Knowledge management in academia: survey, analysis and perspective

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.

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.

This research explores perceptions of knowledge management processes held by managers and employees in a service industry. To date, empirical research on knowledge management in the service industry is sparse. This research seeks to examine absorptive capacity and its four capabilities of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation and their impact on effective knowledge management. All of these capabilities are strategies that enable external knowledge to be recognized, imported and integrated into, and further developed within the organization effectively. The research tests the relationships between absorptive capacity and effective knowledge management through analysis of quantitative data (n = 549) drawn from managers and employees in 35 residential aged care organizations in Western Australia. Responses were analysed using Partial Least Square-based Structural Equation Modelling. Additional analysis was conducted to assess if the job role (of manager or employee) and three industry context variables of profit motive, size of business and length of time the organization has been in business, impacted on the hypothesized relationships. Structural model analysis examines the relationships between variables as hypothesized in the research framework. Analysis found that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities correlated significantly with effective knowledge management, with absorptive capacity explaining 56% of the total variability for effective knowledge management. Findings from this research also show that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities provide a useful framework for examining knowledge management in the service industry. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perceptions held between managers and employees, nor between respondents in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Furthermore, the size of the organization and length of time the organization has been in business did not impact on absorptive capacity, the four capabilities and effective knowledge management. The research considers implications for business in light of these findings. The role of managers in providing leadership across the knowledge management process was confirmed, as well as the importance of guiding routines and knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Further, the results indicate that within the participating organizations there are discernible differences in the way that some organizations manage their knowledge, compared to others. To achieve effective knowledge management, managers need to provide a supportive workplace culture, facilitate strong employee relationships, encourage employees to seek out new knowledge, continually engage in two-way communication with employees and provide up-to-date policies and procedures that guide employees in doing their work. The implementation of knowledge management strategies has also been shown in this research to enhance the delivery and quality of residential aged care.

This paper examines the effectiveness of advocacy and outreach in promoting collaboration and knowledge management among libraries in Nigeria. To this effect, an extensive literature search was carried out to evaluate existing strategies, methods, and resources used for knowledge management in libraries. Results of the review show that advocacy and outreach initiatives are necessary for effective collaboration and knowledge management among libraries in Nigeria. In this regard, strategies such as library awareness campaigns, advocacy programs, and training courses for librarians are needed to promote collaboration and knowledge management among library staff. Furthermore, library associations could be adequately equipped and empowered to effectively promote collaboration and knowledge management among library staff. In conclusion, advocacy and outreach initiatives are essential for effective collaboration and knowledge management among libraries in Nigeria. This paper concludes that advocacy and outreach are essential strategies in proactively connecting the Law School Library to its users, and this can potentially foster and enhance effective collaboration and knowledge management in Nigerian Law School Libraries. It is recommended that library associations are empowered to effectively promote collaboration and knowledge management among library staff. Library awareness campaigns, advocacy programmes, and training courses should also be implemented to improve collaboration and knowledge management among library staff. Related literature was extensively reviewed through an exploratory approach which led to a thorough explanation of the concepts associated with the theme.

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.

Knowledge management is 'hot', still, and for good reason. Knowledge has been recognized as a key resource of organizations, and as such it should be managed. But the elusive nature of knowledge puzzles both managers and management scientists. In this paper, we address two questions that lie at the heart of this puzzle: (1) what constitutes good knowledge management, and (2) how can managers put good knowledge management into practice? By conceptualizing organizational knowledge from two different perspectives-the analytical perspective and the actor perspective-we show that there is no single set of values by which knowledge management can be judged. We contend that, to be effective, knowledge management should be a continuous process of tradeoffs between values, and we propose a set of rules to structure this process while doing justice to both perspectives.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to more strongly demonstrate a relationship between effective management of knowledge and positive organizational performance outcomes. While assumed in the field, proof has been inconsistent and often unconvincing. This study fills several gaps in the literature. The knowledge management (KM)/performance link remains unsettled because of largely subjective and statistical approaches. This research is objective and experimental, allowing causal inferences. This study also establishes a useful KM metric useful in assessing not only knowledge assets but also real-world applications such merger and acquisition (M&A) evaluations. This study uses a longitudinal experimental design to better understand details of KM’s impact on performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Using a unique experimental design, a natural experiment, this study measures firm performance before and after a key event, a M&A action. Further, knowledge metrics are used to divide a sample of M&A firms, allowing prediction of post-stock price movements (financial performance outcomes) based on KM outcomes. A full census of over 2,000 M&A events were analyzed over the years 2003–2013, identifying knowledge metrics and stock prices from published financial statements. Findings A relationship was found between relative knowledge levels and a positive move in stock price, strongly suggesting a correlation between KM and financial performance. As a natural experiment, this study also provides evidence a causal relationship exists. Strong empirical data demonstrate that when a firm better manages knowledge, it can have a demonstrated positive impact on performance (stock price). Originality/value This study is unique in several ways. This study uses a natural experiment methodology not commonly applied to KM scholarship. This paper more convincingly establishes a relationship, causal, between KM and financial performance. It does so by using objective metrics rather than subjective self-reports from surveys. Interestingly, it suggests the direction of KM’s impact, as M&A events with a higher acquirer KM metric are more successful than those with a higher target KM metric. Finally, it demonstrates an investment strategy of interest to financial planners, predicting future stock prices based on current knowledge assets levels.

Knowledge management (KM) approaches have been broadly considered to entail either a focus on organizing communities or a focus on the process of knowledge creation, sharing, and distribution. While these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and organizations may adopt aspects of both, the two approaches entail different challenges. Some organizational cultures might be more receptive to the community approach, whereas others may be more receptive to the process approach. Although culture has been cited widely as a challenge in knowledge management initiatives, and although many studies have considered the implications of organizational culture on knowledge sharing, few empirical studies address the influence of culture on the approach taken to knowledge management. Using a case study approach to compare and contrast the cultures and knowledge management approaches of two organizations, the study suggests ways in which organizational culture influences knowledge management initiatives as well as the evolution of knowledge management in organizations. Whereas in one organization, the KM effort became little more than an information repository, in the second organization, the KM effort evolved into a highly collaborative system fostering the formation of electronic communities.

Knowledge management approaches have been broadly considered to entail either a focus on organizing communities or a focus on the process of knowledge creation, sharing, and distribution. While these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and organizations may adopt aspects of both, the two approaches entail different challenges. Some organizational cultures might be more receptive to the community approach whereas others are more receptive to the process approach. Although culture has been widely cited as a challenge in knowledge management initiatives and many studies have considered the implications of organizational culture on knowledge sharing, few empirical studies address the influence of culture on the approach taken to knowledge management. Using a case-study approach to compare and contrast the cultures and knowledge management approaches of two organizations, the study suggests the ways in which organizational culture influences knowledge management initiatives as well as the evolution of knowledge management in organizations. Whereas in one organization the KM effort became little more than an information repository, in the second organization, the KM effort evolved into a highly collaborative system fostering the formation of electronic communities.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the mutual relationship between transformational leadership and knowledge management as well the potential effects of a transformational leader on his or her followers. In this paper, we review the role of transformational leadership in effective knowledge management and establish the emerging role of transformational leadership, as an ideal leadership style in building knowledge-based companies to achieve a higher degree of competitive advantage. The findings in this article are based upon previous empirical studies that illustrate the formulation of several propositions that contribute to the knowledge management processes. Our findings are based upon possible scenarios that impact transformational leadership and knowledge management using grounded theoretical research. Research limitations are twofold. One limitation is found in the prior literature indicating that past studies have posited that companies might lack the required capabilities or decide to decline from interacting with other companies (Caldwell & Ancona 1988), or even distrust sharing their knowledge (Kraut & Streeter 1995). And, second, our contribution to the literature lies in presenting a link between knowledge management and transformational leadership that incorporates the knowledge management processes that may impact the effectiveness of transformational leaders to enhance their capabilities to effectively play their roles within companies. In addition, managerial applications that may support knowledge management processes are proposed further research is necessary to finalise conclusions. The original value of this research provides an impetus of mutual interaction of knowledge management and transformational leadership.

Research on organizational learning and knowledge management has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. This chapter discusses reasons for the surge in research, describes approaches to defining organizational learning and knowledge, and discusses levels at which learning occurs. It presents major findings about creating, retaining, and transferring knowledge, identifying gaps in our understanding as well as directions for future research. Because organizational learning and effective knowledge management are sources of performance improvements in organizations, a greater understanding of these topics has the potential to advance practice as well as theory.

Knowledge Management (KM) is the process of knowledge creation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, knowledge storage and knowledge re-application. It is considered as one of the most important area of research in the era of globalization. Knowledge management practices are one of the important areas of knowledge management. The objectives of this study were to explore the perceptions of PhD approved supervisors about six factors of knowledge management. The study was quantitative in nature and cross sectional survey was used as method of the study. The population of study was all 4636 approved PhDs research supervisors of all public and private sector universities in Pakistan. By multi-stage sampling techniques 465 PhD approved supervisor were selected as sample. Seven major areas which were definition, plan, strategies, framework, unit, budgets, and coordination point of knowledge management in Pakistani universities were examined. Study concluded that there is absence of definitions, plan, strategies, framework, unit, budgets, and coordination point of knowledge management for practices and its implementation in universities of Pakistan. The results recommended that there may be provided knowledge management practices definitions in universities of Pakistan. Higher Education Commission and universities may be equipped with knowledge management unit, framework, coordination point and budgets for implementation.

Having the right knowledge to act and decide has become very crucial in the 21st century and particularly for healthcare organizations where medical errors can cause millions of injuries (Ghosh & Scott, 2006). Effective knowledge management (KM) improves the quality of care provided by medical doctors and nurses. This research intended to assess the effect of change readiness, organizational culture, organizational ethical climate, and KM processes on KM effectiveness in healthcare organizations. Questionnaires were distributed to 220 nurses and physicians from Butembo, one of the towns in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. One hundred thirty respondents returned the questionnaires, among which 117 were found valid. Multiple regressions were done to test the research hypotheses. The analysis revealed that structural readiness and organizational culture predicted KM processes. Structural readiness and KM processes predicted KM effectiveness. However, psychological readiness failed to predict KM processes and KM effectiveness. The findings suggested that hospitals should foster a culture of learning, risk-taking, and team-working to provide appropriate services to patients. They should also invest in developing KM processes such as knowledge acquisition and sharing.

This study aims to analyze the influence of risk-taking, proactiveness, and knowledge management on employee performance in the Indonesian banking sector. The rapid dynamics of the banking industry and high demands for innovation underscore adaptive capabilities and knowledge management as key success factors. Employee performance, as a core organizational asset, is significantly affected by how individuals and organizations respond to change and leverage existing knowledge. This research employs a quantitative, survey-based approach. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to banking employees in Indonesia. The research sample was drawn using a purposive sampling technique with specific criteria. The collected data were then analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) with SmartPLS software. The findings indicate that both risk-taking and proactiveness have a positive and significant influence on knowledge management. This suggests that a higher propensity for employees to take calculated risks and demonstrate proactivity leads to more effective knowledge management processes in the workplace. Furthermore, risk-taking and knowledge management were found to have a positive and significant influence on employee performance. Interestingly, proactiveness did not show a direct significant influence on employee performance; however, its influence was fully mediated by knowledge management. This finding underscores the crucial mediating role of knowledge management in linking proactiveness to improved performance. The managerial implications of this study highlight the importance of banking institutions to foster a culture that supports measured risk-taking and proactive initiatives among employees. Moreover, investing in effective knowledge management systems and processes is vital to convert proactiveness into tangible performance improvements. This research contributes to the literature on the determinants of employee performance in the banking industry, particularly in the context of the strategic role of knowledge management in developing countries like Indonesia.

Fundamental of Computer Technology is a course in first year of college to enhance computer practical skill of undergraduate and provide experiment of computational thinking. There are three issues in fundamental of computer education. One is how to organize mass content of course. The second is how to combine academic education and technical practice in teaching. The last is students on various computer practical skill levels. To guarantee quality of teaching, a closed-loop architecture based on knowledge management is proposed, which can assist teacher to hold over teaching proceeding and arouse students to get knowledge. Then some data contain test scores and investigation results are provided to prove the efficiency of the closed-loop architecture. KEYWORD: Knowledge management; Knowledge map; Computer fundamental; Teaching methodology; Closed-loop; Lab teaching; Tacit knowledge International Conference on Social Science, Education Management and Sports Education (SSEMSE 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 2006 convert to tacit knowledge by systematic steps [1]. Psychology research indicated that tacit knowledge played important role in scientific innovation [2]. Tacit knowledge is acquired largely through association with other people, and requires joint or shared activities to be imparted from on to another [3].Knowledge management are Strategies and processes designed to identify, capture, structure, value, leverage, and share an organization's intellectual assets to enhance its performance and competitiveness[4]. The purpose of knowledge management is knowledge innovation [5]. It is based on two critical activities: capture and documentation of individual explicit and tacit knowledge, and its dissemination within the organization. As far as college teacher concerned, knowledge management is not only a teaching method, but also an effective tool to promote professional level. Many college teachers have no idea about knowledge management at present. Though knowing course content well, they are not good at structuring knowledge points, assessing the knowledge dimension of a course and proposing approach to capture the required knowledge quickly. Ma et al [6] discussed the importance of knowledge management for college teacher. It lists four advantages of knowledge management. First, it can help new teacher in mastering required knowledge and professional skill. Second, it would assist college to formulate training programs for teacher, reinforcing team construction. Third, teachers would clarify the relationships among the knowledge and draft appropriate teaching plan. The last is to enhance utilization of tacit knowledge and knowledge sharing in teachers. The paper is organized as follows. Section 1 introduces the situation of Fundamental of Computer Technology and the problems in teaching. Section 2 describes the conceptions of knowledge management and its potential for course promotion. Section 3 presents a closed-loop architecture based on knowledge management, and evaluates the architecture by data analysis. Section 4 concludes. 3 CLOSED-LOOP ARCHITECTURE The essence of teaching and learning is imparting and sharing activities of knowledge. In this process, students gain personal experiences. After that, new requests for knowledge are generated. New knowledge integrates to old knowledge system. At the end, personal knowledge system is updated. A successful education process should satisfy it. In practice, we design a closed-loop architecture to solve the three questions presented in section 1 by applying knowledge management to teaching deliberately. The close-loop architecture consists of three stages, illustrated in figure 1. Figure 1. Closed-loop architecture. First stage is teaching content management, aims at question 1 and question 3. Second stage is teaching process control, aims at question 2. Last stage is teaching summative evaluation, which provides basis for next teaching loop. 3.1 Teaching content management Composed of contents across various major disciplines, Fundamental of Computer Technology is a proper circumstance for knowledge management practice. Course content management emphasizes the internal relationship of knowledge. To communicate each pair of points in course content, it refers to content, identity, classify and structure knowledge. In this stage, the management is performed by teachers. It is realized in two approaches: collective course preparation of teachers and pre-course survey on students. 3.1.1 Teacher’s knowledge management Knowledge map is an effective tool for knowledge management, proposed by B. C. Brooks first. He mentioned that a person’s knowledge can formulated as a concept map in which a vertex represents a knowledge unit. Knowledge map is not only a guide to knowledge, but also is an organization's internal or external repositories or sources of knowledge [7]. The process oriented knowledge map of Fundamental of Computer Technology is represented by figure 2.