bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trust me, I'm an expert: identity construction and knowledge sharing
Authors: Crane Lesley 
Published: June 2012

PurposeKnowledge management (KM) is a global organizational practice that focuses on core questions around knowledge sharing and creation, and which is characterized by definitional issues and a schism over the nature of knowledge. Against this by definition problematic background, this study aims to investigate how KM practitioners construct identities as expert in an online discussion forum, showing how knowledge sharing is inextricably linked to identity construction.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a discourse analytic approach, grounded in the discourse psychology paradigm, and its underlying theory that all language, including both talk and text, is situated action in social interaction, marked by variation, function and consequences.FindingsAnalysis demonstrates how forum contributors deploy discursive devices constructively, actively and relationally to formulate membership of an expert elite group, and that group membership is marked by inter‐group competitive rivalry. This has synergies with the theory of creative abrasion.Practical implicationsThe study has implications for KM theories and practice in showing how attention to the social‐interaction practices of talk and text can reveal deeper understanding of how people share knowledge, and in demonstrating the important and consequential relationship between identity construction and knowledge.Originality/valueThis is among the first studies to take a discursive approach to the study of language in the KM domain, and demonstrates the rich potential for future studies.
Using IT to share knowledge and the TRA
Authors: Casimir Gian , Ngee Keith Ng Yong , Liou Paul Cheng Chai 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe major objective of this paper is to examine whether or not information technology (IT) usage to share knowledge is a mediator or moderator of the intention behaviour relationship proposed in the theory of reasoned action (TRA).Design/methodology/approachA letter of invitation to participate in the study was sent to all of the public‐listed companies in Malaysia. A total of 483 full‐time employees from 23 organizations completed an anonymous, self‐administered survey in a cross‐sectional design. Partial least squares analysis was used to test the conceptual model.FindingsThe major finding is that the relationship between the intention to share knowledge and knowledge sharing is partly mediated and not moderated by IT usage to share knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsKnowledge sharing was considered only at the individual level. The data are self‐reported, cross‐sectional, from a single source and a single method. The relational and capability‐membership perspective leads to a positive attitude towards knowledge sharing whereas the instrumental perspective leads to a negative attitude. The findings augment the TRA by showing there is a mediator of the intention‐behaviour relationship in the context of knowledge sharing.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that organizations need to ascertain employees' preferred methods for sharing knowledge, provide appropriate IT for knowledge sharing, establish online communities for knowledge sharing, publicly acknowledge members for sharing knowledge, and avoid relying on extrinsic tangible rewards to foster knowledge sharing.Originality/valuePrevious research has shown that using IT to share knowledge does not moderate the intention‐behaviour relationship in the TRA. An alternative conceptualisation of the role of using IT to share knowledge in the intention‐behaviour relationship is provided.
Knowledge sharing and institutionalism in the healthcare industry
Authors: Kim Yong‐Mi , Newby‐Bennett Donna , Song Hee‐Joon 
Published: June 2012

PurposeKnowledge sharing is recognized as one of the most important ways to improve organizational performance. Organizations strive to facilitate knowledge sharing routines, yet these attempts often fail. Although the successful deployment of knowledge sharing practices has been a focus of knowledge management and organizational performance studies, little research has considered the impacts of institutional structures. As such, the purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which institutional structures facilitate knowledge sharing practices and their impacts on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on 220 usable survey responses, the authors applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to observe the extent to which institutional structures enhance organizational performance through knowledge sharing, and other important knowledge sharing‐related constructs (i.e. leadership and punitive behavior). The healthcare industry was used as the research context as it is a knowledge‐intensive industry.FindingsThe study finds that knowledge sharing practices were strongly influenced by institutional structures, and together considerably enhanced patient safety. Furthermore, the institutional structures had a high impact on leadership roles and the abatement of punitive behaviors, which in turn collectively considerably enhanced patient safety.Originality/valueThis paper recognizes the power of institutional structures that successfully facilitate knowledge sharing practices within an environment that is unfriendly to knowledge sharing behaviors.
Books as a knowledge translation mechanism: citation analysis and author survey
Authors: Serenko Alexander , Bontis Nick , Moshonsky Madora 
Published: June 2012

PurposeAs a response to the claims that much of management academic research is irrelevant from the practitioner perspective, this study aims to empirically investigate whether books serve as effective knowledge distribution agents and whether peer‐reviewed publications are used in the development of book content.Design/methodology/approachA citation analysis of 40 authored and nine edited books was done, followed by a survey of 35 book authors.FindingsThis study refutes the previous claims that management academic research has made little impact on the state of practice. Peer‐reviewed sources, such as refereed journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings, are used to develop the content of knowledge management and intellectual capital (KM/IC) books. Even though most business professionals do not directly read academic articles, the knowledge existing in these articles is delivered to them by means of books and textbooks.Practical implicationsScholarly research has played a significant role in developing the KM/IC field. This study confirms the existence of the indirect knowledge dissemination channels where books serve as knowledge transmission agents. Therefore, academics should not change their research behavior. Instead, infrastructure should be developed to facilitate the transition of scholarly knowledge to practitioners. The question is not whether academic research is relevant, instead it is whether it reaches practitioners in the most efficient way.Originality/valueThis is the most comprehensive empirical investigation of the role of books in academic knowledge transition ever conducted.
Lessons learned from large construction project in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Mitra Sumit , Wee Kwan Tan Albert 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify project management issues in a specific construction project in Saudi Arabia, highlighting its unique context.Design/methodology/approachIn the tradition of phenomenological research, a framework based deductive research approach is adopted where a structured questionnaire is used in one‐to‐one interview with project participants.FindingsThis research highlights the interaction outcomes of human, project tool & methods, supply chain and finance affecting overall project execution and goes beyond to identify critical linkages in these interactions, including those that will need identification of skill sets required for the project manager's role, options approach and standardization of product and processes together with early involvement of diverse stakeholders in the project for their better execution through ex ante identification of project parameters requiring minimum changes.Practical implicationsThe final framework arrived at identifies various tradeoffs involved in project management in the idiosyncratic context of demanding client driving the project needs and internal resistance to change limiting flexibility in project execution. It focuses on deviations from international project execution standards, as found in large construction projects in the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the research lies in arriving at generalizable findings based on the study of a single international hotel construction project, and not an industry‐wide questionnaire survey which can, in future, refine and strengthen the framework developed.Originality/valueA study in the context of Saudi Arabia is seldom reported in international journals although large turnkey construction project opportunities exist for international firms in this country and in the Middle East region.
A decision aid for finding performance groups
Authors: Jessop Alan 
Published: June 2012

PurposeFinding groups of similarly performing organizations for strategic or tactical performance comparison has typically been done by either cluster or frontier analysis. Both present problems of definition and interpretation. Given the inevitable abstraction of any model it is desirable that as much as possible of the model specification be in easily understood language and that, where appropriate, the ambiguity of the model is recognised by giving a number of equally good solutions. The purpose of this paper is to describe a model which balances what is judged and what is calculated in a way different to that usual in performance analysis.Design/methodology/approachTwo linked optimisations find the minimum number of groups and the distribution of group sizes which identifies large groups, if they exist. A number of alternative optimal solutions are generated and must be considered in the final synthesis. The method is illustrated by finding performance groups among 35 international airports.FindingsIn total, 16 alternative optimal solutions, each of 12 groups, are found. Two thirds of the airports were found in the same groups in all solutions, forming the robust core. Of the remainder, a solution was chosen and justified on the grounds of similarity of country and jurisdiction.Practical implicationsThe model changes the focus of analysis from one of reacting to apparent patterns in the result of an analysis to one in which careful thought is given about the definitions of group which reflect the point of view of the user.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates how a novel methodology forms a decision aid for finding performance groups in which due scope is given for the interpretation of equally good solutions.
Efficiency evaluation of municipal solid waste management utilities in the urban cities of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, using stochastic frontier analysis
Authors: Vishwakarma Amit , Kulshrestha Mukul , Kulshreshtha Mudit 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evolve a framework for assessing the efficiencies of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) services.Design/methodology/approachStochastic frontier analysis (SFA), a deterministic parametric frontier technique, has been employed for benchmarking of the MSWM services across municipalities in 22 cities in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.FindingsThis paper reviews the solid waste management status and applies SFA to evaluate the relative performances of the services in terms of seven models, of which two models were found significant and acceptable based on the null hypothesis, significance of elasticity of variables, and an absence of data heteroskedasticity. The paper discusses the results in the context of various indicators, and finds that a large number of MSWM municipalities exhibit relative inefficiencies, implying that most municipalities can achieve higher levels of outputs by deploying fewer resources, thereby improving performances without necessarily increasing municipal spendings.Social implicationsThe work suggests some of the changes at the policy level that would affect the way in which solid waste is managed currently in India, and hence the work has social implications whereby the lives of a billion people will be improved through improved solid waste management services.Originality/valueTo the best of the author's information, advanced benchmarking techniques such as SFA have seldom been applied for evolving the efficiencies of solid waste management municipalities, primarily because the sanitation services are yet to take the shape of an industry in the developing world. Lack of availability of data and non‐transparent functions of these services prevent further exploration into estimating the inefficiencies of these service utilities. The paper will be of use to policy makers, solid waste managers, administrators, and sector regulators.
Longitudinal benchmarking studies in operations management: lessons learned
Authors: Kuula Markku , Putkiranta Antero 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities and pitfalls of longitudinal studies in the field of operations management (OM).Design/methodology/approachA longitudinal study conducted in Finland was analyzed from the methodological point of view. In the theoretical part, a framework for analyses was created by studying the literature of longitudinal studies within and without the OM field.FindingsLongitudinal studies are important in revealing root‐cause effects. They are particularly important in generating new ideas and theories and in questioning old ones. However, longitudinal studies are somewhat difficult to conduct and some unexpected challenges may arise, such as the effect of technology development on data retrieval.Research limitations/implicationsThe analyses in this study are based on the data obtained in a longitudinal study conducted in the years 1993, 2004 and 2010. The sample in the longitudinal study is quite small for real quantitative statistical analysis, and therefore the conclusions made here are only indicative. However, the purpose of this study is to give some hints and guidance, and thus the lessons learned are valuable.Originality/valueThere are only a few studies describing methodological issues in longitudinal studies in the field of OM, and most of these studies are purely theoretical and do not refer to real experiences. This appears to be one of the first studies describing real experiences from a longitudinal study.
Business multicriteria performance analysis: a tutorial
Authors: Iazzolino Gianpaolo , Laise Domenico , Marraro Laura 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe business performances of firms are measured on a set of indicators (Financial Ratio Analysis Indicators or Balanced Scorecard Key Performance Indicators). Traditional benchmark analysis considers a set of criteria, though it generally synthesizes all the results, taking into consideration only an aggregate performance criterion (reductio ad unum approach). This methodology has many disadvantages, both theoretical and empirical. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the advantages, in terms of greater flexibility and realism, related to the application of a multicriteria methodology.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a tutorial approach. An exemplification of an outranking multicriteria methodology (ELECTRE type) is described.FindingsThe main findings of the paper can be summarized as: first, the evaluation of a business performance cannot generally be conducted by means of a unique criterion as in the traditional monocriterion benchmark analysis; second, when the evaluation of a firm is based on different genuine criteria, the performance has to be “satisfacing” and not maximizing; and third, the outranking methods are able to provide logically rigorous solutions to the genuine multicriteria benchmarking evaluation problems.Practical implicationsThe paper provides practical implications useful for evaluating firm performances in many cases, also when each stakeholder (managers, shareholders, banks, etc.) assigns different “weights” to the decision criteria.Originality/valueAs a multicriteria evaluation is generally incompatible with a profit maximizing approach, the paper proposes a multicriteria performance measure approach that offers Simon's satisfacing solutions. The paper shows that satisfacing solutions to a multicriteria evaluation problem may be rigorously obtained through an outranking methodology (already introduced by other scholars).
Visual workplace practices positively impact business processes
Authors: Kattman Braden , Corbin Thomas P. , Moore Larry E. , Walsh Leonard 
Published: June 2012

PurposeIn today's globally competitive environment, customers only want to pay for value‐added activity. They are not willing to pay for inefficiencies, such as those incurred through extra motion, or time spent searching for data, information, or tools. Although these wastes may be transparent to customers, they usually manifest themselves in the company's market share and bottom line. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the visual workplace helps increase efficiency by eliminating non‐value added activities. The visual workplace improves performance by providing information, enabling workers through self‐direction and empowerment to quickly make decisions without requiring oversight. While its practice in the office environment is increasing, it is still not as consistently practiced as it is in the manufacturing environment.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing benchmarking, a case study approach and analysis was conducted.FindingsVisual workplace practices are very common in manufacturing environments. While the practices and usefulness are just as useful in business process environments, there is found to be a reluctance to fully embrace the practices.Practical implicationsThe application of visual work practices requires business leaders to create, utilize, and support visual communication tools to manage their business. Its usage can be effectively applied to business processes to eliminate inefficiencies and decrease lost time.Originality/valueThe usefulness of visual workplace practices, once embraced by business leaders, will increase business performance by increasing efficiency and reducing waste.
Organizational routine breach response and knowledge management
Authors: Bloodgood James M. 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose the organizational knowledge effects of organization routine breach response.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the routines and knowledge management literatures and applies them to the concept of organizational routine breach.FindingsIt is found that three types of organizational routine breach response affect the explicit and tacit knowledge contained within routines differently. These differences can influence organizational performance in positive and negative ways.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research can be based on an enhanced understanding of the knowledge effects stemming from breaches in organizational routines.Practical implicationsManagers can use an enhanced understanding of the knowledge effects of organizational routine breach to increase their ability to manage organizational routines and the knowledge contained in them.Originality/valueThis paper links the organizational routines literature with the knowledge management literature to identify the effects of various responses to organization routine breach on organizational knowledge. This integration enables researchers and managers to better understand the implications of routine breach on organizational knowledge and performance.
A review of customer relationship management: successes, advances, pitfalls and futures
Authors: Nguyen Bang , Mutum Dilip S. 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide academics and practitioners working with customer relationship management (CRM) with a review of key topics, such as advances in CRM, the shifting role of consumers, issues with conceptualisation and consumer exploitation. The authors further integrate concepts of fairness, trust and paradoxes of one‐to‐one marketing, which are little researched within customer management. As a result, the authors suggest eight propositions for improving the CRM scheme.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews extant literatures in CRM, with a particular emphasis on the pitfalls of CRM.FindingsThe authors find that the risks of depleting customer trust as they perceive themselves being exploited by firm's CRM offerings should be openly discussed, as it poses a significant threat to the CRM scheme if it is overly used and misused.Practical implicationsIt is proposed that the concept of dual value‐creation and win‐win relationships are fundamental to successful implementation. However, the danger of implementing CRM in such a way as to lead customers to believe that they are worse off requires more research. Managers must therefore define their CRM, understand their pitfalls and look at where their CRM is headed.Social implicationsAdvances in CRM must consider issues of fairness, transparency, honesty, trust and with the emergence of social media, understand how CRM will adapt and immerse itself in such a future.Originality/valueIn total, eight propositions are made about CRM's successes, advances, pitfalls and futures. A focus is on the fairness of CRM and a new definition is offered.
A nomological model of RFID privacy concern
Authors: “Andy” Wu Yu , Prybutok Victor R. , Koh Chang E. , Hanus Bartlomiej 
Published: June 2012

PurposeRadio frequency identification (RFID) can bring a lot of benefits to supply chain management. However, privacy issues caused by RFID surface constantly and can impede widespread implementation of RFID. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model to explicate the construct of concern for information privacy (CFIP).Design/methodology/approachThe authors review and synthesize the extant and pertinent literature on RFID and privacy issues. Starting with previous theorization of CFIP, its four constituent dimensions are examined – collection, unauthorized secondary use, improper access, and errors – within the context of RFID‐related privacy issues.FindingsThe authors situate CFIP within a nomological model, which advances that: awareness of the RFID technology itself, awareness of information security risks entailed by RFID use, and awareness of privacy protective measures are direct antecedent to CFIP; and CFIP directly influences a person's trust in the RFID technology.Social implicationsUsers' concern about privacy is a major impediment to wide‐spread use of RFID. From a societal perspective, the business advantages of RFID technologies should not be gained at the expense of citizens' privacy. This research helps to determine the proper management of privacy issues involved in RFID implementations.Originality/valueAlthough there has been some technical discussion of privacy protection measures related to RFID, academic theorization of privacy issues at the human‐societal level is lacking in comparison. With this paper, the authors contribute to remedying this insufficiency.