KOMBASE - a knowledge representation system with frames for an object-oriented knowledge base

Knowledge representation is an important area of research which is currently being done in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In order to manipulate the wealth of information available in a typical AI application, mechanisms must be provided to represent and to reason with knowledge at a high level of abstraction. Knowledge representation with frames is a structured and object-oriented approach to this problem. KOMBASE is a prototype to a frame-based system containing organizational information of companies and other corporate bodies. This paper describes the approach adopted in the development of KOMBASE and discusses its implementation, particularly from a knowledge representational perspective

The Organization of Firms Across Countries

We argue that social capital as proxied by trust increases aggregate productivity by affecting the organization of firms. To do this we collect new data on the decentralization of investment, hiring, production, and sales decisions from Corporate Headquarters to local plant managers in almost 4,000 firms in the United States, Europe, and Asia. We find that firms headquartered in high trust regions are more likely to decentralize, with trust accounting for about half of the variation in decentralization in our data. To help identify causal effects, we look within multinational firms, and show that higher levels of bilateral trust between the multinational's country of origin and subsidiary's country of location increases decentralization, even after instrumenting trust using religious and ethnic similarities between the countries. Trust raises aggregate productivity through two channels: (1) trust facilitates reallocation between firms by allowing more efficient firms to grow as CEOs can decentralize more decisions and (2) trust complements the adoption of new technologies, thereby increasing productivity within firms during times of rapid technological change.decentralization, trust, Rule of Law, social capital, theory of the firm

The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization

Guided by theories of management by exception, we study the impact of Information and Communication Technology on worker and plant manager autonomy and on span of control. We find, using an original dataset of American and European manufacturing firms, that better information technologies (Enterprise Resource Planning for plant managers and CAD/CAM for production workers) are associated with more autonomy and a wider span, while technologies that improve communication (like data intranets) decrease autonomy for workers and plant managers, consistently with the theory. Using instrumental variables (distance from ERP's birthplace and heterogeneous telecommunication costs arising from regulation) strengthens our results.organization, delegation, information technology, communication technology, the theory of the firm

Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field

Measuring and analyzing aggregate fluctuations: the importance of building from microeconomic evidence

Employment (Economic theory) ; Investments ; Productivity

Measuring the degree of organisational transformation.

Abstract: International organisations are increasingly urging governments to support the dissemination of new organisational concepts. Research into the efforts made by the business community in its quest for new organisational concepts and permanent monitoring of the effects of organisational transformation are necessary tools for supporting these policy lines. Since 1980 a variety of organisation surveys have been undertaken in an effort to evaluate the extent and effects of workplace innovation. Comparisons of the findings or results of these major organisation surveys are fraught with major difficulties because the choices of methodology and survey design differ widely. Moreover, little information is currently available about the methodological limitations of these organisation surveys. This paper therefore concentrates on the methodological design of 16 major organisation surveys. The objectives of the paper can be described as follows: (1) comparison of organisation surveys with the aim of making an inventory of 'good practices' at several levels (e.g. sampling method, non-response strategy, etc.), which can strengthen the quality of research into the diffusion and effects of new organisational concepts; (2) charting current 'methodological diversity' with the aim of investigating the possibilities for cross-national research into the spread and effects of new organisational concepts.Complications; Characteristics; International; Effects; Surveys; Strategy;