Management consulting.

Including a lengthy, comprehensive introduction, this important collection brings together some of the most influential papers that have contributed to our understanding of management consultancy work. The two-volume set encompasses the breadth of conceptual and empirical perspectives and explores those key ideas that have helped to advance our knowledge of this intriguing area. The volumes are divided into a series of thematic sections, affording the reader easy access to a great resource of information. Professors Clark and Avakian have written an original introduction which provides a comprehensive overview of the literature

How does knowledge matter patenting inventions?

While there is robust empirical evidence that firm patenting is positively associated with various measures of overall performance and competitiveness, less is known about what determines the patenting choice. For this reason, this paper examines whether R&D expenditure and the type of knowledge used in the invention determine the decision to patent. With this aim, we use a sample of firms and the European Patent Office to analyse how the combination of R&D expenditure and knowledge codifiability, observability and simplicity influences the patent decision. Our results contribute to the literature and assist R&D managers by showing that both R&D and codified knowledge have a positive impact on the number of inventions patented by a firm, while observable knowledge has a negative impact on patents. Furthermore, we find that the effect of R&D expenditure on the propensity to patent inventions is negatively moderated by knowledge observability and simplicity.: R&D, patents, knowledge, invent

Knowledge transfer processes in Romanian multinational companies

The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge transfers taking place between multinational companies and their locally dispersed subsidiaries. Focusing on the Romanian market it will shed some light on the way multinational companies - which have opened their subsidiaries rather recently in Romania - exploit the organizational knowledge stock and know-how in order to train their new employees. The Romanian economy and market characteristics have changed dramatically along the last decade, partly due to the penetration on the market of a series of multinational companies. For supporting knowledge creation in the Romanian subsidiaries, the headquarters should share and transfer knowledge to the newly created organizational entities characterized by separation through time, space, culture and language. It is also important to be aware of the specific cultural setting of the Romanian market. The case study performed on a multinational company, Nobel Romania, will analyze the way knowledge transfer was performed between headquarters and subsidiaries’ sales departments. Arguments will be drawn upon theory in knowledge management and related fields and an insider view of the process will be provided, along with in-depth interviews with people directly involved in transferring the know-how from headquarters to subsidiaries and people who have absorbed, combined and internalized the knowledge in the work process.knowledge management; knowledge transfer processes; multinational companies in Romania.

Appropriation of value in Biomedical research outcome at Public Research Organisations

Transactions on biomedical research outcomes bring into play strategies that are determined by leveraging resources into quasi-markets and on options based on expectations. To govern such transactions, the choice of appropriate governance structures and the governance of interaction are all too often in remittance of risk and uncertainty. Organisation and communities are prompted by issues concerning intellectual property (IP) to underwrite information, which is inherently fraught with difficulties of discerning ownership and quantifying qualitative business variables. Against that backdrop, we enquire on the mechanisms underpinning value dissipation and value appropriation of biomedical research outcomes to make proposition on the organisational antecedence to innovation. It is a preamble study with the view to developing a meso-level framework to describe mechanisms of value appropriation of upstream biomedical (non-invasive) research at Public Research Organisation. Its underpinning is largely based on the availability appropriability regimes and viability of organizational governance decisions and how the choice of organizational governance form affects both the creation and appropriation of economic value

Transferring and creating technological knowledge in interfirm R&D relationships: The initiation and evolution of interfirm learning.

In this study, we examine the initiation and evolution of interfirm learning in interfirm R&D relationships. Based on in-depth case studies, we suggest that the process of learning in interfirm R&D relationships consists of different challenges: 1) initiating technological knowledge transfer, 2) continuing technological knowledge transfer, and 3) moving towards the joint creation of new technological knowledge. Our findings identify conditions needed to initiate knowledge transfer: the presence of legal knowledge transfer clauses, overlapping skills and equipment, fragile trust and organizational similarity. The continuance of knowledge exchange implies complementary modes of collaborating characterized by sharing technologies which are oriented towards different applications. Joint knowledge creation implies convergence on the level of applications which only becomes feasible when prior knowledge exchange processes have generated resilient levels of trust. These observations point to the relevance of conceiving and organizing interfirm R&D relationships in a timephased, differentiated manner.Applications; Case studies; Convergence; Exchange; Interfirm learning; Interfirm R&D; Knowledge; Knowledge creation; Knowledge transfer; Learning; Processes; R&D; Similarity; Studies; Technology; Trust;

The Disclosure of Organizational Secrets by Employees

Organizational secrets enable firms to protect their unique stocks of knowledge, reduce the imitability of their capabilities and achieve sustained competitive advantages (Hannah, 2005). In today’s business environments, the loss of valuable proprietary organizational knowledge due to intentional employee disclosure represents a substantial threat to firm competitiveness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that firms in the United States lose more than $250 billion of intellectual property every year, with intentional employee disclosure accounting for a significant portion of these losses (Dandliker, 2012; Heffernan & Swartwood, 1993). Thus, understanding factors that influence such intentional secret disclosure is a key concern, especially in knowledge-intensive industries. While prior research has primarily focused on the disclosure of personal secrets, family secrets or ‘dark’ organizational secrets, very few studies have examined the disclosure of value-creating organizational secrets – i.e., strategic secrets that encapsulate knowledge about a firm’s plans from competitors and Social secrets that create valued identity categorizations within organizations (Goffman, 1959). This dissertation begins to address this gap in the literature by putting forth a person-situation interaction model of secret disclosure. Specifically, drawing on the resource-based view of the firm and Social identity theory, it explores how certain characteristics of value-creating organizational secrets (e.g., market value of knowledge and Social value of concealment) may interact with certain individual-level variables (e.g., moral identity and need for status) to influence employees’ secret disclosure intent. Using scenario-based surveys of undergraduate and EMBA students and a cross-sectional sample of working adults in the United States, this dissertation finds evidence for the key proposition that employees’ perceptions of market value of knowledge and Social value of concealment shape their secret disclosure intentions. Individual-level factors like moral identity and organizational disidentification were also found to play important roles in the disclosure of organizational secrets. This dissertation contributes to the emerging field of organizational secrecy by integrating key informational and Social perspectives to address concerns regarding secret protection in organizations

Intellectual capital disclosure payback

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated framework for intellectual capital disclosure. Design/methodology/approach – The measure, manage and report intellectual capital (MMRIC) methodology is a six-step process that will enable firms to more accurately describe their intangible assets. Findings – The proposed step-by-step process also complements the exploration-exploitation tension that is highlighted in the knowledge management literature. Research limitations/implications – This paper provides academic researchers with a comprehensive framework that can be utilized for future empirical studies related to intellectual capital disclosure. Practical implications – The MMRIC process is a very useful tool for practitioners in that it provides a sequential system that can be followed for intellectual capital disclosure. Social implications – Society at large benefits when corporate entities help to reduce risk and volatile market fluctuations by reducing information asymmetry with more comprehensive reporting. Originality/value – This paper provides an initial theoretical framework that has been developed by integrating the extant literature on intellectual capital disclosure..info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technology transfer within MNEs: An investigation of inter-subsidiary competition and cooperation

Much theory and research that seeks to explain why and how technology transfers occur within multinational enterprises (MNEs) actually addresses the question of how these transfers occur among cooperative subsidiaries, and relies on the assumption of inter-subsidiary cooperation. However, subsidiaries do not always cooperate. We suggest that the success of technology transfer among subsidiaries depends on the extent to which the relationships among an MNE's subsidiaries (i.e. inter-subsidiary) are competitive or cooperative. Inter-subsidiary cooperation is determined by the MNE's international strategy, organizational structure, and the social relationships among subsidiaries. Both hierarchical and social relational factors drive the potential for inter-subsidiary multimarket competition that originates from the overlap on the subsidiaries' products, technologies, and market portfolios.technology transfer, subsidiaries, competition and cooperation, international strategy

Strategic Knowledge Measurement and Management

Knowledge and intellectual capital are now recognized as vital resources for organizational survival and competitive advantage. A vast array of knowledge measures has evolved, spanning many disciplines. This chapter reviews knowledge measures focusing on groups of individuals (such as teams, business and organizations), as they reflect the stock or flow of knowledge, as well as enabling processes that enhance knowledge stocks and flows. The chapter emphasizes the importance of organizational value chains, pivotal talent pools and the link between knowledge and competitive success, in understanding the significance of today’s knowledge measures, and opportunities for future research and practice to enhance them

CLINICAL SITUATIONS OF UNCERTAINTY AND ACCESS TO RESOURCES: A STUDY OF COMMUNITY FAMILY PHYSICIANS

Aims: To explore the situational factors that are present during moments of uncertainty that lead family physicians to access external resources of varying type. Methods: Situational cues were identified using self-observational journaling. A survey was then performed to study physicians\u27 likelihood of accessing external resources in response to each situation. Findings: Identified situational cues included case aspects such as unfamiliar or complex presentations, potentially serious conditions, failure of previous treatments, and the patient or others in attendance being perceived as anxious, demanding, distrustful or dissatisfied. In all situations, physicians reported greatest likelihood to refer to specialists. However, with conditions that seem unfamiliar or complex, they reported similar likelihood to access internet sources, and in complex situations, to consult with peers. Conclusions: Both medical and social situational factors led family physicians to access external resources. Consultation with specialists and peers are considered highly valued resources in managing situations of uncertainty