Knowledge network modelling to support decision-making for strategic intervention in IT project-oriented change management

This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Decision Systems on 20 March 2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/12460125.2014.886499.This paper focuses on knowledge management to enhance decision support systems for strategic intervention in information technology (IT) project-oriented change management. It proposes a model of change management knowledge networks (CMKNM) to support decision by tackling three existing issues: insufficient knowledge traceability based on the relationships between knowledge elements and key factors, lack of procedural knowledge to provide adequate policies to guide changes, and lack of ‘lessons learned’ documentation in knowledge bases. A qualitative method was used to investigate issues surrounding knowledge mobilisation and knowledge networks. Empirical study was undertaken with industries to test the CMKNM. Results are presented from the empirical study on the key factors influencing knowledge mobilisation in IT project-oriented change management, knowledge networks and connections. The CMKNM model allows key knowledge mobilisation factors to be aligned with each other; it also defines the connections between knowledge networks allowing knowledge to be mobilised by tracing knowledge channels to support decision.Peer reviewe

New structured knowledge network for strategic decision-making in IT innovative and implementable projects

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Ali Alkhuraji, Sahofeng Liu, Festus Oluseyi Oderanti, and Phil Megicks, 'New structured knowledge network for strategic decision-making in IT innovative and implementable projects', Journal of Business Research, Vol. 69 (5): 1534-1538, first published online 28 October 2015. The final published version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.012. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This study investigates the development of a structured knowledge network model in information technology (IT) innovative and implementable projects to facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer in a multi-organization context. The study employs a practice-based perspective by using an exploratory case study approach and a combination of thematic analysis and comparative analysis to analyze the data across public organizations, private organizations, and international companies. The results identify organizational factors and their influence on knowledge channels and knowledge networks. The study contributes to organizational, administrative and knowledge management theories regarding organizational strategy, organizational culture, organizational capacity, knowledge network externalities, knowledge network intermediaries, and knowledge network infrastructures.Peer reviewe

Where can Knowledge-Based Decision Support Systems Go in Contemporary Business Management - A New Architecture for the Future

Decision support systems (DSS) are one of the most widely used management information systems in current business management. The focus of the paper is on the knowledge-based decision support systems, namely the KB-DSS, in support of contemporary business management decision making. Business managers use KB-DSS can improve their decision making not only in terms of speed and accuracy but also consistency. Key perspectives of KB-DSS including technological, organizational, social and cultural perspectives are discussed in the context of contemporary management decision context. New contribution to the knowledge management function of KB-DSS through a number of recent projects is presented. The paper then highlights some implications for the development of the next generation of KB-DSS before a new architecture is proposed for future work

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PATENT PROSPECTING AS A BASIS FOR KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION – A STUDY ON MOBILE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND VIRTUAL PROCESSES OF COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT

Information and knowledge are essential drivers of innovations, technological development, and transformations that foster organizations’ competitiveness and constantly change the way people communicate, interact, and work. To hold information and knowledge means the possibility of expanding capacities and ensuring access to opportunities that may bring competitive advantage and economic growth. Considering these assumptions, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate how inventive actions can be collected and correlated as a source of information and knowledge for a given subject. In order to do so, we established as research elements the following topics: mobile information technologies, mobile communication, and management, and we looked for them, in a correlated way, in patent databases. This is a descriptive qualitative study, with secondary data collection in patent bases such as the websites Espacenet.com, Wipo.com and Patent2Net, which provide information on patents’ registrations. We used the Gephi software for analysis and visualization of network structures. Through the use of specific filters,  considering the three topics together, the results showed 213 patents filed in the period 1988–2015, and a concentration of records between 2012 and 2013, when 32% of them were registered. In addition, China was responsible for 40% of patent applications, followed by South Korea, with 24%, and the United States and Japan, both with nearly 11% of the total

A new trend for knowledge-based decision support systems design

Knowledge-based decision support systems (KBDSS) have evolved greatly over the last few decades. The key technologies underpinning the development of KBDSS can be classified into three categories: technologies for knowledge modelling and representation, technologies for reasoning and inference and web-based technologies. In the meantime, service systems have emerged and become increasingly important to value adding activities in the current knowledge economy. This paper provides a review on the recent advances in the three types of technologies, as well as the main application domains of KBDSS as service systems. Based on the examination of literature, future research directions are recommended for the development of KBDSS in general and in particular to support decision-making in service industry

New structured knowledge network for strategic decision-making in IT innovative and implementable projects

This study investigates the development of a structured knowledge network model in information technology (IT) innovative and implementable projects to facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer in a multi-organization context. The study employs a practice-based perspective by using an exploratory case study approach and a combination of thematic analysis and comparative analysis to analyze the data across public organizations, private organizations, and international companies. The results identify organizational factors and their influence on knowledge channels and knowledge networks. The study contributes to organizational, administrative and knowledge management theories regarding organizational strategy, organizational culture, organizational capacity, knowledge network externalities, knowledge network intermediaries, and knowledge network infrastructures

A Knowledge Network and Mobilisation Framework for Lean Supply Chain Decisions in Agri-Food Industry

Copyright ©2017 IGI Global. Reproduced with permission from IGI Global. All rights, including translation into other languages reserved by the publisher. No part of this article may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher, except for noncommercial, educational use including classroom teaching purposes.Making the right decisions for food supply chain is extremely important towards achieving sustainability in agricultural businesses. This paper explores that knowledge sharing to support food supply chain decisions to achieve lean performance (i.e. to reduce/eliminate non-value-adding activities, or “waste” in lean term). The focus of the paper is on defining new knowledge networks and mobilisation approaches to address the network and community nature of current supply chains. Based on critical analysis of the state-of-the-art in the topic area, a knowledge network and mobilisation framework for lean supply chain management has been developed. The framework has then been evaluated using a case study from the food supply chain. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to incorporate expert's view on the defined knowledge networks and mobilisation approaches with respect to their contribution to achieving various lean performance objectives. The results from the work have a number of implications for current knowledge management and supply chain management in theory and in practice.Peer reviewe

How to use lean thinking to improve knowledge management performance of manufacturing supply chains

This thesis aims to eliminate inefficient knowledge management activities and use Lean Principles as guidance to improve knowledge management performance in manufacturing supply chains. In order to achieve this aim, this research examines the causal relationships between Knowledge Management Processes (KMPs), 4 Lean-KM Wastes and 2 Lean-KM Principles in different countries, industries and company sizes. This thesis employs a quantitative method. A theoretical model is built on rigorous literature reviews of supply chain knowledge management and Lean thinking studies, in-depth discussions, item review and pilot study with experts to signify ambiguity or misunderstanding with the items and to suggest modifications. The proposed model is empirically tested with survey data using 359 responses from two types of manufacturing industries (i.e. machinery and electronics manufacturing and food and drink industry), two types of business sizes (i.e. SMEs and Large companies), and two countries (i.e. China and the US). The key output is a framework for Lean-Knowledge Management Processes (Lean-KMPs). With regard to the findings of the empirical research, three main constructs were successfully validated as multi-dimensional constructs. The results from path model analysis shows that most of the sub-hypotheses are supported. Only three of them were rejected in both aggregated-level path model analysis and multi-group analysis. The results have proven the four Lean-KM Wastes and two Lean-KM Principles having negative and positive effects on KMPs, respectively. The detailed findings of this thesis include five parts. Firstly, with respect to Knowledge Acquisition (KA), badly designed information systems are the biggest obstacles for improving the performance of KA. Identification and Usage of Valuable Information and Knowledge (IUVI) and Encouraging Information and Knowledge Flow (EIKF) are two factors that can enhance KA. In addition, big companies should build trustful relationships and improve the accessibility of required information with their supply chain. Secondly, concerning the performance of Knowledge Selection (KS), companies should only retain the most valuable information for avoiding overloaded databases, and information provider need to understand receiver’s requirement and provide the most relevant information, so that could help receivers to store that information more effectively and also make the retrieval of it much easier. Thirdly, for enhancing the performance of Knowledge Generation (KG), companies should gather business information as comprehensive as possible. In addition, Low Quality Information (LQI) and Insufficient Knowledge Inventory (IKI) are two negative factors which could diminish the performance of KG. Moreover, the results also reveal that small or less resourceful companies should focus more on improving the information quality over quantity. Furthermore, well-developed IT systems, IUVI, and EIKF are important positive factors for large and/or machinery and electronics manufacturing’s KG performance. Fourthly, as for Knowledge Internalisation (KI), IUVI and EIKF are two positive factors to the performance of KI. While Inappropriate Information System (IIS) is the biggest obstacle of KI. Lastly, regarding to Knowledge Externalisation (KE), the results indicate that LQI and IKI are two negative factors to KE and IUVI is the only positive factor to KE. This thesis synthesises Lean thinking, supply chain integration, and knowledge management to develop a comprehensive approach to improve the knowledge management performance of manufacturing supply chains. It has four theoretical contributions: 1) developed Lean-KMPs model and 19 hypotheses to improve the KM performance of manufacturing supply chains; 2) developed 4 Lean-KM wastes and 2 Lean-KM Principles based on the Lean thinking for manufacturing supply chain KM; 3) identified and developed 5 latent constructs for KMPs and 30 corresponding indicators to accurately measure companies’ KM performance; 4) conducted industry-specific empirical studies, collected 359 useful data from different countries, different industries and different sized companies, and conducted three pairs of multi-group analyses based on these different contexts. Various manufacturing companies in both heavy and light industries would benefit from applying the results of this study to improve their KM performance. The results also suggest that manufacturing practitioners should use a comprehensive approach to improve knowledge management processes in order to make sure that critical information and knowledge flow seamlessly and efficiently among their supply chain members, further to achieve successful supply chain integration

The development of a knowledge network framework to support knowledge mobilisation in IT project oriented change management

Although there has been rich research conducted into the interrelated issues and factors among change management (ChM), knowledge management (KM) and project management (PM), most existing studies attempt to understand the role of KM in ChM and PM in general. Given the fundamental role played by KM in supporting IT project-oriented change management, the topics of knowledge networks and mobilisation across knowledge boundaries are relatively unexplored. Recent developments in KM have heightened the need for more understanding on four main issues: 1) insufficient knowledge traceability based on the relationships between knowledge elements and key factors; 2) most decision issues in PM are related to uncertainty, complexity and implicit ambiguity, particularly with regard to systematics and interrelatedness within project decisions; 3) lack of procedural knowledge to provide strategic direction for managing multiple IT projects; 4) lack of ‘lessons learnt’ documentation in knowledge bases. To address these issues, this research attempts to analyse KM, ChM and IT project management from a more integrated perspective, and investigates the development of a change management knowledge network model (CMKNM) in IT projects to facilitate knowledge mobilisation across organizational boundaries. The study employs a practice-based perspective by adopting both deductive and inductive approaches using an exploratory case study strategy. Empirical data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents. A combination of thematic analysis and comparative analysis has been employed to analyse the data collected across seven public organisations, private organisations, and international companies. Results are obtained from the empirical study on the key factors influencing knowledge mobilisation in IT projectoriented change management, knowledge networks and connections. The results identified organisational factors and their influence on knowledge channels and knowledge networks. The CMKNM allows key knowledge mobilisation factors to be aligned with each other. Connections between knowledge networks allow knowledge to be mobilised by tracing knowledge channels to support ChM decisions. The study contributes to organisational and KM theories regarding organizational strategy, organisational culture, organizational capacity, knowledge network externalities, knowledge network intermediaries, and knowledge network infrastructure