Evidence-based policy and practice (EBPP) in population health in Australia has been promoted largely without sound research. In response, this thesis presents a series of studies undertaken to assess and inform enhancement of capacity for EBPP in Australia. It comprises linked studies designed to examine different yet complementary aspects of capacity for EBPP. Research was conducted at various levels of Australian health care system, from local to national, in order to better understand EBPP and to make a series of recommendations about effective and synergistic response.

<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 (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Knowledge Transfer is one of the key knowledge management practices that organisations employ to ensure cross-pollination of knowledge across their various divisions. It should be a cornerstone of a learning organisation and should pervade the entire organisation in all its manifestations. In general it is a question whether public sector organisations in South African are employing such practices in their quest to render services effectively, efficiently and economically. This thesis focuses on an attempt at knowledge transfer in a department in an underdeveloped province, i.e. the Department of Roads and Public Works in the Eastern Cape. It centres on a case study of Cuban engineers who were contracted by the South African government to design and build infrastructure. The thesis is divided into the following chapters: Chapter 1: deals with the problem of knowledge transfer in a developing context. The chapter focuses on the objectives of the research and sketches a contextual backdrop to the study. Chapter 2: discusses the key concepts of Learning, Organisational Learning, Knowledge, Knowledge Transfer, and Knowledge Transfer Strategies. It also identifies barriers to knowledge transfer and highlights a few suggestions on how to deal with those barriers. Chapter 3: deals with the case study of six Cuban engineers and presents the results of the case study. Chapter 4: describes some of the local initiatives taken by the Department to cater for the needed skills in their sector. Chapter 5: evaluates the topic by bringing the literature discussed in chapter two to bear on the findings of the case study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kennisoordrag is een van die kern kennisbestuurspraktyke waardeur organisasies kruisbestuiwing van kennis oor ‘n verskeidenheid onderafdelings moontlik maak. Dit behoort die basis van ‘n ‘learning organisation’ te wees en die hele organisasie te deursuur. In die algemeen is dit ‘n vraag of publieke sektor organisasies in Suid-Afrika sodanige praktyke aanwend in hulle pogings om dienste te lewer. Hierdie tesis fokus op ‘n poging tot kennisoordrag in ‘n departement wat in ‘n onderontwikkelde provinsie in Suid-Afrika geleë is, naamlik die departement Paaie en Openbare Werke in die Oos-Kaap. Die tesis draai om ‘n gevallestudie van Kubaanse ingenieurs wat deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering gekontrakteer was om infrastruktuur te ontwerp en te bou. Die tesis is verdeel in die volgende hoofstukke: HOOFSTUK 1 handel oor die probleem van kennisoordrag binne ‘n ontwikkelingskonteks. Dit sit die doel van die studie uiteen en beskryf die sosiale konteks daarvan. HOOFSTUK 2 bespreek die kernkonsepte, naamlik Leer, Organisatorise Leer, Kennis, Kennisoordrag en Kennisoordragstrategieë. Dit identifiseer ook faktore wat kennisoordrag teenwerk en bespreek moontlike oplossings vir laasgenoemde probleem. HOOFSTUK 3 behels ‘n gevallestudie van 6 Kubaanse ingenieurs en bied die resultate daarvan aan. HOOFSTUK 4 beskryf sommige lokale inisiatiewe deur die Department om kennisoordrag te bevorder. HOOFSTUK 5 evalueer die onderwerp deur die literatuur in hoofstuk 2 in verband te bring met die gevallestudie.

Persistent differences in corporate commitments to sustainability have led to an increasing debate. However, reasons behind such differences still lack a generic theorization. To address this research gap, the purpose of this study is to: 1) explicate key organizational functions and process underpinning dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability; 2) explore the relationship between supply chain knowledge transfer and the development of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability. For such a purpose a theoretical framework is established with proposed hypotheses deriving from existing literature. Then a two-stage, mixed method is designed to test the model. In Stage One, a case study and a large-scale archival analysis are performed to elaborate the microfoundations, i.e. key organizational functions and process underpinning dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability. In Stage Two, a largescale survey is conducted among about 2,500 CILT members. The validity and reliability of the collected data are then verified through a series of tests. Finally the empirical data are fitted into a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to test proposed hypotheses. The findings of the research are twofold. The result of Stage One study suggests that three types of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability, namely scanning, sensing, and reconfiguration capabilities, underpin a firm’s competence to successfully respond to the environmental and social concerns of various stakeholders and mobilize internal resources to make strategic change towards sustainability. Moreover, key organizational functions and process underpinning dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability show commonalities among firms across various industrial sectors and geographic regions. In Stage Two study, the empirical finding is that supply chain knowledge transfer positively impacts the development of firm's scanning capability and sensing capability. However, the impact patterns vary significantly between focal firms' upstream and downstream supply chain partnerships. The research contributes to knowledge from three perspectives. To theory, as an early attempt to extend Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) to the area of corporate sustainability, the research not only introduces the concept of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability to the literature, but also examines how these capabilities can be developed through supply chain knowledge transfer. It thus contributes to the theories of both DCV and corporate sustainability. To research, the empirical findings of the research indicate that the effect of inter-firm knowledge transfer on capabilities development of supply chain customers tends to be underestimated by previous studies, thus providing a new potential research direction. To practice, professionals could possibly use the theoretical framework developed in the study to better understand what types of dynamic capabilities should be developed to more effectively overcome emerging sustainability challenges, and how to further develop these capabilities through supply chain knowledge transfer.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore how knowledge gained during taught Masters in Human Resource Management (MSc HRM) programmes was transferred into working organisations, whether knowledge gained from academic study could be transferred if individuals were motivated to transfer and if organisations had a culture that was receptive to transfer. The term knowledge transfer was defined as sharing of information between one individual and another individual or group. This study looked at the perceived value of Human Resource (HR) knowledge within organisational contexts, with a focus on how knowledge flowed and what facilitated or blocked that flow. A ‘two-tailed’ case study approach was taken using a social construction methodology and was applied across three University Centres, utilising students studying on MSc HRM programmes and their respective work organisations, plus Operational Managers within the same geographical boundaries. Data was gathered using qualitative methods and analysed thematically. A key finding of this study was that knowledge gained from MSc HRM programmes is valued within organisational contexts. HR professionals effectively transferred knowledge into their organisational functions and amongst workplace communities and via wider networks, in a homogenous manner. However, the study also found that transfer of knowledge across work boundaries, via heterogeneous workplace communities, was less effective. Individual willingness to transfer knowledge was found, but issues linked to organisational culture such as politics, power and structure was found to influence the extent of knowledge transfer activities. It was evident that in order for knowledge transfer to be effective an organisational culture based on mutual support and understanding was required. If an organisation had a culture focused on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that reinforce knowledge transfer across team boundaries then heterogeneous workplace communities emerged. Organisations that deliberately focused on knowledge transfer evidenced a greater ability to transfer knowledge across organisational functions; this strategy was beneficial to organisational growth. This study concluded that building on workplace communities and managing a deliberate introduction of heterogeneous workplace communities enabled MSc HRM acquired-knowledge to be transferred cross organisationally. Although this study focused on the transfer of knowledge from MSc HRM programmes the concept behind using workplace communities to transfer and build knowledge could potentially be transferable to other disciplines. Two further areas of research were identified: firstly, action research within University Centres to ascertain the benefit of cross-discipline teaching, secondly, analysis of an organisation with a heterogeneous community design.

Printed electronics (PE) is a disruptive but growing technology that is beginning to integrate its way into viable applications for product design. However, the potential for future impact of the technology on product design and the designer s role and contribution to this has yet to be established. Interest is increasing in the potential for product designers to explore and exploit this technology. Technologies can be seen as being disruptive from both a business, and an adoption point of view. For a business, changing from one technology to another or incorporating a new technology and its production processes can be difficult if they already have their suppliers established and existing relationships in place. Understanding and adopting a new technology can be challenging for a business and individuals working within an established industry as it can cause many questions to be raised around its performance, and direct comparison with the technology they already have in place. However, there have been many technologies that could be seen as disruptive in the past, as they offered an alternative way of working or method of manufacture, such as Bluetooth, 3D printing, and automation (manufacturing/assembly/finishing), etc., and their success has been dictated by individual s perception and adoption of the technology, with their ability to see the worth and potential in the technology. Cost comparison is also an important aspect for a business to consider when choosing whether to change to a new technology or to remain with their existing technology, as changing can disrupt the manufacturing line assembly of a product, and direct cost comparisons of components themselves, such as the cost of buying silicon components in bulk verses printing the components. The new technology needs to offer something different to a product to be worth implementing it in a product, such as its flexible form or lightweight properties of printed electronics being of benefit to the product over what a silicon electronic component/circuit could offer (restricted to rigid circuit boards), the functionality/performance of the components themselves also need to be considered. Performance, availability and maturity of the technology are some of the essential aspects to consider when incorporating a new technology into a product and these can be evaluated using a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale. Interest in the stage of development for a technology lies not only with designers; industry and academia also contribute to knowledge by playing a central role in the process of determining a TRL scale that is universally recognised. However, a TRL separation issue occurs between academia (often the technology only reaching an experimental proof of concept stage, a lower number on the TRL scale indicating that the technology is at an early stage of development) and industry (not considering technology for commercialisation until it reaches a stage where there is a demonstration of pre-production capability validated on economic runs, a much higher number on the TRL scale - indicating that the technology is at a much more advanced stage of development). The aim of this doctoral research was to explore the contribution of PE to product design. The researcher experienced the scientific development of the technology first-hand, and undertook a literature review that covered three main topics: 1) printed electronics (the technology itself), 2) impact (approaches to assessing impact and methods of judging new technology) because together they will identify the state of the art of printed electronics technology, and 3) education - educational theories/methods for designers - studying how designers learn, explore different methods in educating them about new technologies, and start to find appropriate methods for educating them about printed electronics technology. A knowledge framework for PE technology was generated and utilised to produce a taxonomy and TRL scale for PE and confirmed by PE expert interview. Existing case studies in which PE technology had been presented to student designers were investigated through interviews with participants from academia and industry to solicit perception and opinions on approaches for the effective communication of PE knowledge to student designers within an educational environment. The findings were interpreted using thematic analysis and, after comparing the data, three main themes identified: technical constraints, designer s perspective, and what a designer is required to do. The findings from the research were combined to create an educational approach for knowledge transfer aimed specifically at meeting the needs of product designers. This resulted in the need for PE technology to be translated into both a visual and written format to create structure and direct links between the technological elements and their form and function in order to facilitate understanding by designers. Conclusions from the research indicate that the translation of this technology into an appropriate design language will equip designers with accessible fundamental knowledge on PE technology (i.e. electrical components: form, function, and area of the technology), which will allow informed decisions to be made about how PE can be used and to utilise its benefits in the design of products. The capabilities and properties of this technology, when paired with product design practice, has the capacity to transform the designs of future products in terms of form/functionality and prevailing/views towards design approaches with electronics. If exposed to a variety of PE elements ranging across different TRLs, designers have the capacity to bridge the TRL separation issue (the gap between academia and industry) through their ability to create design solutions for an end user and provide a commercial application for the technology.

This content analysis assesses the insight facilitating capacity of some very common inquiry-based writing activities (featured in today's mainstream first-year college composition texts). It accomplishes that assessment by using three language-based insight facilitating methods--one centered on metaphor, another on opposition, and the other on paradox--as evaluative lenses. The position of this study is that these methods--advanced by widely published scholars in the fields of science, psychology and business as effective insight facilitators--can shed light on development opportunities (where insight facilitation is concerned) in the design and protocol of the writing activities selected for analysis. The outcome is ultimately a comparison of sorts drawn between key insight facilitators at work in the proven methods and comparable features capable of eliciting insight in the writing activities. While the analysis aims to show just how effectively insight facilitation is prompted in the selected writing activities, it also--through its evaluative lens--suggests ways the activities could more effectively do so.

An inherent aspect of an audit is the level of task complexity that junior auditors (staff and senior level associates) endure on a daily basis. This complexity directly impacts an auditor’s ability to form an appropriate problem representation, which in turn impacts judgment performance. One of the key components of this process is having sufficient knowledge for purposes of problem representation; without it, the auditor’s problem representation and ultimately judgment performance are negatively impacted. Conversely, audit teams can positively influence the conciseness of problem representation and performance by way of effective task-specific knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer in the audit field occurs during three distinct phases: when an auditor reviews prior and/or current year workpapers; when an auditor requests help; and/or during the workpaper review process. For purposes of efficiency and increasing (i.e. improving) problem representation, prior to any deleterious effects, it’s critical that the audit profession understand how to maximize the knowledge transfer as soon as possible after the auditor’s initial assignment of the task. Because auditors commonly will immediately refer to audit programs in the current year documentation in the electronic audit file to gain an understanding of the task, maximizing the knowledge transfer within the electronic audit file is critical to increasing auditor judgment performance. I propose utilizing media richness theory to establish an increased media rich transfer of knowledge via the electronic audit file from the audit managers (expert) to junior auditors (novice). Procedure screens within the electronic audit file would likely be categorized as “written, formal” mediums within the media richness theory, because the source of information is impersonal. However, if audit firms can successfully transform the transfer of information within the audit files from being solely formal document screens to also incorporate personal source characteristics, they will successfully increase the information richness, which will allow for a more successful transfer of knowledge and subsequently the ability for the auditor to more effectively form a problem representation.

Equity crowdfunding is a financing tool argued to be the future of small business financing. Beside financial benefits it is argued to be several non-financial benefits, one being the ability to use the crowdfunders for knowledge. Knowledge transfer has been widely researched, but little has been done to investigate how knowledge is transferred between firms and crowdfunders in an equity crowdfunding context. This study aim to address this research gap by using Szulanski’s (1996) model for the knowledge transfer process and four influencing factors: knowledge, absorptive capacity, motivation and relationship. This study qualitatively investigates five equity crowdfunded firms by conducting semi- structured interviews and reviewing secondary data. The findings indicate that a majority of the firms consider crowdfunders as a potential source of explicit knowledge regarding consumer insights. Knowledge was found to be transferred via social media, email, surveys and social interaction. The crowdfunders need encouragement in order to share knowledge and social interaction was the most effective way to acquire and transfer knowledge. The large number of crowdfunders creates a weak relationship that is difficult to manage, but it does not impede the transfer of explicit knowledge. The desire to use the crowdfunders as a source of knowledge is high yet limited by time and resources as well as experience and ideas for how to best transfer knowledge from the crowdfunders.

O estudo da transferência de conhecimento no âmbito interorganizacional, dentro de uma cadeia de suprimentos, centra seu interesse nos fluxos de informação nos ganhos de eficiência. Embora a eficiente transferência de conhecimento seja vista como central para o sucesso da empresa, a maioria dos autores até o momento não especifica, ou testa os processos e mecanismos fundamentais através dos quais a transferência de conhecimento acontece entre as organizações de uma cadeia. Por esse motivo, para entender a transferência de conhecimento dentro da cadeia, definiu-se o seguinte objetivo: identificar as formas de transferência de conhecimento entre empresas participantes em uma cadeia de suprimentos e os fatores que influenciam o processo. Para tanto, foram estudadas empresas pertencentes a uma cadeia de suprimentos do setor têxtil: uma no Peru, a cadeia têxtil da fibra de alpaca e outra no Brasil, uma cadeia de fibras mistas (algodão e sintético). No embasamento teórico os principais temas abordados foram: a) as formas de transferência de conhecimento baseados no agrupamento de Argote et. al. (2000): movimentação de pessoal, treinamento, comunicação, observação, transferência de tecnologia, engenharia reversa, replicação das rotinas e das melhores práticas, interações nas relações interorganizacionais; b) Os fatores que influenciam na transferência baseados na agrupação de Szulanski (1996): características do conhecimento, da fonte, do receptor e do contexto. Depois da análise da literatura se realizou o trabalho de campo empregando a metodologia de entrevistas em profundidade, utilizando questionários semi-estruturados nas empresas dos diferentes elos da cadeia. Chegando aos seguintes resultados. No caso peruano da cadeia têxtil de fibra de alpaca, se verificou que é uma cadeia que oferece um produto exclusivo e escasso, bem estruturada, com relações de fornecimento bem estabelecidas. A maioria das empresas da cadeia pertence ao mesmo grupo econômico e se identificou que a governança da cadeia está na empresa de fiação, que por sua vez coordena os principais fluxos de conhecimento. A principal forma de transferência de conhecimento que ocorre na cadeia é a transferência de melhores práticas, devido ao fato da indústria ter seus principais clientes no exterior, exigindo que as empresas locais possam aprimorar todos seus processos para satisfazê-los. Também se verificou que a disposição para compartilhar o conhecimento é positiva e que o principal limitante em alguns casos foram diferenças culturais entre alguns agentes. No caso brasileiro, da cadeia têxtil de fibras mistas, observou-se que esta cadeia é mais dinâmica, não existe exclusividade no fornecimento, e é fortemente influenciada pela moda. Seus produtos são commodities, na qual todas as empresas dispõem do conhecimento e materiais para a fabricação das roupas. Não se identificou nenhuma empresa que possua a governança na cadeia. O ambiente de negócios é mais competitivo do que Peru e as principais formas de transferência constatadas foram: a engenharia reversa, transferência de pessoal, a observação e comunicação dentro das relações interorganizacionais. Sendo os relacionamentos mais dinâmicos e influenciados pela moda, o principal fator limitante é a ausência de uma estrutura interorganizacional que favoreça a transferência de conhecimento e que afetam por sua vez o desenvolvimento da confiança. / The study of knowledge transfer in the inter-organizational relationships within a supply chain put its focus on information flows over the efficiency gains. Although the efficient transfer of knowledge is seen like core for the success of the firm, most authors dont specify or test processes and mechanisms through which knowledge transfer takes place between organizations from a supply chain. Therefore, to understand the knowledge transfer within the chain, was defined the follow objective: to identify forms of knowledge transfer between participating companies from a supply chain and the factors that influence this process. By this way, were studied firms within a supply chain from the textile sector, one in Peru, the alpaca fiber textile chain and another in Brazil, a chain of mixed fibers (cotton and synthetic). On the theoretical basis, the main topics discussed are: a) forms of knowledge transfer on the basis of Argote et. al. (2000) grouping: movement of personnel, training, communication, observation, technology transfer, reverse engineering, routines and replication of best practices, interactions in inter-organizational networks b) Factors influencing transfer, based on Szulanskis (1996) grouping: features of knowledge, source, recipient and context. After literature review; a field work was enhanced using the methodology of in-depth interviews and using semi-structured questionnaires in firms from different links of the supply chain. Obtain the following results. In the case of the Peruvian textile chain of alpaca fiber, was verified that this chain is offering a unique and sparse good. It is well-structured, with supplier relationships as well established. Most companies in the chain belongs to the same group and was founded that the governance of the supply chain is in the spinning company, which in turn coordinates the main knowledge flows. The main form of knowledge transfer that occurs in the chain is the transfer of best practices; due to the fact the industry has its main customers abroad. By this way local businesses needs to improve all its processes to satisfy them. Also founded that, willingness to share knowledge is positive and that the main limiting in some cases were cultural differences among some agents. In Brazil, the textile supply chain, mixed fibers, was observed that this supply chain is more dynamic, there is no exclusivity in the provision, and is strongly influenced by fashion. Its products are commodities, in which all firms have the knowledge and materials in order to clothing manufacture. It was not identified any firm that maintains the governance over the supply chain. The business environment is more competitive than Peru and the main forms of transfer observed were: reverse engineering, transfer of personal observation and communication within inter-organizational relationships. Social relations are the most dynamic and influenced by fashion, the main limiting factor is the absence of a cross-organizational structure that fosters the transfer of knowledge and that in turn affect the development of trust.