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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations among knowledge sharing (KS), intellectual capital (IC), absorptive capacity (AC), innovation (IN) and organizational performance (OP).

This paper empirically tests a model that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) based on a partial least squares (PLS). The sample is composed of 351 Brazilian and 135 Portuguese enterprises. They are micro, small and medium enterprises.

The results show that: the relation between KS and AC is partially mediated by IC; the relation between IC and IN is partially mediated by AC and the relation between KS and IN is mediated by AC and IC or both. There are relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP.

The study does not control for industry effects and technological differences among the firms.

The use of KS mitigates the loss of knowledge associated to employees' retirement or job changes. The knowledge appropriation by the organization (turning human capital (HC) into structural capital (SC)), the knowledge achieved from connections (relational capital, RC) and the trust embedded in an organization's relation with employees are important for AC and IN. Moreover, KS can positively influence all elements of IC. OP depends directly on IN and indirectly on the others constructs.

This study is relevant because it explores the relations among KS, IC, AC, IN and OP in one model. Moreover, it focuses on small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) with data from two countries.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how knowledge takes effect in different software development methodologies by relating them to different knowledge cycles.

The results were find by conducing a general review about the topics of knowledge cycles and software development methodologies.

All software development methodologies have knowledge cycles. In Waterfall methodology, the cycle followed is I-Space. For “code and fix,” there is a parallel with March’s cycle. Scrum shows a parallel with SECI cycle. Among the methodological options, results show there an increase in hierarchy, documentation, processes and explicit knowledge.

Identified parallels of each methodology with knowledge cycles; established which Scrum artifacts are performed at each stage of SECI, which Waterfall steps correspond to I-Space phases and which activities in “code and fix” deal with exploration and exploitation of knowledge; and features shown increase or decrease according to the adoption of each methodology.

Results help knowledge sharing implementations and foster inter-team knowledge sharing, with the identification of the correct methodology-cycle match and the personalization of the strategy for each team based on the adopted methodology. Training for knowledge initiatives can be improved by determining how knowledge-sharing activities are incorporated on the determined series of actions established by the methodologies adopted on the firm.

The identification of how knowledge is generated and shared among teams in each methodology, the optimum pairing of the methodology and the parallels with the other, and the differences that emerge from the adopted knowledge cycle show that software projects are embedded in a knowledge cycle.

This study aims to resolve contradictions in the literature regarding the relationship between knowledge sharing (KS) and absorptive capacity (AC). The authors analyze the reasons for which KS has been interpreted as an antecedent and those for which it has been seen as a consequent of AC.

The study uses a systematic review of the literature to identify the arguments supporting the relationships between the constructs and propose a model. Additionally, the hypotheses were tested using SEM to assess the proposed model.

The findings reveal the nature of the relationship between KS and AC. Suggesting AC is bi-dimensional, consisting of potential AC and realized AC, while the relationship between these two dimensions depends on KS.

This study provides consistent theoretical grounds for future empirical research. The study findings demonstrate KS provides a real contribution towards AC, validating the previous literature on the impact of KS antecedents on realized AC. Additionally, the authors provide evidence to suggest knowledge donation is an output of the AC process, thus generating a debate on the nature of knowledge donation (requested vs unrequested), which raises interesting research questions to be addressed in the future. As a limitation, empirical data was only collected in the context of software development in two countries.

The results elucidate the central role of knowledge collection within AC. For managers, the importance of the role of knowledge collection to fully benefit from AC and exploit knowledge is highlighted.

The research design is original in that it combines a systematic and integrative literature review to the ground and propose hypotheses with empirically testing of the emerging model. The study clarifies the relationship between KS and AC, providing evidence to show knowledge donation is an output of the AC process. The benefits of this study can be seen at the team and firm-level.

This paper aims to uncover the combinations of knowledge sharing mechanisms that organizations in a science and technology park in Brazil use to share managerial and technical knowledge.

This research adopts a qualitative approach that uses a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze data that are gathered from 51 managers of organizations in a science and technology park.

The results show that knowledge sharing happens regardless of the type of knowledge. There are more alternative paths that lead to knowledge sharing than to its absence. Regarding the type of knowledge shared, there are more alternative configurations that lead to managerial knowledge sharing than to technical knowledge sharing. Only the older organizations in the science and technology park abstain from knowledge sharing.

Due to the qualitative nature of the study, no generalization is possible. Additionally, the study’s limitation is that it involves organizations from a single science and technology park.

The results offer managers of organizations in science and technology parks to choose from alternative combinations of mechanisms to either boost their knowledge sharing or to promote knowledge protection.

The paper provides an original contribution by identifying the combinations of mechanisms that organizations in a science and technology park use that leads to the sharing of specific knowledge types. The findings also identify the combination of mechanisms that older organizations use that prevents them from sharing knowledge.

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between knowledge management processes and innovation (KM-IN) in Brazilian and Portuguese companies.

The tests were performed using a sequential mixed-method approach. Quantitative analysis was conducted using 341 observations from Brazilian and Portuguese companies and partial least squares techniques. Qualitative analysis was conducted using ten interviews and content analysis techniques.

Results showed differences between Brazilian and Portuguese companies with respect to the relationship between knowledge sharing process and innovation. Portuguese companies cope with the geographical dispersal of operations and the lack of interpersonal skills by introducing formal knowledge sharing processes.

Findings demonstrate that the transfer of knowledge processes to foreign countries may demand adjustments according to cultural traits. Specifically, the findings will be of interest to firms intending to expand their activities between Brazil and Portugal.

Although researchers have investigated the influence of the national context in many countries, country comparisons are still scarce.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of Portfolio size effect due to scaling issues in the outcome obtained in a project portfolio selection for an electricity company in Brazil, focusing on improving business strategic performance.

The study uses a web-based decision support system (DSS), in which scaling issues are considered, incorporating results of previous work. The study evaluates 32 projects from the electricity company and compared the possible results when considering different scales. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to analyze the robustness of the case, using the web-based DSS.

The results for an interval scale context showed a portfolio with 21 projects, contrasting with the correct solution of a portfolio containing 23 projects. The latter is related to a ratio scale context, with the proper transformation of weights, which was found to be robust with a sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation. This demonstrates that only appropriate models for selecting projects can improve the contribution to the company’s permanent strategies of increasing productivity, considering its constraints to achieve optimal results.

Additive value functions approach imposes certain requirements on the measurement scales used for the items in a portfolio that should not be ignored, once they have significant impact on the general portfolio results, which are directly related to the business strategic performance and the facilities of doing that with a web-based DSS.

The creation of offshore units allows companies to invest in countries that offer tax incentives, and provides global presence. Nevertheless, knowledge sharing in global teams may be challenger. The aim of this paper is to analyze the barriers of knowledge sharing in global teams.

This is a qualitative research based on interviews in two firms.

The interviewees confirmed the relevance of the barriers to knowledge sharing identified in the literature. The interviewees also cited other four barriers: technology, professional skills, cost and methodology of software development. Other results were: the relationship between the barriers, for example, cultural differences are negatively related to absorptive capacity; and, the barriers could also be enablers for knowledge sharing.

The limitations identified were: the use the interview as the only form of data collection, since the firms did not authorize the collection of documents; the interviews were conducted in two ways, in person for those residing in the same city as the researchers and via Skype^® for those who were in another city; the findings are based on two case studies of two different firms and are not generalizable.

This research offers a new perspective and a better understanding of the interaction and relationships among knowledge sharing barriers. The results of this research may be useful for academics and organizations because they deepen the discussion on knowledge sharing in global teams, and also show the reality of two organizations in the technology sector in relation to this subject.

The main goal of this research is to analyze knowledge management (KM) evaluation metrics in software development companies in Brazil through the perception of managers and users.

The method applied was a multiple case study in two information technology companies in Brazil.

According to the KM objectives and motivations, each company selects an implementation approach that results in specific challenges. The results show that the differences in Company A and Company B can be related to the KM process adopted. Based on the perception of the interviewees, it is possible to affirm that the relevance of a metric depends on the organization's context and the existence of a structured KM process.

The conclusions are based on two case studies of Brazilian IT companies. There could be industry‐specific issues as well as national cultural and behavioral values that might affect the findings and conclusions.

According to the interviewees, the set of process metrics can be linked to the KM process phases and the organizations should contemplate both quantitative and qualitative metrics. The entire set of metrics and its observations in this work can be used as a starting‐point for the selection of the most adequate metrics for each organization.

The research associated the identified metrics in the literature with the knowledge management process phases of creation, storage, dissemination, utilization, and measurement.

Identifying and tracking how knowledge management (KM) impacts on organizational performance represents a gap in the research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the applicability of adopting a benefits management (BM) approach in order to identify KM benefits and elicit their contribution to the achievement of business objectives.

A case study was carried out in a systems and information technology firm in Portugal. The data were collected using interviews and documental analysis. The data were subjected to content analysis.

BM can strengthen KM, not only by identifying the benefits, but also by aiding the process of organizational change required to achieve those benefits, considering the investment objectives, the necessary transformations and the allocation of responsibilities, among other aspects.

This research was based on a single case study. The findings cannot be generalized.

Because it can be used to identify the role of KM in the achievement of the business objectives, the BM approach may be of use to managers who need to identify and explain the benefits of KM.

The originality of this research is that it uses the benefits management approach to link knowledge management to business objectives.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a model of adoption of social media to assist project managers in the treatment of lessons learned (LL). Target, a collaborative model to foster learning in projects, approaches the problem of LL management from nearly a new light and perspective.

This research was conducted using a mixed methods approach with a research design denominated partially mixed concurrent equal status. In this design, both quantitative and qualitative elements were conducted concurrently in their entirety before being mixed at the data interpretation stage. These elements have approximately equal emphasis with respect to reaching the objectives of the research.

The results indicate the most suitable social media that match each LL process. They show how to manage LL through processes made in any phase of the project life cycle. The LL processes most commonly used in the projects are raising awareness, collect and store. According to the questionnaire respondents, 54.5 percent of organizations make use of social media in project management, and among the interviewees, half of them use such tools in projects. In addition, 84.1 percent of the questionnaire respondents believe that social media can assist in the LL management.

This study did not get proven successful experience reports in the management of LL. Respondents and interviewees mentioned and recognized such importance, but in projects that use LL management there are no control reports of this learning in organizations in order to measure the gains from the practice of LL management, which indicates an area for future work. An empirical validation of the model proposed in this paper is one immediate research to be done. Another future work is to validate the model in projects from disparate sectors.

The Target model could minimize the problem of knowledge drain, which is ineffective learning practices, resulting in knowledge hoarding, limited sharing and superficial LL practices. Thus, the use of processes supported by collaborative tools that promote discussion, with a familiar format for the user and with an efficient search engine, can generate greater involvement in projects. The usefulness is determined as practical and scientific. It is determined as practical use, because the model allows the selection of tools for each LL process and it can be applied to projects in organizations.

This research proposes a new approach to the management of LL supported by social media. The Target model adds a theoretical contribution to LL processes associating them to social media. This research revisited the extant LL processes and methods in the literature, proposing a new process – raising awareness – that covers personal and interpersonal aspects for the management of LL. The theoretical contribution lies on incremental originality, since it is based on existing theories, processes, methods and tools in order to provide a solution to a known problem.