Knowledge sharing barriers in organic growth: A case study from a software company

In a high-technology field such as the software business, there are many companies striving for growth. For small software firms organic growth is a natural way to grow and often the chosen route. Effective knowledge sharing is crucial for an organically growing software company to extract maximum benefit from its existing resources. However, it can be argued that there exist many barriers to effective knowledge sharing in an organic growth context. For companies that have an intention to grow it is important to identify these possible pitfalls lining the growth path. Using an empirical case study, this paper aims to increase the understanding of the biggest potential knowledge sharing barriers that an organically growing software company may face. Management able to recognize such barriers to knowledge sharing could support growth by acting to prevent the barriers from arising and eliminating those already in place.     

科技期刊战略联盟的知识共享机制探析——以中国光学期刊联盟为例

【目的】 探求国内科技期刊联盟中的知识共享机制。【方法】 运用社会网络分析研究方法,以中国光学期刊联盟为研究对象,挖掘、分析并评价科技期刊联盟中的知识共享机制。【结果】 得到中国光学期刊联盟知识共享的整体网络特征和核心-边缘模型。【结论】 国内科技期刊联盟中存在集中趋势不明显导致约束力较低、成员间知识的不对称性加剧两极分化,以及联盟内部资源开发程度不够等问题。针对上述问题提出了相关对策和建议。     

Knowledge sharing and rewards: a game-theoretical perspective

Shared databases are used as tools for knowledge management. But contributing knowledge to the database is a public-goods dilemma. Its specific features are multidimensionality of the goods, resource overlap, interdependency of group members and the lack of a marginal unit of return for individual contributions. An analytical model is presented describing the individual- and group-level payoff function. It shows that rewarding contributions with a cost-compensating bonus can be an effective solution not only at the individual level, but also at the group level. Whether or not a bonus system is self-supporting depends on the critical mass of people on average needing a contribution. This depends on the overlap of the people's resources and their interdependency.     

Knowledge sharing in a cross-cultural context: Nordic expatriates in Japan

Although the scholarly discussion increases our understanding about aspects involved in the management of knowledge, relatively little is known about knowledge sharing in a cross-cultural context. Yet, attitudes about knowledge sharing as well as knowledge sharing behavior have been identified in related research as varying across cultural contexts. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the aspects that influence the act of making knowledge available to others in a cross-cultural context. The empirical part of the study, consisting of semi-structured interviews with 30 Nordic expatriates and eight Japanese managers in Japan indicates that language differences, status hierarchies, collectivism, and logical differences can create barriers to knowledge sharing. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Weblogs for organizational knowledge sharing and creation: a comparative case study

The use of weblogs as an information and communication technology for knowledge sharing and creation is a novel social and organizational phenomenon. In this paper, we identify and explain contingency factors that influence the successful use of weblogs for knowledge sharing and creation. We start from the assumption that successful knowledge management requires the motivation of people to engage in knowledge-related communication. Based on a comparison of two antithetic cases, we identify and discuss four contingency factors that directly influence the motivational impact of weblogs on organizational knowledge sharing and creation.     

Knowledge management: Taxis Parisiens case study

This paper presents a case study of the management and operation of the Paris taxi cab service (Taxis Parisiens), which is one of the world's largest and most complex public transport operations. The method adopted is to consider the taxi cab service as a set of processes forming a knowledge value chain, which forms the basis of a continuous learning cycle. The case study investigates the management and operation of the Taxis Parisiens community by analysing the corresponding practice along the knowledge value chain. This is achieved by identifying the roles of the main stakeholders associated with the Taxis Parisiens community, discussing current licensing and examination processes, considering the potential use of Information Technology and making recommendations for improved knowledge management practices.     

大型集团企业知识共享模式研究

 知识是企业的重要战略资源,越来越多的企业开始关心自身的知识积累与更新,以适应时代瞬息万变的步伐。因此,探讨出一种企业知识共享的分析层次和实践模式,对于企业来说很有价值。通过对三家国内大型企业的全面深入调研,提出了集团企业知识共享现状的分析框架以及知识共享的三种模式,并对其应用范围进行了阐述。     

Employee relationship and knowledge sharing: a case study of a Taiwanese finance and securities firm

Knowledge Management Research & Practice - Knowledge is a very important resource for preserving valuable heritage, learning new things, solving problems, creating core competences, and...     

Knowledge sharing via social media in software development: a systematic literature review

Effective knowledge exchange among software developers is crucial for the competitive performance of their organizations. Today, the constant pressure on businesses to continually innovate and the increasing capability of information technologies to facilitate broader and more distributed communication are driving organizations to leverage social media tools to improve performance. These tools, which have changed the way we share knowledge, enable people to connect, communicate, and collaborate. Research on knowledge sharing via social media is still in its early phases, with a comprehensive overview of the literature yet to be completed. Thus, using a systematic literature review approach, this study aims to map the current literature on the topic in relation to software development. Furthermore, this study highlights the findings of former research and identifies gaps in the literature. The study offers several insights for researchers and practitioners and proposes a future research agenda to strengthen knowledge in the field.     

Knowledge sharing in project-based organizations: Overcoming the informational limbo

Project-based organizations (PBO) are nowadays widespread in almost all the activity sectors. This type of organizations poses complex problems for information and knowledge management due to the fragmentation and lack of uniformity of organizational structures, processes, practices, and technologies. The ineffectiveness of knowledge sharing over time, between project teams, is perhaps the most prominent issue that PBO must deal with. This strongly affects organizational learning, which seems to under-deliver value to PBO. Therefore, relevant knowledge is trapped in an “informational limbo” out of reach, not being capitalized for the organization. This is particularly true in research and development (R&D) institutions, where knowledge sharing can be hindered by conceptual misunderstandings resulting from different disciplines, cultures and ways of working of project participants. This paper addresses such issues by analyzing, in a comprehensive way, how information and knowledge management can better suit project team's needs and at the same time improve organizational learning. An ethnographic study, based on immersed participant observation, is performed at a Portuguese R&D Institute, in order to understand the link between the way information is managed in a project and how people interact and learn by sharing knowledge between projects. Results provide a set of enterprise information management (EIM) recommendations. Findings also suggest that a PBO-wide EIM strategy, balancing knowledge codification and personalization mechanisms, is a feasible solution to overcome the problems of knowledge sharing in PBO.     

Knowledge management in a decentralized global financial services provider: a case study with Allianz Group

We first introduce the overall approach to knowledge management taken by Allianz Group. We then present two specific solution approaches within Allianz Group. The first approach is focused on knowledge sharing across different lines of businesses and various organizational entities within Allianz. The approach is implemented through the new organizational role of centers of competence. The second approach is focused on improvements of knowledge-workers day-to-day tasks involving document and expert search from various information sources. Here, we report the setup and the results from a pilot study. The aim was to evaluate the implications of different search and retrieval tools on workflow within a representative everyday business environment. Different available information resources with their corresponding security infrastructure were taken into account. The pilot implementation was accompanied by an empirical survey on usage characteristics and usability experiences by the participating knowledge workers.     

员工知识共享、知识共享意愿与信任基础

分析了员工信任关系产生的基础,进而从知识拥有者和知识分享者两方面揭示了知识共享意愿与不同类别信任的关系,以及这种信任关系建立的原因,提出促进知识共享意愿的员工信任关系的构建途径。     

Knowledge sharing in the process of developing a cross-border knowledge region

Knowledge Regions are insufficiently studied by academia. The aim of the article is to analyse Knowledge Region (KR) by inter-linking knowledge creation theories, including knowledge management and knowledge sharing for the purpose of developing of a Cross-Border Knowledge Region (CB KR). The empirical study of the cross-border cooperation organisation and a theoretical debate on the creation processes of CB KR are linked. This methodology puts in evidence that an intermediary organisation and CB KR creation processes are explicitly linked as it facilitates the development of a KR. The originality is that cross-border cooperation organisation is studied by applying the three-element model developed by Nonaka, Toyama and Konno to an intermediary organisation. The intermediary organisation covers Helsinki and Tallinn capital city-region(s) and is used as a Place/Space/Ba in this article. The outcomes prove that intermediary organisations should be part of KR development processes.     

Support the Manchester Manifesto: a case study of the free sharing of human genome data

Professor Huanming Yang is co-founder and president of BGI Shenzhen (formally the Beijing Institute of Genomics). BGI made China’s contribution to the human genome project. From 1% of the human genome project, it is now a key player in many of the world’s megasequencing projects. Professor Yang also has a strong interest in bioethics and society. He is a former member of UNESCO’s international bioethics committee and has recently been appointed to President Obama’s international research panel of the presidential commission for the study of bioethical issues.     

Knowledge sharing within teams: enabling and constraining factors

In this study, we tested the effects of several team features on knowledge sharing within teams of primary school teachers. We hypothesized that trust in team leader and trust in colleagues, mediated by team identification, will have a positive effect on knowledge sharing. We found indirect effects of both trust variables through team identification and a direct effect of trust in team members on knowledge sharing. We explored, furthermore, a moderator effect of team identification on the relation between team work value diversity and knowledge sharing to examine if team identification diminishes the potential negative effects of team work value diversity on knowledge sharing. Contrary to our expectations, we found no relation between work value diversity and knowledge sharing if team identification is low, while the relation takes a negative curvilinear form if team identification is high. This outcome is explained by the notion that signals of un-sameness in values can produce perceptions of threat and subsequent reactions in high identification teams.     

Going beyond technology: Knowledge sharing as a tool for enhancing customer-oriented attitudes

Numerous articles, books and essays have shown that ongoing efforts to meet customers’ needs characterize market leaders. For a firm to successfully develop customer-oriented attitudes throughout the entire organization, employees at all levels and sections need to be committed to providing a high level of service. It is therefore essential to understand what drives employees – especially those who do not interact daily with customers – to adopt a customer-oriented attitude. The aim of this study is to shed some light on one facet of this relationship, namely the mechanism of knowledge sharing that may impact employee customer orientation. The underlying notion is that technology, in its various advanced forms of CRM software, enhances and enables client “knowing.” In other words, it leads to a greater ability on the part of employees to share knowledge, which brings about real customer orientation.This paper provides empirical evidence, based on a sample of 345 Hi-Tech workers from a telecommunication company, of a link between sharing explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge to enhance customer orientation. The findings indicate that sharing tacit knowledge has a positive effect on increasing employee customer orientation and increases sharing of explicit knowledge, while also strengthening communication about customers in the organization. It is concluded that firms should encourage tacit knowledge sharing and its transformation by technology into explicit knowledge to augment employees’ customer-oriented attitudes.     

Knowledge transfer in post-merger integration management: case study of a multinational healthcare company in Greece

Faced with demanding time constraints and the need to compete and communicate across a global market, firms have engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to accomplish various objectives, including, but not limited to, increasing growth potential and expanding product lines. Given the vital role of knowledge in the M&A context, the aim of this case study is to explore the literature in the area of M&As from a knowledge perspective and to investigate the knowledge variable in the local Hellenic Post-Merger Integration (PMI) of the Roche Consumer Health division acquired by Bayer, both leading multinational pharmaceutical companies. The study focuses on whether the stakeholders think that one specific factor, namely knowledge transfer, has helped them develop towards one high-performance body, and, if so, what were the most significant experiences leading to this development. We followed a number of employees from both. The results of the study provide a better understanding of the key drivers of the knowledge transfer in a PMI. The critical factors (macro and micro) encourage or discourage knowledge transfer in integrating organizations. The assessment took place approximately six months after the contractual completion of the acquisition and was based on the management and co-workers’ perception of how integration at the Greek Bayer company had progressed. The Orton case study was developed as a complement to the theoretical framework on intangible synergies in the M&A context. It provides a practical perspective regarding the complexities and peculiarities involved in each M&A operation by confronting the conceptual framework with field realities.     

基于Wiki的知识共享系统研究

知识共享是知识管理的基础,是实现知识创新的前提条件。Wiki的出现给知识共享带来了新的契机,如何构建Wiki环境下的知识共享系统成为一个亟待解决的议题。有鉴于此,结合知识共享的关键环节和Wiki技术特征,构筑出一个基于Wiki的知识共享系统模型(KSSBW);接着,详细分析了知识共享系统的实现过程。最后,提出了后续研究内容和方向。研究对提升组织的知识创新能力与核心竞争力具有重要的指导意义。     

Knowledge markets in firms: knowledge sharing with trust and signalling

Knowledge sharing and learning are critically important to the success of knowledge management. In this research, we study the design of incentive rewards to facilitate knowledge transfer utilizing an internal knowledge market within organizations. The internal knowledge market is modelled as a marketplace where knowledge providers can send signals about their knowledge and learners may voluntarily acquire the knowledge based on the signals. Three types of knowledge recipients are differentiated with respect to their signalling threshold functions: knowledge connoisseur, knowledge public, and knowledge dilettante. In addition, a knowledge recipient may be either humble or arrogant, with different propensities for learning characterized by different learning inhibition cost functions. For different knowledge recipients, we study the knowledge providers’ best signalling strategies and the firm's optimal design of reward structures. Knowledge providers will adopt different signalling strategies if they lack the necessary trust that knowledge recipients will accurately report their learning. We analyse how the firm can offer learning rewards and employ IT support to improve the trust so as to increase knowledge transfer. This research provides valuable insights for practitioners to manage an internal knowledge market.