To hoard or to share? Strategic management of knowledge and ICTs in complex economic systems

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of the effects of strategic decisions related to the management of knowledge taken by organizations in complex economic systems. These effects are seen in the long term performance of organizations in the system choosing different strategic paths. As knowledge-related processes make intensive use of ICTs, the influence of the degree of development of these technologies is taken into account.Design/methodology/approach: An agent-based simulation model, ImbySim, based in the I-Space conceptual framework, is used to represent the evolution of a group of knowledge-intensive organizations located in a given geographic space. Those organizations engage, among others, in processes of creation and transfer of knowledge assets. Organizations show different levels of performance, which may be related to their knowledge-related strategic choices. The main knowledge-related strategies available for the agents are, on one side, sharing or hoarding knowledge and, on the other side, structuring or de-structuring knowledge.Findings: The results of the simulation suggest that it is not adequate to adopt an 'always sharing' or 'always hoarding' strategy. The hoarding or sharing of knolwedge assets need to be applied in a discriminating way depending on the specific asset or the situation of the organization. Also, different levels of development of ICTs favour different strategic choices concerning the adequate structuring of knowledge assets and the degree of knowledge sharing. In general terms, ICT development calls for more sharing and more structuring of knowledge.Originality/value: From the simulations, a number of empirically testable hypotheses have been extracted. Should these hypotheses get empirically corroborated, they would challenge a certain body of theorising—associated with organizational ecology and organizational demography—thus demonstrating the fruitfulness of the simulation approach to complex knowledge-based problems in the field of strategy.Practical implications: The hypotheses developed from this research may be very useful, once empirically tested, for strategic planning. Policy makers in charge of complex economic systems and firms and institutions present in them may benefit from the insights obtained and define their strategic moves according to them.

Identifying the determinants of individual scientific performance: A perspective focused on AMO theory

Purpose: The aim of this study is to empirically analyse how motivation and the opportunity to investigate enhance the direct relation between the researcher’s human capital and individual scientific performance.Design/methodology/approach: Following recent investigations of strategic human capital and the abilities-motivation-opportunity (AMO) theory, we propose a double quantitative-qualitative methodology to identify the determinants of individual scientific performance.Findings: Applying regression analysis to a sample of 471 Spanish academic researchers, we confirm the moderating role of a researcher’s motivation and opportunities.Originality/value: Drawing on the empirical evidence obtained, this work discusses the relevant determinants of scientific productivity, providing practical recommendations for research management and policy making.

Organizational and social innovation in Non-Profit Organizations performance in the context of an emergent economy

Purpose: This study provides empirical evidence on the innovations that Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) in Colombia have implemented within their own management to address social problems which are the object of their institutional mission.Design/methodology/approach: This research is based on information obtained from a survey applied to executives of Colombian NPOs. Multiple linear regression models were developed to check the partial effect of the set of independent variables (Organizational and Social Innovation) over the dependent variable (Organizational Performance). Main Components Analysis was applied to grouping the considered variables.Findings: Empirical evidence indicates that Colombian NPOs are innovative organizations that advisedly follow management strategies for this purpose. Colombian NPOs have been innovating for their disposition to tackle the social problems implicated in their institutional mission. Evidence indicates that the main components derived from NPOs’ organizational and social innovations are grouped into four: NPO innovation actions to adapt to the environment; internal innovation actions to improve NPO’s performance; variables related with NPO innovation actions to improve their relations with external agents; innovation actions aimed at improving the management of social interventions associated with the mission of the NPOs and the management of institutional projects.Research limitations/implications: The field work only used the survey technique to obtain the information and only assessed the perception of one of the directors of each of the NPOs participating in the study in terms of both the actions of organizational innovation such as social innovation and organizational performance. Therefore, the study undoubtedly presents bias in that perception.The technique used for the selection of the sample of the participants was a non-probabilistic sampling, which implies bias in the information and therefore, limitation for the generalization of the results to other contexts. The geographical location of the administration of the NPOs was restricted to Bogota and surrounding municipalities.Originality/value: An analysis of the relationship between social and organizational innovations with organizational performance in NPOs was carried out in the context of an emerging economy, where the subject has been very little studied and much less with principal component analysis. This in order to contribute to a better understanding of the subject.

Understanding decoupling: Untruthful company crisis communication in Latin America

Purpose: This work analyzes how decoupling is used by offending companies in response to environmental crisis incidents in the Latin American context. Ethical implications and its links to legitimacy are considered.Design/methodology/approach: The research relies on a multi-case study approach, where four major environmental incidents involving four natural resource companies in Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina are analyzed. By examining public sources, the crisis communication processes performed by these companies are studied in order to allow for the linking of theory and practice.Findings: Results obtained suggest that, in an attempt to defend their legitimacy, companies deliberately conveyed untruthful messages and decoupled their communication in crisis from reality, resulting in ethical concerns for the practice of both crisis management and crisis communication.Research limitations/implications: By emphasizing the link between legitimacy and communication in crisis scenarios, the study illustrates how decoupling (i.e., untruthful communication practices) can be performed as a crisis management strategy. However, due the constraints of case studies, it is acknowledged that the paper has limitations for generalization.Originality/value: This work identifies four different decoupling-based crisis communication strategies performed by companies, and the way these are accompanied with secondary strategies. Furthermore, by focusing on Latin America, the study reflects the potential impact that the geographical context may have on the company’s crisis communication strategy and ultimately its legitimacy.

Talent identification and location: A configurational approach to talent pools

Purpose: Talent management (TM) has become a strategic priority for companies that try to identify employees with outstanding performance and potential to hold strategic positions in future. In fact, talent is considered an intangible capital that adds value to the organization. However, literature does not provide a clear definition of talent, nor how to identify the talent in the company to be able to develop it. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a definition of talent and proposing configurational approach as a theoretical framework to identify the different configurations of talent or “talent pools” to initiate TM process in firms.Design/methodology/approach: Case study methodology research based on four companies that have implemented talent management program in Spain.Findings: This paper provides a complete definition of what is understood as talent and potential. It also highlights that talent means people, that companies focus their TM on talent that can be developed and that talent pools can be found throughout an organisation, in management and non-management positions, and the relevant theoretical contribution of the configurational approach to explaining that a company's future competitive advantage is based on the different talent pools existing in its organisation. Under this theoretical framework, conceptual bases are established to enable progress in TM and the design of practices to identify, develop and retain talent that are different for each type of talent pools identified.Practical implications: The need to design and implement different TM practices for each talent pools allow companies to develop talent at different points in time to achieve their future strategic objectives.Originality/value: The proposal of a theoretical TM framework and an empirical field study dominated by theoretical contributions especially in a Spanish context, where there have been very few publications to date.

Blockchain and its application to accounting

Purpose: In recent years Bitcoin has revolutionized the financial world. Its birth was made possible thanks to an innovative combination of certain pre-existing technology in computer networks and cryptography, which led to the existence of a transparent, reliable and immutable record of transactions, a large shared ledger: Blockchain. Several studies analyse the application or future application of Blockchain in different industries. The application of Blockchain in accounting is one of the most debated, since it is a shared accounting record and it is anticipated that its application could change the mission of accountants or even auditors. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to analyze the existing literature on the importance of Blockchain and its possible impact on accounting.Design/methodology/approach: The review of the literature on blockchain and its importance was carried out. Also we have analyzed the triple entry and the so-called accounting ledger, trying to clarify some existing terminological confusion, and we have faced what could be the future of this technology.Findings: The review of the literature implies that Blockchain, after technical improvement and development, will involve an important transformation of the traditional accounting system, with the consequent modification of the work of accountants and auditors.Originality/value: One of the main contributions of this study is its importance for academic literature, being one of the first to analyze the impact of Blockchain in traditional accounting.

Brazilian university students in Spain: Motivations and decision factors

Purpose: Our research objective is to carry out an analysis of the motivations and specific decision factors of Brazilian university students who will travel to Spain to continue their studies. Design/methodology/approach: The applied methodology has been to conduct online surveys among members of the Brazilian student community in Spain. For the design of the survey, we started with a previous exploratory study with in-depth individual interviews. The interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured questionnaire inspired by the previous literature.Findings: The comparison between the previous studies in the literature and the results of the survey shows that the factors “Academic level of the center” and “Prestige and prospects” of having studied abroad coincide with one another. Indeed, these factors are among the most significant in almost all of the studies and have also been highlighted by the respondents, confirming the importance of these factors in their decision to study abroad. On the other hand, the rest of the factors that appear to be the most relevant in the survey results are specific to and characterize the flow of students analyzed. Specifically, they concern the international experience, scholarships, image and culture of the country and the language.Research limitations/implications: The sample is limited, due to the difficulty of contacting this type of subject, which made it necessary for the researchers to adopt various approach strategies.Practical implications: The results obtained can benefit the recruitment of Brazilian students.Social implications: Contributes to knowledge of the emigration flows and relations between the two countries.Originality/value: The specific topic of Brazilian students in Spain has not been previously discussed.