As the traditional sources of competitive advantage can no longer provide a sustainable edge for business; the contemporary approach to global business strategy point to core competencies, invisible assets, and organizational capabilities as key factors influencing MNC¡¦s long-term success in global markets. An organization¡¦s intellectual assets are said to be a pack of knowledge under that firm¡¦s ownership or control, through services and the embodiment in firm¡¦s outputs to flow over time period. Knowledge especially has become the most strategically important resource and the potential to compete for advantages among MNCs to advance themselves in the information-driven societies. Derived from theoretical origins of resource-based view and behavioral perspective, an integrative framework from a sample set of 129 further concludes six determinants that enable MNC to build layers of knowledge-based global competence to compete and sustain advantages globally using structural equation modeling (SEM). Human interface, ISO, and parent innovation are found to have direct effect to firm¡¦s knowledge-based global competence, while IT, transnational innovation, and substantial investment in human capital are found to link indirectly through mediating effect of learning culture. From the resource perspective of the firm, as emerging country in its early phase of internationalization as Taiwan, local capabilities for knowledge innovation at host await to be developed over time and hence focal units rely on knowledge inflows from parent to assist their needs. Such interdependence between globally linked and locally leveraged for innovation makes externalized knowledge important for effective knowledge diffusion across network of subsidiaries aside from use of personnel flows for transferring implicit knowledge, IT for transferring explicit knowledge, and ISO for transferring codified knowledge, each requires good integration mechanisms to keep culture, language, and communication barriers to the minimum in cross-cultural settings. Investment in human capital and implementation of learning culture can benefit company enormously from movement of people either horizontally or vertically in terms of learning and sharing through socialization, and building a network of cross-functional interdependence for transferring knowledge, expertise, and sets of common goals and values for synergy.

E-learning became the trend in view of the fact that computer technology and the rapidity of globalization had revolutionized the atmosphere of learning as well as education more than ever during the 21st century. The core intention of this study is to present the correlation between e-learning environment and learning outcome based on knowledge creation model from the view point of knowledge management. The SECI model suggested by Nonaka & Takuichi (1995) and Ba model suggested by Nonaka & Konno (1998) were used to divide e-learning environment into four divisions including original ba, dialoguing ba, systemizing ba, and exercising ba. Each diverse division supported a certain knowledge creation behavior counting socialization, externalization, combination, as well as internalization. Designed questionnaires were given to gather study information and further statistic data in order to observe whether knowledge creation behaviors related to learning outcomes. The results demonstrated that four e-learning environments facilitated the four knowledge creation behaviors; along with these knowledge creation behaviors kept up a correspondence with learning outcome. To conclude, the findings of this study supported both SECI model and Ba model. In addition, the final results also proved both theories worked in virtual along with the realistic world.

Research of Knowledge Creation & Spread In Company -Case Study Abstract Knowledge management is one of the current hottest issues in academy and in practice. Nowadays, facing changeful and critical competitive environments, knowledge creation and spread management is the key resource to gain competitive advantage. The structure of this research is based on four modules of knowledge transformation; five-step modules in organization knowledge creation procedure and five circumstances of organization knowledge creation spiral, which advocated by Nonaka & Takeuchi (1994). The research designs contents of interviews in order to explore the influence of company competition in knowledge creation and spread management. The research also tries to integrate scopes of knowledge management researches by academic documents and deep interviews to explore and understand knowledge creation and spread management in company. The result shows most of companies know knowledge management is one of the internal core procedures. If it can establish a better knowledge management system earlier than competitor, then the company can develop it into a long-term major advantage by a spread of knowledge spiral even if it is tiny initially. In this case, manufacturers know customer¡¦s demands by feedback system management operating by customer claim service department. Then marketing and developing departments react punctually and supply suitable product and service in market. A tiny advantage can increase company¡¦s competition. This is increasing return economics. Keywoeds: Knowledge Management¡A Knowledge Creation & Spread ¡A Knowledge Conversion Model ¡A The Knowledge Spiral

<p>Problem</p><p>Knowledge is becoming ever more vital in today’s economy and organisations are realising the need to act on the advantages it provides. Knowledge is complex and contradictory, making it difficult to be created and managed by organisations.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this research is to see how knowledge is created and subsequently managed within an environment characterised by progress and innovation, and to identify the most problematic areas in knowledge creation processes as well as suggest improvements.</p><p>Method</p><p>Overall, qualitative methods were used in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with management level within three product development units, two of these were only used for support to the third and main case, Robotic Mowers. Issues of trustworthiness and ethical implications were confronted in order to provide the most advantageous method to conduct the study.</p><p>Result</p><p>Knowledge creation at Robotic Mowers originates from both external and internal sources. The most important external source and activity to create knowledge are suppliers/consultants and the most important internal sources is the use of tests. Further, the unit has a highly informal approach to the creation of knowledge and the management of it. Support to knowledge creation is mainly found in cultural aspects.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The unit’s knowledge creation is dependent on informal and unstructured interaction among group members and to external parties. Overall, low managerial control is exercised and the group has developed a strong culture that enhances informal ways of knowledge creation and its management. The main problem of knowledge creation is that the group fails to realise a long-term need, which is revealed through inadequate efforts in trying to turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.</p>

<p>The project-based nature of construction organisations creates a learning opportunity from most of the activities carried by these organisations. Knowledge is being created in the course of carrying core and non-core activities in the organisation. For organisations to make the most of this knowledge, a mechanism for tapping has to exist. Such tapping can occur through the organisation’s various activities and organisations stand to benefit if these activities are done strategically not only to tap, but also to create and transfer knowledge and ultimately enhance performance.</p><p>The study has henceforth analysed the knowledge transfer process of construction organisations in the Tanzania construction industry and explored how these organisations facilitate creation and transfer of knowledge. A survey in a pilot study in the year 2001 was conducted to refine and focus the study’s questions and propositions and a case study strategy of inquiry has been adopted for the main study. Four construction organisations in the Tanzania construction industry are studied.</p><p>The analyses from findings support the propositions set forth in the study and among others establish: the specificity of the knowledge transfer process in construction organisations, the situational nature of the knowledge being transferred, the ephemeral nature of goals and the “selling of jobs” in construction sites influencing incentives for knowledge management initiatives. The study further establishes that there are inadequate attributes towards knowledge creation in the organisations. That: there is limited practice of on-the-job training, peer assist and learning by imitation; codification of procedures, rules, and checklists is done insignificantly or absent completely; networking of knowledge is poor; experience sharing and learning by doing is low.</p><p>In effect the study proposes an optimal knowledge transfer process for construction organisations in Tanzania using an IDEF0 business process model, and explores the cost-effectiveness for organisations in the industry pursuing knowledge management initiatives such as the knowledge transfer process. Lastly, recommendations for construction organisations at policy and functional level are made.</p>

Problem Knowledge is becoming ever more vital in today’s economy and organisations are realising the need to act on the advantages it provides. Knowledge is complex and contradictory, making it difficult to be created and managed by organisations. Purpose The purpose of this research is to see how knowledge is created and subsequently managed within an environment characterised by progress and innovation, and to identify the most problematic areas in knowledge creation processes as well as suggest improvements. Method Overall, qualitative methods were used in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with management level within three product development units, two of these were only used for support to the third and main case, Robotic Mowers. Issues of trustworthiness and ethical implications were confronted in order to provide the most advantageous method to conduct the study. Result Knowledge creation at Robotic Mowers originates from both external and internal sources. The most important external source and activity to create knowledge are suppliers/consultants and the most important internal sources is the use of tests. Further, the unit has a highly informal approach to the creation of knowledge and the management of it. Support to knowledge creation is mainly found in cultural aspects. Conclusion The unit’s knowledge creation is dependent on informal and unstructured interaction among group members and to external parties. Overall, low managerial control is exercised and the group has developed a strong culture that enhances informal ways of knowledge creation and its management. The main problem of knowledge creation is that the group fails to realise a long-term need, which is revealed through inadequate efforts in trying to turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.

The increasing globalisation of the market is followed by increased competition between organisations. Therefore it becomes more important to create products with high customer value. To be able to create customer value, deep understanding of the customers’ needs must be obtained by employees, shared between them and transformed into products. Further consequences of globalisation are increasing differences between customers’ needs, which results in demand for customisable and flexible products.The purpose of this study was to analyse how organisations can create more customer value through increased knowledge integration. The focus was on how knowledge that already resides within a globally dispersed organisation can be integrated during the product development process.This study showed that customer value is created throughout the product development process by integrating the knowledge held by R&amp;D and internal stakeholders. Different types of value are created at different phases in the product development process. One important finding is that different parts of the augmented value are created throughout the entire product development process. Since employees obtain different knowledge depending on which customer they interact with, it is important to utilise knowledge from a large number of employees with different roles and in different countries. Hence, the significance of knowledge integration must be disseminated and understood across the organisation. After completing the product development process additional customer value is created by the internal stakeholders’ who sell and implement the product, but it is during the product development process that the basis for their value creation is established.Knowledge needs to be integrated in a formalised, repeatable way, so that the R&amp;D department can ensure that the right product is developed at the right time. Integration means that the tacit knowledge that resides within one employee is codified into an explicit form that can be exploited by more employees. Therefore, four steps must be performed and repeated iteratively to create and spread knowledge throughout the organisation. The first step includes communication by exchanging tacit knowledge. The second step entails documenting the knowledge, and the third step involves combining the knowledge residing in the organisations into one common knowledge system. The final step includes distributing the knowledge so that it recievess wide attention within the organisation. Several factors that have a negative impact on these four steps, and knowledge integration, need to be countered somehow. However, it was found that there are several mechanisms that facilitate knowledge integration, and most often the presence of several mechanisms at the same time had a better effect.

What operational factors can explain the performance differences between manufacturing firms? Scholars have produced a significant volume of research that examines the linkages between operational factors (resources and practices) and firm performance. There is agreement that organizational capabilities mediate the relationship between operational factors and firm performance. However, due to the numerous and sometimes contradictory definitions of organizational capabilities in the literature and because organizational capabilities includes non-operational factors, it has been suggested that operational capabilities, as a sub construct of organizational capabilities, is more appropriate for establishing an empirical relationship between operational factors and firm performance. Scholars have argued that process improvement practices facilitate the development of operational capabilities, which can consequently lead to improved firm performance. Other scholars have argued that process improvement practices facilitate organizational knowledge creation, which can also influence firm performance. We integrate these two theoretical perspectives into a single conceptual model that better explains the relationship between knowledge-creating practices and firm operational performance. Specifically, we argue that knowledge-creating practices play a significant role in developing a firm’s operational capabilities, which in turn, influence firm operational performance. This research investigates the existence of a relationship between organizational knowledge creation and firm operational performance that is mediated by operational capabilities.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between knowledgesources, knowledge capacities, and business model innovation in small medium-sizeenterprises (SMEs) and discover the specific pattern among the three groups. Design/methodology - A total of 103 SMEs' CEOs, entrepreneurs and seniormanagers provide the samples for exploratory factor analyses and multiple regressionanalyses. The data is collected by self-completion survey based on perceptualmeasurement of constructs and also referred to objective data from companies' annualreports. Findings - The results indicate a significant relationship between knowledge sources,capacities and business model innovation. External knowledge interaction associatedwith the business network is positively contributed to business model innovation.Information system integration is directly related to business model innovation andmediates in the link between individual knowledge and business model innovation. Thebetter understanding of customers is also positively related to achieving a successfulbusiness model innovation. SMEs identify knowledge sources, develop knowledgecapacities and apply them specifically in different phases of business modelinnovation. Practical implications - To confront the big enterprises' sufficient knowledge, thisstudy inspires entrepreneurs and leadership of SMEs with the possibility of businessmodel innovation. By integrating and implementing the knowledge from external andinternal, SMEs can intentionally enable to map the phases of business modelinnovation, reach the helpful resources, proactively recognize the challenges andfinally achieve a competitive business model.Research limitations/implications - The confirmatory bias might miss out on thephenomenon occurring and the findings are still generally for direct application to aspecific situation. More focused case studies will be suggested in the future to furtherinvestigate the reality differing from individuals, strategies, sectors and nat ions. Inaddition, longitudinal studies with less time restriction will be feasible to understandhow knowledge and business model interact with each other. Originality/value - This study pioneers a measurement of success in business modelinnovation and a justification of overall influence of knowledge on business modelinnovation. By further implementing, some of the results testify the originality'svalidity in SMEs, others present exceptional findings beyond the previous theories.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the question of organisational knowledge creation in geographically dispersed settings. In Chapter 1, I describe Nonaka’s model of organisational knowledge creation and Weick’s theory of organisational sensemaking in more detail. In Chapter 2, the geographically dispersed organisation is examined in more detail, looking at socialisation, organisational culture and trust. In Chapter 3, communication dynamics within the geographically dispersed organisation are examined, with a focus on Media Richness Theory and the impact this has had on theories of communication across distance. In Chapter 4, the organisation is examined at the level of the team, discussing real world examples of dispersed knowledge creation from the knowledge management and sensemaking perspective, using research on globally dispersed software development teams practicing the Scrum methodology. The thesis comes to the conclusion that it is possible for knowledge creation to occur amongst geographically dispersed individuals, if they have learned how to make sense together. However shared frameworks are quicker and easier to develop in face-to-face settings, but as soon as the basis for it exists, the influence of geographic dispersal is reduced. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis ondersoek die kwessie van organisatoriese kennisskepping in geografies verspreide situasies. Die eerste hoofstuk beskryf Nonaka se model van organisatoriese kennisskepping en Weick se teorie van organisatoriese singewing. In die tweede hoofstuk word die fenomeen van geografies-verspreide organisering van nader beskou en bespreek in terme van die effek wat dit het op sosialisering, organisatoriese kultuur en vertroue. In die derde hoofstuk word die kommunikasie-dinamika in geografies verspreide organisasies ondersoek met 'n fokus op "Media Richness Theory" en die impak wat dit het op teorieë van afstandskommunikasie. In die vierde hoofstuk word die organisasies bestudeer op die vlak van die span. Hier word voorbeelde van verspreide kennisskepping vanuit die kennisbestuurs- en singewingsperspektiewe bespreek aan die hand van 'n oorsig oor navorsing oor globaalverspreide sagteware-ontwikkelingspanne wat die SCRUM-metodologie volg. Die tesis kom tot die slotsom dat dit kennisskepping in sulke kontekste kan plaasvind as die lede van die span saam sin kan maak. Gedeelde raamwerke word egter makliker en vinniger in gesig tot gesig situaties opgebou, maar sodra die basis daarvoor bestaan word die invloed van geografiese verspreiding minder.