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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest concepts. These are presented in an easy‐to‐digest briefing of no more than 1,500 words.

Although its halo has slipped of late, Japan has always been renowned for its innovative management strategies and success at developing new, competitive products. Indeed, it seems to have spawned whole new areas of management study, and there is some new evidence that it may have invented the idea of knowledge management before it became part of the lingua franca used in the halls of business schools and Fortune 500 companies in the 1990s. In a compelling study of photocopier giant Fuji Xerox, Katsuhiro Umemoto et al. open the lid on how knowledge sharing developed within the company, adapted to new technologies and provided tangible benefits in costs, lead times and creativity.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

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 examine how and to what extent knowledge management (KM) has been incorporated into the library and information science (LIS) curriculum.

The study is conducted using an e‐mail questionnaire survey of LIS academics world‐wide who adopted KM education in their schools. Based on a preliminary survey of 600 LIS schools' homepages, a structured questionnaire is sent out to 106 LIS academics via e‐mail. In total, 58 filled‐in questionnaires are received, of which 57 are valid for analysis. The analysis follows a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches of research with a primary focus on qualitative analysis.

LIS has assimilated the core content of KM based on the combination of varying proportions of major perspectives and skill‐sets of KM with an emphasis on information management and information technology‐oriented courses. The study also finds that LIS has incorporated KM following a partial adoption process through mutual borrowing of knowledge between LIS and KM.

Many LIS schools, especially from non‐English speaking countries, do not come under investigation due to their lack of web accessibility.

This paper reinforces the curriculum renovation of LIS with the incorporation of KM. It suggests a strong interdisciplinary collaboration with other disciplines having KM interests, and the adoption of a balanced approach to KM that would consider wider audiences and market demand.

The study presents the practical experiences of LIS academics who adopted KM education. The study also explores the concept of “mutual borrowing of knowledge” between LIS and KM.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the construction of the theoretic model of systematic knowledge creation in the healthcare process according to professionals' collaboration using clinical‐pathways.

Healthcare is a knowledge‐intensive service conducted by professionals. A clinical‐pathway is an effective tool in the knowledge management aspect of this service. The theoretic model of the medical knowledge management which used the clinical‐pathway from case studies in two hospitals is constructed.

The theoretical model shows the interaction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge in the healthcare process using clinical‐pathways. This theoretical model is a knowledge creation model which creates new knowledge continuously. Therefore, the clinical‐pathways are suggested as an effective tool for knowledge management in healthcare.

Promotion of knowledge communication between healthcare professionals by clinical‐pathways activities is important for excellent healthcare management.

This paper will be valuable for sustained improvement of healthcare quality by knowledge management with clinical‐pathways. In this paper, the detailed theoretic model which explains medical knowledge management with clinical‐pathways has been constructed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why library and information science (LIS) academics have responded to the advent of knowledge management (KM).

The study employs an “experience survey” as a research strategy. Besides a review of scientific literature, this study conducts an e‐mail survey of 106 LIS academics of the world who have adopted KM education in their schools. A structured questionnaire comprising of both closed and open questions is used as the data collection instrument. The study analyses 57 filled‐in valid questionnaires following a mixed‐method approach of research.

The ways of knowing and degrees of understanding of KM concepts among the LIS academics are varied. Although KM is distinct from LIS, there exists a strong link between the two knowledge domains. LIS academics have positively responded to KM and considering its long root in LIS, they have argued for a serious consideration of the adoption of KM in LIS. The significant reasons for why the academics have responded to KM are the role of global knowledge economy, the natural evolution of the information field, interdisciplinarity, domain expansion, survival issues, and trends in technological innovations, etc.

Many LIS schools do not come under investigation due to lack of their web accessibility.

It is suggested that LIS academics apply a holistic approach of KM and expand the knowledge domain of LIS by providing a sound understanding of the underlying concepts, theories, principles, techniques, and technologies of KM.

The empirical findings of the study are the original views and responses of LIS academics who are experienced in KM.

The purpose of this paper is to distinguish and describe knowledge management (KM) technologies according to their support for strategy.

This study employed an ontology development method to describe the relations between technology, KM and strategy, and to categorize available KM technologies according to those relations. Ontologies are formal specifications of concepts in a domain and their inter‐relationships, and can be used to facilitate common understanding and knowledge sharing. The study focused particularly on two sub‐domains of the KM field: KM strategies and KM technologies.

”KM strategy” has three meanings in the literature: approach to KM, knowledge strategy, and KM implementation strategy. Also, KM technologies support strategy via KM initiatives based on particular knowledge strategies and approaches to KM. The study distinguishes three types of KM technologies: component technologies, KM applications, and business applications. They all can be described in terms of ”creation” and ”transfer” knowledge strategies, and ”personalization” and ”codification” approaches to KM.

The resulting framework suggests that KM technologies can be analyzed better in the context of KM initiatives, instead of the usual approach associating them with knowledge processes. KM initiatives provide the background and contextual elements necessary to explain technology adoption and use.

The framework indicates three alternative modes for organizational adoption of KM technologies: custom development of KM systems from available component technologies; purchase of KM‐specific applications; or purchase of business‐driven applications that embed KM functionality. It also lists adequate technologies and provides criteria for selection in any of the cases.

Among the many studies analyzing the role of technology in KM, an association with strategy has been missing. This paper contributes to filling this gap, integrating diverse contributions via a clearer definition of concepts and a visual representation of their relationships. This use of ontologies as a method, instead of an artifact, is also uncommon in the literature.

This paper aims to model the national development of the knowledge economy and argue its policy implications.

The methodology is a deductive research approach. First, the paper examines fundamental epistemological assumptions of the literature on the knowledge economy to identify major views on the knowledge economy. Second, it synthesizes relevant studies of the knowledge economy to develop key concepts to be used in the theoretical model of the knowledge economy.

The paper argues that among three views of the knowledge economy (i.e., knowledge‐as‐asset, knowledge‐as‐relation, and knowledge‐as‐capability views), the knowledge‐as‐capability view is the most appropriate to explain the knowledge economy. However, this view is still evolving to explain the knowledge economy. Only a few studies have discussed national capabilities, but they omitted many points of capability as an aspect of knowledge. Although many studies have discussed organizational capabilities and provided some insight, these ideas are not directly applicable at the national level.

This paper suggests that to develop a knowledge economy a national government should be concerned about the balanced development of the whole system of the economy, while paying due attention to knowledge‐related activities.

This paper proposes a theoretical model of the knowledge economy, using original concepts of three types of national basic capability, i.e., epistemic capability, economic capability, and institutional capability and national developmental capability as the meta‐capability of leveraging, orchestrating, and restructuring those basic capabilities.

This case study examines the evolution of R&D knowledge management at Japan’s business equipment maker Fuji Xerox, from the sashimi system, a Japanese origin of concurrent engineering, to its successor zen‐in system, which is composed mainly of a real high‐tech discussion room equipped with databases that provide technical information and two 70‐inch displays that shows virtual but real‐size, three‐dimensional graphic models. We found that Fuji Xerox has chosen the “hybridization strategy” that mixes human‐based and IT‐based knowledge‐sharing techniques. We also argue that concurrent engineering provides not only efficiency benefits but also positive effects on group and organizational creativity. Finally we present a conceptual framework of “how concurrent engineering works”, i.e. uncertainty and diversity necessitate concurrency which produces such benefits as efficiency and creativity, and which in turn realizes product integrity.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore library practitioners' views of knowledge management (KM) and its incorporation into library practice.

The study is based on the review of literature available in secondary sources, and the result of interviews of ten library practitioners worldwide. The respondents are purposively selected from the participants' lists of two international conferences held in 2008. The interviews were conducted through e‐mail using a short, structured, and open‐ended questionnaire.

The ways of knowing and degrees of understanding of KM concepts among the library practitioners are varied. But the most library practitioners have focused on a shallow perception of KM for its incorporation into library practice – dealing with only explicit information and/or knowledge. This study also finds some of the reasons for responding to KM, e.g. increasing value of knowledge in the knowledge economy, role of information technologies, opportunities for improved library practices.

The study is limited in its scope, conducting interviews of only ten library practitioners worldwide, and hence, generalization may not be derived from the findings.

The paper suggests that library practitioners need to broaden their understanding, change their traditional mindset, and to apply a holistic approach of KM system design and library practice, focusing on both explicit and tacit knowledge.

The paper investigates the original views of library practitioners regarding KM in libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of an integrated digital library (DL) system based on knowledge management (KM) process.

The study is based on viewpoints, review of existing concepts and frameworks of DL and KM, and the result of an interview of nine DL practitioners world‐wide. The respondents are purposively selected from the participants” lists of two international conferences held in 2008. The interview is conducted through e‐mail using a short, structured and open‐ended questionnaire.

The study finds some significant overlaps between DL and KM and argues that a generic KM process of acquisition, organization, storage and retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge with receiving feedbacks can suitably be fitted in DL. Thus an integrated DL system can be consisted of digital resources, technological infrastructure, experience and expertise, DL services and a KM process. The integration of KM can add value to developing a knowledge‐based culture, management of intellectual assets, promotion of knowledge sharing, innovations in DL services and a strong leadership position for DL.

The research presents theoretical viewpoints of DL and KM, and the model, therefore, demands for practical investigation.

The study suggests the adoption of KM process in DL system to enhance its effectiveness.

The proposed model is an original work and theoretically, it would contribute to the advancement of academic debate in both the areas of DL and KM.