Goal Congruence, Trust and Organisational Culture: Strengthening Knowledge Links

Collaboration between organizations benefits from knowledge links -- a form of strategic alliance that gives organizations access to the skills and capabilities of their partner and opportunity to create new capabilities together. Using the example of alliances between two universities and SAP AG, the market leader in Enterprise Software, the paper suggests some management practices to improve goal congruence, trust and alignment between different organizational cultures. For example, face-to-face interactions are critical for building a close relationship over time. A theoretical framework of the five phases of partnership development and the three challenges faced by knowledge link partnerships is proposed, along with implications for management, universities and research

Risk management for drinking water safety in low and middle income countries: cultural influences on water safety plan (WSP) implementation in urban water utilities

We investigated cultural influences on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) using case studies from WSP pilots in India, Uganda and Jamaica. A comprehensive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n = 150 utility customers, n = 32 WSP ‘implementers’ and n = 9 WSP ‘promoters’), field observations and related documents revealed 12 cultural themes, offered as ‘enabling’, ‘limiting’, or ‘neutral’, that influence WSP implementation in urban water utilities to varying extents. Aspects such as a ‘deliver first, safety later’ mind set; supply system knowledge management and storage practices; and non-compliance are deemed influential. Emergent themes of cultural influence (ET1 to ET12) are discussed by reference to the risk management, development studies and institutional culture literatures; by reference to their positive, negative or neutral influence on WSP implementation. The results have implications for the utility endorsement of WSPs, for the impact of organisational cultures on WSP implementation; for the scale-up of pilot studies; and they support repeated calls from practitioner communities for cultural attentiveness during WSP design. Findings on organisational cultures mirror those from utilities in higher income nations implementing WSPs – leadership, advocacy among promoters and customers (not just implementers) and purposeful knowledge management are critical to WSP success

A Case of Information Technology Enabled Knowledge Management During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacts on the working environment and cultures of organizations. This case study explores positive practices of information technology enabled knowledge management in two aspects during the Covid-19 pandemic. First, the Covid-19 pandemic has driven “smart working” in organizations. Organizations can cope with this change in a positive way in knowledge management through stimulating knowledge flows using information technologies. Second, information technology enabled transformational and transactional of knowledge management are the key to success of “smart working” in the organization during the Covid-19 pandemic. Fully digitalization in organizations beyond “smart working” using digitalized documents repositories and knowledge management enables the organizational learning. The positive practices of knowledge management developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic can continuously be applied to knowledge management in the long-term of development of organizations

The Impact of National Culture on How Innovation Is Facilitated: A Comparative Study of Innovation-Enhancing Management Practices in Chinese and Finnish Companies

The purpose for this thesis is to try to understand main differences in innovation manage-ment practices that emerge in different cultural context, namely China and Finland. The study creates a framework of innovation-enhancing management practices based on the literature on innovation, entrepreneurship, and human resource management and subse-quently aims to combine this knowledge with the cultural dimensions of Hofstede (1980; 1984) and business system theory by Whitley (2000) to explain the differences of how this process works in different countries. Innovation-enhancing management practices focus particularly on empowerment-enhancing HRM practices and knowledge management practices. I conducted a semi-structured interview study with three companies in China and three companies in Finland. The methodology was an application of a grounded theory building through case studies in order to uncover the differences in management practices in Chinese and Finnish companies. Overall, I identified 67 different management practices, out of which 33 practices were considered to be innovation-enhancing management practices. These were further divided under five innovation-enhancing management practice groups: promotion of learning, training, efficient procedures, empowering people and teamwork. The research suggests that Chinese and Finnish companies utilize different management practices to facilitate innovation. While the companies used practices in all of the management practice groups, the individual practices under each group, which were important, were rather different. However, similar practices were in customer collaboration and utilization of multiple different sources for acquiring new knowledge. Moreover, the Chinese and Finnish companies emphasize teamwork in innovations and empowering individuals but stress the importance of withholding personal liability for risks and honest mistakes emerging in innovation development. The main contribution of the study is in increasing our understanding of what kind of management practices work in different cultural settings. For example, collaboration activities concerning innovations work differently in Chinese and Finnish companies due to the difference in long-term orientation of the cultures. Moreover, this research shows that while management practices might be similar on a conceptual level, the contents and impact of similarly defined practices often differ significantly in different cultures

Knowledge Management and Organizational Culture in a Software Development Enterprise

The aim of this study was to analysis knowledge management and organizational culture at a Spanish software development enterprise. For this purpose, two different tasks were performed: first, analysis of knowledge management levels and organizational culture; and second, analysis of the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge management. The sample consisted of 196 employees between 21 and 45 years old, with 119 (61.3%) men. To achieve the objectives, adaptations of the Organizational Knowledge Practices (OKP) questionnaire (Cortijo, & Quintanilla, 2004) and the “Organizational Culture Inventory” (OCI) were used (Cooke & Lafferty, 1987). Based on the results, it appears that the company is oriented towards a constructive organizational culture. It also seems that the company emphasizes efficient knowledge management practices, especially in regard to teamwork. Finally, the link between organizational culture and knowledge management seems to be proven. As hypothesized, constructive culture is positively related to knowledge management performance, while Passive–Defensive and Aggressive–Defensive cultures are negatively related. All these results are particularly interesting considering that in the scientific literature such relationships have been proposed from a theoretical perspective, but only a few studies have explored these questions at the empirical level.

Knowledge management and organizational culture in a software development enterprise

The aim of this study was to analysis knowledge management and organizational culture at a Spanish software development enterprise. For this purpose, two different tasks were performed: first, analysis of knowledge management levels and organizational culture; and second, analysis of the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge management. The sample consisted of 196 employees between 21 and 45 years old, with 119 (61.3%) men. To achieve the objectives, adaptations of the Organizational Knowledge Practices (OKP) questionnaire (Cortijo, & Quintanilla, 2004) and the “Organizational Culture Inventory” (OCI) were used (Cooke & Lafferty, 1987). Based on the results, it appears that the company is oriented towards a constructive organizational culture. It also seems that the company emphasizes efficient knowledge management practices, especially in regard to teamwork. Finally, the link between organizational culture and knowledge management seems to be proven. As hypothesized, constructive culture is positively related to knowledge management performance, while Passive–Defensive and Aggressive–Defensive cultures are negatively related. All these results are particularly interesting considering that in the scientific literature such relationships have been proposed from a theoretical perspective, but only a few studies have explored these questions at the empirical level.Economí

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Modern Day Ecosystem Management and Restoration Practices

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is a fairly new area of research that can supplement science research and modern day ecosystem management practices. Indigenous cultures and local communities have been using and passing on TEK in forestry, agricultural, and aquaculture/marine ecosystem management. Through a review of literature, TEK in Hawaiʻi was compared to TEK in other countries. TEK was also compared to modern day ecosystem management practices to determine if TEK could be integrated. In Hawaiʻi an ahupuaʻa, a land transect that cuts the islands in sections from mountain to sea, was an integrated watershed based management system. TEK in ahupuaʻa management systems has been passed down and being revived in Heʻeia, Oʻahu and Puanui, Hawaiʻi. Differing beliefs, goals, a lack of enforcement, and a lack of communication are some of the challenges of integrating TEK into modern day ecosystem management practices. It is possible to integrate TEK, but research, education, and collaboration between communities, researchers, and government agencies are needed in order to perpetuate and integrate TEK in modern day ecosystem management and restoration practices

Appreciating Formal and Informal Knowledge Transfer Practices within Creative Festival Organizations

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Raphaela Stadler, and Simone Fullagar, "Appreciating formal and informal knowledge transfer practices within creative festival organizations", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 20 (1): 146-161, January 2016, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2014-0484.Purpose – Problem-solving approaches to research have dominated the not-for-profit festival management field. Little attention has been paid to how festival organizations successfully create cultures where knowledge transfer is practised within the high intensity of a festival lifecycle. Drawing upon insights from Social Practice Theory and Appreciative Inquiry (AI), our purpose in this article is to offer a different conceptual approach to understanding how knowledge transfer ‘works’ as an organizational practice to produce a collaborative festival culture. Design/methodology/approach - This article draws upon an ethnographic case study with the highly acclaimed Queensland Music Festival organization in Australia. The research questions and methods were framed around an appreciative approach that identified formal and informal practices that ‘worked’ rather than a conventional problem focused analysis. Findings – Our research focused on appreciating the cultural context that shaped the interrelationships between formal and informal knowledge transfer practices that enabled trust and collaboration. We identified a range of knowledge transfer practices that contributed to the creation of a shared festival ethos and the on-going sustainability of the festival vision. Practical implications - The not-for-profit sector brings numerous challenges for festival organizations and there is a need to appreciate how collaborative and creative knowledge transfer can occur formally and informally. Festival organizers can benefit from understanding the relational and practice dimensions of knowledge management as they are performed within specific organisational contexts. Originality/value – An appreciative understanding of knowledge transfer practices has not yet been applied to not-for-profit festival organizations where problem-solving approaches dominate the field. Article classification - Research paperPeer reviewe

Knowledge Management Practice Strategies in Project-Based Organizations

Companies globally have lost profit each year because of the lack of intra-organizational knowledge sharing. The purpose of this descriptive, multiple case study was to explore the knowledge management practice strategies that project management business leaders use to improve knowledge sharing in project-based organizations. Nine project management business leaders from 4 project-based organizations in metro Atlanta, Georgia completed individual Skype/phone semistructured interviews, and 5 project team members completed an in-person focus group discussion and an interview questionnaire. Knowledge management was the conceptual framework for this study, the basis for understanding the world around project management business leaders, and the implementation of knowledge management practice strategies for knowledge sharing. The individual interviews, focus group discussion, and interview questionnaire yielded the lived experiences of project management business leaders and the perceptions of project team members regarding knowledge sharing in their project-based organizations. The data were analyzed through data source triangulation and cross-case synthesis, which resulted in various themes such as communication, practices to overcome barriers, and a centralized resource center. The findings of this study may effect positive social change and the improvement of knowledge sharing by promoting the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, cultures, or societies

Knowledge management initiatives in the New Zealand state sector : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Information at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

This research study attempts to determine whether New Zealand State sector organisations do benefit or can benefit from using knowledge management. After considering various approaches taken to developing and implementing knowledge management initiatives, the use of knowledge management in a range of New Zealand State sector organisations is investigated. The practices discovered in each organisation are compared. The positive and negative outcomes experienced from undertaking knowledge management initiatives are discussed. These experiences suggest what similar organisations need to be aware of if contemplating using knowledge management. The research was a comparative study of several New Zealand State sector organisations that have either implemented or are planning to implement knowledge management initiatives. The research approach was qualitative, and the methodology involved in-depth interviews. These interviews allowed for cross-analysis and comparison across eight different State sector organisations to gain an insight into what has occurred around knowledge management initiatives in each one. All organisations have gone about developing and implementing knowledge management initiatives In different ways, but all have begun knowledge management work from the common starting point of developing a knowledge management strategy to guide an overall programme of work. The results of the research indicate that New Zealand State sector organisations have used knowledge management as a change tool, to effect culture changes and staff behaviour changes, and to counteract loss of organisational knowledge. The key benefits obtained by the organisations that have undertaken knowledge management initiatives have been improving knowledge sharing cultures and environments, and achieving cultural and behavioural changes desired. The critical cornerstones for knowledge management success have been good leadership and buy-in of the knowledge management initiative at chief executive and senior management level