If companies want to create competition advantage, they must operate with knowledge. Knowledge can be divided to tacit and explicit dimension. Tacit knowledge is not easy to express, it is in heads of workers. It is hard to transfer tacit knowledge to others and organizations have limited possibilities to operate with it. But 90% of all knowledge is tacit. Knowledge can grow, keeps its degree or decrease during the life cycle. Tacit knowledge can be built by learning or by creative thinking. Knowledge can be acquired by combinations from current knowledge, information and other ingredients. Knowledge is conserved in organization through telling stories, sharing in communities or by apprenticeship. Mentoring and coaching are very important for handling knowledge over persons in organization. Knowledge is liable to influences which decrease their value. These influences are biological (person leaves the organization) or comparative. Although the value of knowledge in organization is still on the same level, when competition build their knowledge, the level of organization relatively decrease. There are several instruments to scale up knowledge, care for it or not to lose its value for each phase of knowledge life cycle. The empiric research was focused on working with tacit knowledge in organizations in the Czech Republic. According to analysis of current theory and outputs from the research there is proposed the model how to work with tacit knowledge from its dynamic perspective.

Sammanfattning Behovet av kapital är väldigt stort för ett företag vid uppstarten av verksamheten. Svårigheten att få externt kapital uppstår oftast vid denna fas, då kan nämligen en affärsängel bidra med kapital och vara till stor hjälp för företaget. Affärsängel är en privatperson eller en samling av privatpersoner som investerar finansiellt kapital. Dessa änglar tillför också affärsmässig kunskap till onoterade företag, där de finner tillväxtpotential. För att ett företag skall kunna använda riskkapital som en finansieringskälla på bästa sätt, måste de först uppfatta vad en affärsängel har för egenskaper samt hur de agerar. Syftet med denna uppsats, är att studera hur aktiva affärsänglar resonerar rörande sina investeringar i livscykelns–hypotes. Vidare att studera hur informations-asymmetrin mellan den aktiva affärsängeln och entreprenörer påverkas före och under investeringsprocessen. Vi har utfört en kvalitativ undersökning genom intervjuer med fyra olika affärsänglar i Sverige, för att få en uppfattning om en affärsängels investeringsstrategier samt relationen mellan en affärsängel och entreprenören. Affärsänglar som har valts, är erfarna av denna typ av investering. Detta val på grund av att vi skall få en bred och djupare förståelse om hur affärsänglar går till väga, samt vilka värderingar som affärsänglarna fokuserar på vid sina investeringsbeslut. Den valda teorin som är hämtad från tidigare studier, artiklar och relevanta böcker, vilka är relaterade till investeringens livscykelteori samt informationsasymmetrins teorier, hur dessa påverkar en affärsängels investerings beslut samt strategier i deras dagliga arbete. Med dessa teorier i beaktande har vi samlat in empiriskt material från affärsänglar, vilket redovisas i det empiriska kapitlet. Analysen har skapats i ljuset av empirin och de teoretiska referensramarna, detta för att skapa en trovärdig och realistisk syn på hur en affärsängel agerar under sina investeringsbeslut. I slutsatsen beskrivs de mest väsentliga faktorerna som ligger till grund för affärsänglarnas investeringar. / Abstract The need for capital is very large for a company at the startup of operations. The difficulty to obtain external capital usually occurs at this stage, since it would permit an angel to provide capital and be very helpful for the company. Angel is an individual or a collection of individuals who invest financial capital. These angels also bring business knowledge to unlisted companies where they see growth potential. For a company to use equity as a financing source in the best way, they must first understand what an angel investor has the properties and how they act. The purpose of this thesis is to study how active business angel’s argue regarding their investments in the life cycle hypothesis. Furthermore, to study how information asymmetry between the active business angel and the contractors is affected before and during the investment process. We conduct a qualitative survey through interviews with four business angels in Sweden, to get an idea of a business angel investment strategies and the relationship between an angel and entrepreneur. The business angels that have been selected are experienced in this type of investment. This choice is due to us to have a broad and deep understanding of how business angels go about it, and the values that business angels are focusing on in their investment decisions. The chosen theory is taken from previous studies, articles and relevant books, which are related to the investment's life cycle theory and information asymmetry theories, how they affect a business angel’s investment decisions and strategies in their daily work. With these theories in mind, we've gathered empirical data from business angels, which are reported in the empirical chapter. The analysis has been created in light of empirical and theoretical frameworks in order to create a credible and realistic view of how an angel investor acting in their investment decisions. In conclusion described the most significant factors underlying business investment angels.

Driven by the insight that knowledge is power and, therefore, it is the core element for a company to be successful I examined which strategies enhance knowledge-sharing practices and processes among the HEI’s co-workers in order to create new competitive niches. This is especially important in times of ongoing change at an international level as HEIs seem to be increasingly in competition among one another for funds and students' intake. I based my study on the theoretical framework of Nonaka & Takeuchi’s SECI model of knowledge creation (1995) where, according to the authors, the knowledge-sharing takes place in four modes: socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. The main focus of my thesis is the socialization dimension, hence, the face-to-face communication between co-workers and their shared experiences and skills: the ‘tacit to tacit’ knowledge-sharing; the interaction between the different co-workers in the socialization process. Since all knowledge derives from tacit knowledge originally, tacit knowledge is, according to Nonaka/Takeuchi (1995), a person's own personal knowledge and his/her experience and skills; whereas explicit knowledge, on the other hand, is the formal and codified knowledge open to everybody via documents in a systematic language. The study of both literature and empirical data has shown that a special attention must be given to the resource-based view on strategy as it emphasizes the importance of the socialization mode by connecting the respective co-workers with one another in order to create something new. It is such a strategy that focuses on the best deployment of the knowledge resources in order for the institution to take advantage of their co-workers’ embedded, natural, context-specific, difficult to express and attached to the knower’s tacit knowledge. As a result, the key properties of a knowledge-enabling environment (in this thesis called ‘ba’) have been analyzed where tacit knowledge receives its attention by creating space and time for the tacit, hidden, embedded knowledge to emerge. Further field studies in different realities would now be helpful to further extract common patterns for the creation of a sense-making framework of strategy where the tacit dimension of each co-worker is seen to be a unique and remarkable asset for HEIs in order to gain a position of competitive advantage in the market place.

This research (January 2009 to January 2012) described the impact of Work Based Learning (WBL) programmes on three large organisations involved in HE/employer engagement partnerships to up-skill experienced employees in NE England. A case study approach gathered rich qualitative data from public and private organisations, and their university partner which provided long-term, whole-day university-based master-class WBL programmes for University-accredited qualifications with the support of Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Strategic Development Funding. The public organisation delivered its own certificate-level sessions; and a Foundation Degree was delivered by the University and the organisation’s Directors. Modified action research observations of classes preceded a questionnaire profiling candidates, their motivations, and perspectives about WBL. Stakeholders’ semi-structured interviews (Wengraf, 2001) answered: “how, why and with what consequences does the Mode 2 learning of the individual impact the Mode 2 learning of the organisation”, premised on WBL using Mode 2 “how to” knowledge (Gibbons et al, 1994). Data, mainly collected from May to November 2010, was analysed using a modified grounded theory approach (Corbin and Strauss, 2008) with fractal concept analysis (Wasserman, Clair and Wilson, 2009). Rich descriptions of the impacts of WBL from the perspectives of those involved in HE/employer engagement partnerships resulted in models for developing new partnerships and incorporating employer engagement within a university. Original contributions to WBL knowledge included the Courtyard Model based upon findings including types of knowledge/concepts/values that emerged from the research which may potentially lead to new pedagogies. Impacts of WBL included networking that carried the organisation’s strategic vision into its culture to enhance its sustainability and possible growth. Candidates attributed valuing reputation, knowledge and people to universities as organisations. The Courtyard Model summarised the relationship between the impacts of WBL on the development of candidates and organisations in terms of reputation, knowledge, people, networks, culture and sustainability.

The supervision offered at universities today is to some degree being questioned, while the situation of doctoral students is undergoing changes. The supervision students get nowadays is very different from what was available when today’s supervisors were doctoral students. The present study relies on thirty-one in-depth interviews with experienced research supervisors from all faculties at the one university. The Swedish governing documents regarding supervision have mostly been phrased in very general terms on the assumption that certain disciplines have several traits in common. Other documents describe the requirements for supervisors more sweepingly; everybody is expected to work according to the same lines. There is no question that supervision could be anything but good and no attempt at defining the task is made. Previous studies show that supervisors are unaware of what is really expected of them. The aim of this thesis is partly to investigate whether there are any communal traits in the accounts, at individual or group level, and partly to demonstrate how research supervisors’ views on research supervision can vary. The objective is also to highlight qualitative differences in the descriptions by the supervisors as to how and why they supervise. Results show that it is not easy to articulate knowledge about ones own actions. The supervisors under study have not previously reflected too much on the question of supervising. They have neither received nor requested feedback and do not expect to get honest verdicts from their students. They profess themselves to have developed a mode of supervision on their own, without assistance or any form of training. The thesis is based on a theory of variation, tacit knowledge and reflection and that supervisors will be shaped by connections to certain Communities of practice. It draws on the silent or unarticulated knowledge of what supervision is about, how and why supervision is carried out in a specific way, at group level or individually. At group level some similarities to other investigations can be found. Traditions regarding the form of the thesis are usually compliant with faculty norms. At the individual level, however, the study presents new findings in pointing out the existence of three different styles of supervision: researcher, leader and official. These can not be traced back to any specific disciplines. The three styles differ from each other mainly in their attitude to the doctoral students and in their outlook on the question of power and responsibility. The most important conclusion is to draw attention to the significance of having an individual perspective. In order to be able to improve the art of supervision, getting interaction and feedback from doctoral students and the organisation is not sufficient. A prerequisite for development is to gain an awareness of ones own actions. In order to become conscious about ones doings it is necessary to give and take feedback about oneself, achieved through self-reflection. / <p>AKADEMISK AVHANDLING som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig granskning fredagen den 20 april 2007, klockan 13.00 i sal M202 Sandgärdet, Högskolan i Borås. Fakultetsopponent: Professor Leif Lindberg, Växjö universitet</p>

With the change in the economic structures of Western industrialised countries and the shift of traditional industries towards knowledge and services in recent decades the challenge to stay competitive in increasingly globalised culturally diverse markets continues to be a priority for organisations. Of central importance is the need to acknowledge, utilise and share the diversity of employees' knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge that is ethnically influenced, a resource that is enormously rich yet overlooked, undervalued and under-utilised in the employment market. This PhD dissertation focuses on the implications of the knowledge era for how organisations manage their culturally diverse workforce. The purpose of the research is to explore the organisational strategies required for Australian businesses to support and encourage the development and sharing of knowledge between employees of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Arising from an extensive review of the literature on both Diversity and Knowledge Management, a framework for a holistic Diversity Knowledge Management/Sharing (D-KM/S) Strategy was developed. This framework identified the need for organisations to develop a productive diversity management model that consists of a number of elements including a two-way communication strategy, training in cultural intelligence (CQ) and the development of opportunities for social networking through Communities of Practice. A four-phased process for the organisational journey towards a holistic D-KM/S Strategy was proposed. An initial audit of several Australian organisations recognised for their award-winning diversity management strategies confirmed the validity of this framework. The framework was then used to underpin the qualitative interpretive case study of three of the organisations that had been part of the initial audit to determine to what extent these organisations had succeeded in progressing through these phases towards the final holistic D-KM/S Strategy. In so doing, the candidate also focused on the role of the Human Resources Department (traditionally responsible for implementing diversity policy within organisations) in implementing a more holistic approach. From a comparison of the findings from the primary research the candidate concluded that while each organisation had progressed through several of the phases towards a holistic D-KM/S Strategy, they differed in their progress and none had as yet achieved the final phase. The study did identify two additional elements that require further research which relate to the potential of Information Technology to provide opportunities for social networking, and the potential of 'narrative' to be used to share culturally influenced stories. The research concludes that the organisational strategies required for Australian businesses to support and encourage the development and sharing of knowledge between employees of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds includes: first, a productive diversity strategy that acknowledges both the explicit and tacit knowledge that a multicultural workforce brings to an organisation; and, second, processes that embed two-way communication opportunities for employees and managers, training in CQ for an increased number of managers and employees, greater support for social networking opportunities through Communities of Practice (supported by Information Technology tools), and encouragement of opportunities for employees to share cultural narratives. In addition, the thesis proposed an increased role for the Human Resources Department (working closely with line managers) in the achievement of a holistic D-KM/S Strategy.

In order to achieve competitive advantage, organisations have to be strategic in their knowledge management. This specifically concerns the management of tacit knowledge, which is known as the intangible type of knowledge. Without an effective strategy for this, organisations stand the risk of losing valuable knowledge and expertise when employees leave the organisation. Research on how to manage tacit knowledge is limited. Therefore, this thesis has investigated the possibility of using organisational storytelling as a tool to manage tacit knowledge. Hence, the purpose with this thesis is to investigate whether organisational storytelling can be used as a strategy to manage tacit knowledge. This has been examined through a case study at SCA Packaging Sweden, which is a rare example of an organisation, which uses storytelling to share knowledge. Qualitative interviews and organisational stories have been analysed in order to investigate how storytelling can be used to create, retain and transfer tacit knowledge. The data collected has also been used to determine if organisational storytelling is effective when managing tacit knowledge.   From our analysis we could conclude that SCA Packaging Sweden’s usage of organisational storytelling creates, retains, and transfers knowledge within the organisation. In addition, our analysis has shown that the stories are rich in tacit knowledge. We can therefore argue that organisational storytelling can be an effective strategy to manage tacit knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to determine how nonroutine acts performed by iii trained emergency workers developed into routine emergency acts and skills. I will be specifically looking for concepts that are common throughout the different types of emergency workers that will be interviewed. The data is gathered from focus groups that were recruited from classes on campus. In particular the results depict some very common techniques used in training that allowed the workers to feel confident about their role in emergencies. These tended to include repetition of "classroom training, "but more importantly from the viewpoint of the workers, repetition of simulated emergencies. The development of autonomy in decision making was an important facet for workers whose work "territory" was varied; however, autonomy was rarely stressed for those in relatively constant surroundings such as pools. Several commonalities were found throughout each field. These included interruptions, self-efficacy, the use of judgment and tacit knowledge. Many of the participants also expressed the same sentiment towards their feelings of the training and its efficiency. Some research will also show attempts to change policy and training within emergency workers in order to improve job performance and enhance the safety of the public as well. I will include a small statistical appendix that looks at the satisfaction level of evacuees who fled to Houston, Texas when Hurricane Katrina hit. Five specific factors were examined and regressed to determine satisfaction levels. Only two factors showed any type of significance. As the discussion will indicate, certain previous factors, before the hurricane hit, are believed to be the cause of these particular results.

Background: Organizational spending on marketing needs to be justified and therefore measured. New technology has enabled new ways of conducting market research. Research question: How can knowledge be transferred from a crowd of consumers to a company operating in the retail industry? Purpose: To explore the process of knowledge transfer in a new type of market research company by creating an understanding of (1) how to gather knowledge through engaging and motivating a crowd to share information, (2) how to analyze and transfer it to the clients, and in the end (3) how the clients receive the information and are able to create knowledge internally. Methodology: Qualitative single case study through semi-structured interviews with the case company and two of their clients. This was combined with secondary data and observations. Conclusions: Motivated users are important when gathering knowledge through crowdsourcing. Focusing on gathering and transferring explicit knowledge makes it more actionable and therefore more valuable when it comes to market insights. Externalization was found to only be partly possible in the case company, which strengthens established theories published after Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Absorptive capacity and relationships had influence on the knowledge transfer and how the results were acted upon in the client organizations.

Background: How to facilitate the knowledge transfer between projects is a field that has obtained a lot of attention in research. Despite this wide attention, many organizations still experience difficulties to efficiently transfer knowledge between their projects and thus the problems still remain, which appears contradictory. Previous research has had a tendency to assume that all knowledge can be articulated and codified, which has resulted in that solutions to these problems often have been directed towards the side in the transfer that creates the supply of knowledge. However, limited research has taken the receiver of the knowledge into consideration when analyzing these difficulties, who is considered to be equally influential to motivate a transfer. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the challenges concerning the knowledge transfer from past to future projects, by exploring the importance of incorporating the receiver’s perspective in the analysis of knowledge transfer practices. Methodology: This study has applied a qualitative research methodology where the empirical data has been obtained through an interview-study with nine onsite interviews in two different firms, ABB and SIEMENS. Furthermore, documents were studied in order to compliment and increase the understanding of the information provided in the interviews. Conclusions: By incorporating the receiver in the analysis we can conclude that the practices applied are not efficient in actually transferring the complete knowledge. Herewith, socialization becomes vital as a complement to these practices in order to also transfer the ‘hidden’ explicit knowledge as well as tacit knowledge that the receiver is in need of. The findings thus demonstrate the importance of taking the nature of knowledge into account when investigating the challenges with current knowledge transfer practices.