Relação entre gestão do conhecimento e inovação na cadeia produtiva da maçã

The constant changes which have shaped the companies environment have mobilized researchers to investigate the factors that lead them to innovate and reach higher levels of performance. In this context, knowledge management has been considered as a driving force for development and crucial for innovation. However, little attention has been paid to the use of these concepts in the agribusiness sector. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between knowledge management processes and innovation in the apple production chain in the Southern Region of Brazil from the links of production and packing-houses. For that, a quantitative, descriptive study was carried out through a survey with 166 actors of the apple production chain, whose analysis was made using the structural equation modeling technique. The results obtained provided strong support for the hypothesized relation, which showed that knowledge management significantly influences both product and process innovation. The conclusions of this study provide a theoretical and empirical basis for a better understanding of the importance of knowledge management and innovation to improve the performance of the apple production chain.As constantes mudanças que vem configurando o ambiente das empresas têm mobilizado pesquisadores a investigar os fatores que as levam a inovar e alcançar níveis superiores de desempenho. Nesse contexto, a gestão do conhecimento tem sido considerada como propulsora para o desenvolvimento e crucial para a inovação. Contudo, pouca atenção tem sido dada para a aplicação destes conceitos no setor do agronegócio. Desse modo, este estudo teve por objetivo analisar a relação entre processos de gestão conhecimento e inovação na cadeia produtiva da maçã da Região Sul do Brasil a partir dos elos de produção e packing-houses. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo quantitativo, descritivo aplicado por meio de uma survey, com 166 atores da cadeia produtiva da maçã, cuja análise foi feita a partir da técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais. Os resultados obtidos forneceram forte apoio para a relação hipotetizada, a qual mostrou que a gestão do conhecimento influencia significativamente a inovação, de produto quanto de processo. As conclusões deste estudo fornecem uma base teórica e empírica que colabora para uma melhor compreensão sobre a importância da gestão do conhecimento e inovação para melhorar o desempenho da cadeia produtiva da maçã

Knowledge management behavior among academicians: the case of a Malaysian higher learning institution

Proper knowledge management (KM) is vital for any organization to perform to the expectation including higher learning institutions (HLIs). Hence, struggling to perform is an indication of lack of KM initiatives. Though many facets of KM have been investigated in HLIs, more studies are needed as the previous empirical works have focused only on knowledge sharing behavior among academicians. An intensive literature review exposes that nonexistence of works employing KM-related theories. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate academicians’ perceived intention (KM Intention) and involvement in KM initiatives (KM Behavior) and its predictors in a Malaysian HLI, which is struggling to perform, by relating theory of knowledge creation. KM intention explains the perception and the attitudes towards KM while the KM behavior illustrates the real behavior. Both these variables were operationalized based on knowledge creation theory through the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (SECI) process. A conceptual framework was developed based on the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Six independent variables representative of the socio-cultural nature of KM - trust, management support, decentralization, IT support, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy - were considered as the predictors of KM intention, which in turn, predict KM behavior. Data were collected from 156 academicians from an HLI in Malaysia using questionnaires. The questionnaire items were adapted from previous studies. The structural model analysis confirmed that out of seven proposed hypotheses, four are supported: Trust, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy influence KM Intention, while KM Intention influences KM Behavior. Even though further research works are needed to generalize the findings, the current research and the findings can enrich the KM literature and provide some insights to the decision makers of the selected HLI on the appropriate KM implementation strategies

Knowledge Capabilities and Performance of County Governments in Kenya: A Survey of County Departments of Kiambu County Government

There is a growing need for governments globally to develop and implement strategies of knowledge capabilities to take advantage of distributed knowledge assets to enhance the performance of their employees. Knowledge capabilities are viewed as a tool for harnessing the knowledge value and engaging it in integrative processes with organizational infrastructure, people, and processes. Organizations must leverage its existing knowledge capabilities and apply the knowledge in its operation to sustain competitiveness both locally and international. The county government systems are barely 10 years old and there is the growing need to leverage on the essential asset of human resource brought about by knowledge management for realization of fast growth. The main objective of this study was to determine how knowledge capabilities influence the performance of County governments in Kenya. The study determined the effect of knowledge acquisition capabilities, knowledge application capabilities, knowledge storage capabilities and knowledge protection capabilities on the performance of County governments in Kenya. The study adopted census method targeting 34 management staff of Kiambu County. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were piloted with 4 staffs from the neighboring Nairobi County to determine their validity and reliability. Quantitative data was analyzed using Descriptive statistics analysis which was done by measuring central tendencies which included frequencies, means, standard deviations and regression. Descriptive statistics were carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Inferential statistics which included correlation (r) and regression (R2) through the use of Multiple Linear Regression model were employed to establish the significance of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The study found that knowledge acquisition capabilities have a positive and significant effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β1=0.690, p-value=0.000). Moreover, knowledge application capabilities have a positive and significant effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β2=0.596, p-value=0.000). Further, the study found that knowledge storage capabilities have a significant and positive effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β1=0.548, p-value=0.009). This study therefore recommends that County governments should develop proper strategies such as creating a suitable learning culture and facilitating innovativeness to encourage the acquisition of knowledge and skills. In addition, the county governments should use appropriate technology for application of knowledge as well as incorporate knowledge into organizational processes, procedures, culture and identity, routines, policies, systems, and documents, as well as individuals to aid in the application of knowledge. Keywords: Knowledge Capabilities, Acquisition, Application, Protection, Performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-6-08 Publication date:March 31st 202

Industry 4.0 and Business Policy Development: Strategic Imperatives for SME Performance

Industry 4.0 presents companies with new prospects to renovate industrial manufacturing processes and increase value creation, has promised several optimizing strategies for improved business performance. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between innovation capability and employee capability on organizational performance among Small and Medium Scale industries entrepreneurs. Following a positivist research philosophy with a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study design, the study addressed three direct and two indirect relationships in the model. The research followed the expectation Resource-Based View Theory to test the theoretical model. Following stratified random sampling, this research using 384 SME entrepreneurs from the Selangor state of Malaysia. The study applied Smart PLS-SEM to analyze the data. The results show that SME firms' innovation capability and employee capability positively correlate with business performance. The study also shows the partial mediation effect of technology change on innovation capability and business performance and employee capability and business performance. Research extends practical and theoretical implications to the stakeholders of SMEs and businesses.JEL Classification: L25, L26, L29How to Cite:Govindarajo, N. S., Kumar M, D., Shaikh, E., Kumar, M., & Kumar, P. (2021). Industry 4.0 and Business Policy Development: Strategic Imperatives for SME Performance. Etikonomi, 20(2), 213 – xx. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v20i2.20143

Pair programming teams and high-quality knowledge sharing: A comparative study of coopetitive reward structures

© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York. There has been a growing research interest in understanding knowledge sharing in agile development. Yet, empirical research that sheds light on its underlying practices, such as pair programming, is evolving. This study uses insights from coopetition and software literature to focus inquiry on the relation between coopetitive rewards and high-quality knowledge sharing in pair programming teams. Theoretical hypotheses are developed and validated, suggesting that: ‘coopetitive rewards influence high-quality knowledge sharing both directly and over time through their impact on the level of knowledge sharing satisfaction’, and, ‘the impact of coopetitive rewards on high-quality knowledge sharing is dependent upon task complexity and the history of working under similar reward structure’. This study generates new understanding related to the use of rewards in pair programming teams, and offers a rigorous and replicable seven-step experimental process for simulating coopetitive structures and investigating their role in pair programming and in similar collaborative contexts

Agile Knowledge Networking - A novel approach to research collaboration between industry and academia

-The paper presents a novel approach to interaction between industry and academia, in the form of a knowledge networking program as implemented by a telecommunications company. Compared to traditional in-house R&D, this program represents an agile and “lightweight” approach to getting access to scientific knowledge supporting the company’s quest for disruptive innovations. Supported by a team of student trainees, the program facilitates interaction with a large number of top academic scholars worldwide. The paper reports experiences and lessons learned from the program so far, and discusses areas of further improvement in terms of managing the collaborative R&D process and cultivating the networking capability of the company

Managing the “Fuzzy front end” of open digital service innovation in the public sector: A methodology

There are many obstacles to effective open innovation in the public sector context, especially at the “fuzzy front end” (FFE), where the need or opportunity is known but serious resources have not yet been committed to possible solutions. In this paper, we report on a theoretically inspired and practically tested methodology for FFE public sector digital innovation. The methodology was purpose-built for the context and has been progressively refined using reflection-on-practice, but broadly consists of a hybrid of private sector open innovation practices, and agile software development processes. We outline the background, context, principles, stages and artefacts. Then we evaluate the method in terms of barriers and opportunities to FFE public sector innovation. We note that establishing the necessary context: a nurturing environment; cross-agency commitments in cash and in kind; and boundary spanning appointments, is as important to success as is the detailed execution of the method

Technology-Enhanced Knowledge Management Framework for Retaining Research Knowledge among University Academics

Given the challenge of retaining the research knowledge of an aging, experienced professoriate at South African Universities of Technology, institutions with a nascent tradition of scholarly research, this paper explores the feasibility of a technology-enhanced knowledge management framework for generating, sharing and retaining tacit research knowledge to leverage research outputs at the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, South Africa. Since digital trails of established-novice researcher interactions are left behind whenever they interact in online platforms, an examination of such interactions can provide insights into the sharing and transferring of tacit research knowledge from senior researchers to novices. This theoretical study draws on Nonaka and Takeuchi’s Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation, an emerging technology platform, SharePoint, mainstream literature and the authors’ reflective experiences to develop a technology-enhanced knowledge management model. The paper argues that tacit knowledge can be assimilated from a comprehensive examination of the knowledge production interactions between senior academics and novices enabled by low threshold technology and collaborative sharing of content. This study’s insights are relevant to Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) struggling to create a sustainable culture of scholarly research and grow a new generation of competent researchers amid the attrition of senior academics and the prevalence of systemic blockages in knowledge transfer processes