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21 – 26 of 26
Article
Publication date: 4 November 2014

Harri Jalonen

This paper aims to argue that the value of social media in knowledge management (KM) can be evaluated on the basis of how social media helps to overcome four generic knowledge…

1471

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to argue that the value of social media in knowledge management (KM) can be evaluated on the basis of how social media helps to overcome four generic knowledge problems – i.e. uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity and equivocality. Drawing upon the relevant KM and social media literature, the paper discusses the four knowledge problems surrounding the KM and presents a framework for overcoming them through social media.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature synthesis involving inductive interpretation of qualitative research was used.

Findings

The paper shows how different knowledge problems can be approached through social media: uncertainty can be reduced by decent problem formulation and effective information acquisition, complexity can be simplified by increasing knowledge process capacity and decomposing problems, ambiguity can be dissipated by sensemaking and equivocality can be encountered by creating trust and allowing polyphony of perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to the KM research by providing a theoretically founded framework which illustrates the relationship between social media and knowledge problems.

Practical implications

The framework can be used not only for identifying and understanding epistemological differences between knowledge problems but also for developing social media guidelines for KM purposes. The paper provides a categorisation of knowledge problems, which can be applied in the crystallisation of an organisation’s knowledge strategies in terms of codification and personalisation.

Originality/value

Social media means not only new possibilities but also new threats to organisations’ KM practices. The paper establishes the association between social media and the management of fundamental knowledge problems not previously discussed.

Details

VINE: The journal of information and knowledge management systems, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-5728

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2012

Vesa Taatila and Samuel Down

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the measurement of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the student population of different academic programmes, in order to enhance…

3323

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the measurement of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the student population of different academic programmes, in order to enhance entrepreneurship‐related procedures within universities.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey‐based tool for measuring EO is presented and used in one university. The answers are explored using statistical methods.

Findings

The results show that the survey provides the user with adequate data about EO within student groups. They also demonstrate that while entrepreneurial desire differs between academic programmes, actual EO results do not.

Practical implications

In the paper it is suggested that the new information can be used for developing entrepreneurial courses as well as student selection procedures. Some modifications for the survey, as well as initiation of a wider research programme, are also proposed.

Originality/value

The paper uses a traditional survey for EO in a novel setting, amongst university students. The results create new interesting knowledge about the differences and similarities of the students of different academic programmes.

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2015

Isto Huvila

In contrast to the interest of describing and managing the social processes of knowing, information science and information and knowledge management research have put less…

3654

Abstract

Purpose

In contrast to the interest of describing and managing the social processes of knowing, information science and information and knowledge management research have put less emphasis on discussing how particular information becomes usable and how it is used in different contexts and situations. The purpose of this paper is to address this major gap, and introduce and discuss the applicability of the notion of situational appropriation of information for shedding light on this particular process in the context of daily information work practices of professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the analysis of 25 qualitative interviews of archives, library and museum professionals conducted in two Nordic countries.

Findings

The study presents examples of how individuals appropriate different tangible and intangible assets as information on the basis of the situation in hand.

Research limitations/implications

The study proposes a new conceptual tool for articulating and conducting research on the process how information becomes useful in the situation in hand.

Practical implications

The situational appropriation of information perspective redefines the role of information management to incorporate a comprehensive awareness of the situations when information is useful and is being used. A better understanding how information becomes useful in diverse situations helps to discern the active role of contextual and situational effects and to exploit and take them into account as a part of the management of information and knowledge processes.

Originality/value

In contrast to orthodoxies of information science and information and knowledge management research, the notion of situational appropriation of information represents an alternative approach to the conceptualisation of information utilisation. It helps to frame particular types of instances of information use that are not necessarily addressed within the objectivistic, information seeker or learning oriented paradigms of information and knowledge management.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 67 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Alireza Shokri

The purpose of this paper is to extend previous studies to a hybrid analysis of three business improvement practices of Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) within last two…

3833

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend previous studies to a hybrid analysis of three business improvement practices of Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) within last two decades and identify the research gaps and focusses in more comprehensive and robust classification framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A secondary data collection and a literature review were conducted to collect information about peer-reviewed journal articles under six dimensions of a tested classification framework. The frequency and distribution analysis was conducted followed by Pearson’s χ2 test to analyse any relationship between dimensions of framework in order to identify the gap.

Findings

Despite a relatively great deal of regular research outputs about Six Sigma, Lean and LSS, academic journal articles have been found mainly limited to a few industries, themes and countries. “General manufacturing”, “healthcare”, “automotive” and “electronic industries” as sectors; and “tools and techniques”, “benefits” and “success factors” as key themes have been mostly approached by LSS, Six Sigma and lean management articles. It was also found that there is still a great disparity amongst researchers and journals to publish about these three business improvement practices.

Research limitations/implications

The research publications for LSS, Six Sigma and lean management should have wider approach towards various manufacturing and service sectors, countries and journal publications. A greater level of research/enterprise activities has been found in relation to LSS and Six Sigma articles compared to lean management articles.

Originality/value

This research aims to identify the gaps in research publications during last two decades about three major business improvement practices in one package and through more comprehensive robust classification framework and also through comparative analysis.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 December 2022

Devon Gidley, Mark Palmer and Amani Gharib

The authors aimed to explore how involvement in a creative development accelerator impacted participants. In particular, the authors considered the role of suffering in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors aimed to explore how involvement in a creative development accelerator impacted participants. In particular, the authors considered the role of suffering in the acceleration process.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an ethnography of a rapid prototyping program in video game development. Data collection included participant observation (162 h before, 186 during and 463 h after the main prototyping), interviews (23 formal and 35 informal) and artifact analysis (presentations, documents, games).

Findings

Acceleration led to individual suffering via burnout, lack of sleep, overwork and illness. In turn, participants required varying periods of recovery after participation and diverged in their longer-term reaction to the experience. The authors make two contributions. First, the authors deepen empirical understanding of the embodied impact of participation in an organizational accelerator. Second, the authors develop a theoretical process model of suffering in an accelerator program based on time and initiation.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focused on a single iteration of a program based out of an incubator in the United Kingdom (UK) Suffering was discovered as part of a larger study of the program.

Practical implications

Business and technology accelerators are becoming a popular way to organize work. This research suggests that accelerator structures might lead to unintended and negative participant experiences.

Originality/value

This research challenges the assumption that accelerators always benefit, or at least not hurt, participants. The authors add to the limited attention paid to suffering in organizations. The authors conclude the impact of an accelerator is more complex than usually portrayed.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2018

Paul D. Ahn and Kerry Jacobs

The purpose of this paper is to explore how an accounting association and its key members define, control, and claim their knowledge; adopt a closure and/or openness policy to…

1476

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how an accounting association and its key members define, control, and claim their knowledge; adopt a closure and/or openness policy to enhance their status/influence; and respond to structural/institutional forces from international organisations and/or the state in a particular historical context, such as a globalised/neo-liberalised setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical tools (field, capital, habitus, and doxa) to understand how public sector accrual accounting was defined, and how the Korean Association for Government Accounting was formed and represented as a group with public sector accounting expertise. The research context was the implementation of accrual accounting in South Korea between 1997/1998, when the Asian financial crisis broke out, and 2006/2007, when accrual accounting was enforced by legislation. The authors interviewed social actors recognised as public sector accounting experts, in addition to examining related documents such as articles in academic journals, newsletters, invitations, membership forms, newspaper articles, and curricula vitae.

Findings

The authors found that the key founders of KAGA included some public administration professors, who advocated public sector accrual accounting via civil society groups immediately after Korea applied to the International Monetary Fund for bailout loans and a new government was formed in 1997/1998. In conjunction with public servants, they defined and designed public sector accrual accounting as a measure of public sector reform and as a part of the broader government budget process, rather than as an accounting initiative. They also co-opted accounting professors and CPA-qualified accountants through their personal connections, based on shared educational backgrounds, to represent the association as a public sector accounting experts’ group.

Originality/value

These findings suggest that the study of the accounting profession cannot be restricted to a focus on professional accounting associations and that accounting knowledge can be acquired by non-accountants. Therefore, the authors argue that the relationship between accounting knowledge, institutional forms, and key actors’ strategies is rich and multifaceted.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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