89,394 research outputs found
The role of tacit knowledge in the construction industry: towards a definition
The construction industry is perceived as one of the knowledge-based value creating sectors of
the economy; however, it faces many challenges, especially in terms of performance, due to its
intrinsic nature. Different knowledge-based solutions have been proposed in the past to
overcome this problem. However, the process-based solutions, enhancing personalisation
strategies and interactions between construction workers to generate and share tacit knowledge,
would be much more relevant to overcome KM problems in construction organisations. As the
initial step towards the management of tacit knowledge, this paper examines the nature and
importance of tacit knowledge in the construction industry. Based on research findings a
definition for tacit knowledge is synthesised to: understanding, capabilities, skills and the
experiences of individuals; often expressed in human actions in the form of thoughts, points of
view, evaluation and advice; generated and acquired through past experiences, individuals, and
repositories; utilised for the benefit of individual and organisational development
How can SMEs benefit from big data? Challenges and a path forward
Big data is big news, and large companies in all sectors are making significant advances in their customer relations, product selection and development and consequent profitability through using this valuable commodity. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have proved themselves to be slow adopters of the new technology of big data analytics and are in danger of being left behind. In Europe, SMEs are a vital part of the economy, and the challenges they encounter need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This paper identifies barriers to SME uptake of big data analytics and recognises their complex challenge to all stakeholders, including national and international policy makers, IT, business management and data science communities.
The paper proposes a big data maturity model for SMEs as a first step towards an SME roadmap to data analytics. It considers the âstate-of-the-artâ of IT with respect to usability and usefulness for SMEs and discusses how SMEs can overcome the barriers preventing them from adopting existing solutions. The paper then considers management perspectives and the role of maturity models in enhancing and structuring the adoption of data analytics in an organisation. The history of total quality management is reviewed to inform the core aspects of implanting a new paradigm. The paper concludes with recommendations to help SMEs develop their big data capability and enable them to continue as the engines of European industrial and business success. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
The culture of market oriented organisations
This paper investigates the relationship between corporate culture and market orientation using a different methodology to those usually found done in empirical studies on this topic. Conventionally, one or two key informants provide information on the firmâs marketing practices in large scale quantitative cross-sectional studies; these few respondents provide their opinion on the firmâs actual marketing practices which are then considered as a reliable representation of both the (whole) firmâs culture and its market orientation. We have taken a different approach. Firstly, we chose to do multiple case studies in stead of cross sectional research. These case studies were small scale and qualitative; next a large(r) scale quantitative study was done within those organisations. Secondly, all employees in an organisation were invited to participate in the study: only then is it possible to measure culture as the shared beliefs in the company. Corporate culture itself as well as the marketing practices have been investigated as two separate constructs in our case studies. Both are measured via employee perceptions. Thirdly, we are looking at the possible configuration of market orientation and corporate culture. Almost all of the propositions generated are supported. The degree of openness appeared to be crucial to an organisationâs market orientation. Moreover, such a culture is also resultsoriented, employee-oriented and professional. It also has a balanced position on the two other dimensions: pragmatic/normative and loose/tight control. From the marketing perspective, the essential building blocks of a market oriented culture include: the internal cooperation, internal communication, drive to be the best, lack of pursuing self interest, learning from mistakes and from experiences in the market place, clarity about customer needs and better relative quality than competitorsâ. Because market orientation and corporate culture were measured as two distinct constructs, this study offers new insights in both domains as to what organisations should change to be(come) market oriented.Strategy;
Developing indicators to measure Technology Institutes` performance
Technology institutes (TIs) are non-profit innovation
and technology organisations aimed to
encourage competitiveness of firms. They are a
key organisation in the Spanish National Innovation
System because of their size and closeness
to the productive sector. Despite this, there is a
lack of studies trying to measure their performance
and its determinants. This work sheds some
light on this. We study the influence of operative,
financial, organisational, relational and general
variables on three measures of results: selffinance, impact and added value. Our conclusions show the relevance of this approach and are confirmed by grouping TIs according to their service supply characteristics.Publicad
Tacit knowledge generation and utilisation in the construction industry
The importance of knowledge as a key determinant of organisational
competitiveness and better performance is increasingly appreciated by both
academics and practitioners. However, the concept of tacit knowledge still lacks
sufficient attention within the construction industry, despite the fact that proper
understanding and management of this resource is of immense importance for
the achievement of better organisational performance. As the initial step
towards the management of tacit knowledge, this paper examines the factors
affecting tacit knowledge generation and utilisation in the construction industry.
The study integrates theories of experiential learning, cognitive science and
knowledge creation, in order to articulate the process of tacit knowledge
generation and utilisation. The exploratory phase of the case study identified
several factors affecting tacit knowledge generation and utilisation in an
organisational context in terms of Individual level: Intra-personal drivers;
Group level: Inter-personal drivers; and Organisational level: Situational drivers
- CLASSIFYING HIGH TECH NEW VENTURES BY PERFORMANCE: THE MARKET-TECHNOLOGICAL- ENTREPRENEURIAL MATRIX
This is an exploratory insight into the profile and prospects of growth and success attached to one category of firms, known as "New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs), the socalled high-tech and innovative new ventures. With this study we are willing to furnish a new methodological tool instrumental to position any firm characterised by being relatively recent and specialising in high-tech fields or at least, in activities with large scope for innovation. So, we intend to make a methodological contribution to theory in the entrepreneurship field, through an empirical exercise.Analysis of our empirically based data leads us to a new Matrix we call Market-Technology-Entrepreneurial Matrix, whose 8 three-dimensional quadrants serve to classify high- tech new ventures by performance. A Factorial Analysis coupled with a Discriminate Analysis are the statistical tools employed in obtaining the M-T-E Matrix and incorporating predictive capacity to it. El presente estudio, de carĂĄcter exploratorio, es una incursiĂłn en torno al perfil y perspectivas decrecimiento y Ă©xito, asociados a una categorĂa de empresas conocidas como New TechnologyBased Firms (NTBFs), las cuales desarrollan actividades altamente innovadoras y habitualmentepertenecientes a sectores de tecnologĂa avanzada. Nuestro propĂłsito radica en desarrollar una nuevaherramienta metodolĂłgica que resulte Ăștil para posicionar competitivamente, de manera aproximada,a cualquier compañĂa con el perfil NTBF: reciente, innovadora e intensiva en tecnologĂas avanzadas.Tras aplicar la tĂ©cnica estadĂstica del anĂĄlisis factorial, hemos obtenido una Matriz que denominamosMatriz Mercado-TecnologĂa-Emprendedor, cuyos 8 cuadrantes tridimensionales posicionan lascompañĂas high-tech segĂșn sus fortalezas y debilidades y perspectivas de competitividad.Finalmente, mediante el empleo de la tĂ©cnica estadĂstica del anĂĄlisis discriminante, hemos podidoincorporar capacidad predictiva a la Matriz.high tech, funcionamiento, matriz. high-tech, performance, matrix.
Atitudes dos gestores face Ă criatividade e Ă s prĂĄticas de inovação nas indĂșstrias criativas
This article aims to demonstrate that the relationship between entrepreneurs' attitudes to creativity and business innovation practices is stronger in the case of creative industries. A sample of 454 managers of micro and medium-sized companies (94 belonging to creative industries) was surveyed using an inventory of innovative business practices and the scale of attitudes towards creativity. The results, derived from a linear regression model (two factors for the scale of attitudes - Leadership and Autonomy - and for the inventory of business practices - Performance and Strategy), confirmed the proposition by revealing the influence of the creative attitudes of managers regarding the company's innovative practices, fundamentally on Strategy, especially in the creative industries segment. The innovative manager appeared as a disciplined individual driven to collaborating with the employees. Although this research requires further evidence, the results suggest interesting characterisations of the managers who develop their activity in the cluster of creative industries.Este artigo tem como objetivo demonstrar que a relação entre as
atitudes do empresårio face à criatividade e as pråticas de inovação é
mais forte no caso das indĂșstrias criativas. Foram inquiridos 454
gestores de micro, pequenas e médias empresas (94 pertencentes à s
indĂșstrias criativas), utilizando um inventĂĄrio de prĂĄticas empresariais
e uma escala de atitudes face Ă criatividade. Os resultados, obtidos
utilizando um modelo de regressĂŁo linear (dois fatores para a escala de
atitudes âLiderança e Autonomia - e dois para o inventĂĄrio de prĂĄticas
empresariais â Desempenho e EstratĂ©gia) confirmaram a hipĂłtese, ao
revelar a influĂȘncia das atitudes do empresĂĄrio face Ă criatividade sobre
as pråticas inovadoras da empresa, nomeadamente na Estratégia e no
segmento das indĂșstrias criativas. O gestor inovador surge como um
indivĂduo disciplinado, orientado para colaborar com os empregados.
Apesar desta investigação necessitar de maior aprofundamento, os
resultados sugerem uma caracterização interessante dos gestores que
desenvolvem a sua atividade no cluster das indĂșstrias criativasinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A rounded picture is what we need : rhetorical strategies, arguments, and the negotiation of change in a UK hospital trust
This article is concerned with the introduction of the agenda of New Public Management (NPM) within the board of a UK Hospital Trust: West London Hospital (WLH). We discuss the literature on New Public Management, including its limitations for analysing the organizational reality of implementing NPM. But we will also be drawing on discourse theory and the literature on rhetoric. The main argument in this article is that in order to understand the reality of the NPM paradigm, we need to study the rhetorical strategies of protagonists involved in the negotiation of the NPM agenda. Rhetorical strategies are means of making general viewpoints more convincing, for example, by comparing 'our' organization with similar organizations. Rhetorical strategies show patterns, which reappear in conversations and arguments made by protagonists. Specifically, we identified three rhetorical strategies justifying why and what kind of a more 'rounded picture' was required: widening the argument to include national productivity comparisons with other hospitals; widening the argument away from a narrow focus on finance toward a strategic and political perspective; and, lastly, widening the argument to look at innovation in the whole clinical process
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