Export Knowledge and Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Philippines: The Moderating Effects of Relational Capital

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm highlights the importance of rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources for the competitive advantage and performance of firms (Barney 2001a, 2001b, 2007; Barney, Ketchen, and Wright, 2011; Wernerfelt, 1984). Knowledge, especially when tacit in nature, has been recognized as one of the firm’s resources with the potential to contribute the most to its competitive advantage (Barney, 2007; Kogut and Zander, 1992, 2003; Morgan et al., 2003; Nonaka, 1994; Newbert, 2007; Polanyi, 1966; Xu, Huang, and Gao, 2010). Tacit knowledge is embedded in employees, has no explicit form, and is unique to the firm (Kogut and Zander, 2003; Nonaka, 1994). The implicit and unarticulated quality of tacit knowledge possessed by a firm prohibits immediate replication or duplication by its competitors. As tacit knowledge resides with individuals from both within and outside the organization, it is viewed as one of the most critical sources of competitive advantage (Bruton, Dess, and Janney, 2007; Haas and Hansen, 2007; Kogut and Zander, 2003).