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Recent literature has highlighted the importance of human resource management, knowledge management, and technical innovation as key elements for achieving competitive advantage. Furthermore, research has shown a positive relationship between these three variables. However, empirical research on this issue is still scarce. This paper analyzes those linkages using structural equation modeling with data collected from 373 Spanish firms. The findings show that there is a relationship among the variables, although it is more complex than described in previous studies.

Does managing and transferring knowledge really work? Absolutely. Dramatic results for a growing number of companies—large and small, private and public—have encouraged other organizations to follow suit.

Examines the drivers for the increased interest in benchmarking: global competition, quality awards and breakthrough improvements. Demonstrates how, why and whom to benchmark in order for the operation to be successful. Explodes some current benchmarking myths and mistakes and provides a list of five “must do” steps to success. States that, done correctly, benchmarking can indicate not only what improvements are needed, but also how to achieve them.

Purpose — The purpose of this chapter is to outline the findings of research into knowledge transfer across countries and culture and the implications of the findings for human resource practitioners.

Methodology/approach — Use of a qualitative case study methodology approach was employed.

Findings — The findings highlight the inherent difficulty of knowledge transfer and the broad range of factors that influence the knowledge transfer process and which are connected together in a complex and non-linear manner.

Research implications — The research revealed insight into those managers most likely to be effective at knowledge transfer and what characteristics and experiences had supported this openness to knowledge from outside of their cultural context. The lessons from the research can be incorporated into the selection and development processes for expatriates.

Originality value — The study affirmed the critical importance of face-to-face interaction in knowledge transfer. The research also resulted in the development of a practical model and tool, which pulls together the broad range of factors that impact on knowledge transfer.

Concentrates on ways of helping employers to keep their workforce up to date and adaptable. Contains precised articles exploring the relationship between employers and the world of education. The final group of precis examines the concept of knowledge management, which can help organizations to exploit their hidden talents.

Introduction Recent declines in the rate of productivity growth in America have drawn attention to the links among productivity, unit labour costs, inflation, and living standards. Economists have focused on the causes of declining productivity growth and have identified such factors as slowdowns in capital formation, decreased spending on research and development, increased government regulation, and changes in the economy's output mix and labour force composition. McConnell has suggested alternative sources of the “productivity problem”: blem”:

National and international productivity puzzles are too abstract and ineffable for the practical businessman to contemplate usefully. But there is at least one way to bring the problem down to earth, and that's through an analysis and understanding of productivity variances between and within different industries and firms. Given this groundwork, the strategist and planner can then begin to study the interaction of all the different factors that bear on productivity—labor, capital, energy, technology, entrepreneurship, etc.

Customer Support Knowledge of Customer Support Organization is one of the important assets of enterprises and “Customer Support Knowledge Management” is also the critical aspect of Business Knowledge Management; however, the attributes of Customer Support Knowledge are complicated, diverse, renewed rapidly and difficult to be managed. Thus, in order to design a successful Customer Support Knowledge Management System, apart from the consideration of “human” and “information technology” aspects, the concerns of attributes and Customer Support Knowledge and industry characteristics should be involved for meeting the requirements of Customer Support Organization and allowing the organization to acquire the competitive advantage of “Differentiation Service”. This research used the “Customer Support Knowledge Management System” in a high‐tech industry as an example and treated the end users of medical instruments in different types of hospitals in Taiwan which have received the support service of our company in recent six months as the population. The end users were mostly the nursing executives or ultrasonic wave technical personnel in intensive care unit and they had similar educational background and incomes and adopted the medical instruments such as physical supervision system, ultrasonic wave system, heart start or ECG machine produced by our company; the research method was to randomly treat the investigation results of the telephone customers’ satisfaction from respective 30 end users in the population three months before and after this system execution as the samples and use hypotheses to validate if the end users’ customer satisfaction significantly improved in terms of “Remote Support,” “On‐site Support,” “Service Turn Around time,” “Technical Competence” and “Service Manner” in order to understand the influence and managerial significance of execution of “Customer Support Knowledge Management System” on Customer Support Organization.

need for a new initiative The current crisis in industry seems to have highlighted many problems, some of which have existed for some time. Hardly a day goes by without our being reminded of some fresh calamity. The difficulties range from the need for new products which will create jobs, to the reduction of industrial conflict. Equally, there has been no shortage of people who have not only suggested the causes of our problems, but what we should do about them.