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The purpose of this paper is to develop further a theoretical framework of common understanding and explore the role of common understanding in coordination.

A constructive action research approach was employed applying abductive reasoning to develop new models with practical relevance.

A new framework of the elements of common understanding and a new theory of communication as a mechanism for coordination.

As a longitudinal case study and part of a multiple case‐study, the findings are generalized to theory which should be further developed.

Presents a framework for developing shared meanings to achieve better coordination in collaborative service provisioning.

Presents a new model of common understanding, a refined approach to coordination.

The purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge processes in an international IT outsourcing project between two countries when knowledge is transferred from one country to the other due to business situations. A theoretical model is presented regarding knowledge processes in international projects which explains emergence of international common understanding as one of the solutions for knowledge-related challenges in international projects.

The empirical study was conducted at the headquarters of a chemical company in Japan and its subsidiary in Singapore. The study employed a qualitative analysis method. Interviews were conducted in these companies and the results were analyzed according to grounded theory.

The authors propose ARC Model of Knowledge Management in International IT Outsourcing Projects, which is a new theoretical model of project knowledge management in international settings, with a view of localization into knowledge processes. International common understanding will emerge from an understanding of thinking of each locale that brings a project to a successful conclusion.

This research might be subject to limitations regarding the data and results. Data were collected from particular companies, thus reducing the ability to generalize the results. Further research is required to verify the model with an additional empirical study.

Project managers and other managers utilize the theoretical model as a base theory for the implementation of high quality localization that is managed by the locals themselves with common knowledge.

The study proposes the theoretical model with the empirical analysis of the international project, which synthesizes project knowledge management and cross-cultural knowledge management in a novel way and expands the role of knowledge management.

The purpose of this paper is to re‐think the definition of three commonly used terms; discuss links between ethics, common sense and rationality; offer a model integrating these; and present findings regarding the understanding of common sense and rationality.

The paper reports on data collected from a convenient sample on their definitions of common sense and rationality. A constant comparison method of analysis is used to identify common themes in the definitions from this sample of 38 responses. Percentages and Yule's Q statistical data as well as descriptive statistics of demographics are obtained and examined.

Our findings indicate that a much higher percentage of respondents understand common sense to have a very similar meaning to the literary definition than those understanding the literary meaning of rationality. Statistical analysis of the findings agree.

Further research should include a random sample and definitions of the term “ethics” and further consider the integration of ethics, common sense and rationality.

One implication of this research is to focus on a common understanding of these terms to those who use them. The model presented is intended to provide practical perception of the integration of ethics, common sense and rationality for application in management and life.

This paper adds to current literature on ethics, common sense, and rationality by extensive literature review of all three and combining that research as not presented previously. We offer a view that integrates common sense, rationality and ethics from distant philosophers and considers the current lack of literature connecting the three as shown in the form of a Figure.

The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the philosophical and scientific pedigree of the concept of “common sense”, and explore the implications for managerial decision‐makers.

After examining the management literature on this topic, a brief history of the notion and philosophy of common sense is followed by a review of recent findings in cognitive science and other fields and a discussion of implications for managerial decision‐making.

The notion of common sense has a stable perceptual basis in the makeup of the human mind, as has been shown by philosophers and scientists. Common sense intuitions serve as the basis for making sense of the world: visual perception, scientific reasoning, language, psychology, mathematics, and moral judgments are all rooted in “mental hardware” of common sense. While it is a necessary element of human cognition, common sense can nevertheless lead us astray if we are unaware of its contours and limitations, which are outlined in this paper.

Understanding that the mind comes equipped with a host of common sense mental instincts will have an impact on both one's own decision‐making processes, and how decision‐makers attempt to influence others.

Based on original research as well as literature from a variety of disciplines, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the philosophical and scientific pedigree of “common sense” and its implications for decision‐makers.

The purpose of this study is to provide a granular description of how organizational members construct common knowledge practices in the context of organizational meetings.

A longitudinal interpretative case study methodology was used to collect data from a US-based organization involved in an information system implementation project.

Findings revealed that during meetings common knowledge was constructed through four practices of discernment, compliance, reconstruction and expedition. Findings also revealed that these four practices were influenced by intervening conditions such as calibration challenges and scenario-sharing tools.

The findings of this study have research implications related to common knowledge construction and co-participation practices in the context of organizational meetings. This study has limitations related to statistical generalizability that have been mitigated through a holistic approach to case study methodology that favors analytical generalizability of research findings.

This study provides managers with recommendations that suggest a more strategic use of meetings as useful organizational contexts that may help construct common knowledge practices and shared understanding.

This study contributes to current theorizations of common knowledge by providing an in-depth understanding of the construction of common knowledge practices in organizations. This study also sheds some light on the strategic role of organizational meetings to manage knowledge in project-based organizational contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to discover a three-step process for building contextual ambidexterity into inter-organizational IT-enabled service processes through developmental interventions.

A longitudinal action research project was conducted. The empirical study consisted of three consecutive developmental interventions to support the collaborative development effort of an IT company and its customer network to efficiently serve their present and future customers. The data consists of process modeling and simulation workshop discussions, interviews, observation, and archival data. The development effort was studied for over a year.

The study shows that the three developmental interventions acted as a process for balancing the exploration-exploitation tension in inter-organizational service processes. The sequential interventions facilitated the studied organizations in crossing the inter-organizational knowledge boundaries and creating shared domain knowledge, creating common understanding of the collaborative IT-enabled service processes, and co-developing the coordination mechanisms that are essential for the continuous exploration and exploitation of the new ideas in the future collaborative service processes. These three steps built capacity for the inter-organizational management system to achieve synergies between goals, resources, and activities in the inter-organizational collaboration.

The study contributes to the understanding on the process of building inter-organizational ambidexterity. The study presents a three-step process for building inter-organizational contextual ambidexterity into the IT-enabled service processes through developmental interventions. Research on inter-organizational contextual ambidexterity is combined with research on coordination and knowledge management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, from management perspective, the nature of common sense, its application in decision‐making, and possibility of developing common sense more effectively.

To take typical dictionary definitions of common sense, understand, from management perspective, the different aspects of the nature of common sense, analyze how these properties affect different applications of common sense in decision making process. To cite available literature to support or explain points made, and make a parallel comparison to intuition and decision making where appropriate because of their similarity to certain extent.

The paper provides how to understand properties of common sense from managerial perspective, analyzes its value in aiding decision making, explains how mangers utilize common sense of target group or employees for decision making and creativity, and proposes some points for boosting development of common sense.

The paper points out possible different utilization of common sense for decision making. Common sense can be used for innovation. An effective strategy for innovation is not to launch sounds‐big innovation programs, but to respect and trust your employees to allow them freedom of expression of common sense and uncommon sense.

The paper suggests that common sense may involve tacit knowledge, often is a mix of personal experience and social communication, often comprises hard part and soft part, and can be used for creativity. The paper explains why there exist opposite opinions on common sense approach. These have not been seen in existing literature.

Anecdotal evidence abounds of people in workplaces who use common sense in their work practices. Until now, the idea of common sense being a key concept in workplace learning and practice has not been valued too highly. Attempts have been made in psychological and philosophical literature to understand how common sense knowledge differs from theoretical knowledge. This study represents an initial attempt to use people’s experience in workplaces to understand how they see common sense as an important element of workplace learning. Using a phenomenographic research approach, it was revealed that people held seven different understandings of common sense in workplace experiences. For them, common sense was experienced as: a gut feeling, an innate ability, knowing how, learning, using others, demonstrable cognitive abilities, and personal attributes. These variations offer a broader approach to thinking about common sense in work practices.

This paper aims to address the challenges knowledge actors face when using knowledge codifiability to develop common interests. The challenge is compounded when actors with diverse knowledge domains depend on each other to complete tasks, and, simultaneously, update their knowledge to address novelty in the organizational environment.

Given this context, this paper studies the impact of two moderating variables, systems dependence (Z) and novelty (W), on the relationship between knowledge codifiability (X) and common interests (M). This study also examines whether common interests (M) mediate the relationship between knowledge codifiability (X) and knowledge transfer (Y). To test the hypotheses, the authors collected data from 163 entrepreneurs in the southwest USA.

The results demonstrate that novelty in the knowledge domain of actors provides a supporting context for knowledge codifiability to develop common interests, but only when actors’ dependence on each other to complete tasks is at low to medium level. Moreover, the results also provide evidence that common interests mediate the relationship between codifiability and ease of knowledge transfer.

Using the results, this study provides a decision-making framework for managing tasks based on system dependence and novelty level.

Even though a lot of publications focusing on shared service center (SSC) exist, there is no unique understanding of the term “SSC”. The aim of this paper is to obtain an overview of definitions of the term “SSC” and an overview of relevant literature. It also aims to derive a common understanding with the help of SSC characteristics frequently mentioned. Furthermore, it seeks to identify important differences in the definitions and show their implications for the SSC concept.

An extensive literature review was the basis for this research. An online database containing the most important journals had been scanned for SSC definitions. Furthermore, the most cited books had been analyzed.

There is no unique understanding of SSCs in science and practice. A standardized definition of SSCs is not established. The different definitions vary in many ways. Nevertheless, some characteristics that define the term SSC are mentioned in most publications, including consolidation of processes within the group, delivery of support processes, cost cutting as a major driver, focus on internal customers, alignment with external customers, separated organizational unit and operation like a business. Although there is a common understanding about SSC in parts, fundamental differences were identified, especially between SSC definitions for public and private sectors. These differences have several impacts on the understanding and application of the SSC concept.

The most relevant publications have been considered, but probably not all publications with definitions of the term “SSC”. Future research must include more publications as well as the perceptions of practitioners. Furthermore, the perception of SSC management and staff has not been analyzed.

Owing to the fact that many different definitions for SSC exist, people dealing with a SSC are confused about the meaning of the term – confusion which is likely to result in ambiguity concerning research interpretations. The differences in definitions should be known to understand practical implications like different requirements in governance or regulation.

Some research in the area of SSCs has already been conducted. Nevertheless, neither extensive literature overviews of existing definitions nor comparisons of these definitions for the term SSC exist. The discrepancies in definitions and their implications have not yet been considered.