Mapping knowledge networks for organizational re-design in a rehabilitation clinic

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorella Cannavacciuolo ◽  
Luca Iandoli ◽  
Cristina Ponsiglione ◽  
Virginia Maracine ◽  
Emil Scarlat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Networks ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Aspects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a social network approach for identification of micro-organizational re-design interventions to make more efficient and fluid the knowledge flow in a rehabilitation multidisciplinary team. The structural information of different kinds of knowledge networks within a team is augmented with additional analyses aimed at collecting information about the ways through which participants use knowledge, the motivation behind knowledge exchange, and the non-human knowledge sources used by subjects to perform their work. This paperwork was supported by CNCSIS – UEFISCDI, project number PNII – IDEI 810/2008. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a definition of knowledge network including human and non-human knowledge source (documents and knowledge repositories) as it is more adequate for the analysis of knowledge flows in multidisciplary medical teams. The mapping and analysis of the network are carried out through: elicitation of knowledge flows between people within and outside the team through a structured questionnaire; mapping of the knowledge flows toward non-human knowledge sources; and identification of critical aspects and proposal of re-engineering interventions to make knowledge flow more efficient and effective. Findings The analysis of the critical aspects emerged in the field study identifies a number of opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge sharing through the re-design of the team network. The re-design interventions concern three main features of knowledge network: “knowledge centralization,” “Over-reliance on External experts,” “Unshared knowledge tools and sources.” Originality/value The originality of the work resides in applying social network analysis (SNA) for healthcare management settings, proving evidence and guidelines to show how healthcare organizations can benefit from the adoption of SNA-based approaches.

Trailing organizational knowledge paths through social network lens: integrating the multiple industry cases

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Gul Kim ◽  
Yong Sauk Hau ◽  
Seulki Song ◽  
Ghi-Hoon Ghim
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Level ◽  
Business Units

Purpose – This study aims at analyzing the features of knowledge flow and the role-specific nodes in knowledge networks among individuals and business units of six organizations in different industries, and suggesting prescriptions to prevent the organizational knowledge sclerosis. Design/methodology/approach – This research conducts multiple case studies on the organizational knowledge paths of six companies in the multiple industries through social network analysis (SNA) tool developed by the authors of this paper. Findings – This study provides four major findings which shed a new light on how to comprehend the features of knowledge flow and the role-specific nodes in knowledge networks in organizations: the within-business unit knowledge flows are more dominant over the inter-business units knowledge flow; the downward knowledge flows are dominant over the horizontal and upward knowledge flows in the management levels; distributions of knowledge owners and providers are like L-shape and the gap between knowledge owing and providing expands as the management levels go up; and the top 20 percent people in an organization dominate over a large portion of the knowledge brokerage activities. Research limitations/implications – Cultural difference issue might arise because data collection was limited to Korean organizations. Therefore, the findings from this study needs to be cautiously interpreted considering the cultural difference/deeper understanding of the organizational knowledge paths through social network lens can make it possible for more context-specific KM strategies (e.g. suitable for a specific functional unit, management level, or industry type) to be identified and implemented. Practical implications – Managers can have a solid grasp about knowledge flows and knowledge node roles in their organization through social network analysis in order to facilitate the knowledge transfer and eliminate the knowledge link lapse in organizations. Originality/value – This study could be a stepping stone for further empirical research since it expanded the level of organizational knowledge network analysis from individual and team to inter-unit and inter-management level through the block modeling analysis of knowledge network.

Affectivity and riskiness of retirement investment decisions

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2093-2110
Author(s):  
Joshua C. Palmer ◽  
Yunhyung Chung ◽  
Youngkyun Park ◽  
Gang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Knowledge Networks ◽  
Financial Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Broaden And Build Theory ◽  
Retirement Investment

PurposeDrawing on broaden-and-build theory and promotion- and prevention-focus theory, the authors examined the role of positive and negative affectivity (PANA) on the riskiness of investment decisions. The authors also examined the mediating impact of financial knowledge network intensity (i.e. the level of communication with financially literate others in employees' social network) on the PANA—riskiness of investment decisions relationship.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 used a sample of undergraduate students and operationalized risk using a hypothetical investment scenario. Study 2 replicated and extended the Study 1 findings using employees and operationalized risk using their real-world investment allocations.FindingsBoth Studies 1 and 2 provided support for the negative direct relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions. Study 2 found PA was marginally positively related to the riskiness of investment decisions. Financial knowledge network intensity mediated the relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions in Study 2.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that employees who see the world in a generally negative light tended to have weaker financial knowledge networks, and this may be one mechanism that explains why they make low-risk investments.Practical implicationsFinancial knowledge networks can provide access to critical information regarding investment opportunities. Socialization training or social mixers can be used to help employees build and improve their financial knowledge networks.Originality/valueThe authors integrate the research on PANA, social networks, and investment decisions to illuminate the social network processes that explain how affectivity impacts the riskiness of retirement investment decisions.

Knowledge transfer roles of subsidiaries in MNCs’ networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cigdem Baskici
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based

Purpose Although there have been a considerable number of studies regarding subsidiary role typology in multinationals’ management literature, there appear to be few studies that consider knowledge-based role typology from the network-based perspective. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap and extend the study of Gupta and Govindarajan (1991). Thus, the study focuses on answering the following research question: Do subsidiaries have different roles in terms of knowledge flows within a multinational company (MNC)? Design/methodology/approach This empirical study has been carried out as an explorative single case study. An MNC with 15 foreign subsidiaries headquartered in Turkey, which operated in the manufacturing of household appliances and consumer electronics, has been selected as the case. Knowledge transfer is analyzed in this MNC from the network perspective. Findings Four role typologies are detected for subsidiaries of the MNC: collector transmitter, collector diffuser, converter transmitter and converter diffuser. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study are specific to this case. Testing the findings in a sample consisting of subsidiaries of MNCs producing transnational products may contribute to the generalizability of these roles. Practical implications This study offers potentially important findings for MNC managers to use. First, in this study, knowledge flows' route could be defined within MNCs’ dual network. Second, role typologies could inform MNC managers to design their MNCs’ knowledge network. Originality/value The suggested typologies are expected to more accurately define the roles of subsidiaries within contemporary MNCs which are accepted to be transformed from hierarchical structures to network-based organizations.

scholarly journals Firm’s strategic choices and network knowledge dynamics: how do they affect innovation?

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Antonio Belso-Martinez ◽  
Isabel Diez-Vial
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Knowledge Networks ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Network Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovative Capacity ◽  
Over Time

Purpose This paper aims to explain how the evolution of knowledge networks and firms’ strategic choices affect innovation. Endogenous factors associated with a path-dependent evolution of the knowledge network are jointly considered with a firm’s development of international relationships and increasing internal absorptive capacity over time. Design/methodology/approach In a biotech cluster, the authors gathered data on the firms’ characteristics and network relationships by asking about the technological knowledge they received in the cluster in 2007 and 2012 – “roster-recall” method. Estimation results were obtained using moderated regression analysis. Findings Firms that increase their involvement in knowledge networks over time also tend to increase their innovative capacity. However, efforts devoted to building international links or absorptive capacity negatively moderate the impact of network growth on innovation. Practical implications Practitioners have two alternative ways of increasing innovation inside knowledge networks: they can increase their centrality by developing their knowledge network interactions or invest in developing their internal absorptive capacity and new international sources of knowledge. Investing in both of these simultaneously does not seem to improve a firm’s innovative capacity. Originality/value Coupling firms’ strategic options with knowledge network dynamics provide a more complete way of explaining how firms can improve their innovative capacity.

FinTech innovation and knowledge flows in Hong Kong’s financial sector: a social network analysis approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anson Au
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Foreign Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Network Position

Purpose This paper aims to examine how financial technology (FinTech) knowledge from foreign firms flows into and among elite commercial banks in Hong Kong’s financial sector to drive innovation. Design/methodology/approach Using social network analysis and regression analysis on a novel database of patents held by Hong Kong’s elite commercial banks, this paper examines the relationships between network position and FinTech knowledge flow. Findings This paper finds four untold patterns of innovation and inequality in Hong Kong’s financial sector: only three banks are responsible for all the FinTech knowledge entering Hong Kong; most foreign FinTech comes from the USA through Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, whereas most FinTech from China enters through Fubon Bank and Development Bank of Singapore; older banks and banks with more connections to firms inside Asia are more likely to import FinTech; the most beneficial sources of FinTech for a bank’s network position are firms from outside Asia. Originality/value Despite the well-documented volumes of cross-border and cross-continental movement of financial institutions in Hong Kong, there is little work on the knowledge flows that underwrite this mobility. This paper addresses this gap by using FinTech knowledge flows to map the distribution of innovation, network position and competitive advantage in Hong Kong’s financial sector.

Network structure and regional innovation: A study of university–industry ties

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Huggins ◽  
Daniel Prokop
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Networks ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Network Architectures ◽  
Network Structures ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Structural Network ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Structure Of Knowledge ◽  
University Industry

The emergence of the network paradigm has led to growing interest in understanding network structures relating to knowledge flows and patterns of regional innovation. This paper explores the structure of knowledge networks stemming from ties between universities and other actors, principally firms. Based upon a network analysis of empirical data for regions across the UK, it is found that the most innovative and economically developed regions are more likely to be the location for actors holding highly central and influential positions within knowledge network architectures. It is concluded that network structures, and resulting stocks of structural network capital, influence patterns of regional innovation and development.

NURTURING COMMUNITIES OF INNOVATION: EVIDENCE FROM THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

2012 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 1250029 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCESCA GRIPPA
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Aerospace Industry ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Communication Pattern ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Financial Outcomes ◽  
Complementary Method ◽  
Communities Of Innovation

This paper describes the benefits of applying a Social Network Dashboard to monitor the evolution of knowledge flows within communities of innovation. Social interactions are observed within and across four inter-organizational communities at a large aerospace company. The application of the Dashboard revealed which of the communities were characterized by a more intense and active knowledge flow and a less centralized communication pattern. These communities were the most outwardly connected and the most productive in terms of financial outcomes. This study provides empirical evidence of the importance of using a network approach as a complementary method to monitor communities' evolution.

Enabling organizations to implement smarter, customized social computing platforms by leveraging knowledge flow patterns

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Chandra ◽  
Reethika S Iyer ◽  
Ramakrishnan Raman
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Social Computing ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Knowledge Sourcing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Computing Platforms ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to understand the knowledge sharing in projects based on knowledge flow patterns. The impact of attrition, thereby leading to a loss of tacit knowledge, inability to capture and reuse knowledge and inability to understand the knowledge flow patterns, which leads to lack of structured workspace collaboration, are frequently faced challenges in organizations. The change in knowledge sourcing behaviors by the current generation workforce has a high reaching impact in driving collaboration among employees. Design/methodology/approach – This paper attempts to study this impact and identify means to improve the effectiveness of collective knowledge sharing via social computing platforms. As part of this study, customized solutions are devised based on knowledge flow patterns prevalent in teams. Knowledge network analysis (KNA), a socio-metric analysis, is performed to understand knowledge flow patterns among employees in a team which helps understand the relationships between team members with respect to knowledge sharing. KNA helps in understanding ties and interactions between human and system resources. Findings – Significant changes were observed in knowledge sourcing and sharing behaviors. Capture of the tacit knowledge of employees further resulted in reducing the impact of knowledge attrition. For instance, targeted communities of practice (CoPs) based on the presence of cliques within teams enabled teams to complete projects effectively and efficiently. Practical implications – The results are used to identify push and pull networks to enable effective knowledge management (KM). Results of this study reveal that analyzing knowledge flow patterns in a team and deploying a customized social computing platform that is tailored to address the needs of specific knowledge flow patterns within that team, significantly enhances collaborative sharing as opposed to a standardized “one-size-fits-all” platform. Originality/value – This paper is an original creation after research by the authors for a continuous assessment of KM within the organization.

Managing open innovation from a knowledge flow perspective: the roles of embeddedness and network inertia in collaboration networks

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Shi ◽  
Lu Lu ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Qingpu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Negative Binomial Regression ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Collaboration Network ◽  
Tie Strength ◽  
Collaboration Networks ◽  
Content Type

PurposeBuilding on theories of inter-organizational knowledge flows and social network, we explored how two types of collaboration network embeddedness (NE) (i.e. structural embeddedness (SE) and relational embeddedness (RE)) drive firms' inbound and outbound open innovation (OI) practices from a knowledge flow perspective, and further examined these relationships are to what extent contingent on network inertia (NI).Design/methodology/approachIn this empirical research, the authors collected a sample of patents in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the period of 2000–2018. Then the authors examined the direct roles of SE and RE in collaboration networks on firms' inbound and outbound OI practices from a knowledge flow perspective, and the moderating role of NI by using negative binomial regression.FindingsEmpirical results from our study of 96 firms showed that both bridging structural holes position in collaboration networks (i.e. SE) and having stronger tie strength (i.e. RE) would positively affects firms' inbound OI practices, whereas only having stronger tie strength in collaboration networks (i.e. RE) would facilitate outbound OI practices. In addition, NI strengthens the relationships between SE and firm OI practice, but weakens the positive roles of RE on firm OI practice.Originality/valueThis empirical research provides new insights into whether and how firms can grasp the benefits of collaboration NE to conduct OI activities by exploring NI contingencies. It further sheds lights on the scope of the NE–OI issue from a knowledge flow perspective by extending its research context to UAV industry.

scholarly journals Intra-network knowledge roles and division performance in multi-business firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1165-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Villasalero
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Units ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Internal Knowledge

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to deal with the performance consequences of business units that adopt varying knowledge roles within the internal multi-business network. Multi-business firms are distributed knowledge systems in which business units are extensively involved in internal knowledge transfer processes. Business units play different roles within their respective corporate knowledge networks as knowledge providers, knowledge receivers, both or neither. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from a sample of 225 business divisions were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Findings – Results indicate that divisions which occupy knowledge roles that reveal the possession of unique knowledge (knowledge signaling) or guarantee the accumulation of new knowledge (knowledge learning) outperform those divisions that have access to spilled knowledge (knowledge depreciation) or have no access to any kind of knowledge (knowledge insulation). Practical implications – Four knowledge roles are distinguished according to the extent to which a business division provides the rest of the corporation with knowledge or receives knowledge from the rest of the corporation, thus exploring the issue of internal knowledge transfer from an integrated perspective that takes the directionality of knowledge flows and the position within the knowledge network into account. Originality/value – This study contributes to existent research on knowledge transfer and performance outcomes by demonstrating the usefulness of the knowledge role as an integrating concept within this literature. It also extends the four-role framework to the prescriptive domain and tests its normative implications in an intensive internal knowledge transfer setting which has to date gone relatively unnoticed, as is that of multi-business firms.

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