scholarly journals Knowledge at the boundary between science and society: a review of the use of farmers’ knowledge in agricultural development

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Girard

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to build a review of the various management processes of this knowledge in this domain, with the aim of identifying research topics and perspectives for knowledge management (KM) within the boundaries between science and society. At the boundary between science and society, the development of agricultural systems is grounded in various innovation processes that are currently being challenged by sustainability issues. In particular, farmers’ knowledge is emphasized today in various reports and scientific studies as a way of designing more sustainable agricultural systems. Design/methodology/approach – A literature analysis was performed on a database built from the Web of Science and 273 scientific article abstracts were qualitatively analyzed. Findings – Four KM strategies on the basis of the objectives of these papers, the arguments used to justify the study of farmers’ knowledge (FK) and the position of the authors in relation to this knowledge were built. These strategies can be broken down as follows: assessing FK to improve it; documenting FK to capitalize or legitimize it in development processes; using FK as a resource for innovation; and facilitating the sharing of various sources of knowledge to increase the efficiency of development projects. Research limitations/implications – Because the four KM strategies show a relative genericity, research perspectives for each of them, some of which were related to the KM community and some of which extended the focus on political, legal or sociological aspects of knowledge production processes at the boundary between science and society, were drawn. Practical implications – The four categories of KM strategies revealed the importance of legitimization processes of practitioners’ knowledge when dealing with innovation at science–society boundaries, whereas such processes are often neglected by classical KM methodologies. Social implications – This work questions the category of “practitioners’ knowledge”, stressing the need to go beyond the dichotomy between scientific and empirical knowledge and to recognize the hybrid nature of knowledge. It also shatters the myth that local knowledge is more sustainable than science-driven innovations, arguing for more KM efforts at the boundary between science and society. Originality/value – Even if farmers’ knowledge has been used since the 1970s to promote more endogenous innovation processes as opposed to classical science-driven innovation processes, no review has yet been done of the use of farmers’ knowledge in the development of agricultural systems.

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (12) ◽  
pp. 3168-3180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cintia Analía Barrionuevo ◽  
Elena Espeitx Bernat ◽  
Irene Julia Velarde

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the initiatives of value enhancement and the promotion of local agri-food products in Argentina and Spain to address some of their limitations and contradictions. Design/methodology/approach Based on processes of participatory action research, data and knowledge were produced dialectically with the actors, linking the research process to rural development processes. Findings Value enhancement and promotion of local agri-food products is a complex system where values, preferences and availability of resources converge, allowing to consume products of higher quality, “heritage” products or products differentiated by the production mode. This consumption is not only aimed at tourists who are willing to pay something more for a “certified” local product, but also for the estrategic allies who appreciate the taste of the food of their territory: local consumers. These processes develop strategies such as the “fairs” of each product, or the classic “quality seals.” In the comparison between experiences of both countries, the controversies raise with the high prices of the products as a synonym of value enhancement instead of the right to quality food and the seeking of food sovereignty. Originality/value Problematizing the recovery and valorization of local products reveals the necessity, awareness and inclusion of consumers as actors in the innovation processes and not simply as buyers of luxury products. The originality is also based on specific intervention experiences with territorial actors (social, economic, scientific and political) that shape new forms of intervention, based on strategies that link patrimonialization, knowledge systems and territorial development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor Braga ◽  
Aldina Correia ◽  
Alexandra Braga ◽  
Sofia Lemos

Purpose The success of the family firms cannot be detached from the current paradigm where, within the present economic conditions, economic agents struggle to exploit the existing opportunities and need to take into account the risks associated to the international arena and the innovation processes. The internationalisation and innovation processes may trigger resistance within family business due to their relatively higher difficulty to take risks and to invest in industries outside the scope of their original core business. Innovation and internationalisation processes become relevant strategies for the family firms’ continuity and success. In line with such fact, the aim of this paper is to contribute with insights regarding the processes of innovation and internationalisation within family businesses. In particular, this paper aims to assess the propensity of such firms to apply such strategies, to identify the particular business behaviour and to assess the extent to which the particulars of family firms may constraint or lead to the implementation of innovation policies, and thus its internationalisation. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through questionnaires within family business aiming to understand the scope and characteristics of internationalisation and innovation processes within these firms. The 154 replies from such data collection were analysed using different multivariate statistic procedures, although this paper is based on factorial and correlation analysis. Findings The analysis of the results shows that there is an association between the processes of innovation and internationalisation within family business. In addition, the results also suggest a typology of firms regarding their innovation and internationalisation strategies and motivations. Research limitations/implications The results of this paper are, to some extent, limited because they did not allow comparing the findings with data from non-family business. However, the authors’ aim was not to distinguish family firms, but rather to characterise them. Practical implications This paper expects to contribute with lessons for the management of family business and to raise awareness of the constraints faced by family business. It is important to highlight that family business performance may be affected by a lower propensity to risk-taking attitudes, by the lack of non-family management and to the necessity of separating the family and the business in the business dimensions that the family limits the business growth. Originality/value Although there is a significant amount of the literature devoted to explore family business, innovation and internationalisation studies, very few draw on the relationship between internationalisation and innovation processes within family business. This paper explores such a relationship within a particular business context – the family dynamics that strongly affect management and business development.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Young ◽  
Raymond Young ◽  
Julio Romero Zapata

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the notion of maturity assessment and maturity models more broadly and goes on to examine the findings from the assessments of project, programme and portfolio maturity undertaken across Australian Government agencies. Design/methodology/approach – A statistical analysis was performed to determine the level of maturity that best represents the Australian Federal Government agencies as a whole. The unit of analysis in this study is the agencies overall scores in each sub-model across the seven perspectives of the portfolio, programme and project management maturity model (P3M3) maturity model. Findings – This study has identified a number of interesting findings. First, the practices of project, programme and portfolio across the dataset practiced independently of each other. Second, benefits management and strategy alignment practices are generally poor across Australian Government agencies. Third, programme management practices are the most immature. Finally, the results showed a high sensitivity to the “generic attributes” of roles and responsibilities, experience, capability development, planning and estimating and scrutiny and review. Research limitations/implications – All data used in this analysis are secondary data collected from individual Australian Government agencies. The data were collected by accredited consultants following a common data collection method and using a standard template to ensure a consistent approach. Practical implications – The study poses some implications for practice, particularly given the context of Australian Federal Government agencies current plans and action to improve organisational maturity. The study suggests that benefits management processes at the project level and benefits management, governance and stakeholder management processes at the programme level should be an area of focus for improvement. Originality/value – This study is the first attempt to systematically review the data collected through such an assessment and in particular identify the findings and the implications at a whole of government level.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Stevens ◽  
Sergios Dimitriadis

PurposeKnowledge of the management issues for developing new bank offerings efficiently is limited. Furthermore, recent research suggests that organisational learning can contribute greatly to the success of innovation projects. The aims of this paper are to provide a detailed description of the development process of a new financial product and to identify learning actions that may contribute to its effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachReports findings from a qualitative, longitudinal case study of a well‐known French bank.FindingsThe results revealed an informal development process consisting of a sequence of issues to solve and decisions to make.Research limitations/implicationsThough observations fit with the theoretical model, the findings cannot be generalized due to the use of a qualitative methodology. Thus, selecting a development project that brings variance to the scope and degree of innovativeness could enrich the observed learning mechanisms. Second, as services are very heterogeneous, further research should be done on the development processes of different new services, for example standardised versus customised. Third, mechanisms of adoption or avoidance of learning procedures remain to be explored extensively. Understanding the reasons of choice and adoption of learning strategies according to the environment and nature of the project could lead to further managerial recommendations.Practical implicationsImplications for banks to encourage learning during innovation are discussed and several opportunities for further research are suggested.Originality/valueAn informal development process is revealed, consisting of a sequence of issues to solve and decisions to make. Multiple learning actions and strategies are identified that enhance process effectiveness and efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Prokop ◽  
Jan Stejskal ◽  
Beata Mikusova Merickova ◽  
Samuel Amponsah Odei

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to introduce innovative ideas into the treatment of the radical and incremental innovations and to fill the research gap by using: (1) methods that can perform complicated tasks and solve complex problems leading in creation of radical and incremental innovation and (2) a broad sample of firms across countries. The authors’ ambition is to contribute to the scientific knowledge by producing evidence about the novel usage of artificial neural network techniques for measuring European firms' innovation activities appearing in black boxes of innovation processes.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors incorporate an international context into Chesbrough's open innovation (OI) theory and, on the one hand, support the hypothesis that European radical innovators benefit more from foreign cooperation than incremental innovators. On the other hand, the results of the analyses show that European incremental innovators rely on domestic cooperation supported by cooperation with foreign public research institutes. Moreover, the use of decision trees (DT) allows the authors to reveal specific patterns of successful innovators emerging within the hidden layers of neural networks.FindingsThe authors prove that radical European innovators using either internal or external R&D strategies, while the combinations of these strategies do not bring successful innovation outputs. In contrast, European incremental innovators benefit from various internal R&D processes in which engagement in design activities plays a crucial role.Originality/valueThe authors introduce innovative ideas into the treatment of hidden innovation processes and measuring the innovation performance (affected by domestic or international cooperation) of European firms. The approach places emphasis on the novelty of innovation and the issue of international cooperation in the era of OI by designing the framework using a combination of artificial neural networks and DT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1657-1676
Author(s):  
Anum Shahzadi ◽  
Shuangyan Li ◽  
Umar Farooq Sahibzada ◽  
Mehwish Malik ◽  
Roshi Khalid ◽  
...  

PurposeConstructed upon a knowledge-based view, the purpose of this paper aims to empirically examine the entrepreneurial leadership impact as knowledge management enabler on knowledge management processes and knowledge management processes on project success. The study further ascertains the mediating role of knowledge worker satisfaction among knowledge management processes and project success.Design/methodology/approachUsing the data collected from 302 project workers from the software industry, China. The research used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the hypothesis relationships using smart-PLS 3.2.9.FindingsThe outcome of the study reveals that entrepreneurial leadership has a substantial significant impact on knowledge management processes, and knowledge management processes influence project success via knowledge worker satisfaction as a mediator both directly and indirectly. Moreover, the study found partial mediation of knowledge worker satisfaction between knowledge management processes and project success.Practical implicationsThe current research identifies that entrepreneurial leadership may play a role in fostering knowledge management processes in project-based organizations (e.g. software industry) that can use the knowledge management processes to increase their chances of project success. More broadly, the current study contributes to the entrepreneurial leadership, knowledge management processes, knowledge worker satisfaction and project success existing literature and strengthens the relationship and suggest that how project manager's value knowledge worker satisfaction and help organizations gain competitive advantage and project success.Originality/valueAlthough there is an increased significance of knowledge management in the software industry, there is a lack of research that examines the enabling factors and outcomes of knowledge management practices. The present study is one of the first studies to ascertain the relationship of entrepreneurial leadership, knowledge management processes, knowledge worker satisfaction and project success. This is one of the initial researches that not only empirically examines the interrelationships among these variables but also enlighten insights into the current literature by instantaneous investigation of the mediating role of knowledge worker satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ata Al Shraah ◽  
Ayman Abu-Rumman ◽  
Faisal Al Madi ◽  
Fawwaz Ali Farhan Alhammad ◽  
Ayah Ahmad AlJboor

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the impact of total quality practices on knowledge management (KM) processes across a Social Security Corporation (SSC) in Jordan and explore the best approach to improve KM processes using quality management.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed a quantitative methodology: a conceptual model was developed based on an extensive review of the related literature; an online survey was developed and distributed using the SSC's intranet; and 384 surveys were completed and used in the statistical analysis. The two-stage approach of structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze and interpret the data, and was used to validate the conceptual model of this research.FindingsBased on the statistical analysis it was found that six out of seven independent factors relating to quality management practices were confirmed to have a significant impact on the knowledge management processes (KMPs). Building upon the findings an agenda for improving KM processes using quality management is proposed.Originality/valueThis study was conducted in one organization namely the SSC because it is the largest public service organization in Jordan and offers compulsory services. The inclusion of other public organizations and companies may reflect different findings. Future research may collect data from other service industries to get a more comprehensive perspective from developing countries such as Jordan. Moreover, the population of this study included only the General Director, General Director Assistants, and Administrative Managers. Front-line employees were excluded from the data collection because the study was conducted solely from a managerial perspective.


2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (03) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
M. Röhm ◽  
T. Prof. Bauernhansl ◽  
T. Schrodi

Für eine marktgerechte Produktentwicklung gibt es in Anlehnung an das Technologie-Reifegradmodell eine Vielzahl von Ansätzen, die den Entwicklungsstand von Technologie und Markt bewerten. Um im Innovationsprozess produktionsstrategische Lücken rechtzeitig aufzuzeigen, müssen Entwicklungsprozesse von Technologie, Markt und Produktion jedoch ganzheitlich betrachtet werden. Hierfür werden unterschiedliche Reifegradmodelle gegenübergestellt, Korrelationen aufgezeigt und erfolgsentscheidende Entwicklungsstufen abgeleitet.   Based on the technology maturity model, there is a variety of approaches describing the maturity of market demand and technology in order to combine technology push and market pull perspectives. However, to be able to show strategic gaps during the innovation process, development processes of technology, market and manufacturing skills have to be viewed holistically. For this purpose, the authors present different degrees of maturity models, show correlations and derive critical fields of action.


Author(s):  
Haider Boudjemline ◽  
Mohamed Touahria ◽  
Abdelhak Boubetra ◽  
Hamza Kaabeche

Purpose The development of context-aware applications in ubiquitous environments depends not only on the user interactions but also on several context parameters. The handling of these parameters is a fundamental problem in these systems. The key purpose of this work is to enrich the unified modeling language (UML) class diagram with new constructs to provide a universal model capable of coping with the context-awareness concerns. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide a review of existing context handling approaches. Afterward, they relied on the UML extensibility mechanisms to propose a heavyweight extension for the UML class diagram. This generic approach allows describing the different context parameters since the modeling phase. Findings Existing solutions for context handling apply the contextual constraints on finished applications or tend to be dependent on a specific development process. This paper presents a solution based on UML, which allows dealing with context since the modeling phase, and independently of development processes. This proposal is implemented as an eclipse editor and illustrated through a case study in the healthcare field. Originality/value This paper addresses the problem of context handling, and it presents a review of the foremost existing solutions. The paper also presents a heavyweight extension for the UML class diagram, which consists in enriching it with additional constructs, capable of monitoring how applications are linked to context parameters and how the values of these parameters may affect the application behavior.


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