{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7204252215","doi":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","title":"Why SMEs Don\u2019t Use Academic Research: The Knowledge-to-Action Gap","display_name":"Why SMEs Don\u2019t Use Academic Research: The Knowledge-to-Action Gap","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-08-25","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7204252215","doi":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","doi":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","pdf_url":"https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/eckm/article/download/4747/4608","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4387282814","display_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","issn_l":"2048-8963","issn":["2048-8963","2048-8971"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["cwts-core","norway-1"],"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by-nc-nd","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-nc-nd","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","raw_type":"journal-article"},"volume":null,"type":"conference-paper","is_traditional":true,"indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"diamond","oa_url":"https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/eckm/article/download/4747/4608","any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5072313567","display_name":"Jaani V\u00e4is\u00e4nen","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8099-9552","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8099-9552"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210104975","display_name":"LAB University of Applied Sciences","ror":"https://ror.org/01qdmn762","country_code":"FI","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4210104975"]}],"countries":["FI"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Jaani V\u00e4is\u00e4nen","raw_affiliation_strings":["LAB University of Applied Sciences"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"LAB University of Applied Sciences","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210104975"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":1,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5072313567"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210104975"],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":0.0,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.0,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":false},"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":"27","issue":"2","first_page":"1349","last_page":"1356"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10003","display_name":"Innovation and Knowledge Management","score":0.9731000065803528,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1408","display_name":"Strategy and Management"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/14","display_name":"Business, Management and Accounting"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10003","display_name":"Innovation and Knowledge Management","score":0.9731000065803528,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1408","display_name":"Strategy and Management"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/14","display_name":"Business, Management and Accounting"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T14185","display_name":"Research, Science, and Academia","score":0.01209999993443489,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1405","display_name":"Management of Technology and Innovation"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/14","display_name":"Business, Management and Accounting"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11744","display_name":"Health Sciences Research and Education","score":0.00279999990016222,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3600","display_name":"General Health Professions"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/36","display_name":"Health Professions"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/4","display_name":"Health Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/small-and-medium-sized-enterprises","display_name":"small and medium-sized enterprises","score":0.9340000152587891},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/research-utilization","display_name":"research utilization","score":0.7900000214576721},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/knowledge-practice-gap","display_name":"knowledge-practice gap","score":0.953000009059906},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/absorptive-capacity","display_name":"absorptive capacity","score":0.9079999923706055},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/evidence-based-management","display_name":"evidence-based management","score":0.875},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/research-literacy","display_name":"research literacy","score":0.7820000052452087},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/sensemaking","display_name":"sensemaking","score":0.7580000162124634},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/research-practice-gap","display_name":"research-practice gap","score":0.7099999785423279}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777724570","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4669907","display_name":"Absorptive capacity","level":2,"score":0.7953000068664551},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780522230","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1140419","display_name":"Ambiguity","level":2,"score":0.7562000155448914},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C158154518","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7310970","display_name":"Relevance (law)","level":2,"score":0.660099983215332},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12713177","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1900281","display_name":"Perspective (graphical)","level":2,"score":0.6144000291824341},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C98045186","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q205663","display_name":"Process (computing)","level":2,"score":0.5458999872207642},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C56739046","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192060","display_name":"Knowledge management","level":1,"score":0.5159000158309937},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C28719098","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44946","display_name":"Point (geometry)","level":2,"score":0.4580000042915344},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C120936955","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2155640","display_name":"Empirical research","level":2,"score":0.4553000032901764},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C144133560","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4830453","display_name":"Business","level":0,"score":0.44830000400543213},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776960227","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2586354","display_name":"Knowledge transfer","level":2,"score":0.44780001044273376},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12725497","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q810247","display_name":"Baseline (sea)","level":2,"score":0.4251999855041504},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2778334786","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1586270","display_name":"Variation (astronomy)","level":2,"score":0.4124000072479248},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C19768560","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q320727","display_name":"Dependency (UML)","level":2,"score":0.39590001106262207},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C156325361","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1152864","display_name":"Grounded theory","level":3,"score":0.3898000121116638},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C14224292","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13600188","display_name":"Conceptual framework","level":2,"score":0.376800000667572},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2985879086","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1061910","display_name":"Technology transfer","level":2,"score":0.3630000054836273},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C13606891","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2623243","display_name":"Conceptual model","level":2,"score":0.35030001401901245},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C162853370","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q39809","display_name":"Marketing","level":1,"score":0.3422999978065491},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C166052673","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83021","display_name":"Empirical evidence","level":2,"score":0.3398999869823456},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780504989","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2742037","display_name":"Dynamic capabilities","level":2,"score":0.32589998841285706},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777673361","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5281228","display_name":"Disadvantage","level":2,"score":0.3237999975681305},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C133462117","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4929239","display_name":"Data collection","level":2,"score":0.29600000381469727},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C190248442","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q839486","display_name":"Qualitative research","level":2,"score":0.2865999937057495},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C184356942","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q830382","display_name":"Best practice","level":2,"score":0.2818000018596649},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C198477413","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7647069","display_name":"Survey data collection","level":2,"score":0.2809000015258789},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18762648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42213","display_name":"Work (physics)","level":2,"score":0.27950000762939453},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.27309998869895935},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C189708586","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1504425","display_name":"Systematic review","level":3,"score":0.2565000057220459},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C39549134","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133080","display_name":"Public relations","level":1,"score":0.25540000200271606},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2778012447","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1034415","display_name":"Scope (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.25040000677108765}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","doi":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","pdf_url":"https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/eckm/article/download/4747/4608","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4387282814","display_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","issn_l":"2048-8963","issn":["2048-8963","2048-8971"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["cwts-core","norway-1"],"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by-nc-nd","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-nc-nd","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","raw_type":"journal-article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","doi":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.34190/eckm.27.2.4747","pdf_url":"https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/eckm/article/download/4747/4608","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4387282814","display_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","issn_l":"2048-8963","issn":["2048-8963","2048-8971"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["cwts-core","norway-1"],"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by-nc-nd","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-nc-nd","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"European Conference on Knowledge Management","raw_type":"journal-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/9","score":0.4943999946117401,"display_name":"Industry, innovation and infrastructure"}],"study_designs":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":true,"grobid_xml":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7204252215.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7204252215.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":1,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W4411036713"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W2893122904","https://openalex.org/W7095651305","https://openalex.org/W2596989745","https://openalex.org/W2606434040","https://openalex.org/W6904197276","https://openalex.org/W1705794441","https://openalex.org/W3020325420","https://openalex.org/W2911238280","https://openalex.org/W1978331096","https://openalex.org/W2326237540"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Small":[0],"and":[1,23,44,59,80,125,162,173,197,227,233,235,256,285,291,295],"medium-sized":[2],"enterprises":[3],"(SMEs)":[4],"often":[5],"express":[6],"baseline":[7],"trust":[8,40],"in":[9,41,62,77,85,100,112,122,185,253],"academic":[10,42],"research,":[11],"yet":[12],"report":[13],"limited":[14],"ability":[15],"to":[16,54,67,160,164,208],"translate":[17],"research":[18,43,53,86,139,177,199,279],"outputs":[19],"into":[20,141,166,204,245],"actionable":[21,205,267],"decisions":[22],"routines.":[24],"To":[25],"address":[26],"this":[27,29,65],"phenomenon,":[28],"study":[30],"examines":[31],"a)":[32],"the":[33,97,210,240],"mechanisms":[34],"that":[35,216,273],"create":[36],"a":[37,130,152],"gap":[38],"between":[39],"practical":[45],"use,":[46],"b)":[47],"how":[48,75,198],"SMEs":[49,136,217,275],"move":[50],"from":[51],"accessing":[52],"making":[55],"sense":[56],"of":[57,133,242],"it":[58,61],"applying":[60],"practice\u2014and":[63],"where":[64],"\u201cresearch":[66,254],"action\u201d":[68],"process":[69],"most":[70,236],"commonly":[71],"breaks":[72],"down\u2014and":[73],"c)":[74],"differences":[76,121],"absorptive":[78,117],"capacity":[79,118],"related":[81],"routines":[82],"explain":[83],"variation":[84,252],"utilization.":[87],"Empirically,":[88],"we":[89],"draw":[90],"on":[91,155,220],"semi-structured":[92],"interview":[93],"data":[94],"collected":[95],"by":[96],"NOKKA":[98],"project":[99],"southeastern":[101],"Finland,":[102],"comprising":[103],"23":[104],"SME":[105],"representatives.":[106],"The":[107],"empirical":[108],"analysis":[109],"is":[110],"grounded":[111],"three":[113],"complementary":[114],"perspectives.":[115],"First,":[116],"explains":[119,195],"firm-level":[120],"recognizing,":[123],"assimilating,":[124],"exploiting":[126],"external":[127],"knowledge,":[128],"offering":[129],"capability-based":[131],"indicator":[132],"why":[134,156,196],"some":[135],"can":[137,183],"convert":[138],"insights":[140,200,244],"practice":[142,186],"more":[143],"readily":[144],"than":[145],"others.":[146],"Second,":[147],"knowledge":[148],"transfer":[149,165],"stickiness":[150],"provides":[151],"barrier-focused":[153],"perspective":[154],"knowledge\u2014even":[157],"when":[158,230],"valued\u2014tends":[159],"\u201cstick\u201d":[161],"fail":[163],"routines,":[167,257],"highlighting":[168],"frictions":[169],"such":[170],"as":[171],"ambiguity":[172],"recipient-side":[174],"constraints.":[175],"Third,":[176],"utilization":[178],"clarifies":[179],"what":[180],"\u201cusing":[181],"research\u201d":[182],"mean":[184],"(e.g.,":[187],"instrumental":[188],"vs.":[189],"conceptual":[190],"use),":[191],"while":[192],"evidence-based":[193],"management":[194],"should":[201],"be":[202],"translated":[203],"managerial":[206],"practices":[207],"narrow":[209],"research\u2013practice":[211],"gap.":[212],"Interview":[213],"evidence":[214,288],"indicates":[215],"typically":[218],"rely":[219],"fast,":[221],"familiar":[222],"information":[223],"channels,":[224],"experience":[225],"uncertainty":[226],"opportunity":[228],"costs":[229],"assessing":[231],"relevance":[232],"comprehensibility,":[234],"frequently":[237],"struggle":[238],"at":[239],"point":[241],"converting":[243],"implementable":[246],"actions.":[247],"We":[248],"further":[249],"observe":[250],"meaningful":[251],"literacy\u201d":[255],"suggesting":[258],"different":[259],"absorptive-capacity":[260],"profiles":[261],"across":[262],"firms.":[263],"This":[264],"paper":[265],"derives":[266],"guidance":[268],"for":[269],"designing":[270],"low-barrier":[271],"support":[272],"helps":[274],"(i)":[276],"find":[277],"relevant":[278],"efficiently,":[280],"(ii)":[281],"reduce":[282],"sensemaking":[283],"costs,":[284],"(iii)":[286],"operationalize":[287],"through":[289],"case-based":[290],"action-oriented":[292],"translation":[293],"artefacts":[294],"facilitation.":[296]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-11-04T10:54:05.112534","created_date":"2026-08-27T00:00:00"}
