4 research outputs found
Ordered weighted average based grouping of nanomaterials with Arsinh and dose response similarity models
Environmental Biolog
The choice of information and knowledge resources for financial decision-making : case of Greek shipping companies
Shipping companies, which are operating in a particularly volatile and risky
environment, rely on effective knowledge management to remain competitive.
Success in the shipping industry is greatly related to financial decisions. However,
financial decision-making in the shipping market is demanding, not only because of
the context of high uncertainty and market competition, but also in terms of the vast
amounts of capital involved. Effective knowledge management processes offer the
opportunity to exploit knowledge and information to the benefit of the firm’s overall
performance and, in particular, to the improvement of decision-making. This
research intends to link the principles of knowledge management with organisational
decision-making. Thus, by first examining the preferred types of information
resources to inform financial decisions, this research also highlights the importance
of embedding knowledge management practices into the organization with a view to
improving decision-making.
This research explores what types of knowledge and information resources senior
managers of Greek shipping companies prefer to use, so as to inform their financial
decisions. The purpose of this research is, firstly, to identify the preferred types of
knowledge and information resources for managers making financial decisions.
More specifically, this research investigates what factors (such as demographics, or
the characteristics of the resources themselves) affect the choices of managers in
this respect. Finally, this research examines whether the behaviour of managers
towards knowledge and information is active, in the sense of actually searching for
and making use of knowledge and information resources, when they make financial
decisions. The role of knowledge management practices with regards to
organisational decision-making is also evaluated. To determine the use of knowledge and information resources in the financial
decisions of managers of Greek shipping companies, 49 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews in total were conducted with managers of shipping companies
operating in Piraeus, Greece, as part of a multiple-case-study methodology. Senior
managers were interviewed with a view to exploring potential trends in their decision-making styles, especially concerning their preferred types of knowledge and
information resources. The analysis of data was based on a qualitative approach.
The findings of this research made a particular contribution by distinguishing the
information-resource preferences in the shipping industry. Results show that, senior
Greek shipping managers prefer using both written and verbal sources of
information, as well as personal and impersonal resources, depending on each case.
Additionally, this research identifies that important criteria determining the value of
an information resource are trustworthiness, ease of use, accessibility, specialization
and exclusivity.
This research indicated that demographic factors like educational background and
working experience influence the use of knowledge and information resources. In
parallel to that, managers’ personality characteristics such as patience, self confidence, risk tolerance, being a good listener and having no egoism contribute to
make more effective decisions. Finally, the research findings confirm the managers’
active engagement in information seeking in order to make informed and effective
decisions. In effect, the results suggest that managerial decision-making is a
combination of data, past experience and intuition. Additionally, this research makes
recommendations for enhancing managerial practices in the shipping companies
through the use of knowledge management tools and processes