scholarly journals Differentiating knowledge transfer and technology transfer

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 611-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maimunah Ismail ◽  
Siti Raba’ah Hamzah ◽  
Ralf Bebenroth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the conceptualization of knowledge transfer and technology transfer to seek answers to the question: Why should an organizational manager need to know the difference between knowledge transfer (KT) and technology transfer (TT)? Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review method was used to identify and analyze relevant international publications. The literature sources are categorized as follows: literature on KT only, literature on TT only and literature on comparative analysis on KT and TT. The conceptualization of KT and TT is based on signaling theory. Findings The authors identified differences between KT and TT based on six dimensions, namely knowledge versus technology characteristics, usage of KT and TT in national development, sender versus receiver, intra-firm versus inter-firm transfer, foreign direct investment (FDI) and workers’ mobility. Research limitations/implications This is a conceptual analysis that should contribute to the existing literature by comprehensively reviewing the processes of KT and TT based on selected research conducted worldwide as well as suggest practical guidelines to organizational managers in managing KT and TT. Originality/value This review could shed new insights for future researchers to validate and examine the identified differences between KT and TT so that managers could make use of the findings to manage KT and TT successfully in their organizations.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gangeswari Tangaraja ◽  
Roziah Mohd Rasdi ◽  
Bahaman Abu Samah ◽  
Maimunah Ismail

Purpose The paper aims to clearly differentiate knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge transfer (KT) besides exemplifying their interconnections to minimize the current confusions in the knowledge management (KM) literature. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review method was used to analyse relevant literature on both KS and KT to clearly delineate their differences and their interconnections. Findings The paper found that KS is a subset of KT (using personalization strategy), whereas KT as a whole is a broader concept, if compared with KS. However, KS is not one of the immediate processes involved in KT (using codification strategy). The processes involved in KS and KT differ according to the strategy used (in KT) and perspective chosen (in KS). Other findings include KS (unidirectional) as reflective concept (viewed so far), whereas KS (bidirectional), KT (personalization) and KT (codification) as formative concepts. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper were based on the review of selected relevant articles only. Practical Implications The paper will minimize the current confusions in the KM literature and will assist future researches on both KS and KT to ensure what these concepts entail to avoid construct underrepresentation. Originality/value As compared to previous attempts, the present paper has shown the interconnections between KS and KT, as well as the differences based on the two perspectives of KS (unidirectional/bidirectional) and the two strategies of KT (personalization/codification), and such effort is new in the literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Kerstin Kuyken ◽  
Mehran Ebrahimi ◽  
Anne-Laure Saives

Purpose This paper aims to develop a better understanding of intergenerational knowledge transfer (IKT) practices by adopting a context-related and comparative perspective. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study design involving 83 interviews and non-participative observation in German and Quebec organizations has been chosen. Findings Two distinctive archetypes of IKT emerge from both national contexts: “we-individualizing” (Germany) and “I-connecting” (Quebec), leading to an eightfold taxonomy of IKT practices. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to young and senior workers and to high-tech sectors. Originality/value Comparative and inductive study of IKT, adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts, retaining younger workers. This inductive and comparative study allows a better adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts and therefore a better retention of younger workers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Creaser

Purpose Library impact and how to evaluate it has been debated for a number of years. While the activity – the busy-ness – of the library is now routinely measured and described, the difference the library makes is less tangible and harder to measure. Libraries in all sectors and worldwide are grappling with this issue, and the purpose of this paper is to summarise international standards available to support them. Design/methodology/approach The first international standard concerning library impact, ISO 16439 Information and documentation – methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries, was published in 2014 after several years in development. Findings The standard describes a range of methods for assessing library impact which have been used across the world in a variety of libraries in all sectors. Originality/value This paper summarises the key methods described in the standard, and gives references for further reading.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 1178-1193
Author(s):  
Tony Burns

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Amartya Sen’s notion of adaptation and his views on identity politics by focussing on the issue of slavery and, more specifically, on the example of the happy or contented slave. Design/methodology/approach The paper is text based. The methodological approach adopted is that of conceptual analysis, as is typical for work of this kind. Findings The paper concludes that the example of the happy or contented slave is indeed a fruitful one for those interested in exploring the relationship between Sen’s views on “the adaptation problem” and his views on identity politics, especially in relation to the subjection of women. Here Sen’s debt to the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill is particularly important. Research limitations/implications One implication of the argument of the paper is that there is a need to consider more carefully the differences that exist between the views of Wollstonecraft and Mill, so far as the example of the happy or contented slave is concerned. Practical implications One practical implication of the paper is that, hopefully, it establishes the continued relevance of the ideas of thinkers such as Wollstonecraft and Mill today, not least because of the influence that they have had on theoreticians such as Amartya Sen. Social implications The paper addresses issues which are of considerable social and political significance, especially for women in underdeveloped societies today. Originality/value The example of the happy or contented slave has not received much discussion in the literature on Sen, although Sen himself has suggested that the distinction between happiness and contentment is an important one, which does merit further discussion.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar ◽  
Anil Kumar Kashyap

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify distinct segments of apparel shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation. The difference among the segments based on mall attractive dimension is also examined. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through mall intercept survey from the mall shoppers. Samples of 375 respondents are used for data analysis purpose. Exploratory factor analysis is used to extract the factors of fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions while K-means cluster analysis is applied to identify the segments. Findings This study resulted in three factors of fashion orientation of apparel shoppers, i.e. fashion involvement, variety seeking and economic value, and four factors of mall attractive dimensions: convenience, entertainment, atmosphere and architecture design. Based on these factors, this study came out with three distinct segments of fashion shoppers: pragmatic shoppers, variety seeking shoppers and highly fashioned shoppers. These three segments are attracted towards the mall dimension differently. Originality/value This paper presents the three distinct profiles of fashion shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions. The findings of this study may help retailers and mall developers to target mall visitors appropriately.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Blasi ◽  
Douglas Kruse ◽  
Dan Weltmann

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how majority employee-owned firms responded to the pandemic compared to firms that were not majority employee-owned. The Employee Ownership Foundation partnered with Rutgers University and the SSRS survey firm to survey ESOP and non-ESOP firms about their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. A key purpose of the survey was to estimate firm-level changes in employment from mid-January to August (current employment figures were adjusted to August 5 using BLS industry employment trends). The survey also looked at other forms of adjustment and responses to the pandemic as reviewed below. The focus in this study is on the differences between firms that are majority owned by ESOPs and those that are not.Design/methodology/approachThe survey included 247 executives from ESOP Association member companies and 500 executives from an SSRS business panel constructed to be representative of US companies with 50 or more employees. The survey started on August 5 and ended on September 23, 2020.Findings(1) Majority ESOP firms had employment declines from January to August that were on average only one-fourth as large as for other firms. The difference is maintained when controlling for industry membership. (2) Majority ESOP firms were more likely to be declared “essential,” but the lower employment cutbacks among majority ESOP firms remain among essential and non-essential businesses. As essential businesses, majority ESOP firms were more likely receive Paycheck Protection Program or other government pandemic assistance, but both assistance recipients and non-recipients had lower employment cutbacks among majority ESOP firms. (3) The extent of employment cutbacks was higher for non-managers than for managers, but the manager/non-manager gap was higher among other firms than among majority ESOP firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study supports empirical findings done previously.Practical implicationsThis study suggests to non-EO firms what they can do.Social implicationsThis study suggests strengths of EO firms.Originality/valueA very original and one-of-a-kind dataset.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Knoerich

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how path dependence in the evolution of major theories of foreign direct investment (FDI) locked in a theoretical perspective of the multinational enterprise that focused on asset-exploitation. This perspective is challenged by recent contradicting observations of multinationals from China and other emerging economies. A decisive re-orientation of FDI theory is proposed as a way forward to resolve this tension. Design/methodology/approach Placing FDI theories into the context of FDI patterns prevailing at the time they were developed, Thomas Kuhn’s framework on the evolution of scientific knowledge is employed to track how the mainstream FDI theory emerged, went through a period of normal science and then approached a crisis of science in this field. Findings The evolution of FDI theory is strongly path-dependent, which made it difficult for theory to effectively incorporate new conceptual discoveries and empirical findings about the nature of FDI activity. Originality/value FDI theory would benefit from a full re-orientation to a demand-oriented perspective which places the pursuit of advantages, assets, resources, etc., at the core of the theory. Such a change is implicit in many recent theoretical advances and would assure theory is generalizable to all types of FDI.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelin Barron ◽  
Shih Yung Chou

Purpose This paper aims to discuss how religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals may view the three core workplace spiritual values: transcendence, existence of a higher power and interconnectedness. Additionally, this paper studies how the contrasts between the views of religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals about the three core spiritual values affect their performance of social responsibility initiatives. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual analysis was used. Findings This paper suggests that religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals view the three core spiritual values differently. Drawing upon the three core spiritual values viewed by religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals, this paper proposes the following. First, religiously affiliated individuals will focus on implementing social responsibility initiatives for a longer time orientation compared to non-religiously affiliated individuals. Second, when engaging in social responsibility, religiously affiliated individuals will focus on implementing a smaller scope of social responsibility initiatives than non-religiously affiliated individuals. Finally, religiously affiliated individuals will focus on implementing a larger scale of social responsibility initiatives than non-religiously affiliated individuals. Originality/value This paper is one of the very first studies addressing how religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals view core values of spirituality. Additionally, this paper advances the literature by contrasting how religiously and non-religiously affiliated individuals engage in socially responsible initiatives in accordance with how they view spirituality.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha Choudhary ◽  
Anish Kumar ◽  
Varun Sharma ◽  
Pradeep Kumar

PurposeAdditive manufacturing (AM) is expected to significantly transform the operations in manufacturing sector. It is also proposed to have optimistic applications in the medical supply chains (SC). However, its adoption in medical sector is faced with a range of barriers. Motivated by the need to establish an AM-based medical SC in a developing economy, the present paper analyses the potential barriers that would hinder the adoption of AM in medical SC.Design/methodology/approachBased on an extensive literature review and expert discussions, 12 significant barriers have been identified, which are analysed using an integrated interpretive structural modelling–analytical network process (ISM–ANP) methodology. An interrelationship between these barriers using ISM has been analysed to determine the driving-dependence power of these barriers using MICMAC (Matrice d' Impacts Croises-Multiplication Applique' e a' Classement) analysis. The barriers are then ranked using the ANP approach.FindingsIt has been focussed that the non-availability of a variety of materials, lack of education and training to designers and workers and production technology limitation are the most critical barriers. The results suggest that the managers should give greater significance to the technological and organizational barriers.Originality/valueAn approach to overcome these barriers can help the managers and organizations to develop successful AM-based SCs. The study is the first to identify and analyse the barriers for successful adoption of AM in medical SC context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pornlapas Suwannarat

PurposeThis study focuses on variations of the importance of core values through motivational domains of individuals by their cultural background. The effect of motivational domains on operational performance has also been investigated.Design/methodology/approachThe study used survey as the main data collection method to elicit data from managerial workers in spa businesses in four regions of Thailand. An unpublished database of spa businesses was provided to the study by the Thai Chamber of Commerce.FindingsSignificant variations of the importance of motivational domains of managerial workers can be found according to the subculture of each of the four regions of Thailand. In addition, the motivational domains have found their significant impact on worker operational performance.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of this study may be the distribution of samples because the study focuses on spa businesses, most of which in each region are located in big tourism provinces that may not be wholly representative of the characteristics of each region.Practical implicationsThis study will be of practical value for practitioners or managers of any firms since it is important to consider value variations when assessing the operational performance; workers, especially managerial workers, in each subculture may have different priorities in the motivational domains of their lives. This could affect their operational performance.Originality/valueThis is an original attempt to ascertain variations of core values through motivational domains by subculture. It fills a knowledge gap in under-researched area in the literature since so far a few studies have examined this issue in the ASEAN countries.


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