scholarly journals Knowledge sharing success and resistance in an engineering department: A case study

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire M Gardiner

AbstractThe centrality of knowledge sharing to organizations’ sustainability has been established. This research explores and illustrates the influences for individual professionals and paraprofessionals – specifically civil engineers and design drafters – to share their deep, personally constructed knowledge, in a public sector provider of railways infrastructure. It investigates the extent to which: (i) knowledge sharing will be positively influenced by the professional identity, values and knowledge culture to achieve organizational and project goals; and (ii) sharing of deep personal expertise will be influenced by the quality of relational capital among individuals and individual perspectives. It finds that knowledge sharing develops within frameworks established through the alignment among sector, profession and organization values. However, individual behavior is found to be most strongly influenced by the presence and quality of relational capital and individuals’ personal perspectives.

Author(s):  
Lapo Mola ◽  
Cecilia Rossignoli ◽  
Andrea Carugati ◽  
Antonio Giangreco

This exploratory study analyses the effects of the technical and organisational characteristics of business intelligence systems (BIS) on knowledge sharing, collaboration, and decision-making processes. The authors conducted a two-phase multi-method investigation. First, we surveyed 30 enterprises using BIS on a regular basis; then, we engaged in an in-depth case study with one of the respondent companies. Our results show that, on average, the technical and organisational characteristics of the BIS are positively associated with an increase in knowledge sharing, leading to an improvement in internal collaboration that subsequently brings improvement in the quality of decision-making. This case study adds that the way the BIS is designed and appropriated in organisations is important in obtaining such results is. A BIS being designed so that it can be appropriated by the general employee base is key in obtaining the desired organizational impacts. This suggests some requirements for BIS design that we will discuss in terms of theoretical and managerial implications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 839-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Leick ◽  
Susanne Gretzinger

PurposeResearch on business networks in organisationally thin regions, which are characterised by a low density and quality of business networks, is still in its infancy, while the facilitation of business networks receives increasing interest. The present paper combines both perspectives by investigating how different types of network brokers facilitate business networking and knowledge-sharing in organisationally thin regions.Design/methodology/approachBurt's theory on brokers in social networks is applied to knowledge-sharing in business networks for organisational thinness as context. A qualitative case study represents the empirical basis that describes network brokers from various domains in three different German case regions, which are characterised by organisational thinness.FindingsThe network brokers studied facilitate different types of business networks, and they use various levers to increase knowledge-sharing among companies in business networks. Two broker types emerge, private business-driven versus public policy-driven network brokers with distinct approaches to the facilitation of business networking and knowledge-sharing and different limitations due to organisational thinness.Practical implicationsCompanies, notably SMEs, in contexts characterised by low networking density and quality may benefit from various types of network brokers that foster business networking and instigate knowledge exchange. Public policy should embed activities of private brokers in existing SME assistance programmes to increase the quantity and quality of business networks.Originality/valueNetwork facilitation in regions with weaknesses in their endowment with industry clusters, business networks and innovative knowledge exchange is under-explored, and this paper contributes to shedding light on this topic with a case study.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Harding

Successive governments have encouraged the view of users of public services as consumers, choosing between different providers on the basis of information about the quality of service. As part of this approach, prospective students are expected to make their decisions about which universities to apply to with reference to the consumer evaluations provided by the National Student Survey. However, a case study of a post-1992 university showed that not all students made genuine choices and those who did tended to be in stronger social and economic positions. Where choices were made, they were infrequently based on external evaluations of quality.


Shared services have been widely used in many organizations as an alternative to outsourcing. For shared services, common services are standardized and consolidated across multiple organizations to reduce the operational cost and to increase information and knowledge sharing. Two major advantages of shared services over outsourcing are long-term stable cost-saving and knowledge sharing. One important aspect of successful operations management of shared services is to ensure the quality of services delivered by a shared service provider to each individual partner organization. This paper proposes a performance predictive analytics framework for operations management of shared services. The paper presents a case study to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of this framework.


Author(s):  
Kalsom Salleh ◽  
Syed Omar Sharifuddin Syed Ikhsan ◽  
Syed Noh Syed Ahmad

In the knowledge based economy era, the success of an organization lies more in its intellectual capital and system capabilities than its physical assets and financial capital. Therefore, professional intellects such as lawyers, doctors, systems analysts, accountants are an important source of intelligence for most organizations. Knowledge Management (KM) in a public sector organization can take advantage the transfer and sharing process of experiences, ideas and expertise of the organization’s professional intellects for the organization’s knowledge assets with the support of information technology. Therefore, this chapter presents the knowledge sharing model that interconnects KM enablers and knowledge sharing process for KM implementation success in the public sector accounting organization in Malaysia. Survey questionnaires were used as the main instrument to collect data from all public sector accountants working in the Accountant General’s Department (AGD) which is an accounting specialist department of the Federal Government in Malaysia. This selected knowledge intensive accounting organization has a large pool of public sector accountants and the core competencies of the organization are to provide timely accounting information and quality accounting services to all agencies of the Federal Government. Therefore, knowledge management (KM) in this case study organization is concerned with the flow of accounting knowledge during the sharing process of public sector accountants and getting value through the knowledge flow for the organizational performance. Since the main task of the AGD is heavily related to accounting process and technology for its financial data integrity, the statistical results of this case study research provide evidence that knowledge sharing technology has a high significant impact on the knowledge sharing performance as compared to other moderate significant factors such as leadership roles to create knowledge sharing culture, ICT skills and know-how of accountants and the ICT infrastructure and software for the accounting information system.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Jørgensen ◽  
Kasper Edwards ◽  
Enrico Scarso ◽  
Christine Ipsen

Purpose This paper aims to study the impact of intentionally developed communities of practice (CoPs) on knowledge sharing and practice improvement in an administrative public sector organisation (PSO). Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was used to analyse the impact of the CoPs intentionally developed by four different teams at a Danish PSO. The study applied a CoP development framework suggested by the literature to develop the CoPs. Findings Three out of the four CoPs were successfully developed, and they positively affected knowledge sharing and practice improvement. CoP participants engaged in conversations to explore individual ways of working, share knowledge and ultimately improve practice. Standardisation and boundary spanning were identified as contextual factors influencing the CoP activities. Research limitations/implications The findings verify the framework and contribute to a better understanding of the factors affecting the development of CoPs that positively impact knowledge sharing and practice improvements in a PSO context. Practical implications The study provides operations managers in PSOs with a framework for developing CoPs to improve work performance through better knowledge sharing among employees. Originality/value The paper provides case study evidence for the relevance of CoPs in PSO settings and highlights the necessity of investing resources in employee knowledge-sharing interactions.


Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Morgana Carneiro Andrade ◽  
Rafaela Oliveira da Cunha ◽  
Jorge Figueiredo ◽  
Ana Alice Baptista

(1) Background: The European Data Portal is one of the worldwide initiatives that aggregates and make open data available. (2) Methods: This is a case study with a qualitative approach that aims to determine to what extent the datasets from the Government and Public Sector, Transport, and Education, Culture and Sport categories published on the portal meet the Data on the Web Best Practices (W3C). With the datasets sorted by last modified and filtered by the ratings Excellent and Good+, we analyzed 50 different datasets from each category. (3) Results: The analysis revealed that the Government and Transport categories have the best-rated datasets, followed by Transportation and, lastly, Education. (4) Conclusions: This analysis revealed that the Government and Transport categories have the best-rated datasets and Education the least. The most observed BPs were: BP1, BP2, BP4, BP5, BP10, BP11, BP12, BP13C, BP16, BP17, BP19, BP29, and BP34, while the least observed were: BP3, BP7H, BP7C, BP13H, BP14, BP15, BP21, BP32, and BP35. These results fill a gap in the literature on the quality of the data made available by this portal and provide insights for European data managers on which best practices are most observed and which ones need more attention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-312
Author(s):  
Marco De Sisto ◽  
John Handmer

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify strengths and weaknesses in knowledge sharing between related post-bushfire investigative agencies. Based on this study, such a sharing of knowledge is essential to enhance collaboration amongst practitioners in the reduction and management of the risk of bushfires.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a case study methodology; the research design is based on comparative analysis of six post-bushfire investigative departments in Italy and Australia (Victoria). A total of 44 bushfire investigators were interviewed between 2012 and 2013, across the two countries. Using focus groups and face-to-face interviews, the extent and quality of intra- and interagency knowledge sharing is analysed.FindingsDespite the desire to collaborate, there are three main conditions that prevent an effective interagency collaboration within the bushfire investigation network, namely, separation, unidirectionality and interpersonal disengagement. This study finds that knowledge sharing suffers from a missing “feedback system” culture, where agencies give each other feedback with strictly bureaucratic purposes, rather than create an ongoing learning mechanism that develops after every investigation. At agency level, we also find that, sharing investigative knowledge and experience through daily and planned meetings is a standard practice to police members; but this is not found in the fire agencies. When made cross-country comparisons between Australia and Italy, the existence of common courses, joint manuals and the sharing of human resources witnessed in Australia (Victoria) is something that would benefit Italian agencies still trapped in a competitive and jurisdictional mindset. At the same time, Australian agencies might want to reconsider the separation between bushfire suppression and investigation, a distinction that has been made clear in Italy through the creation of full-time bushfire investigator positions.Practical implicationsThis paper contributes to the improvement of interagency collaboration through the development of an investigative “social knowledge”. It reinforces the assumption that, to reduce and effectively manage the risk of bushfires, a combined effort from different stakeholders involved in forensic investigation is necessary.Originality/valueGiven the lack of research undertaken in the area of bushfire investigation, the current paper represents a unique piece of work. It is unusual, not only in identifying the current issues within the bushfire investigation network but also in providing agencies with theoretical and practical insights on how to reduce the extremely high number of bushfires and their risks.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lapo Mola ◽  
Cecilia Rossignoli ◽  
Andrea Carugati ◽  
Antonio Giangreco

This exploratory study analyses the effects of the technical and organisational characteristics of business intelligence systems (BIS) on knowledge sharing, collaboration, and decision-making processes. The authors conducted a two-phase multi-method investigation. First, we surveyed 30 enterprises using BIS on a regular basis; then, we engaged in an in-depth case study with one of the respondent companies. Our results show that, on average, the technical and organisational characteristics of the BIS are positively associated with an increase in knowledge sharing, leading to an improvement in internal collaboration that subsequently brings improvement in the quality of decision-making. This case study adds that the way the BIS is designed and appropriated in organisations is important in obtaining such results is. A BIS being designed so that it can be appropriated by the general employee base is key in obtaining the desired organizational impacts. This suggests some requirements for BIS design that we will discuss in terms of theoretical and managerial implications.


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