Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [131]-139).

What specific factors contribute to Silicon Valley’s world-renowned success as a high technology district? How significant is California’s rejection of specific regulation restricting the mobility of technical professionals via the nullification of all non-compete agreements? Using in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs seeking to start their own companies, I argue that the ability to effectively ignore non-compete agreements in Silicon Valley is a critical yet understudied premise underlying Silicon Valley’s success. Scholars seeking to understand Silicon Valley’s global success and continuing allure must turn their attention to the effects of this regulation. My findings suggest that an analysis not only of these regulations but of the lack of enforcement around such regulations needs to be a central focus in understanding how Silicon Valley emerged as a high technological powerhouse.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Although there is a general consensus that the knowledge society and the knowledge economy has arrived, and that knowledge is a key business asset, organisations are still in the early stages of understanding the implications of knowledge management and intellectual capital. The rise of the new economy that is principally driven by information and knowledge can be attributed to the increased prominence of intellectual capital in organisations. Intellectual capital features prominently in recent economic, managerial, technological and sociological developments in a manner previously unknown and unforeseen. The challenge of this research assignment is typified by the problem statement and its objectives, namely: Although much has been written about knowledge management, the learning organisation and intellectual capital, little, if any, has been written about the relationship and correlation between knowledge management and intellectual capital management. The challenge seems to provide integrated guidelines and a practical implementation system as to how organisations can use both knowledge management and intellectual capital for the formulation of a comprehensive intellectual management approach. In an attempt to develop guidelines and a practical implementation system for a comprehensive intellectual capital management approach, the following was undertaken with this research assignment: Firstly, the impact of the knowledge economy on organisations is discussed. Secondly, practical guidelines are provided on how to manage knowledge in organisations. The various types of capitals are, furthermore, analysed and specific guidelines provided on how to harness these different capitals in the organisations. The new phenomena of the intellectual capital entrepreneur is also highlighted. Lastly, particular emphasis is provided to the formulation of a comprehensive intellectual capital management approach. Practical guidelines are also formulated for the implementation of a comprehensive intellectual capital management system for organisations. Based on this study, some of the most important conclusions drawn are that: • Successful management of knowledge is the basis for generating intellectual capital in organisations on any long-term basis. • The linking of knowledge management and intellectual capital activities is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of an intellectual capital management system in organisations. • A comprehensive intellectual capital management system can only be successfully implemented if organisations have structures in place to generate intellectual capital on an ongoing basis. Recommendations for further research include: • The impact of the knowledge economy on South African organisations should be determined. • Research should be done as to how organisations can integrate knowledge management and intellectual capital activities. • The current role and impact of the intellectual entrepreneur in South African organisations should be identified. • Guidelines that will enable organisations to measure intellectual capital should be developed. The problem statement, namely, to provide South African organisations with a practical and comprehensive intellectual capital management approach, is addressed in this research. Recommendations to enhance intellectual capital in organisations are provided and explained. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel daar algemene konsensus is dat die kennisgemeenskap en die kennisekonomie ‘n realiteit is, en dat kennis ‘n belangrike bate is, is organisasies nog in die vroeë stadiums om te begryp wat die implikasies van kennisbestuur en intellektuele kapitaal is. Die opkoms van die nuwe ekonomie, wat hoofsaaklik deur inligting en kennis gedryf was, kan toegeskryf word aan die toenemende prominensie van intellektuele kapitaal in organisasies. Intellektuele kapitaal figureer prominent in resente ekonomiese, bestuurs, tegnologiese en sosiologiese ontwikkelings op ‘n wyse wat voorheen onbekend en onvoorsien was. Die uitdaging van hierdie navorsingstaak word gekenmerk deur die probleemstelling en sy doelwitte, naamlik: Alhoewel heelwat geskryf is oor kennisbestuur, die lerende organisasie en intellektuele kapitaal, is baie min, indien enige, geskryf oor die verwantskap en korrelasie tussen kennisbestuur en intellektuele kapitaalbestuur. Dit blyk dat die uitdaging geïntegreerde riglyne verskaf en ook ‘n praktiese implementeringsisteem daarstel oor hoe organisasies beide kennisbestuur en intellektuele kapitaal kan benut vir die formulering van ‘n alomvattende intellektuele bestuursbenadering. In ‘n poging om riglyne en ‘n praktiese implementeringsisteem vir ‘n alomvattende intellektuele kapitaal bestuursbenadering te ontwikkel, is die volgende onderneem met hierdie navorsingstaak: Eerstens is die impak van kennisekonomie op organisasies bespreek, en tweedens is praktiese riglyne verskaf oor hoe kennis in organisasies bestuur moet word. Verder is verskeie tipes intellektuele kapitale geanaliseer en is spesifieke riglyne verskaf oor hoe hierdie verskillende kapitale in die organisasies toegepas kan word. Die nuwe verskynsel van die intellektuele kapitaal entrepreneur is uitgelig en besondere klem is gelê op die formulering van ‘n bestuursbenadering vir intellektuele kapitaal. Laastens is praktiese riglyne ook geformuleer vir die implementering van ‘n alomvattende bestuursbenadering tot ‘n intellektuele kapitaalsisteem binne organisasies. Met hierdie studie as basis is die volgende van die mees belangrike gevolgtrekkings: - Suksesvolle bestuur van kennis is die grondslag van enige langtermyn ontwikkeling van intellektuele kapitaal in organisasies. - Die ineenskakeling van kennisbestuur en intellektuele kapitaal aktiwiteite is ‘n voorvereiste vir die suksesvolle implementering van ‘n intellektuele kapitaal bestuursisteem in organisasies. - ‘n Alomvattende intellektuele kapitaal bestuursisteem kan alleenlik suksesvol geïmplementeer word as organisasies strukture in plek het om intellektuele kapitaal op ‘n deurlopende basis te genereer. Aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing sluit die volgende in: - Die impak van die kennisekonomie op Suid-Afrikaanse organisasies behoort bepaal te word. - Navorsing behoort gedoen te word met betrekking tot hoe organisasies kennisbestuur en intellektuele kapitaal aktiwiteite kan integreer. - Die bestaande rol en impak van die intellektuele entrepreneur in Suid- Afrikaanse organisasies behoort geïdentifiseer te word. - Riglyne behoort ontwikkel te word wat organisasies in staat sal stel om intellektuele kapitaal te meet. Die probleemstelling, naamlik om Suid-Afrikaanse organisasies te voorsien van ‘n praktiese en alomvattende intellektuele kapitaal bestuursbenadering, is in hierdie navorsing aangespreek. Aanbevelings om intellektuele kapitaal in organisasies te versterk is verskaf en verduidelik.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Although a number of studies into the reasons for merger failure point to cultural incompatibility as a major cause, little attention has thus far been given to the knowledge loss that occurs consequent to company mergers. Drawing on literature around knowledge, knowledge loss, reasons for mergers and acquisitions, organisational culture and merger failure, this case study examines the potential for knowledge loss in a company in the South African IT sector.

Knowledge Management (KM) and Business Intelligence (BI) are topics, which are receiving much currency in the literature of academia and the general media over the past several years. This thesis explores KM from the perspective of the acquisition of business intelligence inside and outside the organisation. We do this by undertaking an extensive survey of the literature in the field. This thesis provides an overview of the major concepts, approaches, and issues as well as some experiences and trends of KM, covering both organisational and technological aspects. Firstly, chapter 2 discusses various definitions of knowledge and KM as well as related terms like tacit knowledge and intellectual capital, from a philosophical, a technological and a business point of view. Secondly, chapter 3, describes the major components of KM, from a process perspective, a func- tional perspective and a technological perspective. Important processes include the setting of appropriate goals; the creation, discovery, acquisition and capture of knowledge. The chapter also describes the storage of that knowledge in knowledge repositories, the classification, re- trieval, filtering and refinement of knowledge; the transfer and use of that knowledge. Finally, the chapter ends with how organisations may undertake the assessment, conservation and main- tenance of knowledge, and states that groupware, document management systems, intelligent agents, knowledge maps and expertise profiling are examples of technologies used in KM. iii The thesis then looks at the role of asynchronous groupware in enabling and harnessing the benefits of KM. Here, the research discusses how Information Technology (IT), and specifically, synchronous and asynchronous groupware, may be integrated with KM in a drive towards cre- ating BI. Chapter 4 also studies the term `business intelligence', with specific relevance to the identification of business opportunities, and the application of the concepts of intellectual capital (IC). Chapter 5 outlines the research methodology, which includes two surveys on KM awareness and KM practices in order to gauge the level of implementation and application of KM for adding value to organisations. The research methodology also employs a case study to validate the implementation of an aspect of KM collaboration and knowledge sharing. The findings from the surveys give testament to the level of awareness and implementation of KM in best practice organisations. Chapter 7 then presents the approaches to measuring IC, and BI used by firms employing knowledge management practices to maintain their competitive advantage. In chapter 8, the researcher analyses how KM presentations and implementation in organisations may be operationalised. In chapter 9, the research presents the research model, the KM-BI model, which is the seminal objective of this thesis. The KM-BI model uses the confirmatory factor analysis procedure, Proc Calis of SAS Institute, to present a measurement model. In seeking to clarify the argument being made, a model is confirmed and discussed in terms of the transformation process from KM to BI and the subsequent competitive advantage. iv / Business Management / DBL

p. 1 - 147 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-01-23T19:30:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 bbbbbbbbb.pdf: 700892 bytes, checksum: 49c59ba6da02deb05ce1870bff499099 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-23T19:30:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 bbbbbbbbb.pdf: 700892 bytes, checksum: 49c59ba6da02deb05ce1870bff499099 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Esta dissertação trata do tema gestão de pessoas nas organizações intensivas em conhecimento (OIC), destacando que um dos fatores decisivos para o sucesso das organizações está na capacidade de gerenciamento do seu capital intelectual, como conhecimento e pessoas - mais especificamente, os profissionais do conhecimento, pois se acredita que numa era de grandes transformações e mercados altamente competitivos, as OICs abandonam velhos padrões administrativos, buscando novos modelos de gestão com políticas e práticas que favoreçam a disseminação do conhecimento e a retenção desses profissionais tão especializados e qualificados. Além disso, considera-se que estes trabalhadores detêm o conhecimento e dominam a tecnologia, tornando-os capazes de fazer a diferença através de soluções criativas, proporcionando inovação e vantagem competitiva. Com essa visão, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi entender como acontece o modelo de gestão de pessoas em uma organização intensiva em conhecimento. Para tanto, escolheu-se a COMPOS - empresa de tecnologia caracterizada como uma OIC - onde se realizou um estudo de caso que buscou a compreensão do seu modelo de gestão, tendo como base as dimensões agency e community do modelo de gestão de pessoas proposto por Rousseau e Arthur. Deste modo, foi utilizado um instrumento que mediu a percepção dos gestores chaves quanto às práticas e políticas de gestão de pessoas, adotadas. As conclusões do estudo demonstram que, no contexto da nova era socioeconômica, as organizações intensivas em conhecimento tendem à adoção de práticas e políticas de gestão que valorizam as pessoas - a partir das suas qualidades como seres humanos e de suas capacidades de agir em defesa de seus próprios interesses - mas sem afastar-se dos interesses e benefícios que devem ser gerados para as próprias empresas, através do estabelecimento de um equilíbrio entre os limites individuais e coletivos. Tal resultado coaduna-se com o modelo híbrido, também proposto por Rousseau e Arthur – percebendo-se, assim, a preocupação por parte das OICs por uma sinergia entre as características de dois modelos tradicionalmente antagônicos, mas que tem demonstrado ser o que mais se aproxima do ideal - com o objetivo de alcançar uma vantagem competitiva sustentável. / Salvador

The purpose of this study was to outline how startups shape their intellectual capital to create incremental innovation. This has manifested itself as a black-box for practitioners and it has previously been unknown if startups and established firms differentiate themselves during such a process. A comparison was also made between startups in liberal market economies and the European coordinated market economies. A pilot study was conducted initially using an in-depth interview followed by a literature review, an examination of the intellectual capital construct as used in modern research and an online survey, which was sent to 2000 startups. We contributed through our findings with implications that startups construct their intellectual capital differently than established firms to generate innovation. The startups show a significant relationship between the human capital and incremental innovation as opposed to established firms that often put an emphasis on all the three dimensions of intellectual capital. We also found that there is no significant difference between liberal market economies and European coordinated market economies output of incremental innovation. However, they do differ in terms of the importance of relational capital in the creation of incremental innovation. The relational capital is more important in liberal market economies but does not affect the output of incremental innovation. We expect it has subsequent effects on the outcome of the incremental innovation since higher levels of relational capital could be manifested as a competitive advantage.

Para a teoria das empresas baseada em conhecimento, o processo de criação de valor não ocorre por meio dos fatores tradicionais de produção tais como capital, trabalho, terra, mas sim pelo capital intelectual e ativos de conhecimento. O capital intelectual é o estoque de conhecimento de uma organização, originado pela transformação do conhecimento tácito em explícito que pode ser aumentado através da sistematização e memória do conhecimento dos indivíduos. No entanto alguns elementos do capital intelectual, mesmo criando valor, não estão incluídos nos relatórios contábeis. Esse fato decorre de uma carência de modelos de mensuração de capital intelectual das empresas. Por outro lado, a vertente contábil da mensuração de capital intelectual está sujeita às normas e regras de cada país. No Brasil, não há um modelo de mensuração de capital intelectual compatível com as normas contábeis vigentes. A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo construir um modelo de mensuração de capital intelectual que avalie as influências dos seus elementos na lucratividade das empresas desenvolvedoras de sistemas, associadas aos arranjos produtivos locais (APL) de tecnologia da informação (TI) do estado do Rio Grande do Sul-RS. O método adotado foi o de abordagem exploratória, com caráter descritivo, de natureza quantitativa. A coleta dos dados foi realizada através de questionários auto-administrados. As técnicas estatísticas utilizadas para análise dos resultados foram as descritivas, análise fatorial exploratória, análise de correlação e regressão linear. Os resultados revelaram as influências dos elementos agrupados do capital intelectual, por indicadores não financeiros e financeiros na lucratividade. Os resultados possibilitaram também a construção da equação que gerou o Índice de Capital Intelectual - ICI de cada uma das 53 empresas participantes, através dos resultados coletados na pesquisa, que permitiram assim testar o modelo proposto. Com a identificação e avaliação do ICI, foi possível organizar um ranking ordenando as empresas dos maiores aos menores valores de ICI, que estão associados aos maiores e menores percentuais de lucratividade. O ICI pode ser mencionado nas notas explicativas das demonstrações contábeis, passando a percepção de maior valor agregado das empresas para o mercado de investimento. Em termos acadêmicos a principal contribuição do estudo reside na geração do modelo de avaliação de capital intelectual adequado a contabilidade moderna e ao sistema contábil brasileiro alinhado com as normas internacionais de contabilidade. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-09-28T18:01:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Fernando Luís Bertolla.pdf: 2199070 bytes, checksum: 740d8c4c4824ca15aff25fd6397e52a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-28T18:01:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Fernando Luís Bertolla.pdf: 2199070 bytes, checksum: 740d8c4c4824ca15aff25fd6397e52a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-28 / For knowledge-based business theory, the value creation process does not occur through traditional production factors, such as capital, labor, and land, but through intellectual capital and knowledge assets. Intellectual capital is the organization stock of knowledge, due to the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge that can be increased through the systematization of the individuals knowledge. However, some elements of intellectual capital, even that creates value, are not included in the accounting reports. This fact stems from a lack of models for measuring intellectual capital of companies. On the other hand, the accounting dimension of intellectual capital measurement may follow the rules and regulations of each country. In Brazil, there is no model for measuring intellectual capital compatible with current accounting standards. The objective of the present research was to construct a model of intellectual capital measurement that evaluates the influence of its elements on the profitability of the systems development companies associated with the local productive arrangements (APL) of information technology (IT) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul Sul-RS. The method adopted was the exploratory approach, with a descriptive character, of a quantitative nature. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. The statistical techniques used to analyze the results were descriptive statistics, exploratory factorial analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression. The results revealed the influences of the pooled elements of intellectual capital, by non-financial and financial indicators in profitability. The results also enabled the construction of the Intellectual Capital Index (ICI) equation of each of the 53 participating companies, through the results collected in the research, which allowed to test the proposed model. With the identification and evaluation of the ICI, it was possible to organize a ranking ordering the companies from the highest to the lowest values of ICI, which are associated with the highest and lowest profitability percentages. The ICI can be mentioned in the explanatory notes to the financial statements, expanding the perception of higher value-added by the companies to the investment market. In academic terms, the main contribution of the study lies in the generation of an intellectual capital evaluation model appropriate to modern accounting and to the Brazilian accounting system in line with international accounting standards.

Nesta tese procurou-se identificar, sob uma perspectiva teórica e empírica, no APLMMeA, as relações entre as condições capacitadoras, a criação do conhecimento, a inovação e o desempenho organizacional, bem como construir e validar um modelo que demonstrasse a relação entre estas variáveis. A pesquisa pode ser classificada como quantitativa, tendo um recorte transversal, sendo viabilizado por meio de uma survey; a coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de um questionário aplicado pessoalmente aos gestores das empresas de médio e grande porte pertencentes ao APLMMeA, que é um relevante polo industrial da região. Para fins desta tese, o questionário de pesquisa foi elaborado com base em escalas já validadas em pesquisas anteriores. Os métodos estatísticos empregados foram: análise fatorial, correlação múltipla, análise de regressão e modelagem de equações estruturais. Verificou-se que as condições capacitadoras possuem efeitos indiretos significativos sobre o desempenho organizacional por meio da criação do conhecimento e da inovação e que a criação do conhecimento possui efeito indireto significativo sobre o desempenho organizacional, por meio da inovação no modelo testado. As contribuições teóricas encontradas foram: o modelo construído e testado que mostra as relações entre as condições capacitadoras, criação do conhecimento, inovação e desempenho organizacional, as relações significativas das variáveis que compõem as condições capacitadoras e o efeito da mediação múltipla. Para a área gerencial, o referido modelo contribuiu para uma melhor compreensão das diferentes variáveis e suas respectivas relações de causa e efeito. Por conseguinte, as condições capacitadoras: : autonomia, intenção, redundância, variedade de requisitos e flutuação e caos criativo apresentaram relação entre si, o que refletiu positivamente na criação do conhecimento e na inovação, logo, essas condições devem ser estimuladas na formulação estratégica pela gestão. Para estudos futuros sugere-se realizar estudos longitudinais, incluir variáveis moderadoras no modelo proposto, criar escalas e aplicar pesquisa qualitativa como forma de aprofundamento dos dados obtido (sic). / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-11-24T17:01:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Tania Craco.pdf: 4057479 bytes, checksum: 5939d0bc5acfc173cf07959a0883b891 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-24T17:01:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Tania Craco.pdf: 4057479 bytes, checksum: 5939d0bc5acfc173cf07959a0883b891 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-24 / In this doctoral thesis we sought to identify, from a theoretical and empirical perspective, in the APLMMeA, the relations between the enabling conditions, knowledge creation, innovation and organizational performance, as well as to construct and validate a model that demonstrates the relation between these Variables. The research can be classified as quantitative, having a cross-cut, being made possible by means of a survey. The data collection was carried out by means of a questionnaire applied personally to the managers of medium and large companies belonging to APLMMeA, which is relevant Industrial pole of the region. For the purpose of this thesis the research questionnaire was elaborated based on scales already validated in previous researches. The statistical methods used were: factorial analysis, multiple correlation, regression analysis and modeling of structural equations. It was found that the enabling conditions have significant indirect effects on organizational performance through the creation of knowledge and innovation, and that knowledge creation has a significant indirect effect on organizational performance through innovation in the tested model. The theoretical contributions were: the constructed and tested model that shows the relationships between the enabling conditions, knowledge creation, innovation and organizational performance; the significant relationships of the variables that make up the enabling conditions; and the effect of multiple mediation. For the managerial area, this model contributed to a better understanding of the different variables and their respective cause and effect relationships. Therefore, the enabling conditions: autonomy, intention, redundancy, requisite variety, fluctuation and creative chaos presented a relationship between that reflected positively in the creation knowledge and innovation, so these conditions must be stimulated in the strategic formulation by the management. For future studies it is suggested to carry out longitudinal studies, to include moderating variables in the proposed model, to create scales and to apply qualitative research as a way to deepen the data obtained (sic).

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / This research reports on a study conducted in the railway industry in South Africa, the purpose being to help the railway industry by showing how a knowledge management system can be used in the task of extracting tacit knowledge. In the light of the fact that railways in many countries throughout the world function as an effective mass transportation system for passengers, this study aims to design and propose a model that will help the railway industry in South Africa in the task of implementing a knowledge management system to facilitate the process of extracting tacit knowledge from experienced employees and making it explicit knowledge in order to sustain railway system operations. This study looked at the process of designing a model that is presented as a recommendation to be used for a knowledge management system in the railway sector in South Africa. The aim of this study is not to provide a technical solution but to give a viable and workable reply to the main research question of this study: How can a knowledge management system be implemented or deployed to the railway sector?