The study examinesthe variety of interaction and motivation practices to participate in the sharing initiative as well as pinpointing key elements of member-driven organization functioning;in the case of Stockholm Makerspace– a community of non-professional makers.  The Current scholarship on sharing is mostly focused on the large-scale platform businesses in a North American context, thus evidence from grassroots small-scale initiatives is lacking. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing the empirically grounded sociological study of the operation of sharing initiative in Sweden. Data including 1) 11 in-depth interviews conducted with active members of the community and experts, 2) ethnographic observation in situations of planned workshops and everyday life of the Makerspace, 3) systematic online observation (in the role of observer as participant) (Gold, 1958). Therefore, this study employs mixed ethnography and digital methodology – studying sharing economy communities both online and in situto provide a ‘thick’ description of community building. The results revealed that members of the Stockholm Makerspace, acted as prosumers, and attempted to benefit not only from the community understudy, but also contributed to the societal development at large, by creating a public good. Shared access to tools and common “know-how” democratized production of knowledge and its spreading, thus contributing to informal learning, which complemented formal education institutions. The main incentives of sharing, vocalized by participants in the study were open-ended socializing and community commitment, as well as self-expression and belonging.

Almost every change within an organisation is done through projects; however this is  problematic, since projects often fail due to unavailable resources and a lack of quality. Therefore, management of the project's scope seems to be essential because it has an impact on the whole project performance. Consequently, the scope statement of the project needs to be well defined otherwise it can lead to significant issues during the whole project life cycle. To ensure a successful project and a well-defined scope statement, knowledge sharing within the project team is essential. However, to ensure that knowledge sharing occurs it is in the responsibility of the project manager to create a trustworthy environment, which can be seen as a challenge. Another problem within projects is that knowledge gets lost or is not stored at the end of a project, which is needed to prevent forthcoming projects from failing. The research topic was chosen because the impact of complex digitalisation projects within the public sector are under-researched. Since all German governmental agencies need to implement electronic files until 2020 according to the German E-Government Act (EGovG), the pioneer project ‘eAkte’ of the Federal Labour Office was chosen as the underlying case study of this thesis. With the combination of the different research areas a unique study is created, since the relationship is shown. To generate the required data for this study, semi-structured interviews with eight participants of the project eAkte were conducted. The findings of the thesis were divided into four main themes complexity, scope statement, knowledge as well as project challenges in order to see the relationship and interaction of the individual subjects. By connecting the findings with the chosen literature, it can be recommended to incorporate all affected parties in the creation process of the scope statement in order to ensure that the needed knowledge is included for specifying it. The thesis provides contributions for forthcoming digitalisation projects within the public sector in order to apply the new insights regarding the creation process of the scope statement. Further, a theoretical contribution has been conducted by combining the theories of project management, scope management and knowledge management to highlight the interaction of these subjects.

The aim of our study was to further investigate how power dynamics affect knowledge sharing through the perspective of consultants and within their relationships with clients. More specifically, we are hoping to better understand how consultants’ perceived power dynamics affect their collaboration with their clients and how they share their expertise. We have chosen to conduct a qualitative study with and have semi-structured interviews with consultants. According to our findings, the two concepts are highly connected since power and knowledge seem to be inseparable. Looking through the different consultants’ and clients’ relationships, this study reveals the existence of mutual dependencies and imbalances which affect the movement of knowledge as an outcome of the working process. The presence of collaboration is evident in our results and the existing resistance that clients show appears to facilitate knowledge sharing. Providing different examples of collaboration by the consultants, we argue that power dynamics evolve differently in different relations between the two main actors of the study and either work as an obstacle or facilitate the exchange of information, expertise, skills and know-how.

Through a qualitative case study, this paper explores how early adopters at the non-governmental organization Save the Children used the enterprise social media (ESM) platform Workplace by Facebook and identifies some challenges and opportunities. Data was collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed together with platform-generated user data, based on an affordance approach using three metaphors developed by Leonardi et al. (2013) that illustrate the different roles ESM often plays in organizational processes; leaky pipe (communication that everyone can see), echo chamber (communication among likeminded), and social lubricant (smooth and easy communication). The study concludes that early adopters used Workplace by Facebook to share and learn about program activities around the organization, to maintain and expand their social network, to perform their own work in more efficient ways, and to have fun. By facilitating learning across the organization, Workplace offers opportunities for program improvement and building social capital. There is a risk however, that these opportunities are never fully realized due to traces of a leader-centered culture which stifles honest communication. Workplace communities of coworkers with similar interests provided excellent opportunities for collaboration, innovation and creating a sense of belonging. However, a leader-centered culture can lead to closed and secret groups, hiding the knowledge for others to see, due to lack of trust. Fun, social-related groups such as Office Twins were highly appreciated among early adopters and helped strengthen relations and build social capital, although the blurred lines between social and work could lead to unwanted behavior such as romantic invitations.

Due to an increased importance for organisations to act according to ethical leadership, we identified the need to extend the perspective of how ethical leadership practices are developed, enhanced and spread among leaders horizontally. Since previous literature has focused on ethical leadership from a top management perspective, it is of interest to examine how ethical leadership is discussed and practised among middle managers as they encounter ethical dilemmas to a greater extent. By conducting a qualitative content analysis of interviews and documents, we declare a case study on middle managers in a tech company. Suggesting social learning as a proper lens to investigate our issue, we found that middle managers learn ethical conduct prominently via identification and knowledge sharing including feedback and reflection. By identifying important elements of ethical leadership, we could further interpret what practices were spread and reinforced among mid-level managers. These were the ability to be transparent, authentic, available and to value diversity, inclusion, and risk-taking for the sake of employees. However, it was evident that the horizontal learning of ethical conduct occurs in a reactive manner, triggered by events in a complex web of social learning. Therefore, in order for ethical leadership to regularly be learnt between the middle managers, a formal structure and the ethical culture can reinforce the way in which ethical leadership practices are spread horizontally.

Facing global challenges in the knowledge economy, the competitiveness of business organisations has transformed dramatically in recent years. With the increase in the significance of knowledge sharing to organisational growth, a lot of resources have been invested to the management of knowledge via technological applications. In the same line of argument, a wide range of literature has argued for the contribution of employees in the sharing of knowledge. However, there are few literature that discussed the impact of organisational factors on the integration of business processes and knowledge sharing. Given the amount of research on the importance of knowledge management to improve business processes and organisational knowledge, it becomes imperative to develop a clear understanding of the impact of organisational factors on knowledge sharing performance. Therefore, the primary aim of this research is develop and validate a functional knowledge sharing model which can facilitate and enhance organisational performance considering the impact of organisational factors for business-knowledge implementation. A conceptual framework is built based on thorough literature review of knowledge management, organisational factors, performance and in-depth discussion with knowledge experts. The proposed conceptual framework is empirically tested adopting a quantitative method with survey data using over 300 responses from manufacturing and service industries in seven countries across three continents for a comprehensive and balanced view. The data from the survey are analysed by using integrated techniques of both Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The fsQCA phase of this study discussed the comparative impact of organisational factors in the seven countries where survey data were collected and formulated the input and output variables for the measurement of knowledge sharing performance using DEA. With regard to the findings of the empirical research, three main constructs (knowledge sharing, organisational factors and performance) were successfully validated as dimensional constructs. The structural paths support conceptual framework that knowledge sharing has a positive influence on organisational competitive advantage, and organisational factors such as culture has a strong contribution to knowledge sharing performance. However, the direct impact of knowledge sharing on organisational performance is insignificant when key performance indicators are not identified. Various manufacturing and service organisations will potentially benefit from applying the results of this study to their knowledge sharing practices when seeking greater integration of multi business processes with accrued knowledge. The theoretical contribution of this study includes an integrated framework and model for knowledge transformation processes, knowledge sharing processes and knowledge sharing decision making for organisational performance.

Sustainable development (SD) is a pressing global issue that is becoming increasingly prominent on clients and governing bodies agendas. In order to survive, organisations are seeking ways to negate their detrimental environmental impacts. This is no easy feat: SD is both complex and dynamic. To be successful, organisations need to leverage and expand their most valuable asset – knowledge. Civil engineering plays a significant role in SD – it shapes our environment and governs our interaction with it. However, extant research asserts that civil engineering related disciplines have been slow to adopt SD oriented practices; a possible result of their complex and fragmented organisational environments. The literature suggests that effective knowledge sharing (KS) can overcome these barriers, thus driving enhanced SD performance. Consequently, this research aims to investigate how the civil engineering sector can improve its intra-organisational sharing of SD knowledge, using an international civil engineering consultancy as an exemplar. Whilst there has been much research surrounding KS and SD there has been limited research that has investigated KS for SD, thus this thesis contributes to this limited body of knowledge. Mixed-method research was used to address the abovementioned aim. An increasingly popular approach, it is widely believed to generate greater value through complementary integration of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. This approach lends itself also to the ethnographic inclinations of the reported research: the author was embedded within the case organisation, and sought a rich and reliable understanding of the study phenomena. An initial set of semi-structured interviews suggested that the case organisation’s members exhibit positive attitudes towards KS and SD, yet are often constrained by a number of common KS barriers, namely: a lack of organisation slack (i.e. time); a silo mentality; and poor SD ICT systems. These socio-cultural and technical barriers were subsequently investigated and contested using social network analysis techniques and an intranet acceptance model. A number of observations are made on the relationships between the findings from the research activities. It is believed the organisation often exhibits a reactive approach to KS for SD, which is deemed undesirable. This signals the need for greater senior management support to cultivate a culture where KS for SD is the norm and is integrated with work practices. A series of recommendations are provided to help the case organisation understand how such change could be cultivated. Several implications follow from this work. The mixed-method approach revealed a number of contradictions between the findings of each research activity. It is therefore postulated that mixed-method designs can provide a richer understanding, thus reducing misconceptions of KS phenomena. Following from this, the research contends that it may be too easy for researchers to identify with ubiquitous KS barriers as the reported research suggests that these may be perceived rather than actual. The research also reinforces the need for senior management support. These individuals govern the systems in which organisational members operate and thus have the ability to enhance KS for SD. Finally, the research demonstrates that SD ICT systems have little impact unless they are embedded in receptive contexts. Thus, an action research approach to KS system development is advocated to ensure systems are shaped to meet user expectations and drive desired KS behaviours. This research is presented in five peer-reviewed articles.

O conhecimento é um fator determinante entre organizações capazes de sobreviverem de forma competitiva em um ambiente em constante mudança, entretanto, quanto mais especializado for o nicho de mercado que as organizações pretendem atuar, mais complexo, raro e difícil é possuir conhecimento sobre as novas tecnologias. No âmbito do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP), é importante que organizações que decidem enfrentar em conjunto o desafio de inovar e criar novos produtos para o mercado consumidor tenham capacidade de realizar essa tarefa de forma racional e competitiva. Para atender esse objetivo, este trabalho apresenta uma revisão bibliográfica envolvendo: (i) a gestão do conhecimento, como foco nos processos de compartilhamento de conhecimento; (ii) modelos teóricos de desenvolvimento de novos produtos; e (iii) modelos de colaboração entre cliente e fornecedor em processos de desenvolvimento de produtos. Para validação dos resultados teóricos, foi realizado um estudo de caso, em uma empresa multinacional de manufatura, com o objetivo de esclarecer como ocorre o compartilhamento de conhecimento em projetos colaborativos Os resultados obtidos com essa pesquisa são: (i) a identificação das formas de compartilhamento durante um processo ordenado de desenvolvimento de produto em diversos tipos de colaboração entre cliente e fornecedor; (ii) identificação dos pontos de melhoria nos modelos de desenvolvimento de produtos visando à otimização dos processos de compartilhamento de conhecimento. Em termos práticos este trabalho mostra através de revisão de literatura e de estudo de caso que há diferentes níveis de compartilhamento de conhecimento em cada etapa do PDP, que são especialmente altos em projetos colaborativos, e também demonstra que cada tipo de colaboração entre empresa e fornecedor gera necessidades diferentes de compartilhamento de conhecimento, então este trabalho visa servir como ferramenta para profissionais que desejem aumentar seu entendimento sobre o processo de compartilhamento de conhecimento com os fornecedores visando obter melhores resultados no desenvolvimento de produtos. Do ponto de vista teórico, este trabalho apresenta uma forma não explorada de medir a intensidade do compartilhamento de conhecimento em cada etapa do PDP. / Knowledge is a determining factor among organizations capable of surviving in a competitive environment way in a constantly changing environment, however, as more specialized the niche market that organizations intend to be the more complex, rare and difficult it is to have knowledge about the new technologies. Within the Product Development Process (PDP) it is important that organizations who decide to jointly face the challenge of innovating and creating new products are able to perform this task in a rational and competitive manner. In order to meet this objective, this work presents a literature review involving: (i) knowledge management with focus on knowledge sharing processes; (ii) theoretical models of new product development and (iii) models of customer and supplier collaboration in product development processes. To validate the theoretical results a case study was conducted in a multinational manufacturing company aiming to clarify how knowledge sharing occurs in collaborative projects. The results obtained in this research are: (i) the identification of the forms of knowledge sharing during an orderly process of product development in several types of collaboration between client and supplier; (ii) Identification of improvement opportunities in product development models aiming the optimization of knowledge sharing processes In practical terms this work shows through a literature review and through case study that there is different levels of knowledge sharing in each phase of the PDP, that are specially high in collaborative, and also shows that each kind of cooperation between customer and supplier generates different needs of knowledge sharing, so this work seeks to serve as a tool for professionals who desire to increase their understanding over the process of knowledge sharing with suppliers aiming better results at the product development. From the theoretical point of view, this work presents an unexplored way of measuring the intensity of knowledge sharing in each stage of the PDP.

The influence of leadership engagement strategies on employee engagement affects the retail distribution industry in the form of lower productivity, decreased profitability, and reduced sustainability. In 2017, the retail distribution industry lost more than $50 billion annually due to leader's inability to develop and implement robust leadership strategies to engage employees. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the influence of leadership strategies on employee engagement used by leaders in the retail distribution industry in Florida. Transformational leadership was the conceptual framework for this study. Participants were purposefully selected because of their experience implementing leadership engagement strategies that engaged employees. Data were collected from face-to-face semistructured interviews with 8 leaders in the retail distribution industry with 2 of years leadership experience and the review of organizational documents on employee engagement and productivity. Data analysis comprised coding archival documents, reassembling journal notes, and interpreting semistructured interviews. Three themes emerged from the analysis of data: adopting a supportive leadership style, encouraging employee ownership of task, and continuous knowledge sharing. The findings of this study might contribute to social change by providing retail distribution leaders with fact-based insights that can lead to increased productivity, enhanced sustainability, and improved organizational growth, which might promote prosperity for local families and the community.

This research project investigates the processes of capturing corporate knowledge in an Australian local government context. The City of Perth, the capital city local government of Perth, Western Australia, is the organisation within which this study was conducted. A qualitative research methodology was utilised for this study in order to understand all the factors involved in knowledge sharing, including the human aspects. Data was collected exclusively through structured interviews consisting of a series of open questions. Digital transcripts of these interviews were produced and analysed by the researcher using qualitative data analysis software. The application of the research methodology has produced a rich set of results. The different types and sources of corporate knowledge used by participants and their views on knowledge capture processes are explored. Participants provide insight into their motivations in undertaking knowledge capture, the extent knowledge is shared in the organisation and barriers to sharing knowledge that they had encountered. The utilisation of the organisation’s information management processes and the overall purposes of knowledge capture were also explored by the study. Some of the results are quite predictable and generally supported by the literature, such as a preference for interpersonal communication in the sharing of knowledge. Other results are more unexpected including strongly expressed altruistic support for the good of the employing organisation as their motivation in supporting knowledge management activities and an understanding of the need for knowledge codification.