O propósito desta tese é investigar de que forma ocorre a interveniência de quatro fatores críticos no trabalho de equipes de projeto de inovação tecnológica, na medida em que estas criam conhecimento. São admitidos como fatores críticos a competência individual, a competência informacional, a cultura de inovação e a comunicação. Como principal contribuição, objetiva-se propor um modelo de quatro dimensões com as relações resultantes entre o conhecimento criado pelas equipes e os fatores críticos que influenciam a sua criação. Essas dimensões destinam-se a auxiliar o processo de formação de equipes, mais especificamente na escolha dos membros. As equipes de projetos selecionadas para compor o estudo fazem parte do programa Pesquisa em Parceria para Inovação Tecnológica (PITE) da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). A escolha do tema se justifica pela carência de pesquisas empíricas com tratamento particular a cada um dos processos de conversão de conhecimento, bem como pelo fato de que a chave para o entendimento de sucessos e falhas na criação de conhecimento por equipes inovadoras está na identificação e avaliação das condições prévias, aqui denominadas fatores críticos, necessárias para que o esforço prospere. Preservando-se o ineditismo característico de teses de doutorado, as equipes do programa PITE da FAPESP são estudadas pela primeira vez, de forma exploratória. Como técnica qualitativa de análise de dados, utiliza-se da análise de conteúdo categorial. Os principais resultados apontaram fortes relacionamentos entre o fator crítico 1 (competência individual) e a externalização do conhecimento; o fator crítico 2 (competência informacional) e a combinação do conhecimento; o fator crítico 3 (cultura de inovação) e a internalização do conhecimento; e o fator crítico 4 (comunicação) e a socialização do conhecimento. Advindos destas relações, foram encontrados doze padrões de comportamento nas equipes estudadas. / The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the intervention of four critical factors in the work of project teams for technological innovation occurs, while they create knowledge. Critical factors admitted are individual competence, informational competence, innovation culture and communication. As the main contribution, the research aims to propose a model of four dimensions of the resulting relationships between the knowledge created by the teams and the critical factors that influence its creation. These dimensions are intended to assist the process of team formation, more specifically in the selection of members. Project teams selected to comprise the study are part of the Research Partnership for Technological Innovation (PITE), from the Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP). The choice of this subject is justified by the lack of empirical research with particular treatment to each of the processes of knowledge conversion, as well as by the fact that the key to understanding the successes and failures in knowledge creation by innovative teams is the identification and evaluation of preconditions, here called the critical factors, necessary for the effort to flourish. As a way to preserve the originality, characteristic of doctoral thesis, the project teams of the program PITE-FAPESP are studied for the first time, in an exploratory approach. As a qualitative technique of data analysis, the categorical content analysis is used. The main results showed strong relationships between the critical factor 1 (individual competence) and externalization of knowledge; the critical factor 2 (information literacy) and the combination of knowledge; the critical factor 3 (innovation culture) and internalization of knowledge; and the critical factor 4 (communication) and socialization of knowledge. Moreover, deriving of these relations, twelve patterns of behavior were found in the studied teams.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-09-26T16:43:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosemary Francisco_.pdf: 7758052 bytes, checksum: 44ca1c4c6afa003c13d4783f220148be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-26T16:43:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosemary Francisco_.pdf: 7758052 bytes, checksum: 44ca1c4c6afa003c13d4783f220148be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-30 / Nenhuma / Mobile workers are professionals who frequently work on the move, far from a fixed workplace, often performing knowledge-intensive activities. Mobility brings challenges to the processes of knowledge creation and sharing of these workers, and the existing literature lacks theoretical frameworks to explain these phenomena. Considering this gap, this study seeks to answer the following research question: How knowledge creation and knowledge sharing are carried out in collaborative problem-solving situations in the mobile workers’ context? The primary purpose of this investigation is to analyse how knowledge creation and knowledge sharing are carried out in collaborative problem-solving situations in the mobile workers’ context. To reach the research goals, this study applied Activity Theory (AT) and its key concepts as a theoretical lens. This theoretical approach allowed better understanding both the individual (the mobile worker) as well as his relations in his/her social context. Besides, the adoption of the Design Science Research method (DSR) provided tools for a deeper understanding of the research problem and also to propose an approach to stimulate knowledge creation and sharing through collaborative problem-solving in the mobile workers’ context. The results of this study helped to understand the fundamental needs of mobile workers related to knowledge creation and knowledge sharing to solve work problems. It was observed that these workers use their ICT tools, especially mobile ICT, to conduct the majority of their collaborative problem-solving situations and subsequently, to create and share knowledge on the move. The findings also highlight how mobile technologies are used to support collaborative problem-solving in the mobile work’ context. Therefore, the key argument tested and supported in this thesis is that collaborative problem-solving mediated by mobile ICT can support and stimulate knowledge creation and knowledge sharing in the context of mobile workers. This research makes a theoretical contribution by exploring this key argument with the use of AT as a theoretical lens. Since this theory was not used so far to analyse practices of knowledge creation and sharing in the context of mobile workers, this study contributes to the expansion of this theory in this subject. The results of the empirical data also provided lessons from the practice that can contribute to the theory, mainly considering the diversity of workplaces that mobile workers can use to perform their work activity. Also, this study provides methodological and practical contributions; through a detailed descriptive of how to apply the DSR in IS (Information Systems) studies, in addition to the artifact developed that can be used in practice. Finally, this study addresses some questions that can be explored in future research. / Trabalhadores móveis são profissionais que freqüentemente trabalham em movimento, longe de um local de trabalho fixo, muitas vezes realizando atividades intensivas em conhecimento. A mobilidade traz desafios aos processos de criação e compartilhamento de conhecimento para esses trabalhadores, e a literatura existente carece de frameworks teóricos para explicar esses fenômenos. Considerando esta lacuna, este estudo procura responder à seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: Como a criação e o compartilhamento de conhecimento são realizados em situações colaborativas de resolução de problemas no contexto dos trabalhadores móveis? O objetivo principal deste estudo é analisar como a criação e o compartilhamento do conhecimento são realizados em situações colaborativas de resolução de problemas no contexto dos trabalhadores móveis. Para alcançar os objetivos da pesquisa, este estudo aplicou a Teoria da Atividade (AT) e seus conceitos-chave como uma lente teórica. Esta abordagem teórica permitiu uma melhor compreensão tanto do indivíduo (o trabalhador móvel) quanto das suas relações no seu contexto social. Além disso, a adoção do método de pesquisa Design Science Research (DSR) proporcionou ferramentas para uma compreensão mais profunda do problema de pesquisa e também para propor uma abordagem para estimular a criação e o compartilhamento do conhecimento por meio da colaboração na resolução de problemas no contexto dos trabalhadores móveis. Os resultados deste estudo ajudaram a compreender as necessidades fundamentais dos trabalhadores móveis em relação à criação e ao compartilhamento de conhecimento para a resolução de problemas de trabalho. Observou-se que esses trabalhadores utilizam suas ferramentas de TIC, especialmente as TIC móveis, para conduzir a maioria de suas situações colaborativas de resolução de problemas e, posteriormente, criar e compartilhar conhecimento em movimento. Os resultados também destacam como as tecnologias móveis são usadas para apoiar a resolução colaborativa de problemas no contexto do trabalho móvel. Portanto, o principal argumento testado e suportado por esta tese, indica que a resolução colaborativa de problemas, mediada por TICs móveis, pode apoiar e estimular a criação e o compartilhamento do conhecimento no contexto de trabalhadores móveis. Esta pesquisa faz uma contribuição teórica explorando este argumento chave com o uso de AT como uma lente teórica. Uma vez que esta teoria não foi utilizada até agora para analisar as práticas de criação e compartilhamento de conhecimento no contexto dos trabalhadores móveis, este estudo contribui para a expansão desta teoria neste assunto. Os resultados empíricos também forneceram lições da prática que podem contribuir para a teoria, considerando, principalmente, a diversidade de locais de trabalho que os trabalhadores móveis podem usar para realizar suas atividades de trabalho. Além disso, este estudo fornece contribuições metodológicas e práticas; por meio de um descritivo detalhado de como aplicar o DSR em estudos de SI (Sistemas de Informação), além do artefato desenvolvido que pode ser usado na prática. Finalmente, este estudo endereça algumas questões que podem ser exploradas em futuras pesquisas.

This research investigates the impact of organizations' collaboration strategies and network positional variables on invention performance. Organizations, particularly those pursuing a differentiation strategy, are motivated to introduce novel products and services in order to remain competitive. Thus, two questions of interest to such organizations regarding the network dynamics of the invention process are: 1) What kind of strategies allow them to attain superior invention results? 2) What is the most advantageous structural positioning in a collaborative network of innovators? Three independent studies attempt to find answers to these questions by using three complementary study approaches. In the first study, in order to examine invention performance of organizations with different collaboration strategies, a simulation model is constructed and run at various levels of technological dynamism and with various types of invention tasks. The cognitive cooperation strategy, which pursues technological knowledge integration as a priority, is found to be the most effective strategy in most experiments. Success-driven cooperators, whose priority is to collaborate with the most effective performers in the network, provided the most consistent invention performance. Moreover, different strategies are shown to perform best at certain points of the industry environment space spanned by technological dynamism and invention type. The second study investigates the impact of positional metrics in a collaboration network on the inventive performance of organizations (as measured by the number of patents issued) by using survey data. Twenty-eight high-tech companies and universities located in Florida are surveyed to reveal their collaborative networking map. Network structural measures are obtained in order to test the hypotheses that high values in centrality metrics correspond with higher inventive performance. The regression analyses imply that degree and closeness centralities are predictive indicators of high inventive performance but the data does not support the significance of impact of local clustering. The third study analyzes the impact of positional metrics on inventive performance by using a national database for the announced research and production joint ventures. From the most inventive organizations (in terms of patent counts) 63 of them are selected for analysis. 371 research and production joint ventures are analyzed to identify their relationship network every year from 1994 to 2012. The results indicate that the number of joint venture partners, being close to other members of the network through network connections and strong local connectivity (except for their interaction effect) is associated with higher invention performance. All three studies bring new methodological contributions to the area of invention network research. The simulation study offers a new model in the area of collaborative invention networks. Furthermore, the ideas and practices developed during the construction of the agent based simulation model for the invention network can be adapted to similar areas of application. The survey study offers a holistic approach for the definition of connections in the development of invention network map and empirically tests it. The database study longitudinally analyzes the evolution of a highly accurate joint venture network over 19-year period while testing the impact of positional metrics with un-weighted and weighted calculation methods. Solutions to our health problems, communication or transportation needs etc. are not usually found due to some series of fortunate events. They are the product of an effective recombination process of technological knowledge. Moreover, effective invention performance is not only important for organizations individually, it is crucial for governments that are concerned with the problems of its citizens. Effective ways of facilitating the recombination of technological knowledge are addressed and presented to inform both companies and policy makers. Better understanding of the dynamics of the invention process will bring more solutions to existing problems.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to develop alternative models for analyzing the systems dynamics of a large group conference format called appreciative inquiry (AI) summits. I apply Luhmann’s social systems theory to the strategizing activities of AI summits to examine how this particular format is capable of generating organizational knowledge. An AI summit is a strategic planning conference in which hundreds of internal and external stakeholders collectively design the future of the organization through structured activities. It applies the principles of AI, a consulting method used in organizational development that attends to the positive aspects of an organization as opposed to its problems. Critics challenge this unconditional focus on the positive, questioning the validity of its methods and techniques. Indeed, very few rigorous evaluations of AI methods including AI summits exist. I propose a new approach for assessing the effectiveness of AI summits. I focus on knowledge creation as the dependent variable. Previous studies have shown that successful AI interventions generate new knowledge, not just transformational change. I conceptualize an AI summit as a strategic episode that allows an organization to temporarily suspend its routines and structures for strategic reflection. According to social systems theory, organizations are autopoietic (self-reproducing) systems that maintain their identity through an ongoing production of decision communications. An AI summit consists of three different types of systems that co-evolve and are structurally coupled: an organization system, interaction system and the individual participants’ psychological systems. I propose a typology for analyzing episodes during an AI summit as a starting point for determining the structural dynamics inherent in an AI summit system. Using illustrative examples from a case study, I identify five structural features of an AI summit that facilitate organizational knowledge creation, including reduced communication barriers and the production of decisions during the conference. The study contributes to the existing literature by identifying the important but understudied role of self-organizing project teams in the knowledge creation process at an AI summit. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Popular management literature routinely presents management discourses that offer managers with strategies or 'recipes' for organisational improvement. Practitioners often uncritically accept and implement strategies prescribed within these discourses. Management discourses are constantly evolving to seemingly provide newer and better solutions to organisations' problems. The evolutionary pressures are evidenced through the limited life spans of many of the strategies proffered in the various management discourses. So short have been the life spans of some of these management strategies that the question of faddism has been raised (Birnbaum, 2001). Over recent years knowledge management has filtered from the broader management discourse into the discourse of educational administration. Knowledge management practices are said to enable individuals within an educational organisation to add value to the information and knowledge that an organisation possesses. This research used self-study to examine the effectiveness of a school administrator attempting to model explicit knowledge management principles within his professional practice. A focus of the research was the critical investigation of knowledge management as a management fad or a framework for sustainable management behaviour. Employing the living theory approach to action research allowed me to ask questions about 'how' to improve my practice and to provide evidence to support my answers. It allowed me to examine my professional practice as an educational administrator who valued knowledge, its creation and use critically. My research learnings been have presented as propositions related to the 'how' of my professional practice and its influence on the creation and management of knowledge. The propositions are as follows. * Proposition 1: As an administrator my practices when working with knowledge are a reflection of my ontology and epistemology. To consciously vary my professional practices to facilitate knowledge creation and management it is essential for me to make my ontology and epistemology explicit. * Proposition 2: My professional practices related to information sharing and knowledge creation are directly influenced by psycho-social filters. Three primary psycho-social filters are context, need and relationships. * Proposition 3: The influence of the relationship filter on my knowledge creation activities is directly linked to the relationships that exist between me and those involved in the knowledge activities. The ongoing capacity for my professional practices to influence knowledge creation is linked through relationships by my personal resilience. * Proposition 4: My knowledge influencing practices are those practices that support the provision of opportunities for information sharing and the creation of knowledge with the specific intent of applying that knowledge in an organisational context. A primary application of the created knowledge is decision making. * Proposition 5: Knowledge creation is an ongoing process and knowledge is only relevant at a point in time and applicable in a particular context. * Proposition 6: My professional practices that influence information sharing, knowledge creation and decision making are explicit iterations of my power as an administrator. * Proposition 7: Involvement in the decision making process is one of my key roles as an administrator. Decision making is a major example of the creation and use of knowledge within a school. * Proposition 8: I acknowledge that stories are a valuable way for individuals to share information and they can act as a catalyst for the creation of knowledge. * Proposition 9: Using the knowledge management discourse as a framework to support the critique of my professional practice challenges its branding as a management fad. The propositions have been developed and tested through reconnaissance and two cycles of action research. These propositions have been integrated into a model representing my capacity as an administrator to influence the creation of knowledge.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / This thesis explores phenomena surrounding the creation of knowledge, employing a multidisciplinary approach. To start with a view on the physical location of knowledge is discussed. This helps highlight the problem of defining knowledge and simultaneously introduces a set of fundamental and conceptual questions about the phenomena surrounding the creation of knowledge . The set of questions are then focussed on the process of knowledge creation. The investigation starts in the field of archaeology, in particular at the dawn of modern civilisation, with views on the earliest forms of knowledge creation. From there the investigation moves on to aspects of contemporary neurology. This allows for a comparison between humans from the ancient past with humans of today thereby identifying a neurological link between these periods. Based on current research within the field of behavioural neurology it is posed that knowledge creation is a process initiated by the impact of electromagnetic fields on the brain. A review of the medical research within the neurological sciences on the effects of electromagnetic field stimulation shows it to be effective as a treatment modality, a behavioural modifier, a suppressor and facilitator of cognition, as well as a sensory modulator. The interaction of the brain with electromagnetic fields is shown as a form of transduction similar to that of regular sensory transduction. Since the transduction of electromagnetic stimuli can functionally modulate sensory reception, cognition, behaviour and some neurological conditions, the creation of sensory perception, cognition, behaviour and neurological conditions (all phenomena surrounding knowledge creation) can be shown as functionally dependant on the electro-chemical process of ferromagnetic transduction (magneto reception). The ferromagnetic transduction model may then be seen as the sensory mechanism that initiates and modulates the process of knowledge creation. The modulation of this process is revealed cognitively in savants, behaviourally in some of the greatest thinkers in history and on a planetary scale as a force of nature. The implications of these findings is that if the keys to the creation of knowledge have been found, great care needs to be taken when deciding to implement any type of artificial or natural modulation to neural firing rates not only because of the total effect modulation can have on the individual but also because of the social consequences resulting from those who wish to socially discriminate according to the ability of and beliefs arising from the knowledge creating process.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Innovation is widely considered a key prerequisite for achieving organisational competitiveness and sustained long-term wealth in our increasingly volatile business environment. It is therefore imperative that organisations enable themselves to relentlessly pursue constant innovation; to grow and mature their innovation capability. A study aimed at organisational support by means of business tools toward maturity growth in these innovation capability areas is therefore warranted. Knowledge management plays a fundamental role in the enterprise’s ability to innovate successfully, and the question arises whether knowledge management tools and organisational facilitating conditions can be used to grow innovation capability maturity. The existing literature on the subject is sparse, which led to the following research problem statement: No formal guidelines exist for the use of knowledge management to grow innovation capability maturity. Knowledge conversion is a prominent theme within the knowledge management field. Knowledge creation processes form the core of this knowledge creation model and therefore, one solution to the above-stated problem is to investigate the use of knowledge creation processes to grow innovation capability maturity. This notion provides the platform for aligning knowledge creation processes to the requirements for innovation capability growth from one maturity level to the next as the cornerstone for developing a knowledge management framework that enables innovation capability maturity growth. In order to align these knowledge processes with the requirements for growth in innovation capability maturity, the author identified a knowledge creation path as a key enabler for maturity growth in each innovation capability area. Knowledge management tools and organisational facilitating conditions that support the specific knowledge processes highlighted in the identified path were identified through a literature study and subsequently synthesised to form a framework. The impact of this framework lies in providing guidelines for the use of knowledge management as a vehicle for innovation capability maturity growth. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Innovasie word allerweë beskou as ’n kernvereiste vir die verkryging van organisatoriese mededingendheid en volhoubare langtermynsukses in ons toenemend wisselvallige sake-omgewing. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat organisasies hulself in staat stel om meedoënloos konstante innovasie na te streef; om hul innovasievermoë uit te brei en volwassenheid daarin te bereik. ’n Studie gemik op organisatoriese ondersteuning deur middel van sake-hulpmiddels ten einde groei in volwassenheid in hierdie innovasievermoë-areas te bereik, is dus nodig. Kennisbestuur speel ’n fundamentele rol in die onderneming se vermoë om suksesvol te innoveer, wat die volgende vraag ontlok: Kan kennisbestuurhulpmiddels en organisatoriese fasiliteringsomstandighede gebruik word om innovasievermoëvolwassenheid te bereik? Die bestaande literatuur oor die onderwerp is gebrekkig, wat aanleiding tot die volgende probleemstelling gegee het: Daar is geen formele riglyne vir die gebruik van kennisbestuur om innovasievermoëvolwassenheid te verbeter nie. Kennisomskakeling is ’n prominente tema in die gebied van kennisbestuur. Kennisskeppingsprosesse vorm die kern van hierdie kennisskeppingsmodel en daarom is een oplossing tot bogenoemde probleem om die gebruik van kennisskeppingsprosesse om innovasievermoëvolwassenheid te verbeter, te ondersoek. Hierdie idee skep ’n platform om kennisskeppingsprosesse met die vereistes vir innovasievermoëverbetering van een volwassenheidsvlak tot die volgende te belyn, as hoeksteen vir die ontwikkeling van ’n kennisbestuurraamwerk om innovasievermoëvolwassenheid te verbeter. Ten einde hierdie kennisprosesse met die vereiste vir groei in innovasievermoëvolwassenheid te belyn, het die outeur ’n kennisskeppingspad as kernelement geïdentifiseer om volwassenheidsgroei in elke innovasievermoë-area in die hand te werk. Kennisbestuurhulpmiddels en organisatoriese fasiliteringsomstandighede wat die spesifieke kennisprosesse wat in die geïdentifiseerde pad uitgelig word, ondersteun, is deur middel van ’n literatuurstudie geïdentifiseer en daarna gesintetiseer om ’n raamwerk te vorm. Die impak van hierdie raamwerk lê daarin om riglyne vir die gebruik van kennisbestuur as ’n middel tot innovasievermoëvolwassenheidsgroei te bied.

Background: Today’s organizations operate in a competitive and dynamic business environment in which the attainment of economic, social and environmental sustainability targets has become crucial for firms. Supply chain collaboration is considered as a strategic issue for the fulfillment of these targets. Thus, studies on supply chain collaboration for sustainability have increased, especially for manufacturing firms. However, there is a lack of research of the perspective of logistics service providers in this context, requesting scientific investigations. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore vertical supply chain collaboration between logistics service providers and their partners with regards to improving economic, environmental and social sustainability at logistics service providers. Method: Within this multiple case study and a deductive research approach, qualitative data from three logistics service providers is gathered by conducting interviews and analyzed. Firstly, each individual case is investigated by using an explanation building, and thereafter compared and generalized by means of a cross-case analysis. Findings and Conclusion: Considering the improvement of sustainability at logistics service providers, the research reveals that economic, environmental and social sustainability can be improved by vertical supply chain collaboration jointly conducted by logistics service providers and their key suppliers as well as key customers. However, strong interdependencies between the three sustainability dimensions are noticeable as they overlap in-between. Besides, the findings indicate that the executed vertical supply chain collaboration practices mostly have the potential to improve economic sustainability at logistics service providers. Environmental and social sustainability are less improved or sometimes even negatively affected.

Submitted by Clebson Anjos (clebson.leandro54@gmail.com) on 2015-12-07T18:13:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2147946 bytes, checksum: 0f50e8623b826fead8a8119786748d8b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-07T18:13:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2147946 bytes, checksum: 0f50e8623b826fead8a8119786748d8b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Faced with a scenario in which knowledge has become essential for organizations, and considering the prospect that the organizational culture is strongly related to how an organization creates its knowledge, the present study aimed to analyze the possible associations between the elements the organizational culture of a federal organization of higher education, from the theoretical perspective of knowledge creation process. To accomplish this association, the design models of organizational culture Alves (1997), and the model of knowledge creation of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1997) were used. The participants were 69 technical and administrative staff and 67 serving teachers of the Humanities Center, Social and Agricultural (CCHSA) of the Federal University of Paraíba. A questionnaire on line was applied containing 16 questions related to the sets of cultural elements of Alves model. The collected data were analyzed quantitatively using the chi-square test and factor analysis. Qualitative analysis was performed by means of consultation documents and observation of the organizational environment. The results of the cultural elements pointed to the existence of a slow decision-making process, however rational and participatory, with emphasis on a hierarchical organizational structure. The leaders were considered tolerant of occurrence of deviance and technical flaws in the institution. Training and capacity building mechanisms were satisfactory only for the group of administrative staff. However, co-operation to obtain the knowledge was only emphasized to the group of teachers. Leaders were seen as reasonable people, and the importance given to the hierarchy was considered reasonable. All identified cultural elements were associated with one or more aspects of the process of knowledge creation, especially at enabling condition 'autonomy'. From the analysis, it was concluded that there is a significant association between organizational culture and the creation of knowledge in the research organization. This suggests that understanding this relationship can promote improvements in the quality of institutional management. / Diante de um cenário em que o conhecimento se tornou imprescindível para as organizações, e considerando a perspectiva de que a cultura organizacional está fortemente relacionada à maneira como uma organização cria o seu conhecimento, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar as possíveis associações entre os elementos da cultura organizacional de uma organização pública federal de ensino superior, sob a perspectiva teórica do processo de criação do conhecimento. Para realizar essa associação, foram utilizados os modelos de delineamento da cultura organizacional de Alves (1997), e o modelo de criação do conhecimento de Nonaka e Takeuchi (1997). Participaram da pesquisa 69 servidores técnico-administrativos e 67 docentes ativos do Centro de Ciências Humanas, Sociais e Agrárias (CCHSA) da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Foi aplicado um questionário on line, contendo 16 perguntas relacionadas aos conjuntos de elementos culturais do modelo de Alves. Os dados coletados foram analisados quantitativamente por meio do teste Qui-quadrado e da Análise Fatorial. A análise qualitativa foi realizada por meio de consulta de documentos e observação do ambiente organizacional. Os resultados encontrados sobre os elementos culturais apontaram a existência de um processo decisório lento, porém racional e participativo, com ênfase numa estrutura organizacional hierarquizada. Os dirigentes foram considerados tolerantes em relação à ocorrência de desvios comportamentais e de falhas técnicas na instituição. Os mecanismos de treinamento e capacitação foram satisfatórios apenas para o grupo de técnicos administrativos. No entanto, a cooperação para se obter o conhecimento só foi enfatizada para o grupo dos docentes. Os líderes foram vistos como pessoas acessíveis, e a importância dada à hierarquia foi considerada razoável. Todos os elementos culturais identificados foram associados a um ou mais aspectos do processo de criação do conhecimento, principalmente à condição capacitadora 'autonomia'. A partir das análises, concluiu-se que existe uma importante associação entre a cultura organizacional e a criação do conhecimento na organização pesquisada. Isso sugere que compreender essa relação pode promover melhorias na qualidade da gestão institucional.

Agile methods for software development have become popular, especially since the agile manifesto was written in 2001. Many positive effects have been found in organizations using agile methods, but also several dangers. Communication and collaboration in teams is often mentioned as something that works well with the methods, but interactions between teams are often lacking. Since agile teams are cross-functional and focused on products rather than specializations, knowledge becomes spread out in the organization. Within teams, different members often have different deep knowledge, but instead have a lot of knowledge about their products in common. This allows them to discuss knowledge related to the product well, but limits their possibility to discuss advanced topics and experiences regarding their deep knowledge or specialization within their team. These issues are important to consider when applying agile methods in organizations, and the research about the issues is quite thin.   In this research, I have taken an interpretive approach and carried out a case study at the development department of a medium-sized IT company providing large software systems for the healthcare industry, for which I have used the pseudonym MedTech. Three different teams have been studied through interviews with all members as well as observations of agile practices like daily meetings. Further, I have studied three different knowledge practices that MedTech uses to complement the creation and sharing of knowledge that happens in teams. These three complementary knowledge practices had different forms and handled knowledge in different ways. One was closely related to what literature often calls communities of practice, which are groups where members share an interest and interact to deepen their knowledge. In this practice at MedTech, meetings were used to discuss experiences and knowledge about topics within specific areas. Another was more focused on one-way communication through presentations and reading tips, spreading more basic knowledge to a wider audience. The third complementary knowledge practice let employees use 12 work hours every sixth week to do whatever they wanted that related to their knowledge, allowing them to e.g. explore new technologies and be creative or simply read up on some interesting topic.   My results show that agile teams support some sharing and creation of knowledge, especially through having members work closely to each other and share experiences, and through practising their skills in daily work, with help from each other when necessary. Like other research has shown, there was however a lack of practices for interactions between teams in the agile methods. Such interactions were crucial since I found teams to be comparable to theories about communities of knowing, where teams create strong perspectives, the sharing of which is important for utilization and creation of knowledge. The complementary knowledge practice that related to communities of practice was shown to be good for connecting employees with similar specializations, who would normally be separated in different teams. This allowed for creation and sharing of knowledge as individuals needed to explain their experiences and could combine knowledge from different members of the community. The other two complementary knowledge practices were shown to be good for increasing motivation to create and share knowledge, and showing that the organization valued the knowledge of individuals.