Leading Firms as Knowledge Gatekeepers in a Networked Environment

Author(s):  
Deogratias Harorimana

This chapter introduces the role of the knowledge gatekeeper as a mechanism by which knowledge is created and transferred in a networked environment. Knowledge creation and transfer are essential for building a knowledge-based economy. The chapter considers obstacles that inhibit this process and argues that leading firms create a shared sociocultural context that enables the condivision of tacit meanings and codification of knowledge. Leading firms act as gatekeepers of knowledge through the creation of shared virtual platforms. There will be a leading firm that connects several networks of clients and suppliers who may not interact directly with one another, but are, indeed, connected indirectly though the leading firm that acts as a gatekeeper. The chapter argues that a large firm connecting several clients and suppliers at the multinational level represents a gatekeeper, but even individuals and focal firms in industrial districts can be gatekeepers. The author hopes that, through this discussion, academics, researchers, and doctoral students will have a comprehensive theoretical and practical basis on which to study the role of leading firms in building innovations and virtual teams of knowledge sharing in a highly networked and competitive environment.

Author(s):  
Aurelija Čižauskaitė-Butkaliuk

In this century the management of the country is in a dynamic, multiplicity and controversial environment. For their competitiveness is necessary to look for the interaction between the knowledgebased economy and the sustainable development. A strong correlation between those objects.forces scientists to analyze, create new evaluation methodologies. The aim of this study – to examine the role of importance between knowledge–based economy and sustainable development, create and calculate an integrated sustainable knowledge–based economy index of Lithuania and according to the results or research, make proposes for more effective development of Lithuania’s sustainable knowledge–based economy. The index consists of Socio-economic, environmental, innovation, human resources and information and communications technology sub–indices..The calculation showed that the development of a knowledge–based economy is not sustainable, because not all the development of sub–indices.is the same. The biggest positive changes taking place in information and communication technology, and negative – socio-economic areas. The sustainable development of the knowledge–based economy in Lithuania since 2010 is growing up.


Malaysia was one of the early adopters of Internet technology to steer innovation policy in a direction that is making the country become a knowledge-based economy. This notion of knowledge-based economy driven by ICT is best exemplified by the borderless connectivity, interactivity, and networking. Since the middle of 1990s, there have been gradual but systematic public and private sector initiatives towards ICT agenda with the prominent role of the state. This chapter aims to unpack ICT developments and examine the implications of the post-MSC formation for Malaysia and its associated issues and challenges. Second, the discussion provides an overview of MSC performance and its importance for enhancing growth, trade, and investment; reducing the digital gap; nurturing innovation; and achieving more inclusive societies. Third, some issues and challenges in MSC development are also highlighted.


Author(s):  
Su Jin Son ◽  
Eun Jee Kim

It is crucial to effectively identify and leverage organizational team member knowledge. As virtual teams are becoming increasingly common in global companies, knowledge sharing in virtual teams is gaining attention among practitioners and scholars. In particular, the role of trust in effective knowledge sharing has been emphasized among scholars. However, there have been few attempts to integrate trust and knowledge sharing behaviors in virtual teams. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to present the integrative perspective of knowledge sharing and trust in virtual teams. The authors thoroughly explore the existing literature on different approaches to trust and the knowledge sharing process and then introduce an integrative three-stage process model of trust and knowledge sharing in virtual teams.


2006 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiping Zhang ◽  
Thippaya Chintakovid ◽  
Xiaoning Sun ◽  
Yan Ge ◽  
Kan Zhang

Knowledge sharing within an organisation is increasingly important in today's fast-moving and knowledge-based economy (Chow et al., 2000, Journal of Management Accounting, 12, 65–95; Bukowitz and Petrash, 1997, Research Technology Management, 40, 24–31). This empirical study examines the interaction effects of national culture and group members' relationship (in-group/out-group) on knowledge-sharing attitude. A total of 197 Chinese undergraduate students and 111 American undergraduate students participated in the study. The first finding was that both Chinese and American students were more willing to share personal knowledge with in-group members than with out-group members. Furthermore, the results showed that same working experience between group members was more important than same national cultural background in determining people's attitude towards knowledge sharing. Another interesting finding was that Chinese participants were more willing to share personal information with an American stranger (out-group) than a Chinese stranger (in-group), while American participants showed no such difference. In summary, these findings indicate that a global organisation should take both national culture and in-group/out-group factors into consideration to facilitate knowledge sharing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandanie Hadiwattege ◽  
Sepani Senaratne ◽  
Yasangika Sandanayake ◽  
Nirodha Gayani Fernando

Purpose Knowledge-based economies are popular in the present world. Simultaneously, universities are becoming more responsible for leading economic development through research. As a key contributor to the national economy, it is vital for the construction industry to move beyond outdated practices, and hence, reviewing the role of academic research in empowering the construction industry with knowledge is essential. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how relevant theories conceptualise the expected role of academic research in the innovative development of an industry and the specific location in the Sri Lankan construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Following a comprehensive literature review, empirical data were collected from the Sri Lankan context with a mixed approach informed by a pragmatist philosophical stance. The perspective of academia and industry practitioners were deductively obtained through surveys and inductively explored through qualitative interviews. Findings This study provides evidence that academic research in Sri Lanka does not contribute effectively to innovative construction management. Due to the absence of industry-focussed knowledge dissemination strategies, the academic–industry relationships are mostly non-research based. The industry lacks in research-informed-decision making, leading to lesser innovations. Research limitations/implications The research conclusions are more applicable to the developing country construction industry contexts. Practical implications The research urges the need for improved academic–industry research collaborations and strategic knowledge dissemination movements. Originality/value The research confirms that academic research is a major integral part of the developing construction industry in a knowledge-based economy. In establishing the expected role of academic research, the research revealed the current practice to be under-located. Hence, the research prescribes the necessary actions; research collaborations in major and subsequent requirements.


Author(s):  
Lilla Knop

The current study results attribute great importance to the role of clusters in innovation and competitive development creation. While seeking not so much the operational solutions, but the main components that form the cluster management process, it was noticed that a cluster – despite being already well- defined— does not come into being together with the declaration, willingness, initiative or the signing of the document. The creation and development of clusters is a long term process that can last for years and is exposed to a number of strategic obstacles. The experience both on a national and global level relating to the dynamics of the development of clusters show how difficult this task is, especially in a knowledge-based economy. The development of specialization and knowledge in clusters is no longer linear in nature, based on knowledge generated by the function of research and development of an individual company. It is defined as the result of a process of interaction through inter-organizational relationships, providing access to various types of resources. The article assumes that clusters in Poland after the quantum boom, are moving to the next phase of development based on improvement of activities. The aim of the article is to present the dynamics of cluster development in Poland. The research was done in 2015-2017, but the research period covered the years 2003-2016. Besides basic information on: number of clusters, year of creation, number of cluster members etc., the article analyzes cluster specializations against the background of smart specializations being developed in regions in Poland. Furthermore, the article presents the preliminary results of research on meeting management standards by Polish clusters. The research was based on PARP (The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development) project data and own studies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajjad M. Jasimuddin ◽  
N. A. D. Connell ◽  
Jonathan H. Klein

The transfer of knowledge is an important task of contemporary organisations. In the knowledge-based economy, more and more organisations have increasingly recognised and encouraged the value of knowledge transfer. However, there is sometimes a tendency to horde knowledge, perhaps through fear of losing power or through uncertainty over job security. In this paper, we consider the motivators of knowledge transfer based on an empirical study carried out in part of a UK multinational, IBM Laboratories, in which the atmosphere appeared conducive to knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer appeared voluntary and spontaneous. The paper questions why members of an organisation like IBM might be enthusiastic about the transfer of knowledge among themselves. The paper investigates the motivating factors that encourage the transfer of knowledge. A number of motivators underlying knowledge transfer are identified.


Author(s):  
Sama Khanmirzaee ◽  
Mostafa Jafari ◽  
Peyman Akhavan

Purpose Science parks play an important role in development of technology and are able to stimulate economic growth of the countries. The purpose of this paper is to study the role that science and technology parks (STPs) play in growth of knowledge-based economy. Design/methodology/approach Key factors affecting the competitive advantages and the World Bank indicators resulting in knowledge-based economy were displayed in the form of a questionnaire which was examined by experts. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate main factors and sub-factors of competitive advantages of the institutions, including aspects of human resources, research and development and technology transfer, facilities, market development and to assess the main criteria of knowledge-based economy known as pillars of the overall economic performance, the institutional regime and economic incentives, innovation system, education and information technology and communications. Findings The obtained results from the study on competitive advantages were evaluated and analyzed by using SPSS software and the results of the review on development of knowledge-based economy were modeled by SmartPLS software with partial least squares method. Eventually, the obtained model was tested and analyzed. Originality/value This study is an original contribution to the theory of STPs and knowledge-based economy. It was initiated to examine the role of STPs in development of knowledge-based economy and presentation schematic model.


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