Corporate Firm-Level Knowledge Accumulation and Engineering Manpower Outsourcing

Authors

  • Wen-Hsiang Lai Feng Chia University, Taiwan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2011.18.4.309

Keywords:

analytic hierarchy process (AHP), engineering manpower outsourcing, fuzzy logic inference system (FLIS), knowledge accumulation

Abstract

Firm-level knowledge is a key resource providing a competitive advantage in innovation for enterprises. Outsourcing strategies reveal trends in strategic business administration. However, internal knowledge accumulation (KA) and engineering manpower outsourcing (EMO) produce opposing effects on firm-level knowledge. This study analyzes the relationship between KA and EMO among enterprises in Taiwan by means of expert interviews, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and a fuzzy logic inference system (FLIS). The results show that, compared to EMO, firm-level KA affords a greater degree of influence on the effectiveness of firm-level knowledge. Based on the literature and expert interviews, the three sub-variables of knowledge integration ability (KIA), knowledge absorption ability (KAA), and knowledge sharing ability (KSA) are extracted from the KA variable, and the three sub-variables of cost, resources, and strategy are extracted from the EMO variable.

Author Biography

Wen-Hsiang Lai, Feng Chia University, Taiwan

Dr. Wen-Hsiang Lai is an Associate Professor and the Chairman in the Graduate Institute of Management of Technology at Feng Chia University, Taiwan. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Kansas, USA in 1999. His academic research mainly focuses on the areas of R&D management, such as the fields of technology transfer, R&D alliance, optimization of knowledge accumulation and engineering outsourcing, university-industry collaboration, and R&D performance evaluation. His research often adapts quantitative methods, such as the optimization calculation, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP), fuzzy multiple criteria decision-making (fuzzy MCDM), and some other statistical methods to analyze research data collected from questionnaires and interviews.

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Published

2011-07-06

How to Cite

Lai, W.-H. (2011). Corporate Firm-Level Knowledge Accumulation and Engineering Manpower Outsourcing. International Journal of Industrial Engineering: Theory, Applications and Practice, 18(4). https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2011.18.4.309

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2011)

Section

Management of Technology

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