Facilitating knowledge creation with GroupWare: a case study of a knowledge intensive firm

Thanks to reputation and gamification mechanisms, collaborative question answering systems coordinate the process of topical knowledge creation of thousands of users. While successful, these systems face many challenges: on one hand, the volume of submitted questions overgrows the amount of new users willing, and capable, of answering them. On the other hand, existing users need to be retained and optimally allocated. Previous work demonstrates the positive effects that two important aspects, namely engagement and expertise valorisation, can have on user quality and quantity of participation. The magnitude of their effect can greatly vary across users and across topics. In this paper we advocate for a more in-depth study of the interplay that exists between user engagement factors in question answering systems. Our working hypothesis is that the process of knowledge creation can be accelerated by better understanding and exploiting the combined effects of the interests and expertise of users, with their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. We perform a study over 6 years of data from the StackOverflow platform. By defining metrics of expertise and (intrinsic and extrinsic) motivations, we show how they distribute and correlate across platform’s users and topics. By means of an off-line question routing experiment, we show how topic-specific combinations of motivations and expertise can help accelerating the knowledge creation process.

Collective processes of organizational knowledge creation remain poorly explored. Yet efficient knowledge management has to focus on those processes as far as it aims at dealing with sustaining knowledge development and knowledge sharing rather than solely its memorization. In this paper, we present a comparative analysis of two processes of knowledge creation within a business intelligence unit. This analysis leads to a five stages model that can be used either as a descriptive or prescriptive tool for knowledge management.

Purpose - The researcher investigates the extent to which knowledge sharing moderates the relationship between knowledge creation and business process re-engineering (BPR) outcomes of financial services offered by financial institutions in Uganda. Design/Methodology - The study adopted cross-sectional survey design to collect data at one point in time using self-administered questionnaire to examine the relationship between knowledge creation and business processes. The study at first used statistical package for social scientists to establish clusters among the surveyed financial services and later a model was derived using R programming software to test for knowledge creation and business process re-engineering performance outcomes. Findings - The study found a significant conditional effect of knowledge sharing on knowledge creation and business process re-engineering outcomes. Implying that investment in knowledge sharing creates awareness about the financial services outcomes of financial institutions using business process re-engineering to provide financial services. Originality - This study contributes to business process re-engineering literature by advancing the idea that BPR is an important economic resource that enhanced through instituting knowledge creation and sharing practices in a complex environment. Ideally, creating and sharing knowledge is one of the drivers of customer value, efficiency, and effectiveness of financial services in financial institutions. Practical Implications - Managers of financial institutions need to pay keen interest in managing business processes using relevant knowledge and transforming in new products, new processes, and new markets to boost business process re-engineering outcomes by building a strong knowledge creation system through training and development programs for senior managers.

In organizations, the knowledge creation remained an exclusive attribute of humans until the emergence of artificial intelligence. The role of information systems in organizations expanded continuously, including recording, organizing, processing, storage, dissemination and making available the information, until the revolutionary emergence of artificial intelligence. The role of knowledge creation is no longer exclusive to humans. Artificial intelligence becomes a partner entity of employees in knowledge creation processes in organizations. This article investigates how artificial intelligence can be incorporated in knowledge creation processes. Starting from the study of scientific literature, this article presents concepts and taxonomies associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the processes of knowledge creation in organizations. The study is a first step in a larger research, which aims to identify the main consequences, on employees and organizations, of the incorporation of artificial intelligence in the processes of knowledge creation.

This study examined the creation of knowledge in two embedded cases of Open Innovation (OI) in a complex technological setting. The study focused on the role of boundaries in knowledge flow and knowledge creation and sought to understand how boundaries shape the trajectory of an OI project. While the OI literature is well-developed, most studies are at the level of the organisation and have examined instances of innovation, rather than longitudinal OI processes. In addition, most have taken a cognitive view of knowledge in theorising OI, which can result in an overly simplified understanding of how agents from different knowledge domains achieve sufficient mutual understanding to create new knowledge. For this reason, I took the novel approach of using a practice-based view of knowledge as the theoretical lens through which to explore knowledge creation, to generate a richer theorisation of knowledge creation in OI projects.In line with this practice-based perspective, the study took a qualitative research approach and used ethnographic methods to collect data over seventeen months, thereby enabling novel insights not available from elsewhere in the literature. The first case examined involved the development of a new diagnostic practice for detecting pre-cancerous changes in human cells in-vivo, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and was at a mature stage of technological development. The second case involved applying the MRS technology developed in the first case, to create a novel diagnostic practice for detecting a mental health condition and was at an early phase of development.The study identified three types of practices involved in knowledge creation: project-specific practices, occupation-specific practices and framework practices. Distinguishing between the practices involved in overcoming knowledge boundaries enabled a detailed theorisation of the processes involved. Differences between agents’ occupation-specific practices (knowledge boundaries), rather than organisational boundaries, impacted the OI projects and caused interruptions that stopped project progress. Each of the three practice types played a specific role in enabling knowledge creation by the agents, who co-developed project-specific practices to overcome their knowledge boundaries. Agents embedded the new project-specific knowledge created, in each case study, into the new or modified project-specific practices.To explicate these findings, I argue that the interruptions to progress in the OI projects due to knowledge boundaries, caused the agents to shift from a state of absorbed coping to one of theoretical detachment. In that state, the agents had the opportunity to self-distanciate, a known precursor activity for knowledge creation, and from that state, to co-create new project-specific knowledge. This process was repeated each time an interruption was encountered, resulting in the accumulation of new knowledge over time as the knowledge creation process unfolded. As successive knowledge boundaries were overcome, agents embedded the increments of project-specific knowledge created into project-specific practices and project-specific objects, with the result that these practices and objects co-evolved over time. Thus, repeated interruptions over time created knowledge cumulatively. I theorised this phenomenon, which has not previously been reported, as practice maturation. I articulated this relationship between interruptions and the cumulative creation of new project-specific knowledge in a proposed processual model of knowledge creation. The finding that repeated interruptions over time created knowledge cumulatively and this relationship between interruptions and cumulative knowledge creation findings, enabled conceptualising an OI project as a continuous, iterative process of individual agents overcoming their mutual knowledge boundaries through a process of self-distanciation, induced by the interruptions they encountered, to create new shared practices and objects. I therefore argue that an OI project is a situated and ongoing process of project-specific knowledge creation and that it is practice maturation that enables an OI project to progress.The study’s main contributions to the Knowing-in-practice literature include the identification of three types of practice enacted to create new project-specific knowledge; the novel concept of practice maturation; the identification of interruptions caused by knowledge boundaries as an alternative means of bringing about self-distanciation, and the repeated encountering and overcoming of knowledge boundaries to cumulatively create knowledge over time, as articulated in the processual model of knowledge creation presented. The study contributes to the OI literature by demonstrating that OI project processes are considerably more complex than how they are portrayed in the dominant OI literature, and by drawing attention to the significant role of knowledge boundaries in knowledge creation involving agents from different knowledge domains. Further, the study highlights the constructive role of interruptions that are otherwise often perceived as evidence that something is ‘wrong’ with an OI project. Finally, the study provides an alternative conceptualisation of OI to the accepted understanding, by identifying the different types of practices involved in it and the role of each in co-creation.

We commented on the emergence of knowledge science, including epistemology, knowledge engineering, management science with knowledge management, sociological (soft) systems science, technology management, and technological (hard) systems science. As opposed to philosophic macro-theories of knowledge creation on long historical scale, many new micro-theories of knowledge creation for today and tomorrow emerged since 1990. All such micro-theories take into account the interplay of intuitive and emotional, tacit aspects of knowledge with rational and explicit aspects. A contemporary theory of intuition explains rationally why intuitive and emotive aspects are much stronger sources of creative ideas. There is a qualitative difference between group-oriented organizational processes of knowledge creation in industrial and market organizations and individual-oriented academic processes of knowledge creation; the latter can be described by a Triple Helix of academic knowledge creation. Combining both organizational and academic processes of knowledge creation is the prescriptive Nanatsudaki model of seven creative processes. The importance of diverse elements of these models was empirically supported by the results of a survey of creativity conditions in a Japanese university, using multiple criteria decision making for knowledge acquisition from large data bases.

PurposeTotal quality management (TQM) and knowledge management (KM) are two similar and complementary management philosophies synergistic combinations that can form a cycle of improvement and development. This paper aims to investigate the impact of TQM factors on knowledge creation in the organizations of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachA list of TQM factors was identified through reviewing the relevant literature. Knowledge creation was analyzed through the framework proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire survey among 450 top and mid-level managers of the organizations. A quantitative research approach, namely, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used in the study. The data were analyzed in SmartPLS 3.FindingsFrom the study, it is found that a positive and significant relationship exists between leadership, employee empowerment, benchmarking, customer focus and information technology with the knowledge creation process and four knowledge conversion modes. In contrast, a negative and significant relationship has been found between employee training and continuous improvement with the knowledge creation process and three knowledge conversion modes.Research limitations/implicationsPrevious researches in Bangladesh empirically validated the effect of TQM on organizational performance, competitive advantage, financial performance, market performance and productivity. But, no such study was undertaken to empirically validate the effect of TQM on knowledge creation process for organizations of Bangladesh. Here, the study has a unique contribution. The empirical support for the hypotheses to explain and predict the contribution of the TQM in promoting knowledge creation.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the role of leadership practices. Organizational leadership needs to focus more on following issues: gathering required knowledge from the superior sources; transforming prevailing knowledge into a meaningful format to perform activities in better and innovative ways; employing opinions from experiences; facilitating mechanism for employees to update their knowledge; creating a virtual network; implementing customer relationship management system and providing tools and technologies to employees for performing KM activities more efficiently. On the other hand, negative effect of employee training and continuous improvement on knowledge creation sheds light on understanding the reasons for this kind of relationship and formulating effective strategies to resolve problems inside the organizations. In this regard, employees need to be well equipped through regular and appropriate training. Also, employees need to use problem-solving approach to identify problems inside the organizational system thereby availing opportunities for continuous improvement.Originality/valueThis study was conducted to identify factors that enable knowledge creation in organizations from developing countries like Bangladesh. TQM has been adopted in many organizations. But, its effect was mostly measured to determine its impact on improving organizational performance or competitiveness or identifying its critical success factors of implementation. Hence, this study sheds light on identifying the effect of TQM from a new perspective.

It has long been acknowledged that knowledge is key for economic growth and innovation. Over the last decades, the perception of what knowledge is and how it can be characterized, however, has changed drastically. Today, in particular the neo-Schumpeterian perspective highlights that knowledge cannot longer be considered as a pure public good but stresses it as something individual, local, tacit, firm specific and complex (Hanusch and Pyka, 2010). So for example, we know from literature that the process of knowledge discovery and creation (and thus the process of innovation) is a recombinatorial one (see e.g. Fleming, 2001). In fact, already Schumpeter (1942) addressed innovations as new combinations and also Weitzman (1998, p. 209) states: "when research is applied, new ideas arise out of existing ideas in some kind of cumulative interactive process that intuitively has a different feel from prospecting for petroleum". Against this backdrop, it is striking that that knowledge in agent-based simulation models is still often oversimplified. Consequently, the discovery or generation of new knowledge in many cases is modelled as a random process similar to the discovery of new oil fields (Antonelli, Krafft and Quatraro, 2010). At the same time, some models feature more sophisticated concepts and ideas, each with a particular focus and objective. Approaches from the literature range from simple binary representations that consider knowledge as an (or more) isolated piece(s) of information. In this setting, knowledge diffusion, for example, boils down to the process similar to the contagious transmission of a disease. Other contributions consider knowledge to be linked knowledge pieces that form a network of knowledge (see for example Morone and Taylor, 2010; Schlaile, Zeman and Mueller, 2018; Müller, Kudic and Vermeulen, 2020) which allows for the analysis of more nuanced analyses of knowledge discovery, creation and diffusion. The overarching goal of this chapter is to show how knowledge and hence knowledge creation and knowledge diffusion processes are modelled in agent-based models in the literature. This is done to analyse how we can capture the complex nature of knowledge especially against the backdrop of radical transition processes such as the bioeconomy and the energy transition.

Employee involvement has long been recognized as an important factor in effective human resources and knowledge management. Yet, studies have not provided evidence to directly support the existence of a relationship between employee involvement and the process of knowledge creation. A theoretical framework based on previous research and tested via an analysis of data collected from 235 banking employees in Karachi, Pakistan, shows how a culture of employee involvement relates to knowledge on the job. The findings indicate that three aspects of a culture of employee involvement—empowerment, capability development, and team orientation—are positively correlated with the process of knowledge creation. Additional observations concerning the current state of knowledge creation in Pakistani banks yield practical insights. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Perhaps you are a doctoral student, mapping out how to parcel your dissertation; perhaps you are a junior scholar, strategizing your research plan; perhaps you are a senior scholar, who is thinking about what you want to say to the field. No matter what stage you are at as a management researcher, you might be looking to the Academy of Management (AOM) journals as a natural home for any and all of these creative research pursuits. However, it might not always be crystal clear how you should craft your work for the AOM journals, what contribution you might make at each journal, and consequently to which journal you should target your intellectual contributions.
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Organisational knowledge creation is different from individual knowledge creation. Since 1990, the theoretical and empirical study of knowledge creation in organisations revealed that knowledge and the capability to create it is one of the most important sources of a company’s sustainable competitive advantage. The theory of organisational knowledge creation, first presented by Nonaka (Harward Business Review, Nov.–Dec., 96–104, 1991), is a paradigm for managing the dynamic aspects of organisational knowledge creation processes. Its central theme is the SECI model as a knowledge creation process as played out through a continuous dialogue between tacit and explicit knowledge. As it has developed since the early 1990s, it has broadened in scope and is now linked to a huge range of topics, such as leadership styles, organisational forms, cultural aspects and organisational learning. This chapter gives a comprehensive introduction of Nonaka’s SECI model as the core of his theory which remained relatively unchanged, while Nonaka’s knowledge creation theory has evolved. Furthermore, the knowledge creation theory is explained while the SECI model is reviewed from several perspectives. As a business example of its implementation, the organisational application of the model at a German airport is described. This critical evaluation suggests future requirements regarding practical implications of the theory.

Knowledge creation relies on melding powerful technological tools with efficient human organizations. Digital libraries (DLs) provide the technological mechanisms to cross national and disciplinary boundaries, and promote an organizational structure that encourages communication between scholars who are both creating and consuming information. The DL is especially good at coordinating and integrating findings about a specific topic that is being studied by different disciplines and different nations, which is an essential component to further our knowledge. This paper will briefly outline the knowledge creation process, and will introduce the author’s SEEK model (structure for encompassing extensible knowledge) that provides a framework for exploring the relationship between technology and human organizations in international interdisciplinary knowledge creation. The paper will also introduce two models of electronically‐based scholarly organizations that promote international collaboration and facilitate knowledge creation, and will offer eight steps towards building the effective organization for utilizing DLs for international collaboration.

The study aims to clarify how interorganisational dialogue can promote the generation of new knowledge. Additionally, it aims to propose the role of an organisational manager who need to generate new business knowledge through the dialogue. Nowadays, it is important for people, organisations, and countries in different positions to understand each other and collaboratively create new solutions. However, the success rate of such multidisciplinary collaborations is not necessarily high. One of the primary reasons for this is that differences in disciplinary backgrounds and professional positions often lead to misunderstandings or a lack of mutual comprehension regarding perspectives and ideas. Analysing these challenges and identifying the key factors that facilitate productive dialogue -- thereby increasing the likelihood of generating new knowledge -- has become essential in contemporary business environments. While much of the literature on knowledge creation focuses on the mechanisms by which knowledge is generated, relatively little attention has been paid to the diverse backgrounds of individuals involved in such creation processes and how these individuals engage with differences in perspectives and assumptions to co-create new knowledge. Similarly, although existing studies on knowledge creation and dialogue frequently highlight the potential of interdisciplinary dialogue to generate novel insights, they tend to lack detailed discussions on the specific steps, conditions, and considerations required to facilitate such processes effectively. This study seeks to shed light on the process of knowledge creation through interorganisational, interdisciplinary dialogue at the individual level, with an emphasis on cognitive aspects. Specifically, it explores what kind of preparatory understanding or mindset participants should cultivate prior to engaging in dialogue, how they should perceive and work with different perspectives and thought frameworks of other disciplinary experts, and how these interactions can lead to the generation of new knowledge. Furthermore, this study discusses the role of organisational managers in enabling and supporting productive interorganisational dialogue among specialists from different fields.

Knowledge is one of the relevant aspects of the management of organizations from different sectors, with an impact on the maximization of organizational resources. Although the topic Knowledge Creation obtains recognition in the organizational market as a valuable source of competitive advantage, it is still incipient and little explored in management of sports organizations. In terms of scientific production, since 2016 there is a growing interest of scholars from other countries on the creation and management of knowledge in the segment of organizations and sports events, in Brazil, however, the theme is little explored. Given this scenario, the guiding question of the research was: How is the Knowledge Creation process carried out and how is this knowledge shared in sports organizations? The study is characterized as descriptive research and predominantly as a quantitative approach. A total of 27 olympic federations of So Paulo were studied through the application of a composite questionnaire, in addition to the Profile of study environment; by blocks that correspond to the knowledge creation process cathegories analyzed: Process of Creation of Knowledge; Information and knowledge flows; Conditions and factors that act in the Creation of Knowledge; Tools in support of the Creation of Knowledge, and Knowledge, learning and communication. The subjects of the research were managers and administrative employees of entities of different hierarchical levels. The results obtained from 48% of respondent federations revealed that the creation of concepts is carried out more frequently in formal and informal meetings, followed by the experiences acquired in the conduction and organization of the events, also listening to the members and other agents among them the coaches, athletes, Brazilian confederation of the sport, referees, among others. However, the same does not apply in the relationship with government agencies, seeking to import knowledge. With regard to the decisions to be made, they are carried out using previous data that allows forecasting trends and planning future scenarios, which can be identified in the investment in improvement of IT systems. The trainings are mostly offered to its external audience, and those related to the human resources of the internal environment are carried out on their own initiative. Less than half of the respondents stated that employees have autonomy with freedom of action for decisions, as well as being encourged in challenges and to be proactive and ambitious. The internal work teams containing collaborators from other areas were confirmed by half the respondents and there is practically no rotation of functions. The results allow us to assume that there are no actions or programs aimed at Knowledge Creation and Sharing. The analysis of the results suggest the need for "change" in the organizational culture, in the established routines, which prove to be standardized in the organizations studied. Limitations and suggestions to analyze aspects not contemplated in this research are pointed out.

Polanyi-Nonaka research paradigm based on the classification between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge is widely accepted by international mainstream scholars in knowledge management field. However, problems such as unclear concepts and fuzzy reorganization of the process of knowledge creation and conversion exist under this paradigm. An investigation on the meaning of "Ba" was made, whereas the content of social ecology of knowledge management, proposed by David Snowden, and the meaning of "Cynefin" were briefly introduced. Based on these, we advanced that "Ba" and "Cynefin" should be self-organized systems. And then, multi-disciplinary knowledge in areas such as brain science, neural network research, linguistics, and cognitive theory, were used for reference to analyze the process of knowledge creation and conversion. At last, dynamic business management model based on the process of knowledge creation and conversion was constructed.