinson, 2016). In this line, the originality of this research lies in
highlighting the mediating roles of sub-dimensions of IC in the link between ESN use and
exploitative and exploratory innovations that have never been explored.
Thus, the idea developed in this research is that ESN use stimulates the exploitative and
exploratory innovations of companies and the sub-dimensions of IC mediate these relationships.
This research is structured as follows. The first part is devoted to the review of the
literature from which we formulate a series of hypotheses and develop a research model.
Section 2 highlights the methodology used in this study. Section 3 presents the results of the
empirical study. Section 4 presents the discussion of the results. Finally, we conclude by
presenting the theoretical contributions, the managerial implications and the limits of this
research and by proposing perspectives for future studies.
2. Literature background
2.1 Exploitative and exploratory innovations
Ambidexterity has received considerable attention in recent years for both scholars and
practitioners. This concept is defined as the company’s capacity to get engaged simultaneously
in exploitative and exploratory innovation projects (March, 1991; Zuraik and Kelly, 2019).
In fact, innovation refers to a dynamic and multi-phase process whereby knowledge and
ideas are fruitfully integrated in theform of new or improved processes, products or services
that are successfullymarketed to stakeholders(Baregheh et al., 2009). In the perspectiveof the
ambidexterity, to innovate, firms make an adequate mix between exploiting its existing
knowledge and competencies and exploring new ones (Levinthal and March, 1993). March
(1991) defined that exploitative innovation as the result of refinement of the existing
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The effect of
ESN use
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