Practitioner requirements for integrated Knowledge-Based Engineering in Product Lifecycle Management.

The effective management of knowledge as capital is considered essential to the success of engineering product/service systems. As Knowledge Management (KM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) practice gain industrial adoption, the question of functional overlaps between both the approaches becomes evident. This article explores the interoperability between PLM and Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) as a strategy for engineering KM. The opinion of key KBE/PLM practitioners are systematically captured and analysed. A set of ranked business functionalities to be fulfiled by the KBE/PLM systems integration is elicited. The article provides insights for the researchers and the practitioners playing both the user and development roles on the future needs for knowledge systems based on PLM

Cultural impacts on knowledge sharing: empirical data from EU project collaboration.

Purpose – EU sponsored Lifelong Learning Projects involve a variety of experts of diverse cultural, organisational, and professional backgrounds connected together in one project with time and money constraints. The members of the consortium, often unknown to each other from the beginning, come together for a specific period of time to accomplish certain distinctive objectives. A special Knowledge Sharing strategy is needed in order to incorporate culturally diverse values, and to overcome the technical difficulties of dispersion and limited access to informal communication. This paper explores the way in which EU projects appreciate diverse cultural (national, organisational, and professional) influences on Knowledge Sharing in project-based collaboration. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on longitudinal studies, own multicultural experiences and earlier conceptually grounded arguments regarding cultural complexities to Knowledge Sharing in project environments. The key cultural issues highlighted here were empirically tested through a survey in the context of Knowledge Sharing in several EU Lifelong learning projects. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of dealing with cultural issues in fostering good Knowledge Sharing practices within dispersed projects. Findings – It is apparent that culture has a most significant influence on the Knowledge Sharing capability of time and money restricted dispersed project. Cultural awareness and the use of new Information and Communication (ICT) tools, such as WEB 2.0 are factors supporting Knowledge Sharing. Research limitations/implications – This paper puts forward experiences and opinions of a number of project partners from different EU lifelong learning projects regarding their general opinions about knowledge sharing and their experiences from knowledge sharing in EU projects they have participated in. The findings are not statistically tested due to the small sample, but highlight certain issues that will be further investigated in future work. Practical implications – At the project level, people and processes must be the first priority for project managers who wish to nurture a „Knowledge Sharing culture‟ in a dispersed context. At the team level, the project manager can help to create a team culture favourable to Knowledge Sharing by emphasising appropriate values and beliefs to the team members and by introducing suitable enablers for virtual communities. Originality/value – Previous studies have not examined knowledge sharing in EU projects. The paper aims to help practitioners and academics, who participate in EU projects to recognise that the different EU project team members usually are dispersed in terms of geography, expertise and working methods) and to understand that diverse cultural values (national, organisational and professional) can be a competitive advantage. As a result of gaining such understanding it is expected that EU project performance will improve if diversities are handled in a right manner and in addition Web 2.0 is used as a communication and sharing platform to enable increased knowledge sharing, interactive participation and digital democracy in practice

Antecedents and Outcomes of the Flow Experience: An Empirical Study in the Context of Online Gaming

This study uses flow theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to provide new insight into the impact of enjoyment, one important dimension of flow, on user satisfaction, user beliefs, and behavioral intention to use. In addition, based on the propositions that knowledge results in an increased ability for activity and that flow is an emotional state of activity, this paper adopts a process view of knowledge to examine the role of knowledge in predicting enjoyment. The foregoing concepts are represented in a nomological network of enjoyment. Associated hypotheses are tested by using questionnaire responses of 253 online game players

KASL-II: a dynamic four-loop model for knowledge sharing and learning

Knowledge sharing is by far the most important component of a knowledge management programme. Organizations strive to gain competitive advantage through efficiencies. When organizations realize that organizational knowledge is by far the most valuable resource, they need to find ways for efficient and effective knowledge sharing. We explore the barriers to knowledge sharing especially in virtual and multicultural teams. In particular, we unfold the human and cultural challenges that can create added competitive value for virtual and networked organizations. We conclude that the ideal environment and working practices will be to change the mindset and behaviour of team members so that instead of perceiving knowledge sharing as an extra task for the team members, isolated from the knowledge of other team members, it (knowledge sharing) becomes the natural way to work for everyone. Finally, we propose the dynamic knowledge acquisition and sharing lifecycle (KASL-II) model for aiding the knowledge sharing process by showing the stages of translating an organization's mission and goals into objectives, and how decisions and actions operate for materialising these objectives

An integrative model of knowledge management and team work

La relevancia de la gestión de recursos humanos en la gestión del conocimiento ha sido estudiada en las publicaciones académicas desde un enfoque de procesos de selección, remuneración o del sistema de desarrollo de carrera. Hemos encontrado pocas publicaciones que se centren en el comportamiento del grupo de personas que generan, comparten y transmiten el conocimiento trabajando en equipos. El objetivo de esta investigación es proponer un modelo que describa la relación entre gestión del conocimiento y trabajo en equipo, integrando las propuestas de los modelos de Nonaka y Takeuchi (1995); Leonard-Barton (1995) y Heisig (2000), y plantear una reflexión para futuras investigacionesHuman Resource Management relevance in Knowledge Management has been studied in academic literature mostly from the point of view of recruitment, selection, wages and salaries and career development processes. We have found few publications that are focused in the behaviour of the group of people who generate, share and transfer that knowledge while working in a team. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework that describes the relation between knowledge management and team work,, integrating Nonaka and Takeuchi, Leonard- Barton and Heisig framework proposals, as well as to outline some reflexions for further researches.Peer Reviewe

Knowledge Driven Behavioural Analysis in Process Intelligence

InthispaperweillustratehowtheknowledgedrivenBehaviourAnal- ysis, which has been used in the KITE.it process management framework, can support the evolution of analytics from descriptive to predictive. We describe how the methodology uses an iterative three-step process: first the descriptive knowledge is collected, querying the knowledge base, then the prescriptive and predictive knowledge phases allow us to evaluate business rules and objectives, extract unexpected business patterns, and screen exceptions. The procedure is iterative since this novel knowledge drives the definition of new descriptive an- alytics that can be combined with business rules and objectives to increase our level of knowledge on the combination between process behaviour and contex- tual information

Critical Role of \u27T-Shaped Skills & Incentive Rewards\u27 as Determinants for Knowledge Management Enablers: A Case of Indian Study

Knowledge management (KM) plays an important role for organisations. It involves activities such as creating, acquiring, sharing and managing knowledge at individual and organizational levels (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). Knowledge and knowledge management are both multi-faceted concepts and activities, and strongly related to cultural background (Bock et al., 2005). In this context, Srinivas (2009) indicates that the theories of knowledge management generated—based on western cultural background—are not necessarily applicable to eastern cultures such as India. Currently, KM is providing a better understanding of its success factors; and KM approaches are more focused to address particular challenges such as securing knowledge from experts leaving an organisation (Heisig, 2009). However, issues and factors that enable or facilitate an organisation to further enhance its knowledge management are essential elements in the decision making process of managers and executives (Lee & Choi, 2003; Gan, 2006; Khalifa & Liu, 2003; Emelo, 2009). The enablers for organisations in implementing their knowledge management systems were proposed and discussed in the literature (Lee & Choi, 2003; Yu et al., 2004; Robbins et al., 2001). However, most of the studies focused on only few factors. Therefore, building a theoretical framework to understand these factors and their influences is necessary to form a new starting point for comprehensive understanding (Heisig, 2009). Additionally, researchers indicated that a majority of these factors/enablers were based on western countries—which is different from the Asian context (Chaudry, 2005; Srinivas, 2009). In a rapidly developing country such as India, where the management system in organisations is markedly different to that of western styles, the question of 'whether the enablers still influence the implementation of knowledge management systems in the same way?' is still under debate. This research issue is significant because cultural issues appear to influence aspects of management decision making. Our review of the literature also indicated there is very limited information regarding KM in the Indian context