Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 180 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-137). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 102-107. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-120).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-161). Also available in electronic version.

<p>The contemporary information society demands efficient knowledge management and therefore, the transfer of knowledge becomes an important issue. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the understanding of how the knowledge transfer in Science Parks takes place and which knowledge transfer supporting conditions are offered within the Science Park environment.</p><p>Through the conduction of several in depth interviews with the management of Science Parks as well as the representatives of their tenant companies it can be concluded that Science Parks seem to offer favourable conditions for knowledge transfer. This is facilitated by the established structural arrangements as well as the supporting activities of the Science Parks‟ management.</p><p>An important assumption is made within the scope of this study that certain favourable conditions may as well be relevant for off Science Park firms and thus, presumably making the present study interesting and valuable for a larger audience.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 102-107. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-120).

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organizational Knowledge Creation is a core activity of Knowledge Intensive Organizations. In the area of Knowledge Management, a number of theories have been developed about organizational knowledge and how this knowledge is developed and leveraged. The majority of these theories share a taxonomic approach to organizational knowledge and usually describe the various kinds of knowledge found in organizations and how these different kinds of knowledge interact. These descriptions represent the mainstream view of Knowledge Management and typically a contingency argument is made for matching types of knowledge with a particular organizational design, management style, or strategy for managing the various kinds of knowledge content. Parallel to the development of Knowledge Management theory is the development of Organization Theory likening organizations to interpretation or sensemaking systems. Knowledge also stands central in these theories of organization, but knowledge is viewed as a collective accomplishment intertwined with organizational practices. It is therefore clear that the Knowledge Creation perspective belongs to a different worldview from the Sensemaking perspective regarding organization. The thesis seeks to bridge the divide between these two different views of organization by describing the Knowledge Creation process in terms of the Sensemaking worldview. It accomplishes this by critically reviewing the mainstream theories of Knowledge Creation. Next organizational Sensemaking is described, focusing on the context of everyday organizational Sensemaking and in particular on Arguing as a Sensemaking process. It is proposed that Arguing is a process that creates new knowledge. Viewing Knowledge Creation through the lens of Sensemaking as Arguing addresses a perennial issue in the mainstream Knowledge Management theory, namely the justification of newly created knowledge to ensure that it is robust, without giving up on a pluralist epistemology in favour of an objective view of knowledge. Arguing is a site where claims are made, challenged, and defended. The Sensemaking process of Arguing therefore provides a description of the Knowledge Creation process which includes knowledge justification. In addition, a Sensemaking view of Knowledge Creation takes as its model social interaction, rather than linear product development and is therefore much closer to the everyday process of innovation as incremental improvement than the radical innovation process that inspired most theories of Knowledge Creation in the Knowledge Management literature. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisatoriese kennis-skepping is ‘n kern aktiwiteit van Kennis-intensiewe Ondernemings. ‘n Aantal teorieë is ontwikkel in die veld van Kennisbestuur wat handel oor organisatoriese kennis en hoe hierdie kennis ontwikkel en benut word. Die meerderheid van hierdie teorieë deel ‘n taksonomiese benadering tot organisatoriese kennis en beskryf gewoonlik die verskillende soorte kennis wat in organisasies gevind word en hoe hierdie soorte kennis verband hou. Hierdie benadering verteenwoordig die hoofstroom-siening van Kennisbestuur en lei tipies tot ‘n kontingensie argument vir die pas van tipes kennis by spesifieke organisasie ontwerpe, bestuurstyle, of strategieë vir die bestuur van verskillende soorte kennis-inhoude. Parallel tot die ontwikkeling van Kennisbestuursteorie het daar in Organisasie Teorie ontwikkelinge plaasgevind wat organisasies benader as interpretasie— of singewingsisteme. Kennis staan ook sentraal in hierdie teorieë van organisasie, maar kennis word gesien as ‘n kollektiewe totstandbrenging wat verweefd is met die praktyke in organisasies. Dit is dus duidelik dat die Kennis-skeppingsbenadering en die Singewingsperspektief organisasies met verskillende wêreldbeelde benader. Die tesis poog om die kloof tussen hierdie twee wêreldbeelde te oorbrug deur die proses van Kennis-skepping te beskryf vanuit die perspektief van Singewing. Dit word gedoen deur die hoofstroom Kennisbestuursteorie krities te beskou. Daarna word Organisatoriese Singewing beskryf deur spesifiek te fokus op die alledaagse konteks van Organisatoriese Singewing en spesifiek op Argumentering as ‘n Singewingsproses. Daar word aangevoer dat Argumentering die proses is waardeur nuwe kennis geskep word. ‘n Singewingsperspektief op Kennis-skepping het ‘n aantal voordele. Die fokus op Argumentering spreek ‘n leemte in Kennisbestuursteorie aan, naamlik die proses waardeur nuutgeskepte kennis geregverdig word om te verseker dat dit robuust is, sonder om die pluralistiese epistemologie van Kennisbestuursteorie te laat vaar. Argumentering is ‘n proses waardeur aansprake gemaak, uitgedaag en verdedig word. Die perspektief op Singwing as Argumentering bied dus ‘n beskrywing van Kennis-skepping wat die regverdiging van kennis insluit. Verder neem die Singewingsperspektief op Kennis-skepping sosiale interaksie as basismodel eerder as die lineêre produk-ontwikkelingsperspektief. Dit is dus nader aan die alledaagse prosesse van inkrementele verbetering as die radikale innovasie-prosesse wat die inspirasie vir hoofstroom Kennis-skeppingsteorie is.

It has become generally accepted to refer to today‟s global economy as a knowledge-based economy, since knowledge has increasingly become the resource, instead of a resource for wealth creation. The ability of businesses to harness the potential of intangible assets such as knowledge has become far more decisive than their ability to manage physical assets. In the implementation of knowledge management activities, knowledge sharing is recognised as an integral task and key enabler of knowledge management. Although knowledge sharing is regarded as one of the most crucial factors in the effective management of knowledge, in knowledge-intensive businesses in particular, it has also been established that most employees are reluctant to share knowledge. Research further confirms that the factors that promote or discourage knowledge-sharing behaviour in businesses are poorly understood and that knowledge management systems fail as a result of the misunderstanding of individual characteristics that could influence knowledge sharing. Moreover, the focus of knowledge-sharing literature, in terms of the unit of analysis, is rarely at an individual/micro level, although the role of individuals in the knowledge-sharing process is critical as tacit knowledge resides within the individual and knowledge sharing starts with individuals. Given the importance of understanding knowledge sharing of individuals in knowledge-intensive businesses – but noting the lack of existing systematic, integrated research that focuses on individual-related factors influencing knowledge sharing – the purpose of this study was to fill the gap in the current literature. As such, the primary objective of this research was to identify and empirically investigate the individual-related factors influencing the Knowledge-sharing intention of individual employees in knowledge-intensive businesses. The literature review revealed twelve constructs, namely Individuals’ awareness, Intrinsic motivation, Extrinsic motivation, Transactional psychological contract breach, Relational psychological contract breach, Relationship conflict, Task conflict, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness that could influence the dependent variable Knowledge-sharing intention in knowledge-intensive businesses. Various moderating relationships between the dependent and independent variables were also proposed, while seven demographic variables (Age, Gender, Language, Highest qualification, Ethnic background, Organisational tenure and Job tenure of the respondent) were identified as potential control variables. Each construct in the hypothesised model of individual-related factors influencing Knowledge-sharing intention was defined and operationalised using items sourced from validated measuring instruments in previous studies. Several self-generated items based on secondary sources were also formulated. A structured questionnaire was made available to respondents identified by means of the convenience sampling technique, and the data collected from 597 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted which confirmed the unique factors present in the data, and Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated to confirm the reliability of the measuring instrument. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was the main statistical procedure used to test the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent and dependent variables. A subset of SEM, namely general linear modelling (GLM) was used to determine the influence of selected demographic variables on Knowledge-sharing intention and to assess various moderating relationships as proposed in the hypothesised model. The main findings of this study were that personality traits are strong predictors of individual employees‟ willingness to share knowledge, and that the maturity of individuals, in terms of realising the significance and value of sharing their knowledge with others, and in recognising the intrinsic benefits of sharing, influence Knowledge-sharing intention. The main limitations of the study were the use of a convenience sampling technique to collect the data, as well as the dependence of self-report by respondents, which could lead to response bias. This study has added to the body of knowledge management research, in particular knowledge-sharing research, by investigating selected individual-related factors influencing the Knowledge-sharing intention of individuals in a particular subset of businesses, namely knowledge-intensive businesses, and focusing on a particular type of knowledge, namely tacit knowledge. From a business‟s perspective, this study offers recommendations and suggestions for managing these individual-related factors in such a way as to increase knowledge sharing among employees, and as a result, the effectiveness and competitive advantage of knowledge-intensive businesses.

As organizações contemporâneas precisam se adaptar ao ambiente para manterem-se competitivas e inovadores no mercado. Diante disso, a competitividade de uma organização está condicionada à capacidade de gestores e líderes identificarem a mudança e agirem no sentido de adaptá-las conforme as necessidades. Portanto, para as organizações serem duradouras são necessários indivíduos que tenham a liderança de enfrentar a mudança, de estabelecer objetivos claros, de transformar o comportamento da equipe e de desenvolver novas capacidades individuais e coletivas. Nesse contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo investigar o papel da liderança no processo de mudança e aprendizagem organizacional nas empresas duradouras do setor metalmecânico de Marau/RS. Para tanto, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória, com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando-se do estudo multicaso como estratégia e a entrevista individual em profundidade como técnica de coleta de dados. Dessa forma, foram entrevistados o líder e seguidor direto das três empresas mais duradouras do setor metalmecânico, nomeadas como Alfa, Beta e Gama, com 50, 40 e 22 anos, respectivamente. As principais contribuições do estudo estão direcionadas a confirmar o papel da liderança no processo de mudança e aprendizagem. Nesse sentido, os resultados sugerem que o líder no processo de mudança contribui pelo exemplo, humildade, empatia, motivação, orientação, convencimento, comunicação, controle e envolvimento. No que tange o processo de aprendizagem, o líder contribui no aspecto de propiciar situações de crescimento pessoal, prepara um membro para substituí-lo, estimula o compartilhamento da experiência e organiza ações de aquisição e nivelamento do conhecimento entre os membros da equipe. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2015-11-05T15:28:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Marlon Bissani Cucchi.pdf: 3702360 bytes, checksum: 326f2579bf2cee0706232d29db406aa1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-05T15:28:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Marlon Bissani Cucchi.pdf: 3702360 bytes, checksum: 326f2579bf2cee0706232d29db406aa1 (MD5) / Contemporary Organizations need to adapt to the environment in order to keep themselves competitive and innovative on the market. Therefore, competitive edge in one company is conditioned to the capacity of managers and leaders to identify the change and act in order to adapt the companies according to their needs. Thus, for a company, in order to be long lasting, it’s necessary to have individuals who have the leadership to face change, establish clear goals, transform team’s behavior and develop new individual and collective capacities. In this context, this study had as its main goal to investigate the role of leadership on the process of change and organizational learning in long lasting companies of the metalmechanic sector in Marau/RS. To do so, an exploratory search with a qualitative approach was developed, using the multi-case study as strategy and the in-depth individual interview as data collection technique. This way, the leader and the direct follower of the three most enduring companies in the metal-mechanic sector were interviewed, here named as Alfa, Beta and Gama, with 50, 40 and 22 years, respectively. The main contributions of the study are directed to confirm the leadership role in change and learning processes. In this context, the results suggest that the leader in the process of change, contributes by the example, humility, empathy, motivation, orientation, conviction, communication, control and involvement. Regarding the learning process, the leader contributes in the aspect of enabling personal growth situations, prepares a member to substitute it, stimulates sharing experiences and organizes the actions of acquisition and leveling the knowledge between team members.

Ao considerar a globalização uma aliada à expansão das estratégias das organizações na internacionalização de seus negócios, a expatriação de seus funcionários surge como um recurso de gestão de pessoas e, com isso, oportuniza benefícios para as empresas e para o crescimento profissional e pessoal dos indivíduos. Conceituada como um processo contínuo, onde criação e apropriação de conhecimento fazem parte do cotidiano do indivíduo em contextos organizacionais, o tema aprendizagem organizacional ganha espaço na expatriação. Esta dissertação de mestrado tem por objetivo analisar a contribuição da expatriação para os processos de aprendizagem organizacional, tanto formais quanto informais. A metodologia utilizada foi um estudo de casos múltiplos, o qual permitiu analisar com maior profundidade os resultados. A partir do desenvolvimento do referencial teórico, foi elaborado um roteiro de entrevistas e também foram analisados documentalmente dados das empresas participantes do estudo. As empresas selecionadas são de ramos diferentes de mercado, tais como moveleiro, metalmecânico e calçadista e com importância para a atividade exportadora do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas onze entrevistas com funcionários que já foram expatriados dessas organizações ou que ainda encontram-se em processo de expatriação. O método de análise selecionado foi a análise de conteúdo. Desta forma, pretendeu-se apresentar quais são as contribuições da expatriação para os processos de aprendizagem organizacional, com vistas a propagar os resultados advindos de experiências positivas e negativas de expatriados que retornaram ao país de origem e conseguiram cargos melhores nas organizações ou que ainda encontram-se expatriados; e experiências de como as empresas conseguiram aprimorar suas políticas de gestão de pessoas através dos resultados da expatriação. Como resultados, pode-se observar que a expatriação tende a desencadear processos de aprendizagem organizacional que se encontram embutidos nas atividades do cotidiano do indivíduo. Verificou-se que os funcionários aprenderam a partir de suas experiências de expatriação e ao enfrentaram um problema ou desafio, através da reflexão e interação e colaboração com colegas. Além disso, a expatriação indica uma contribuição na qual o expatriado enxerga a sua própria cultura sob uma nova ótica, toma conhecimento de outras culturas organizacionais e identifica novas formas de lidar com pessoas na equipe do país da empresa subsidiária. Mudanças de perspectiva e de comportamento que fazem os expatriados modificar e repensar suas premissas e entender as consequências das diferenças culturais e reconhecer fracassos também foram identificadas como contribuições da expatriação para os processos de aprendizagem. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2016-05-11T18:30:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Ana Virginia Alberici Giordani Bertolini.pdf: 1502380 bytes, checksum: 50f317ff4791c39412f8a30eb2ce70b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-11T18:30:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Ana Virginia Alberici Giordani Bertolini.pdf: 1502380 bytes, checksum: 50f317ff4791c39412f8a30eb2ce70b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-11 / Allied to the strategy of business expansion of the organizations, considering globalization and the business internationalization, expatriation of employees emerges as a personnel management resource and, therefore, provides benefit for companies and for professional and personal growth of individuals. Conceptualized as an ongoing process where knowledge creation and appropriation are part of the daily life of individuals and organizations, organizational learning gain ground within the expatriation discussions. This dissertation aims to analyze the contribution of expatriation to the processes of organizational learning - formal and informal. The methodology used was the multiple case study, which allowed an in-depth analyze of results. With the development of the theoretical framework, were designed a set of interviews and collected and analyzed data from the companies participants. The selected companies belong to different business sectors such as furniture, metal mechanic and footwear; and have significant importance to the exporting activity of the state of Rio Grande do Sul – Souther Brazil. Were conducted eleven interviews with employees who had already experienced expatriation or employees that still expatriated. After data collection was realized the content analysis of data. Furthermore, the study also aims to present the contributions of expatriation for organizational learning processes, to propagate the proceeds from positive and negative experiences of expatriates. As a result, it can be seen that the expatriation tends to trigger organizational learning processes that are embedded in the individual's daily activities. It was found that employees learned from their expatriation experiences and faced a problem or challenge, through reflection and interaction and collaboration with colleagues. In addition, the expatriation indicates a contribution in which the expatriate sees their own culture in a new perspective, becomes aware of other organizational cultures and identify new ways of dealing with people in the country and the group of the subsidiary. Perspective changes and behavioral changes that make expats modify and rethink their assumptions and understand the consequences of cultural differences and recognize failures were also identified as expatriation contributions to the learning process.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012. / Knowledge management has become a critical success factor in business organisations today. Significant research has been conducted globally and various authors and researchers seem to agree that knowledge management is a tool, which organisations can use to gain competitive advantage. However, to be able to effectively use knowledge management as a tool, organisations should overcome certain hurdles. One of the key areas within knowledge management is knowledge sharing and for this to happen smoothly, companies should appreciate the value of their information and knowledge resources. Promoting effective sharing and transfer of intellectual assets is the core of knowledge management. Knowledge sharing is, therefore, vital for the success of a knowledge management system. One of the primary barriers to this success exists when there is no continuous flow of information and knowledge within an organisation. With the world economy becoming increasingly global, organisations have become more diversified than ever. When employees from various backgrounds come together in a company, knowledge sharing should take place in spite of cultural differences. In this research study diversification is concerned with social and cultural backgrounds. National culture and social backgrounds have been identified by researchers as factors that impact knowledge sharing. Diversified companies normally have a number of languages spoken amongst employees, since employees come from different ethnic groups, which all add to the task at hand with regard to successful knowledge management. Culture influences the way that people think, behave and the way in which they manage knowledge. Culture defines who people are, which certainly has an effect on knowledge management, hence the need to have a better understanding of culture and knowledge management. This research therefore, focuses mainly on information and knowledge sharing in socially and culturally diverse SMEs. There is a need to conduct more research in this area, since South Africa is a culturally diversified country.