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This study aims to identify and compare the knowledge and information retrieval needs from past projects and for future work among Italian and Japanese engineers. Engineering work, which is knowledge-intensive, is all the more critical as it both uses and generates knowledge for product and process innovation.

This research uses data collected from engineers in Italy and Japan from an online survey using open-ended questions in their native language. Answers were then translated into English and coded into pre-determined categories; statistical analyses including factor analysis were conducted.

For knowledge to be retrieved from past work, both Italian and Japanese engineers identified mainly experiential and systemic knowledge assets. For knowledge to be captured for future work, both groups picked experiential as well as conceptual knowledge related to the competitive environment of the firm absent from knowledge needs from past work. Finally, this research uncovered almost twice as fewer meta-categories for knowledge needs to be captured for future work compared to knowledge to be retrieved from past projects, as the former are by nature speculative and, therefore, difficult to foresee.

The study is limited to the engineering domain and to two countries. Further research should extend the scope beyond these two countries.

The study identified information and knowledge needs that could help inform the design of procedures to capture and document engineering work and the development of supporting information systems.

This research contributes to an increased understanding of the substance of information and knowledge needs in a knowledge-intensive environment such as engineering work and product/service development.

Building on the service‐centered dominant logic, this paper aims to investigate the effects of firm knowledge (knowledge of customers, industry, and practices) and synergistic combinations of different types of employee knowledge as a foundation for competitive advantage in retail and service organizations. Specifically, it seeks to theorize that the firm's operant knowledge resources combine to develop the service‐based value proposition of enhanced ability to meet customer needs that results in greater performance.

A survey methodology was used to test the hypotheses using a sample of 293 retail and service providers.

Employees' knowledge of its customers and competitors allow the firm to enhance its ability to meet customer needs, whereas knowledge of firm practices, in isolation, does not enhance a firm's ability to meet customer needs. When looking at the synergistic combination of employees' knowledge (i.e. the two‐way interactions and the three‐way interaction of knowledge of customers; knowledge of firm practices; knowledge of industry) several interesting insights emerge to help to understand how to enhance a firm's ability to meet customer needs.

Since researchers have yet to fully explore the effects of knowledge as operant resources and their conversion into capabilities, this study uses a dynamic capabilities approach and demonstrates that providing front‐line employees with the knowledge necessary to understand the firm's consumer base allows the firm to develop the ability to meet customer needs (i.e. a capability), which in turn allows the organization to reap the economic benefits of a satisfied and returning customer base.

The two‐way and three way interactions provide new insights into the synergistic employment of operant knowledge resources.

The results suggest that operant knowledge resources may not be equally created as different combinations of operant resources result in superior capabilities than other combinations.

This paper aims to present findings from a study of non-profit organizations (NPOs), including a model of knowledge needs that can be applied by practitioners and scholars to further develop the NPO sector.

A survey was conducted with NPOs operating in Canada and Australia. An analysis of survey responses identified the different types of knowledge essential for each organization. Respondents identified the importance of three pre-determined themes (quantitative data) related to knowledge needs, as well as a fourth option, which was a free text box (qualitative data). The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analyses and a grounded theory approach, respectively.

Analysis of the quantitative data indicates that NPOs ' needs are comparable in both countries. Analysis of qualitative data identified five major categories and multiple sub-categories representing the types of knowledge needs of NPOs. Major categories are knowledge about management and organizational practices, knowledge about resources, community knowledge, sectoral knowledge and situated knowledge. The paper discusses the results using semantic proximity and presents an emergent, evidence-based knowledge management (KM)-NPO model.

The findings contribute to the growing body of literature in the KM domain, and in the understudied research domain related to the knowledge needs and experiences of NPOs. NPOs will find the identified categories and sub-categories useful to undertake KM initiatives within their individual organizations. The study is also unique, as it includes data from two countries, Canada and Australia.

The purpose of this paper is to identify knowledge gaps on insinuations of possible directions of European Union (EU) and international climate policies.

This study has used participatory approach of highly experienced stakeholders’ engagement, involved directly or indirectly in the process of policymaking. A range of priority issues has been initially identified through desk analysis and key stakeholders have been selected and invited to partake in the process. Preliminary results have been validated through interaction with stakeholders during a series of workshops.

The results show the identification of a series of sectors, where climate policy is expected to focus in the future and the definition of 11 specific topics upon which knowledge gaps are expected to appear. Results on the identified knowledge needs are analysed and categorized by each prioritized main topic and compared with literature findings. Emphasis is identified to be placed on the topics of renewable energy, EU climate policy and international climate negotiations, which are the most popular ones, followed by energy policy and energy efficiency.

A key element of the approach is the consideration of key experts’ feedback on their specific area of expertise, instead of general public engagement, therefore leading to accurate results. Despite the fact that our approach was applied to a specific problem, the overall analysis could provide a framework for supporting applications in various problems in the field of priorities’ identification and even expanding to decision-making problems.

This paper aims to explore the information needs and information-seeking behaviours of the new generation of engineering designers. A survey study is used to approach what their information needs are, how these needs change during an engineering design project and how their information-seeking behaviours have been influenced by the newly developed information technologies (ITs). Through an in-depth analysis of the survey results, the key functions have been identified for the next-generation management systems.

The paper first proposed four hypotheses on the information needs and information-seeking behaviours of young engineers. Then, a survey study was undertaken to understand their information usage in terms of the information needs and information-seeking behaviours during a complete engineering design process. Through analysing the survey results, several findings were obtained and on this basis, further comparisons were made to discuss and evaluate the hypotheses.

The paper has revealed that the engineering designers' information needs will evolve throughout the engineering design project; thus, they should be assisted at several different levels. Although they intend to search information and knowledge on know-what and know-how, what they really require is the know-why knowledge in order to help them complete design tasks. Also, the paper has shown how the newly developed ITs and web-based applications have influenced the engineers' information-seeking practices.

The research subjects chosen in this study are engineering students in universities who, although not as experienced as engineers in companies, do go through a complete design process with the tasks similar to industrial scenarios. In addition, the focus of this study is to understand the information-seeking behaviours of a new generation of design engineers, so that the development of next-generation information and knowledge management systems can be well informed. In this sense, the results obtained do reveal some new knowledge about the information-seeking behaviours during a general design process.

This paper first identifies the information needs and information-seeking behaviours of the new generation of engineering designers. On this basis, the varied ways to meet these needs and behaviours are discussed and elaborated. This intends to provide the key characteristics for the development of the next-generation knowledge management system for engineering design projects.

This paper proposes a novel means of exploring the future engineers' information needs and information-seeking behaviours in a collaborative working environment. It also characterises the key features and functions for the next generation of knowledge management systems for engineering design.

Razi's theory has an axiological and epistemological relevance that ethical values are established on knowledge model which is developed by interactive preferences between polity and the value system. The point of departure for the understanding of the differences of Razi's human needs theory vis‐a‐vis the contemporary ideas are the metaphysical principle that underlies the notion of the theory. By means of this principle we come to understand the place of human being in the universe, his function and purpose in life and his final destination, therefore his needs and motivations. Thus an economic system based on Razi's human needs theory is an ethico‐economy which tilts neither toward socialism nor laissez‐faire capitalism. The notion of need can be interpreted as a reaction against allegedly value‐free or value‐neutral approaches in the social sciences. In this sense, the work of Razi can be most usefully seen as part of those ethical ideas which he invoked in the 12th century. Razi's writing on ethics that very closely related to philosophy is much less well known. Yet it is essential in an attempt to evaluate his contribution to the development of Islamic thought. The scope of his writings is remarkable, ranging from his early analyses of theological and legal controversies in the eastern part of the Muslim world, through a book on Qur'anic Exegesis and ethics; from medical sciences to his sustained polemic on credology and philosophy. In short, his writings embrace diversity of areas, from theology to philosophy, from natural to applied sciences including chemistry, astronomy and medicine. In his writings, he succeeded in proving his claim that excellence and perfection of man are not realized by means of bodily sensual pleasure. Rather, it is realized instead, by means of knowledge, power and excellent manners. This paper gives an account of the relevancies of knowledge‐based world view in the light of Razi's view of human needs. In dealing with this topic, two questions are explored: (1) what is his view of human needs? and, (2) what is the relevance of his view to ethics and economics?