Better Knowledge with Social Media? Exploring the Roles of Social Capital and Organizational Knowledge Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore social media’s impact on organizational knowledge quality through the theoretical lens of social capital and resource exchange. Design/methodology/approach – Theory-confirming, quantitative study using panel data collected through web-based survey Findings – The results show that while social media affect structural capital and cognitive capital directly, it only affects relational capital indirectly through structural and cognitive capital. Moreover, overall social media and the enhanced social capital do help promote organizational efforts in knowledge management, which subsequently leads to higher level of organizational knowledge quality. Research limitations/implications – All survey respondents were from the U.S., which may limit the generalizability of the findings. The authors also call for more research in establishing the time sequence in the proposed causal relations and in the individual level mechanism through which social media promotes organizational knowledge quality. Practical implications – This study highlights both the potential and limitations of social media in promoting organizational knowledge management. Businesses must consciously manage the assimilation and use of social media to benefit from them. Originality/value – The authors position the study at the intersection of social media, social capital, and knowledge management and explicate how social media work through social capital and organizational knowledge management efforts to affect knowledge quality

The ties that bind: Knowledge-seeking networks and auditor job performance

The dissemination of knowledge in audit firms is a critical process that has gone relatively unexamined by researchers. Using social network analysis to quantify the knowledge-seeking networks in a Big 4 audit firm in the U.S., we examine the association between the types and patterns of knowledge-seeking ties and individual auditor performance. Our initial finding is that auditor job performance is negatively associated with the number of knowledge-seeking ties. Further, our analyses demonstrate that this negative association is being driven by explicit knowledge-seeking rather than tacit knowledge-seeking activities and is stronger for higher-ranked auditors. Thus, knowledge-seeking by auditors may come at a cost, particularly when that knowledge is codifiable and when the seeking is done by those at higher levels of the firm. In a post-hoc analysis, we find that tacit knowledge-seeking ties to managers can be beneficial for auditor performance, and tacit knowledge-seeking ties to senior managers and partners is sometimes detrimental. In sum, this suggests that who is seeking knowledge and who is being sought for knowledge are both important for performance. Our findings may assist researchers to better understand how auditors leverage their social connections to learn, which in turn may affect audit efficiency and effectiveness. Further, audit firms might benefit from better understanding the consequences of knowledge-seeking from different sources and use this understanding to make decisions that maximize desirable information flows

Acquiring and Applying Knowledge in Transnational Teams: The Roles of Cosmopolitans and Locals

This paper examines the roles of cosmopolitans and locals in transnational teams that work on knowledge-intensive projects. I propose that cosmopolitan and local team members can help their teams to acquire and apply knowledge more effectively, by bringing both internal and external knowledge to their teams and enabling them to more successfully transform this knowledge into improved project performance. Findings from a study of 96 project teams at an international development agency reveal that the roles of cosmopolitans and locals were complex and sometimes valuable, but cosmopolitans offered greater benefits than locals and too many of each could hurt. Implications for theory and research on international management, virtual teams, exploration and exploitation, and organizational knowledge are discussed

SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION EDUCATION: PENNSYLVANIA SOCIAL WORKERS REFLECT ON EDUCATION AND SUPERVISORY COMPETENCE

Supervision is an essential component of social work education and ongoing professional development for those employed at all levels of practice, having been identified as a protective factor against compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary trauma. Supervision education encompasses the direct training of students in how to be a supervisor to include knowledge, skills, and abilities of effective application. Supervision education is taught via multiple methods such as supervision education courses, supervision education embedded into the curriculum, post-degree certificate programs, continuing education coursework, including field educator training and on-the-job training. With vague competency expectations outlined by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) pertaining to learning outcomes specific to supervision, students may lack the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to assume supervisory roles in their future careers. This cross-sectional pre-experimental quantitative study aims to better understand the educational experiences of social workers employed in Pennsylvania. It explored which supervision education learning method produced the highest self-perceived level of supervisory knowledge, skills, and abilities. The study examined if there is a relationship between supervision education obtained ((No Education; Post Grad Education; College; and Combined (Post Grad & College)), and how many years it takes to move into a supervisory position. The study also explored if there is an association between supervisory experience and participants’ perception of supervision education significance. Analysis of gender differences was explored. The theoretical framework used to analyze supervision education was Socialist Feminist theory. This theoretical model was chosen to assist in understanding social constructs influencing contemporary supervision education in the social work profession. Findings included a significant difference among education learning methods and self-perceived knowledge, skills, and abilities of social work Supervision. Interestingly, those with No Education became supervisors quicker than all other types. There was no significant relationship between supervisory experience and supervision education and its impact on preparing participants to assume a supervisory role. Lastly, there was no significant relationship between Gender and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Mentoring Entrepreneurial Networks : mapping conceptions of participants in technological-based business incubators in Brazil

La agenda de la investigación reciente sobre emprendedores incluye el análisis de las estructuras cognitivas de los empresarios de éxito, revelándose como una herramienta importante a la hora de examinar una trayectoria emprendedora. Mediante técnicas de mapas cognitivos, este estudio explora los conceptos de una trayectoria de éxito y la red en sí misma como un todo, para el desarrollo de esta carrera. Fueron estudiados 53 empresarios en siete viveros tecnológicos de la ciudad de Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil. El objetivo específico de este estudio era situar los significados comunes de los emprendedores del vivero teniendo en cuenta las redes de apoyo informal. Este tipo de redes ofrecen apoyo a la carrera empresarial, y el presente estudio examina tanto las características como el modelo conceptual que subyace bajo éstas. La recolección de datos fue realizada por medio de entrevistas a través de la técnica de evocación libre. Los significados comunes indican la existencia de categorías de pensamiento inherentes que fomentan el contexto de la red en el entorno del vivero, especialmente en las redes-mentor. Los resultados refuerzan la interpretación de un modelo mentor informal que emerge de las evocaciones predominantes respecto a una carrera de éxito y de la red en sí misma como promotora de su desarrollo.The recent entrepreneurship research agenda includes the analysis of cognitive structures of successful entrepreneurs, revealing an important tool for the examination of an entrepreneurial career. Using techniques of cognitive maps, this study explores the concepts of a successful career and the network itself, as a whole, for career development. Fifty-three entrepreneurs were studied, in seven technological incubators in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Specifically, this study aimed to map the shared meanings of the incubated entrepreneurs regarding informal support networks. Such networks support the entrepreneurial career and the present study explores the characteristics and the conceptual model that underlies the networks. The data collection was achieved through interviews through a free evocation technique. The shared meanings indicate the existence of inherent thought categories that support network context in the incubator environment, mainly the mentoring networks. The results endorse the interpretation of an informal mentoring model emerging from the dominant evocations concerning a successful career and of the network itself as promoter of career development

Contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services: An investigation in China

Copyright @ 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Reuse of this article has been approved by the publisher.In this paper, the authors explore the influences of two major contextual factors—supplier team members’ cultural understanding and trust relationship—on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services. The authors discuss a joint investigation conducted by a cross-cultural research team in China. Cultural understanding is measured by individualism with guanxi and mianzi, two Chinese cultural concepts, and trust relationship is measured by adjusting trust, a notion reflecting the uniqueness of the Chinese people. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing. Performance is measured by the outcomes of global sourcing, which is represented by product success and personal satisfaction. Data are collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 200 structured questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers. The results of quantitative data analysis indicate that cultural understanding influences trust relationship greatly, as well as knowledge sharing and performance in global sourcing of IT services. Trust relationship significantly impacts knowledge sharing, whereas trust relationship and knowledge sharing have no impact on performance. This study suggests that special aspects of the Chinese context have significant direct impacts on knowledge processes while no direct and immediate impacts on performance in global sourcing of IT services.National Natural Science Foundation of China, Program for Humanity and Social Science Research, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University in China and Brunel University's Research Development Fund

“More Challenging than I Expected but More Satisfying”: Exploring the Experiences of New Heads of Independent Schools and the Leadership Skills They Employ

This study examines leader behavior in an independent school setting. Specifically, this qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of new heads of schools in independent schools located in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma and their conceptualization of the skills required for the headship. The study explores the knowledge and skills new heads say they use as leaders, how the knowledge and skills they developed in their careers prepared them for leadership, and the ways in which they feel they might have been better prepared for leadership. The study uses the skills-based model of leadership as its theoretical framework, and its methodological approach and discussion of findings are influenced by the framework’s three main areas: knowledge, social judgment skills, and problem-solving skills. The study revealed three main types of knowledge relevant to independent school leader preparation: knowledge acquired through terminal degree or other formalized programs, practical knowledge acquired through professional experience, and institutional knowledge, i.e. knowledge unique to a head’s work in a specific school. The study also discusses three distinct ways in which new heads utilize social judgment skills: how they communicate, how they work with school constituents, and how they delegate work. The study suggests patience, deliberation, and listening are key factors in how new heads of school execute their problem-solving skills. The study also discusses other findings of note that are also relevant to the experiences of new heads of school. These include the feelings of loneliness and stress the participants felt as new heads as well as the personal and professional sources of support they sought because of those challenges. The study may be used to inform leader preparation programs oriented towards independent school leaders

Work Organisation and Innovation

[Excerpt] Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes

Culture change in elite sport performance teams: Examining and advancing effectiveness in the new era

Reflecting the importance of optimizing culture for elite teams, Fletcher and Arnold (2011) recently suggested the need for expertise in culture change. Acknowledging the dearth of literature on the specific process, however, the potential effectiveness of practitioners in this area is unknown. The present paper examines the activity's precise demands and the validity of understanding in sport psychology and organizational research to support its delivery. Recognizing that sport psychologists are being increasingly utilized by elite team management, initial evidence-based guidelines are presented. Finally, to stimulate the development of ecologically valid, practically meaningful knowledge, the paper identifies a number of future research directions

The Public Education Network Study of LEF Leadership: Report on Baseline Survey Findings

Many nonprofit organizations seek to make change. To that end, much needed "capital" -- variously described as social, public, professional, and human -- is being brought to bear upon pressing social issues. Researchers across the country are attempting to understand how these resources are being generated, deployed, and administered, and to what avail. Of particular interest here are local education funds (LEFs) and their leaders. LEFs are a set of voluntary, intermediate, and mission-driven organizations, conceived by the Ford Foundation in 1983, which sit strategically at the nexus of educational and civic capacity building. This report provides the results of the first phase of the Public Education Network (PEN) leadership study, a baseline survey administered to 59 LEF executive directors.The survey had two purposes: to provide a snapshot of leadership characteristics and perceptions of executive directors -- information never before compiled and examined -- and to gather contextual information on the LEFs and the communities they serve. The results will be used as a foundation for subsequent research on LEF leadership. In time, the findings from this research will assist PEN in its efforts to nurture and sustain LEF leadership