Ba and Communities of Practice in Research and Strategic Communities as a Way Forward

2011 ◽  
pp. 46-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma Mäkäräinen-Suni ◽  
Jianzhong Hong
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Previous Knowledge ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Complementary Nature ◽  
Similarities And Differences

This chapter primarily examines the concepts of ba and communities of practice. It explores how the concepts have been used in the previous knowledge management, organizational learning, and innovation research during a decade, from the year 1999 until 2009. The reviewed studies show that both concepts have been used in various industries and in various knowledge creation and knowledge sharing situations. The similarities and differences of concepts are compared, and the concept of strategic communities is proposed as a way forward in future research and practice in terms of ba and communities of practice. The chapter includes also a comparative view of each concept, in which its major contributions, limitations and complementary nature are highlighted.

Efficacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice

2018 ◽  
pp. 96-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serkan Gürsoy ◽  
Murat Yücelen
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

This chapter deals with the evolution of communities of practice by considering two key components which facilitate knowledge sharing: Organizational Learning and Social Capital. Dualities and intersections between the building blocks of these two components are investigated by discussing organizational learning in its explorative and exploitative forms, while considering social capital in its bridging and bonding forms. As a critical contemporary step of evolution, information and communication technologies are also elaborated in order to examine the impact of constant and instant tools on these facilitators of knowledge sharing. The study aims to derive proxies among these components of organizational learning and social capital in order to design an integrated framework that reflects the nature of online communities of practice.

A Knowledge Management Tool for the Interconnection of Communities of Practice

2013 ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Élise Lavoué ◽  
Sébastien George ◽  
Patrick Prévôt
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Geographically Distributed

In their daily practice, practitioners belong to local communities of practice (CoPs) within their organisation. This knowledge is rarely capitalised upon because discussions are mainly verbal. Practitioners can also belong to general CoPs online. Within these general CoPs, discussions are rarely linked to the context in which they appeared, since the members are from different companies or institutions. This paper (1) connects these two levels of CoPs by contacting practitioners belonging to CoPs centred on the same general activity but who are geographically distributed and (2) capitalises on the produced knowledge by contextualising, allowing it to be accessible and reusable by all the members. The authors detail the main results of the research: (1) a model of the interconnection of CoPs (ICP) to support knowledge sharing and dissemination; and (2) a specific knowledge management tool for the ICP knowledge base. The authors apply the model and platform to university tutors by: (1) developing a use case, which links the model and the TE-Cap 2 platform and highlights the new possibilities offered by the knowledge management tool; and (2) conducting a descriptive investigation lasting for five months.

Integrating IS Security With Knowledge Management

2019 ◽  
pp. 267-283
Author(s):  
Murray Eugene Jennex ◽  
Alexandra Durcikova
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Knowledge Capture ◽  
Knowledge Sourcing ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Is Security ◽  
Job Postings

Knowledge management focuses on capturing and sharing knowledge. Because of this, KM researchers tend to focus on issues related to knowledge capture, storage, and sharing. However, because knowledge is valuable, it is a target needing to be protected. This chapter posits that KM researchers and practitioners also need to think about security and explores how important security skills are to KM practitioners and researchers. A literature review was performed to determine how much attention is paid by KM researchers to knowledge security. Additionally, KM job postings were examined to determine if security skills are considered important by those hiring KM practitioners. Next, a survey was prepared for exploring security attitudes of KM practitioners as an area of future research. Finally, future research areas for IS security are proposed that can greatly benefit from lessons learned in the areas of both knowledge sharing and knowledge sourcing.

Triple Helix Organisations, Communities of Practice and Time

2011 ◽  
pp. 245-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn J. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Triple Helix ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Industry Research ◽  
Outcomes Management

Commercialisation activities require knowledge sharing between groups such as researchers and commercial managers. The existence of research based Knowledge-stewarding Communities of Practice (CoPs) within industry/research/government innovation collaborations has important implications for innovation management practice. The context of the study is four Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) composed of academic, government and industry personnel. Semi-structured interviews with a total of twenty scientists, engineers and managers explored collectively shared and dissimilar perceptions of time in commercialisation activities. Knowledge-stewarding CoP members and commercial participants in triple helix organisations working to commercialise inventions report differing temporal perceptions. Commercial and research groups described distinctively different views of pace and flexibility, contributing to tension, distrust and negatively influencing knowledge sharing, communication and commercialisation outcomes. Management techniques in use in the four CRCs and an agenda for future research conclude the chapter. This chapter contributes to the literature on collaborative innovation management and inter-organisational CoPs.

Knowledge Management in Supply Chain Networks

2011 ◽  
pp. 912-920
Author(s):  
Dolphy M. Abraham ◽  
Linda Leon
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Supply Chain Networks ◽  
Other Information

This article reviews current research and practice of knowledge management (KM) and inter-organizational learning in supply chain networks. Knowledge management is the organizational process for acquiring, organizing, and communicating the knowledge of individual employees so that the work of the organization becomes more effective (Alavi & Leidner, 1999). Knowledge management is an increasingly important process in business organizations because “managing human intellect—and converting it into useful products and services—is fast becoming the critical executive skill of the age” (Quinn, Anderson & Finkelstein, 1998). Grover and Davenport (2001) state that KM becomes “an integral business function” when organizations “realize that competitiveness hinges on effective management of intellectual resources.” Grover and Davenport also argue that knowledge management works best when it is carried out by all the employees of the organization and not just KM specialists. Business organizations frequently partner with other firms to complement their core competencies. To collaborate effectively, partner firms have to communicate with each other information about business processes as well as share ideas of how to design or improve business processes. This phenomenon of knowledge sharing across organizational boundaries is called inter-organizational learning (Argote, 1999). Knowledge management, we posit, is necessary to facilitate inter-organizational learning and direct it in a way that supports the organization’s overall objectives. Supply chain systems are an example of business networks. Supply chains involve not only multiple corporate entities but also organizational units within a single organization. We present practices used in business organizations and networks of businesses to manage the information and knowledge sharing processes using the context of supply chain systems.

A Knowledge Management Process in Communities of Practice of Engineering Based on the SECI Model for Knowledge

2012 ◽  
pp. 134-149
Author(s):  
Akila Sarirete ◽  
Azeddine Chikh
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Management Process ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Web Technologies ◽  
Seci Model

With the vast movement toward promoting and developing models, practices, and technological environments in the engineering domain, a need exists to facilitate communication, collaboration, and coordination among its actors. Communities of Practice (CoPs) represent the natural and logical solution to answer these needs. In this paper, the authors propose a knowledge management process to exploit tacit and explicit knowledge in the engineering domain within the framework of a CoP of engineering. The approach used in this work introduces new elements in the Nonaka’s SECI model for knowledge creation. To validate the proposed process, a qualitative case study has been conducted on two CoPs, “CPsquare” and “The Cisco Learning Network”. It has been shown that CoPs and social learning impact learning as well as knowledge sharing. The use of web technologies and socio-technical approach in the management of knowledge is of high importance.

Knowledge Management Metrics

2011 ◽  
pp. 3409-3420 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kankanhalli ◽  
B. C.Y. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Knowledge Management Systems ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Knowledge Asset ◽  
Business Metrics

Metrics are essential for the advancement of research and practice in an area. In knowledge management (KM), the process of measurement and development of metrics is made complex by the intangible nature of the knowledge asset. Further, the lack of standards for KM business metrics and the relative infancy of research on KM metrics points to a need for research in this area. This article reviews KM metrics for research and practice, and identifies areas where there is a gap in our understanding. It classifies existing research based on the units of evaluation such as user of knowledge management systems (KMS), KMS project, KM process, KM initiative, and organization as a whole. The article concludes by suggesting avenues for future research on KM and KMS metrics based on the gaps identified.

Identifying Knowledge Flows in Communities of Practice

2011 ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar M. Rodriguez-Elias ◽  
Ana I. Martinez-Garcia ◽  
Aurora Vizcaino ◽  
Jesús Favela ◽  
Mario Piattini
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Software Maintenance ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
The People ◽  
Common Domain

Knowledge sharing is a collective process where the people involved collaborate with others in order to learn from them (Huysman & de Wit, 2000). This kind of collaboration creates groups of people with common interest called communities of practice where each member contributes knowledge about a common domain (Wenger, 1998). Communities of practice enable its members to benefit from the knowledge of each other (Fontaine & Millen, 2004). To achieve this, different techniques and technologies can be used, such as shared documentation, groupware tools, lessons learned systems, and so forth. Therefore, to increase and improve knowledge sharing in communities of practice, it is important to study the mechanisms used by a particular community and understand how the knowledge flows through its members (Guizzardi, Perini & Dignum, 2003). This article presents a qualitative approach for studying and understanding how knowledge flows in communities of practice within organizations. The goal is to provide a methodological guide for obtaining useful information for the development of knowledge management tools for supporting knowledge flows in these communities. The content of the article is organized as follows. First the importance of supporting knowledge flows in communities of practice is highlighted. Then, a qualitative methodology for identifying knowledge flows in communities of practice is described, followed by some examples from a study conducted in the field of software maintenance. Finally, we present our conclusions of this work and future research.

Operationalizing Knowledge Sharing for Informers

2010 ◽  
pp. 319-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne P. Ford ◽  
D. Sandy Staples
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Apparent Lack

Knowledge sharing is a popular research topic; however, the construct has not been well defined theoretically or in terms of how to operationalize it, as there appears to be little consistency. This apparent lack of consistency is problematic for developing a cumulative understanding of the predictors and outcomes of this behavior. This study examines how other researchers have operationalized knowledge sharing, and conduct a qualitative study to further understand this construct. A knowledge sharing and hoarding classification system is developed, and six knowledge sharing behavioral categories are identified. Finally, recommendations are made for future research in knowledge management.

scholarly journals Building Competitive Advantage for Vietnamese Firms: The Roles of Knowledge Sharing and Innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Son Thanh Than ◽  
Cung Huu Nguyen ◽  
Thang Quang Tran ◽  
Phong Ba Le
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Knowledge Application ◽  
Mediating Role

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of knowledge sharing (KS) and two specific types of innovation on competitive advantage in Vietnamese firms. Based on using structural equation modeling (SEM) and survey data collected from 225 participants, the findings reveal that KS directly and indirectly affects firm’s competitive advantage through the mediating role of innovation speed and innovation quality. The findings stress the important role of building a positive climate to stimulate employees for sharing knowledge aimed at improving firm’s innovation capability, and sustaining competitive advantage. Future research needs to explore the relationship between three components of knowledge management namely knowledge acquisition, KS, and knowledge application, innovation, and specific aspects of competitive advantage (such as low cost advantage, differentiation advantage, and time advantage) to provide deeper the mechanism of how specifics aspects of knowledge management connected with firm’s certain types of competitive advantage through innovation.

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