Purpose: This paper aims at exploring the effect of knowledge management (KM) practices on the relationship between external research and development (R&D) and innovative performance. The authors argue that the firms which develop and possess superior KM capabilities have the ability to better manage external knowledge and combine it with the internal one. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a sample of 117 European MNC subsidiaries. An OLS regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the moderator effect of KM on the relationship between external R&D and innovative performance. Findings: The authors found positive evidences in favor of a moderator effect of KM. This means that subsidiaries with superior KM capabilities are more effective in using external R&D, augmenting the magnitude of their external sources of knowledge and, consequently, improving their innovative performance. Practical implications: Managerially speaking, both corporate and subsidiaries’ managers need to understand the relevance of managing knowledge effectively and efficiently at the subsidiary level. Corporate managers need to allocate more resources (both financial and managerial) to the subsidiaries that are active in knowledge transfer and sharing, while subsidiaries managers need to implement practically the KM tools and processes at the subsidiary organizational level to improve subsidiary’s innovative performance. Originality/value: This paper contributes mainly to the KM field, highlighting the importance of KM at the subsidiary level, whereas most of previous studies focus on different units of analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and present the way in which a food start-up can develop business model innovations, taking into account the importance of social and environmental issues. Design/methodology/approach: The authors studied an Italian pizzeria, implementing the illustrative single-case study methodology, to answer the research question: “how can food start-ups develop a sustainable business model innovation?” Findings: The study highlights sustainable elements for each component of the business model configuration provided by Osterwalder to provide a deeper view of the sustainable business model concept. Originality/value: The study contributes to the extant research introducing the concept of sustainable innovation within the business model literature. It concludes that, within the food industry, especially for start-ups, the development of sustainable business model innovation is particularly important because the industry is itself linked with nature and human respect. Moreover, it suggests a methodological analysis of the business model configuration, which will help to develop clearer and more accurate and influential research.

Amidst a contemporary fast-changing business environment, scholars and practitioners alike increasingly recognize knowledge management (KM) and dynamic capabilities as key elements in the development of firms’ competitive advantage. Our understanding of the effect of KM on firm performance, nonetheless, is still limited, as in fact are the circumstances under which KM and dynamic capabilities affect firms’ ambidexterity, which reflects firms’ ability to conduct synchronous exploration and exploitation activities. Thus, building on KM and dynamic capability literature, and implementing a quantitative methodology, this paper aims to investigate the elusive relationship among KM orientation, dynamic capabilities, and ambidextrous entrepreneurial intensity (EI). Employing a dataset composed of 181 Italian firms operating in the ICT industry, and using structural equation modeling, the research subsequently investigates whether and how this relationship affects the overall firm performance. Results indicate that KM orientation has a positive and significant impact on ambidextrous EI and performance, especially when the firm has substantial dynamic capabilities. These findings further facilitate the identification and prescription of explicit scholarly and managerial implications.