Knowledge Management for Manufacturing Process Based on Knowledge Lifecycle to Enhance Data Sharing (Perception: Application and Benefits)

The importance of effective knowledge management is well recognized in a number of manufacturing companies. There is still, however, a clear need to further reinforce applications of knowledge management tools by effectively solving fundamental and specific problems related to knowledge management practice in manufacturing industry. The paper presents the concept specifically for the business case at the palm oil companies, where the tools are used to transfer the knowledge over different life cycles of the production process to enhance data sharing. This paper put forward a knowledge management operation mode for manufacturing process based on knowledge lifecycle, and research the operation mode from the points of the knowledge acquisition stage, knowledge sharing stage, and knowledge utilization stage. This paper gives a value to manufacturing companies to develop initiatives to share knowledge to achieve business objectives.

Ontology-Based Knowledge Capture and Sharing in Enterprise Organisations

Despite years of effort in building organisational taxonomies, the potential of ontologies to support knowledge management in complex technical domains is under-exploited. The authors of this chapter present an approach to using rich domain ontologies to support sense-making tasks associated with resolving mechanical issues. Using Semantic Web technologies, the authors have built a framework and a suite of tools which support the whole semantic knowledge lifecycle. These are presented by describing the process of issue resolution for a simulated investigation concerning failure of bicycle brakes. Foci of the work have included ensuring that semantic tasks fit in with users’ everyday tasks, to achieve user acceptability and support the flexibility required by communities of practice with differing local sub-domains, tasks, and terminology.

The Potential of Enterprise Social Software in Integrating Exploitative and Explorative Knowledge Strategies

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the potential role of social software inside business settings in integrating knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies. These strategies are approached through the lens of dynamic capabilities, organisational learning and knowledge lifecycle models. The authors argue that while current enterprise Information Technology (IT) systems focus more on knowledge lifecycle processes concerning the distribution and application of knowledge, enterprise social software can support knowledge exploration strategies and leverage knowledge creation and validation procedures. We present secondary data from the utilisation of enterprise social computing tools inside two companies for that matter. The first case illustrates how social computing tools were deployed in an international bank, and the other presents the employment of these technologies in an international broadcasting company. The authors suggest that free-form and pre-defined structures can co-exist in bounded organisational environments, in which knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies can harmonically interact. This chapter concludes with some managerial implications and future research avenues.

Accelerating Venture Creation and Building on Mutual Strengths in Experimental Business Labs

This paper articulates the opportunity of using an experimental business laboratory approach as a means of accelerating the creation, incubation and testing of new venture ideas. Such a strategy leads to the establishment of a micro-ecosystem of aspiring entrepreneurs and others in a business laboratory environment. The goal is to create a mini idea-supercollider, in which a microscopic ‘De Medici Effect’ (Johansson, 2004) can be achieved, with aspiring entrepreneurs with different ideas, experiences and disciplines meeting in a spirit of open innovation – the sum of the whole being much greater than the sum of the individual parts. The development of an ecosystem for idea generation and rapid testing using business simulation tools can accelerate the creation, mobilization and diffusion stages of the knowledge lifecycle (Birkinshaw and Sheehan, 2002) in a knowledge- driven entrepreneurship venture, while de-risking potential ventures before significant capital is applied.

Understanding the Composition of Knowledge Management Capability

Knowledge assets are an important organizational resource. Both research and practice literature has recognized that, if managed properly, knowledge resources have the potential to contribute to a firm’s performance. Yet, the way in which organizations build knowledge management (KM) capability is relatively poorly understood. The diversity of knowledge assets existing within organizations makes it difficult to have a common understanding of how to utilize the knowledge resource most effectively. Drawing from both Resource Based View and Organizational Learning literature, the authors present a Knowledge Management (KM) framework that describes distinctly different types of knowledge assets within organizations. KM traditionally encompasses a range of activities associated with the knowledge lifecycle, including creation and capture of knowledge, transfer or sharing of this knowledge, and its application and reuse in organizations. While explicating the characteristics of the different knowledge assets, our KM framework describes the unique activities required to manage these assets. Using this framework, organizations can evaluate their knowledge needs and selectively invest in knowledge resources, focusing on the activities required to manage them effectively. The authors believe that this framework will allow organizations to build optimal KM capabilities dictated by their business needs and goals, and in alignment with their overall business strategy.

The Potential of Enterprise Social Software in Integrating Exploitative and Explorative Knowledge Strategies

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the potential role of social software inside business settings in integrating knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies. These strategies are approached through the lens of dynamic capabilities, organisational learning and knowledge lifecycle models. The authors argue that while current enterprise Information Technology (IT) systems focus more on knowledge lifecycle processes concerning the distribution and application of knowledge, enterprise social software can support knowledge exploration strategies and leverage knowledge creation and validation procedures. We present secondary data from the utilisation of enterprise social computing tools inside two companies for that matter. The first case illustrates how social computing tools were deployed in an international bank, and the other presents the employment of these technologies in an international broadcasting company. The authors suggest that free-form and pre-defined structures can co-exist in bounded organisational environments, in which knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration strategies can harmonically interact. This chapter concludes with some managerial implications and future research avenues.