An Evolutionary Information-Processing Theory of Knowledge Creation

Past Information Systems (IS) research on knowledge creation has not adequately accounted for the evolutionary nature of knowledge. Research limitations also exist in depicting the roles of information in the knowledge creation process. These two problems present difficulties for practitioners when attempting to successfully implement Information Technology (IT) to facilitate knowledge creation. Based on a problem-solving paradigm, this research analyzes knowledge creation from both the evolutionary and information-processing perspectives. The resultant theory outlines a process whereby tentative knowledge is generated from varied existing knowledge and applied to a problem, producing information to test the extent to which the problem can be solved. An iterative process continues until the tentative knowledge with the highest potential to solve the problem is found, yielding the information to best meet the goal. This process is further embedded in an organization-wide problem-solving hierarchy where new knowledge is developed via the integration of knowledge elements of sub-problems. By incorporating the evolutionary nature of knowledge, this research provides a deeper understanding of the knowledge creation process and the key determinants of its success. More importantly, by clearly specifying the roles of information in the process, it offers promise in the better design of IT to improve knowledge creation performance. We develop a framework based on this Evolutionary Information-Processing Theory to aid practitioners in IS design

Integrative Solutions in Online Crowdsourcing Innovation Challenges

Online crowdsourcing challenges are widely used for problem-solving and innovation. Existing theory has characterized such challenges as tools for tapping distant knowledge. By building on information processing theory we move beyond this characterization and present a perspective that describes innovation challenges as virtual places in which ideas are not simply submitted or commented upon but knowledge is integrated. This perspective shifts the role of crowdsourcing challenges from mere tools for gathering ideas to representing the locus of innovation. Our perspective suggests that three types of knowledge affect the quality of integrative solutions: elementary ideas, facts, and analogical examples. Based on a large dataset, we find that elementary ideas and analogical examples are related to increased solution quality, while facts are related to decreased solution quality. We expand the research on online crowdsourcing innovation challenges to include how crowd participants influence the quality of solutions through the content of their postings

Requesting Distant Robotic Action: An Ontology for Naming and Action Identification for Planning on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.

This paper focuses on the development of a naming convention and the use of abbreviated names and a related ontology for science work and distant robotic action that comprise requests for a robotic rover during the NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, run by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). We demonstrate how abbreviated names and an associated ontology support sharing and identifying information among teams and software tools. An ontology of distant action must take into account a dynamic environment, changing in response to physical events and intentional actions, and reflect the influence of context on the meaning of action. The nascent domain of Martian tele-robotic science, in which specialists request work from a rover moving through a distant landscape, as well as the need to consider the interdisciplinary teams involved in completing that work, required an empirical approach. The formulation of this ontology used ethnographic methods and grounded theory to study human behavior and work practice with software tools

Examining Knowledge Management Enabled Performance for Hospital Professionals: A Dynamic Capability View and the Mediating Role of Process Capability

Healthcare organizations are essentially associated with highly knowledge-intensive property, and hospital professionals are key to providing high-quality care to patients. KM-enabled performance for hospital professionals is the major concern of senior management. The literature has generally argued for a process-based approach for KM-enabled performance in which process capabilities mediate the link between knowledge resources and performance. According to the knowledge-based view, KM-enabled performance should be rooted in the identification of knowledge resources, including knowledge assets and capabilities. Further, the concept of dynamic capabilities defines an interaction feature between knowledge assets and capabilities. Next, KM-enabled performance is generally defined to include both financial and patient performance. Based on the dynamic capability view and the mediating role of process capability, this research thus proposes a novel research model for exploring KM-enabled performance for hospital professionals, which this includes three major components: interaction between hospital knowledge assets and capabilities, hospital process capabilities, and hospital performance. The empirical results indicate that the model of KM-enabled performance is well fitted with these components, and hospital professionals are closely associated with KM-enabled performance in providing high-quality care

A Knowledge Development Perspective on Literature Reviews: Validation of a new Typology in the IS Field

Literature reviews (LRs) play an important role in developing domain knowledge in all fields. Yet, we observe insufficient insights into the activities with which LRs actually develop knowledge. To address this important gap, we 1) derive knowledge-building activities from the extant literature on LRs, 2) suggest a knowledge-based LR typology that complements existing typologies, and 3) apply the typology in an empirical study that explores how LRs with different goals and methodologies have contributed to knowledge development. In analyzing 240 LRs published in 40 renowned information systems (IS) journals between 2000 and 2014, we draw a detailed picture of knowledge development that one of the most important genres in the IS field has achieved. With this work, we help to unify extant LR conceptualizations by clarifying and illustrating how they apply different methodologies in a range of knowledge-building activities to achieve their goals with respect to theory

Communication Constructs That Influence Information Technology Project Failure

Ineffective communication behavioral constructs in the workplace that lead to information technology (IT) project failure and in some cases organization failure are increasingly becoming a management concern. Despite this trend, there is little research on the communication behavioral constructs that contribute to IT project failure rates. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of business analysts, programmers, and programmer analysts pertaining to the behavioral constructs associated with effective and ineffective communication. The research questions addressed these behaviors from a conceptual framework based on communication theory, organizational information processing theory, and critical social theory. This framework guided data collection using electronic interviews of a snowball sample of social media participants. Data were coded using open and axial techniques, analyzed for themes and patterns, and member checked to bolster trustworthiness. Findings included 10 communication behavioral constructs that influence communication in IT software development teams. Included in the findings were potential options for improving communication among end users, management, programmers, and other employees. Recommendations to improve communication among stakeholders included involvement of the correct stakeholders, clear project requirements, frequent communication, active listening, and feedback. Other recommendations were stakeholder education and training, and knowledge of goals and processes. Implications for positive social change could be realized by using the findings to improve the way communication is addressed, shared, and implemented to reduce IT project failure for stakeholders

Blended Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: An International Perspective

Blended learning is not a new topic for educational research in Higher Education (HE). However, before the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, blended learning was studied by a "niche" of researchers and educators interested in technology integration in teaching and learning. It was not difficult to meet HE professionals who had never or only poorly reflected on the topic of how to integrate digital technology in teaching and learning before March 2020. All in all, this special issue provides a deeper understanding of what Blended Learning will be in the near feature, encompassing not the simple combination of online and physical presence, but a combination of delivery tools and media used to provide information and to support interaction, a combination of different methods of instruction and teaching/learning, and a combination of learning contexts

Communities of practice, knowledge creation, and corporate sustainability : a study of Bahrain service industry

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a service-based economy in which the service industry is a highly competitive market environment. Therefore, organisations require employing strategies to compete and sustain their competitive advantage in order to survive. The knowledge-based view of the firm argues that knowledge is a critical source for sustainable competitive advantage. Communities of Practice (CoPs) provide a suitable environment for knowledge exchange and creation. This study defined CoPs as emergent informal networks of people who are located inside and outside the organisation, through which members of these communities share or are interested in the same practice and knowledge. It is noticed from the literature that there is no empirical study investigating the impact of knowledge created in CoPs on corporate sustainability. Moreover, the influence of social capital on quantity and type of knowledge received from different CoPs members is scarce. This research attempts to address this research gap.The study combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. The information obtained from the literature was used to develop the initial research model. In the first phase, a qualitative field study is carried out to develop a comprehensive research model. A number of hypotheses were then developed. The second phase of the study pilot tested the developed questionnaire. Minor changes were made based on the pilot study participants’ comments and feedback.The third phase of the study is the main quantitative survey. The questionnaire for survey was distributed among senior managers in Bahrain top 100 service organisations both in the public and private sectors. 333 completed questionnaires were returned to the researcher with the response rate of 54%. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was employed to analyse the data collected in the main survey.The findings of the study did not support all the hypotheses developed in this study. It was found that communities of practise exist in Bahrain service industry, where two types of CoPs are noticed: intra (co-located employees and non co-located employees) and inter CoPs (customers, suppliers, and business partners). It was also found that co-located employees’ and customers’ CoPs have the major effect on organisation performance as the knowledge received from them is employed in the knowledge creation process to generate new knowledge in order to improve organisation performance.An interesting finding is the positive effect of CoP characteristics on the knowledge received. Therefore, CoP characteristics do not only identify this type of network but also influence the amount of knowledge received from community members. On the other hand, the knowledge received from CoPs affect the knowledge creation process in its four steps (interaction and communication, develop pool of knowledge, alternative experimentations, and solution to problem). Furthermore, the study empirically tested that knowledge creation process is carried out in four sequential steps. It was also found that the last step of the knowledge creation process "find solution to problem" has the greatest influence on the generation of new knowledge. It was also found that new knowledge positively affects organisational social, environmental, economic, and non economic performances (i.e. corporate sustainability). The study results did not support the hypothesis that social capital aspects (trust, norms, and identification) moderate the amount of knowledge received from CoPs.From the literature review and the study findings, it is recommended that organisations within Bahrain service industry should develop a knowledge management strategy and implement CoPs to sustain their position in the market. Moreover, the strategy should contain appropriate measures of sustainability objectives.Despite the fact that the study was conducted in Bahrain service organisations, it is suggested that it can be applied to different organisations in various countries across the globe because of its generic approach. However, it needs to be customised for local application

Understanding the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the shaping of inter-organisational knowledge exchange (IOKE) practice: The context of European living labs

Inter-organizational knowledge exchange is an important process for stimulating innovation and improving collaboration among multiple organizations. With the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), this process could be greatly affected for effectiveness and efficiency. However, existing studies provide an insufficient understanding of how knowledge exchange processes are shaped by the nature of ICT in the context of inter-organisational settings. Therefore, this research attempts to address this research gap through conceptualising the role of ICT in the shaping of inter-organisational knowledge exchange (IOKE) practice by investigating the context of European Living Labs, as an exemplary inter-organisational collaboration setting. In methodological terms, this study adopts an inductive, qualitative research approach, and follows a combination of Grounded Theory, Multiple Case Study and Documentary Research, making use of in-depth semi-structured interviews with European Living Labs stakeholders and analysing Living Labs project documents. The data has informed the use of Practice Theory, Sociomateriality Theory, and Technology Affordance Theory at different levels of analysis to understand the research phenomena. This research has found that 1) ICT-based IOKE practice can be characterised by ICT affordances and constraints, human knowledgeabilities, and triple-layer contexts (inter-organisational context, intra-organisational context, and wider environmental context). 2) ICT mediates such enactment of knowledgeability by affording or constraining distinct human abilities that allow actors to accomplish their knowledge work or hold them back as they engage in knowledge exchange practice. Diverse ICT affordances (e.g., cross-distance networking, instant workaround) and constraints (e.g., accessing, communication continuity) can mediate the enactment of four different types of knowledgeabilities: inter-connecting, interactive learning, co-creating, and co-ordinating. 3) Different knowledgeabilities, their associated ICT affordances/constraints, and their embedded contexts are inter-related, and they co-evolve over time across the project lifecycle. This has been conceptualised into an ICT-based IOKE practice framework (integrated) and its three variations (three variated frameworks for different project lifecycle stages). The findings have strong theoretical and practical implications that signal the salient areas for future research to study, particularly for ICT affordance studies