Knowledge acquisition and start-up companies performance: a literature review

Purpose - The goal of this paper is to provide a review of the works existing in literature about the effects of knowledge acquisition methods on start-up's performance. This study aims at identifying: 1) the most significant issues addressed by researchers in the field of knowledge acquisition processes, giving specific reference to knowledge spillover among high tech start-ups; 2) the main results obtained so far in the field; 3) development and future directions of the research in this area. The purpose, in particular, is to investigate how knowledge acquisition methods impact on innovative performance and firm survival in the case of new high-tech firms. Design/methodology/approach - The literature review focused on the analysis of journals selected in an international ranking on the portal SCImago Journal & Country Rank. The research was carried out based on four specific steps: 1) selection of papers focused on both knowledge acquisition methods and high-tech start-ups' performance in terms of both survival and innovation capability; 4) an analysis of the contents of the abstracts of individual articles; 3) definition of inclusion and exclusion criteria; 4) a collection of the relevant articles, in order to examine in detail their content and results. Originality/value - Knowledge acquisition methods has become one of the most well-known concepts in Knowledge Management studies. Knowledge acquisition is likely to influence the chances of a new firm to survive and keep its innovative capabilities. However there is a dearth of studies on this topic. Systematizing the different contributions of the topic "knowledge management methods" in the case of start-ups provides a clearer view of these issues and represents a contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying new firms success. Practical implications - The literature review is a first step of a larger work that will involve an empirical analysis. By means of this first step, it is possible to understand how knowledge acquisition methods influence in start-up's performance and survival. This paper tries to provide a deeper understanding of the topic of knowledge acquisition in new ventures thus supporting entrepreneurs and researchers.