Key factors affecting transnational knowledge transfer in the context of the Euroaid Asia programme

A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Science by research of the University of BedfordshireThe thesis aims to identify and verify the key factors affecting transnational knowledge transfer (TKT) in the context of the EuroAid Asia Programme. This study extends the existing research on knowledge transfer (KT) by investigating the neglected area of TKT, an area which needs better understanding, given the rapid development of TKT. Compared to the KT at the individual, group, or organizational level, TKT is both more complicated to comprehend, and has received less attention. This study begins with a literature review of the definition of knowledge and KT, analysis of KT at different levels, and summary of a comprehensive set of factors that may influence KT. Then, in order to empirically explore the key factors affecting TKT in the EuroAid Asia Programme and to evaluate the relative importance between factors, an international Delphi survey is employed. Through the two rounds, experts mentioned twenty-four factors and provided explanations for their views. Based on these survey results, a factorial model is developed. The verified factors and the proposed model could help project participants better understand the process of TKT, remind them what key factors really influence the process of TKT and urge them to make an active effort to properly assess each factor before prioritizing the factors for management attention

Developing an inter-organisational knowledge transfer framework for SMES

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of LutonThis thesis aims to develop an inter-organisational knowledge transfer (KT) framework for SMEs, to help them have better understanding of the process of the KT between a SME and its customer (or supplier). The motivation is that knowledge management issues in SMEs is very neglected, which is not in line with the importance of SMEs in the UK national economy; moreover, compared to KT within an organisation, between organisations is more complicated, harder to understand, and has received much less attention. Firstly, external knowledge is generally believed to be of prime importance for SMEs. However, there is little empirical evidence to confirm this hypothesis. In order to empirically evaluate the hypothesis, and also specifically to identify SMEs' needs for external knowledge, a mail questionnaire survey is carried out. Then, based on the key findings of the survey, some 5MB managers are interviewed. The conclusions triangulated from both the key findings and the interview results strongly support the hypothesis, and demonstrate that SMEs have very strong needs for inter-organisational KT, and thus provide very strong empirical underpinning for the necessity of the development of the framework. Secondly, drawing support from a process view, a four-stage process model was proposed for inter-organisational KT. Then a co-ordinating mechanism underpinned by social networks and organisational learning is developed. The process model, co-ordinating mechanism together with cultural difference between organisations constitute an initial framework. Through interviews with SME managers, the initial framework is revised a final framework. The framework validation exercise shows that the final framework could help SMEs have better understanding of the KT. In order to remind and help SMEs to address the 'boundary paradox' embedded in interorganisational KT, and further reflect its complexities and difficulties, the important factors related to each stage of the framework are identified from a strategic perspective, with the help of the co-ordinating mechanism and relevant literature. The factors are also verified by interviews in SMEs. As a result, the initial factors are revised by removing the factors that are perceived as unimportant. The interview results demonstrate that the important factors, as a checklist, can remind and help SMEs to address the 'paradox', and are thus very useful for them

Structured articulation of knowledge: The influence of question response structure on recipient attitude

Business today is faced with discontinuity and unpredictable change, which makes many of the structured processes of yesteryear redundant or obsolete. Process-based transactions are being replaced with technology and increasingly organisations are recognising the importance of proactively managing their knowledge transactions, to remain competitive. While research on knowledge sharing is gaining the attention of researchers, almost invariably their focus has been on the factors influencing knowledge transfer at the macro-level in large multi-national organisations. Few have attempted to unravel the complexities of individual-to-individual micro-level knowledge sharing and those that have, for the most part have directed their investigations towards exploring factors that enhance or impede the source individual sharing their knowledge, rather than the recipient's receiving of knowledge. While questioning is implicit in knowledge sharing there are assumptions that underpin the structure of a question and these assumptions affect both the source and the recipient. This study investigates how the structure of a question posed to a source individual when eliciting knowledge, influences the attitude of a recipient individual towards the knowledge they receive from the question response. Drawing upon theoretical assumptions that underpin question structure, three hypotheses are posed to compare binary, open-ended and directed question responses. To test the hypotheses a progression of three independent studies were performed using laboratory and field experiments. The first study conducted in a laboratory, used a contrived scenario case as the knowledge context and the second study replicated this experiment in the field. The last study conducted in a single organisation, used real organisational knowledge as the knowledge context. Recipients of shared knowledge were found to be more favourably disposed towards question responses that were structured in a complex manner; open-ended and directed question responses were more favoured than binary question responses. ii There was no difference in recipient attitude between open-ended and directed question responses and recipient attitude towards the shared knowledge was found to be positively related to their intention to use the knowledge in the future. These findings are of significance as they illustrate the importance of structuring questions in a manner that is consistent with recipients of the shared knowledge being more favourably disposed towards the knowledge they have received. In an environment of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty where decisions are nonprogrammed, strategic and imperative to the competitiveness of the organisation, no longer is the binary 'Yes' or 'No' compliance or audit style question, with its implicit assumptions, sufficient to elicit knowledge. It is important to recognise that often we do not know what we need to know until it is shared by someone. Further, when shared knowledge is cognitively processed with our current knowledge base, the new knowledge is likely to facilitate more informed decision-making. The more favourably disposed the recipient is towards the knowledge the more likely it is that they will use it in the future; knowledge is transferred

FULFIL: production control system for managing workflow, quality and flexibility in construction

Construction is an important sector of every economy. Evidence of below par performance in construction projects has been recognized by government and industry bodies. Traditional control systems with project-based approaches have not overcome endemic problems in the industry such as cost and schedule overruns and quality issues. The innovative control system proposed in this research takes a production-based approach (as opposed to a project-based approach). The FULFIL system, aims to stabilise the work f low, minimise interruptions caused by q u a l ity problems and maximise the f lexib il ity in process design. The FULFIL system of production control is based on four pillars: queuing theory, transformation/flow/value theory, factory physics, and theory of constraints. In order to propose the principles of the FULFIL system, analytical and simulation models of construction production are developed. This thesis is driven by seven research objectives: 1) To analyse the impact of workflow variability on construction production. The research results confirm that performance in construction is adversely affected by workflow variability caused by factors such as rework and capacity imbalance. 2) To establish a tailored modelling approach that precisely quantifies variability in the workflow amongst specialty contractors. This thesis proposes a new modelling approach using a relative indicator of variability, which takes both the standard deviation of time between completions and average processing times into consideration. 3) To explore approaches to stabilising the workflow in construction. Two principles for stabilising the workflow are proposed and tested. Limiting the number of jobs under construction and integrating work processes are confirmed to prevent frequent work starvations and overloads in the production network. 4) To explore opportunities for variability reduction in construction. Tangible performance measures in due-date-driven and rate-driven production are compared. FULFIL analysis shows that when new construction is authorised, not scheduled, the production is more efficient, controllable and robust against control errors. 5) To explore opportunities for variability buffering in construction production. The user-friendly framework for defining optimum-sized capacity buffers in the FULFIL system is developed and tested. 6) To explore opportunities for improving the flexibility in construction processes. Two sources of inflexibility in process designs are analysed and addressed. Depending on the level of capacity imbalance and processing time variability, different cross-training strategies are proposed and tested. When processing times are variable, capacity should be shifted in an indirect path to the bottlenecks. 7) To explore opportunities for reducing interruptions caused by quality problems and rework. Three variables of rework are analysed and strategies to address them are proposed. Rework duration and intervals, and the timeframe of call-backs are shown to have significant impacts on the performance of construction and can be effectively offset by using FULFIL protocols. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge by developing a deeper insight into the dynamics of workflow, quality and flexibility management, and the resulting impacts on construction plan reliability. Furthermore it can assist industry practitioners in finding the most cost-effective way to operate and control production networks. Easy-to-use models developed and tested in this thesis can improve the traditional project-based controls in construction