Knowledge sourcing methods

Abstract Many knowledge management (KM) initiatives in organizations seek to improve how employees draw on each others' expertise, experience, advice, and opinions, which we call knowledge sourcing behavior. Employees can source knowledge recorded in document form, through dyadic conversations, or in-group settings. We proposed and tested a theory to support the idea that employees' use of different classes of knowledge sourcing methods produced different kinds of performance outcomes. Our findings suggested that (1) different classes of knowledge sourcing methods are not as interchangeable as the KM literature might suggest, (2) technology-based methods are neither inherently superior nor inferior to traditional methods and (3) that group knowledge sourcing supports a wider range of performance outcomes than other methods. Together, these results highlight the importance of aligning KM efforts with their intended outcome. Before launching a project designed to enhance knowledge sourcing, managers should decide which performance outcome they wish to affect and select a KM tool that is aligned with the desired effect.

INNOVATION WANTED: A LITERATURE REVIEW ON INNOVATION SOURCING ENGAGEMENTS

Recent research shows the increasing importance of generating innovative IT solutions within information technology outsourcing (ITO) relationships. This literature review sheds further light on our current body of knowledge with regard to such innovation sourcing engagements. Based on a structured literature review and using citation network analysis methods, we (1) identify key articles and authors covering the topic of innovation sourcing, (2) analyze the development of innovation sourcing in ITO relationships over time, and (3) evaluate relevant concepts for innovation sourcing engagements in practice. Our main finding is the identification, categorization, and relevance ranking of 103 concepts related to innovation sourcing. Additionally, we identify research gaps as well as confirm that citation network analysis is a proper method for the visualization and analysis of literature in the research stream of innovation sourcing. We emphasize further research on innovation sourcing engagements and provide distinctive research directions for the research community

Technology Scouting – a case study on the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories

Technology Intelligence has become an important field of study in which a variety of different methods are discussed, all aiming at identifying opportunities and threats arising from advances in technology. In this respect, Technology Scouting is a method which can lower the time lag between the advances in technology and their detection by methods such as patent or publication analysis. Furthermore, in an environment of increasing technological complexity and the globalization of R&D, the successful identification and usage of external sources of knowledge is becoming increasingly important. In the sourcing of technology the scouts can also play an important role in identifying valuable sources and facilitate the sourcing. Based on two case studies of the Deutsche Telekom and British Telecom, as well as a literature review, the paper proposes a definition of Technology Scouting, a generic process, and identifies the motivations of the actors in the process.technology intelligence, technological forecasting, technology foresight; technology scouting; technology exploration; strategic foresight; technology monitoring; technology scanning

Survey of Australian father\u27s attitudes towards infant vaccination: Findings from the Australian Father\u27s Study

Objective: To investigate the attitudes of expectant Australian fathers towards vaccination, and to identify factors which may influence these attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of 407 Australian men with expectant partners, mean age 30.4 (SD 6.7). Self reported attitude, level of knowledge and information resources accessed regarding pregnancy related issues. Participant demographics collected included: Age, number of children, relationship status, level of education, employment information and smoking status. Results: Majority (89%) of participants had a positive attitude towards infant vaccination, 9% felt neutral and 2% had negative attitudes. Positive attitudes towards vaccination were associated with lower self-reported knowledge of pregnancy issues but a higher likelihood of discussing pregnancy issues with health care providers rather than sourcing information from the internet (both p\u3c0.001). Conclusion: A majority of Australian expectant fathers have a positive attitude towards infant vaccination. Fathers with negative attitudes to vaccination self-reported higher levels of knowledge. They were more likely to obtain information from the Internet instead of healthcare staff. Implication for public health: Including fathers in health discussion with knowledgeable health care providers may result in increased vaccine uptake

A new knowledge sourcing framework to support knowledge-based engineering development

New trends in Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) highlight the need for decoupling the automation aspect from the knowledge management side of KBE. In this direction, some authors argue that KBE is capable of effectively capturing, retaining and reusing engineering knowledge. However, there are some limitations associated with some aspects of KBE that present a barrier to deliver the knowledge sourcing process requested by the industry. To overcome some of these limitations this research proposes a new methodology for efficient knowledge capture and effective management of the complete knowledge life cycle. Current knowledge capture procedures represent one of the main constraints limiting the wide use of KBE in the industry. This is due to the extraction of knowledge from experts in high cost knowledge capture sessions. To reduce the amount of time required from experts to extract relevant knowledge, this research uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques capable of generating new knowledge from company assets. Moreover the research reported here proposes the integration of AI methods and experts increasing as a result the accuracy of the predictions and the reliability of using advanced reasoning tools. The proposed knowledge sourcing framework integrates two features: (i) use of advanced data mining tools and expert knowledge to create new knowledge from raw data, (ii) adoption of a well-established and reliable methodology to systematically capture, transfer and reuse engineering knowledge. The methodology proposed in this research is validated through the development and implementation of two case studies aiming at the optimisation of wing design concepts. The results obtained in both use cases proved the extended KBE capability for fast and effective knowledge sourcing. This evidence was provided by the experts working in the development of each of the case studies through the implementation of structured quantitative and qualitative analyses

Formal and Strategic Appropriability Strategies of Multinational Firms: A Cross Country Comparison

International knowledge spillovers, especially through multinational companies (MNCs), have recently been a major topic of discussion among academics and practitioners. Most research in this field focuses on knowledge sharing activities of MNC subsidiaries. Relatively little is known about their capabilities for protecting valuable knowledge from spilling over to host country competitors. We extend this stream of research by investigating MNC appropriability strategies that go beyond formal methods (patents, copyrights, trademarks) to include strategic ones (secrecy, lead time, complex design). We conceptualize the breadth and depth of a firm?s knowledge protection strategies and relate them to the particular situation of MNC subsidiaries. Moreover, we argue that their approaches differ with regard to host country challenges and opportunities. We address these issues empirically, based on a harmonized survey of innovation activities of more than 1,800 firms located in Portugal and Germany. We find that MNCs prefer broader sets of appropriability strategies in host countries with fewer opportunities for knowledge sourcing. However, munificent host country environments require targeted sets of appropriability strategies instead. We deduce that these results are due to a need for reciprocity to benefit fully from promising host country knowledge flows. --Appropriability,Multinational Companies,Patenting

How social media are changing the way business journalists do their jobs

Professional project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Journalism from the School of Journalism, University of Missouri--Columbia.This professional project seeks to answer the question of how social media are changing business reporters' sourcing practices. In the past, reporters depended on face-to-face interviews or email. With the popularity of social media in the newsrooms, there are new ways of reporting -- finding sources and user-generated content on social media. This study aims to find out in what situations social media are most used for sourcing, how reporters utilize it, the benefits and drawbacks of this method, how reporters overcome the drawbacks, and what the future could be like for social media sourcing. The study discovered that business reporters are increasingly using social media sourcing, but they still largely rely on traditional sourcing methods. Business reporters and social media editors do embrace social media sourcing because it creates a large quantity of knowledge in a short time, but they also recognize the potential risk of false information and therefore pay special attention to fact checking. They also identify social media sourcing as a way to interact with the audience and hope social media can provide more opportunities for public engagement. The study is of importance to reporters because it can shed light on social media sourcing practices and how traditional journalistic standards such as verification are maintained.Includes bibliographic references

Ethical sourcing : an analysis of the literature and implications for future research

The purpose of this study is to present a rigorous, focused review on how this field of ethical sourcing research has grown and evolved over the decades, providing implications for future research. We combine two research methodologies in this study: a systematic literature review and a citation network analysis. The former is used as a scientific tool to select the most relevant ethical sourcing articles, while the latter is then applied as a research technique to analyse these selected articles. Such a combined approach allows for a rigorous investigation into this field of research in a more scientific and objective way. Based on this approach, we identify (1) distinctive features of ethical sourcing studies such as growth trends and content issues; (2) important articles that have played a significant role in developing this field; (3) evolutionary paths that show how its knowledge has been created and transferred; (4) emerging trends that have received growing attention in the recent literature; (5) main research areas that underlie the entire ethical sourcing studies; and (6) major implications that need to be pursued in future research. The results of this study provide not only the current status of the literature but also the patters of evolution in this field of research, thus contributing to the existing literature