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Article
Publication date: 11 October 2021

Herman A. van den Berg and Vaneet Kaur

Fundamental classifications of knowledge may be measurable as factors of production and can reveal evidence of specialization between adjacent stages of production even in the…

Abstract

Purpose

Fundamental classifications of knowledge may be measurable as factors of production and can reveal evidence of specialization between adjacent stages of production even in the presence of shared substantive knowledge. This study of aims to distinguish between, and empirically measure, relative reliance on fundamental classifications of knowledge at the individual level.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, investment managers were asked in an online survey to weigh their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in executing different investment strategies for diverse client groups. Measures of relative reliance on each fundamental classification of knowledge were derived from weights assigned by each survey respondent in a series of six questions.

Findings

Survey respondents provided reliable measures of their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge. Reliance on these fundamental classifications of knowledge is shown to differ between investment managers, depending on the investment strategies being used and client groups served. These differences were exhibited notwithstanding all the respondents sharing common substantive knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

Measures of relative reliance on three classifications of knowledge were based on self-reported ratings rather than on objectively observed phenomena, making them subject to measurement error. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to observe relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in future studies.

Originality/value

The divergences in relative reliance on the fundamentally different knowledge-based factors of production were found in the presence of jointly held substantive knowledge, suggesting that fundamental classifications of knowledge are measurable and can provide evidence of specialization.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2013

Herman A. van den Berg

This research seeks to respond to Simon's challenge to apply “an economic calculus to knowledge”. The paper aims to develop a typology of knowledge that may be fruitful in

3171

Abstract

Purpose

This research seeks to respond to Simon's challenge to apply “an economic calculus to knowledge”. The paper aims to develop a typology of knowledge that may be fruitful in facilitating research in a knowledge‐based view of production.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the enduring literature on the knowledge‐based view of the firm (KBV) and gleans three classifications of organisational knowledge as distinct factors of production: tacit, codified, and encapsulated knowledge.

Findings

Differences between the tacit, codified, and encapsulated shapes of knowledge carry strategic implications for the firm along six important dimensions. Distinguishing between its three classifications sets the stage for measurement of knowledge as a factor of production.

Research limitations/implications

Distinctions between the three shapes of knowledge may be less defined in practice than in theory. The classification in which a repository of knowledge falls is dependent on the tacit knowledge being applied by the user. Software may be encapsulated to a user, but codified to its creator.

Practical implications

Recognition of the differences between the three shapes of organisational knowledge may help managers to: determine the most economic combination of knowledge to use in production; transfer knowledge more effectively within and across organisational boundaries; determine the most economic location of firm boundaries; and ensure value is appropriated for the firm.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that distinguishing and accentuating encapsulated knowledge as a distinct classification of knowledge can help advance the development of a strategic knowledge‐based theory of production.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2011

Mamello Thinyane and Alfredo Terzoli

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of a culturally sensitive and end‐user‐centric software architectural framework for the development of eService…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of a culturally sensitive and end‐user‐centric software architectural framework for the development of eService applications in information and communication technologies for development (ICTD) contexts. The research is undertaken within the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Action research is the approach undertaken in this research with an extensive literature review to inform the development of the architecture, which is later qualitatively and quantitavely validated.

Findings

Various factors have to be taken into consideration for technology solutions to be effective in their context of deployment. The authors have provided an architecture that intrinsically enables software solutions to be developed from the ground up with concern for flexibility for context sensitivity. The PIASK architecture separates the presentation, interaction, access, social networking and knowledge base components into five distinct functional layers. This architecture is validated for: technical viability through a development of a knowledge portal in SLL; cultural sensitivity through Dooyeweerd's theory of modal aspects; and user centricity using a SALUTA‐based evaluation.

Practical implications

The successful evolution of any society towards a knowledge society is predicated on technology solutions that embrace and that are sensitive to the socio‐cultural diversity of that society. The PIASK architecture developed in this research is a tool that can be used in the realization of services and applications for ICTD contexts in South Africa and other third‐world countries.

Originality/value

The software architecture developed specifically for ICTD contexts to encapsulate context sensitivity and user centricity is the primary and novel contribution of this research.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 December 2022

Jawad Abbas and Shumaila Mazhar Khan

Based on the sharp decline in the quantity and quality of natural resources, many organizations are shifting their operations to an eco-friendly system. However, this objective…

3182

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the sharp decline in the quantity and quality of natural resources, many organizations are shifting their operations to an eco-friendly system. However, this objective cannot be achieved without capitalizing on green knowledge and innovation. The purpose of this study is to examine whether green knowledge management (GKM) strengthens organizational green innovation capabilities, leading to green performance. Moreover, considering culture as the buffering condition, the authors took it as the conditional boundary between GKM and green innovation and investigated if it impacts their relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors focused on the manufacturing and services firms’ managerial and non-managerial staff and collected data following the non-probability convenience sampling technique. The collected data were examined through structural equation modeling.

Findings

It is found that GKM is a significant positive predictor of organizational green innovation and green performance and strengthens their abilities in these areas. However, green innovation partially mediates between GKM and corporate green performance. It is also found that green culture strengthens the relationship between GKM and organizational green innovation.

Originality/value

This study’s findings provide confidence to organizational managers and related stakeholders to achieve sustainability goals by capitalizing on GKM and promoting green culture in their setup. This study is also among the pioneer studies investigating GKM as a unified system and linking it with environmental performance domains.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 27 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 May 2022

Vaneet Kaur

Several manuscripts are adopting knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) as their main theoretical lens. However, these manuscripts lack consistent conceptualization and…

1767

Abstract

Purpose

Several manuscripts are adopting knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) as their main theoretical lens. However, these manuscripts lack consistent conceptualization and systematization of the construct. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of KBDCs by clarifying the dominant concepts at the junction of knowledge management and dynamic capabilities domains, identifying which emerging themes are gaining traction with KBDCs scholars, demonstrating how the central thesis around KBDCs has evolved and explaining how can KBDCs scholars move towards finding a mutually agreed conceptualization of the field to advance empirical assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

The Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection database was used to extract 225 manuscripts that lie at the confluence of two promising management domains, namely, knowledge management and dynamic capabilities. A scientometric analysis including co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence network analysis and text mining was conducted and integrated with a systematic review of results to facilitate an unstructured ontological discovery in the field of KBDCs.

Findings

The co-citation analysis produced three clusters of research at the junction of knowledge management and dynamic capabilities, whereas the bibliographic coupling divulged five themes of research that are gaining traction with KBDCs scholars. The systematic literature review helped to clarify each clusters’ content. While scientific mapping analysis explained how the central thesis around KBDCs has evolved, text mining and keyword analysis established how KBDCs emerge from the combination of knowledge management process capabilities and dynamic capabilities.

Originality/value

Minimal attention has been paid to systematizing the literature on KBDCs. Accordingly, KBDCs view has been investigated through complementary scientometric methods involving machine-based algorithms to allow for a more robust, structured, comprehensive and unbiased mapping of this emerging field of research.

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2018

Sufian Fannoun and John Kerins

Issues surrounding knowledge management, knowledge transfer and learning within organisations challenge continuity and resilience in the face of changing environments. While…

Abstract

Purpose

Issues surrounding knowledge management, knowledge transfer and learning within organisations challenge continuity and resilience in the face of changing environments. While initiatives are principally applied within large organisations, there is scope to assess how the processes are handled within small and medium enterprises and consider how they might be enhanced. This paper aims to present an evaluation of practice within an evolving software development unit to determine what has been learned and how the knowledge acquired has been used to further organisational development. These results provide the basis for the design and implementation of a proposed support tool to enhance professional practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A small software development unit which has successfully delivered bespoke systems since its establishment a number of years ago was selected for analysis. In-depth interviews were carried out with each member of the unit to elicit an understanding of individual and collective development. Interview data were recorded and transcribed and subjected to qualitative analysis to identify key themes underpinning knowledge acquisition and utilisation. Samples of project documentation were scrutinised to corroborate interview data. After analysing the data, a focus-group meeting was held to validate the results and to generate further insights into learning within the unit.

Findings

Qualitative analysis of the data revealed key changes in thinking and practice within the unit, as well as insight into the development of individual and collective contextual knowledge, tacit understanding and learning. This analysis informed the proposal of a bespoke, lightweight, Web-based system to support knowledge capture and organisational learning. This approach has the potential to promote resilience and enhance practice in similar small or start-up enterprises.

Research limitations/implications

Purposeful sampling was used in selecting a small software development unit. This enabled in-depth interviewing of all six members of the organisation. This offered a rich environment from which to derive awareness and understanding of individual and collective knowledge acquisition and learning. Focussing on a single small enterprise limits the extent to which the findings can be generalised. However, the research provides evidence of effective practice and learning and has identified themes for the development of a support tool. This approach can be extended to similar domains to advance research into their learning and development.

Practical implications

Results of the work undertaken so far have generated promising foundations for the proposed support tool. This offers software developers a potentially useful system within which they can reflect upon, and record, key learning events affecting technical, managerial and professional practice.

Originality/value

Small enterprises have limited resources to support organisational learning. The qualitative research undertaken so far has yielded valuable insight into the successful development of a single software development unit. The construction of a support tool to enhance knowledge acquisition and learning has the capacity to consolidate valuable, and potentially scarce, expertise. It also has the potential to facilitate further research to determine how the prototype might be extended or revised to improve its contribution to the unit’s development.

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2022

Vaneet Kaur

The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the canonical contribution of the classical theories of multinational enterprises (MNE) and complement them with congruous…

793

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the canonical contribution of the classical theories of multinational enterprises (MNE) and complement them with congruous multi-theoretical lenses to a propose a meta-theoretical view for competitive advantage. The proposed framework is applied to fundamental questions of MNE, and exploratory insights are revealed.

Design/methodology/approach

This study sought to review the literature on various paradigms such as resource-based view, knowledge-based view, attention-based view, relational view, dynamic capability view and institution-based view to propose a meta-theoretical approach explicating the phenomenon of competitiveness.

Findings

This study proffers that the key to global competitiveness lies in building micro-foundational, multidimensional and multilevel multinational orchestration capabilities. The requisite orchestration capabilities are capabilities par excellence that explain: how organizational capabilities originate through the cognition of individual employees at the micro level; how individual-level abilities are amplified when they are harnessed through relational capabilities to form knowledge capabilities at the meso-level; and how the confluence of knowledge capabilities and higher order dynamic capabilities gives rise to heterogeneous firm-level knowledge-based dynamic capabilities that can be combined with institution capabilities to aggrandize the prediction of competitive advantage for MNEs.

Originality/value

The successful development of MNE competitiveness as a field of academic inquiry, brought about by an increasing amount of theoretical specialization, has come at the price of significant fragmentation of the overall scientific quest. The abovementioned paradigms and their underlying constructs have primarily been conceptualized in silos. The classical theories of MNE have been used a starting point to which complementary multidisciplinary views have been scaffolded to gain a more nuanced understanding of global competitiveness.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

C.J. Anumba and D. Scott

This paper describes the approach adopted in the evaluation of a knowledge‐based system for subsidence management, subsidence case management system (SCAMS). It introduces general…

1086

Abstract

This paper describes the approach adopted in the evaluation of a knowledge‐based system for subsidence management, subsidence case management system (SCAMS). It introduces general principles in the evaluation of knowledge‐based systems, highlighting some of the various techniques available. The criteria adopted for SCAMS’s evaluation are then established, followed by a description of the evaluation methodology. The paper concludes with an appraisal of the evaluation process and a discussion of its outcome.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 19 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2018

Abd Halid Abdullah, Siti Khalijah Yaman, Hairuddin Mohammad and Padzil Fadzil Hassan

Problems of Malaysian construction industry have often been associated, in part to incompetent construction manager (CM) when managing the construction projects. Although various…

1327

Abstract

Purpose

Problems of Malaysian construction industry have often been associated, in part to incompetent construction manager (CM) when managing the construction projects. Although various education and training provisions have been introduced, critics argue that the provisions have not been effective. Central in the debate on the adequacy of the CM education and training offered is the answer to the question of “what constitutes the technical competency of the CM?” The purpose of this paper is to present the study that identifies the technical competencies required by the CM to address the question.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-layered thematic analysis of literature was first carried out to identify the technical competency elements. Then, interviews were undertaken to confirm the elements of competencies. It was followed with questionnaire surveys to test the validity of the technical competencies against different contractors’ category and grade/size.

Findings

The findings suggest that the technical competencies of CM are generic, regardless of the size of construction organisation or the types of projects they undertake. A total of 16 CM technical competencies were identified which include the ability to manage: staff, materials, labour, plant, sub-contractors, safety, money, quality, time, environment, site administration, pre-construction activities, project closeout and handover, third parties, computer literacy, and construction contract.

Originality/value

The findings suggest that generic education and training is possible to develop technically competent CM. It also provides insights to the CM technical competencies which the industry is expecting.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1992

S.L.J. Mika

Continues from the first part of the article (Structural Survey9.2) in describing the work undertaken in computer‐aided learning at theUniversity of Reading, UK. Describes, with…

Abstract

Continues from the first part of the article (Structural Survey 9.2) in describing the work undertaken in computer‐aided learning at the University of Reading, UK. Describes, with illustrations, a student‐created knowledge base using Hypercard software on an Apple Macintosh. Describes the uses of a self‐teaching expert system package, and a simulated building survey. Concludes that powerful computer‐based simulations are an effective teaching method for building surveyors.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

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