Systematic literature review on innovation capabilities in clusters

Purpose – This paper aims to map literature about innovation capabilities (IC) taking into considerationindustrial clusters to propose a conceptual framework that synthetizes the main factors and subfactorsresponsible for ICs; in addition, the paper also proposes a research agenda.Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed; academicpapers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.Findings – The authors provide a descriptive analysis followed by a thematic synthesis, in which wepresent 05 enablers and 20 critical factors (CF) of IC in clusters. The proposed framework emphasizes whatneeds to be done or improved to increase IC in cluster-based companies. Based on this systematic review andthe framework proposed, the authors identified opportunities for future research.Research limitations/implications – The enablers and CF identified through SLR were not validatedempirically. Therefore, future studies on the current topic are required to validate the framework byinvestigating which factors are more relevant to cluster-based companies that intend to improve theirinnovative performance.Practical implications – The present findings have important implications for the identification of thefactors and subfactors that may contribute to the development of IC, which may help managers and decisionmakers in recognizing which factors are the most responsible for business innovation.Originality/value – The paper identifies enablers related to the development of IC in industrial cluster andpresents a research agenda. The framework represents a guideline for companies to achieve better innovationperformance

Talk, talk, talk: Exploring idea conversations and the micro-level foundations of knowledge sharing for innovation

In this study we explore the drivers and consequences of micro-level instances of knowledge sharing for innovation. We do so by focusing on the temporally bounded conversations that colleagues have about new ideas and we study specifically how the strength of ties between these colleagues influences the duration and breadth of knowledge sharing in the idea-related conversations they have over time. A 14-month on-site field study in a multinational company, in which we mapped 496 dyadic relationships regarding 17 new product ideas, shows that knowledge sharing can be explained by the ties between people being either strong or weak, rather than intermediate. We also discover that characteristics of the idea itself shape how tie strength influences the duration and breadth of knowledge sharing in idea conversations. Finally, we provide initial evidence to show how important conversations are for the success of an idea. Our study sheds light on micro-level instances of knowledge sharing for innovation and provides important insights into how managers can foster an environment in which weak and strong ties can be utilised optimally for sharing knowledge about ideas

Don't make value co-creation ambiguous, social networks simplify it

Purpose: Value co-creation is often necessary for situation where expertise and resources are beyond a single actor. Despite the vast study of value co-creation in service system by both academics and practitioners as an overarching theory, that describes collaboration between consumer and provider. More importantly, little is known about how value co-creation is established in social network analysis and there is little agreement on what depicts value co-creation. These missing concerns included; vast studies of value co-creation in dyadic relationships and sparingly in multi-actors, lack of study on theoretical and empirical features of value co-creation, lack of empirical investigation of strength of interactive relationships in networks for co-creation of specific value-in-use. These thought-provoking missing concerns necessitated this research by forwarding the question; “What are the features of social value co-creation in service system and how can it be established in social networks”? Methodology: A case study approach is employed using the exploratory sequential mixed methods. The contextual investigation was carried out in water supply system called KAMOMI. The KAMOMI water scheme provides water supply facility and has in place a service system consisting both the provider, consumers and different stakeholders. The case represents a service system where value co-creation occurs within actor-to-actor interactive relationships to benefit the community. Findings: The paper argued that the examination of value co-creation among multi-actors in social networks analysis is highly significant to its cogency and generalisation. The qualitative analysis provided evident features of value co-creation, which transforms value co-creation from dyadic to multi-actors interpersonal interactive relationships in social network analysis. The value co-creation features included resource integrating networks, defined value-in-use, actors’ empowerment, perceived ownership and knowledge sharing. Meanwhile, the quantitative analysis discovered that closeness of both formal and informal relationships; including frequency of informal interactions enable access to integration of resources of multi-actors for value co-creation. Contribution: The study of value co-creation in social network analysis represents an interesting gap and is highly essential for designing effective service system to enhance the goal of value co-creation. The paper contributes by illustrating (a) features of value co-creation in networks (b) empirical evidence of how strength of relationships of actors enhance resource integration in networks

Talk, talk, talk: exploring idea conversations and the micro-level foundations of knowledge sharing for innovation

In this study we explore the drivers and consequences of micro-level instances of knowledge sharing for innovation. We do so by focusing on the temporally bounded conversations that colleagues have about new ideas and we study specifically how the strength of ties between these colleagues influences the duration and breadth of knowledge sharing in the idea-related conversations they have over time. A 14-month on-site field study in a multinational company, in which we mapped 496 dyadic relationships regarding 17 new product ideas, shows that knowledge sharing can be explained by the ties between people being either strong or weak, rather than intermediate. We also discover that characteristics of the idea itself shape how tie strength influences the duration and breadth of knowledge sharing in idea conversations. Finally, we provide initial evidence to show how important conversations are for the success of an i

Recognizing and Addressing Risk Ambiguity in Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning: a Case Study of Miami-Dade County, Florida

As coastal cities around the world identify and implement adaptations to sea level rise, they are faced with competing interests around what should be done and how to prioritize actions. Often, environmental problems--like confronting the challenge of sea level rise--are posed as requiring expert driven, technical solutions to identify and mitigate risks across the landscape. This framing, however, ignores the way in which diverse knowledge can help inform long-term planning horizons that address complex ways that sea level rise affects communities. The failure to integrate diverse knowledge into sea level rise adaptation can result in barriers to implementation and outcomes that can reproduce inequities. In environmental planning, knowledge integration challenges can stem from ambiguity around the construction of environmental risk knowledge, as well as institutional arrangements that inhibit diverse involvement. Ambiguity refers to a context in which there are different and sometimes conflicting views on how to understand the problem or system to be managed, for example, conflicts around what risks to measure and how to measure them. This manifests in the ways that different groups construct and use knowledge about risks. Often ignored in planning contexts and research on sea level rise adaptation, ambiguity--particularly around social risks--are critical to address, since they can determine whether diverse knowledge about risks are integrated or ignored in planning. This dissertation uses a case study of Miami-Dade County, Florida and is guided by the question: how do different groups understand risk within sea level rise, and what planning and governance factors influence the way diverse dimensions of risk are integrated into adaptation strategies? Findings from this case study suggest that baselines, projections, and the focus of risk rooted in an economic discourse based on short-term planning horizons and technical constructions of risk have more authority as compared with counter arguments around ecological and social risks. Recommendations include the need for transparent adaptation decisions and the inclusion of diverse stakeholders in the production of regional climate science, sea level rise assessments, and adaptation planning. A more integrated approach can better address diverse risks and facilitate long-term planning

Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory with Organizational Activity Systems\u27 Workflow Dynamics

Between 2005 and 2010 and across 48 countries, including the United States, an increasing positive correlation emerged between national intellectual capital and gross domestic product per capita. The problem remains organizations operating with increasingly complex knowledge networks often lose intellectual capital resulting from ineffective knowledge management practices. The purpose of this study was to provide management opportunities to reduce intellectual capital loss. The first research question addressed how an enhanced intelligent, complex, and adaptive system (ICAS) model could clarify management\u27s understanding of organizational knowledge transfer. The second research question addressed how interdisciplinary theory could become more meaningfully infused to enhance management practices of the organization\u27s knowledge ecosystem. The nature of this study was phenomenological to gain deeper understanding of individual experiences related to knowledge flow phenomena. Data were collected from a single historical research dataset containing 11 subject interviews and analyzed using Moustakas\u27 heuristic framework. Original interviews were collected in 2012 during research within a military unit, included in this study based on theme alignment. Organizational, knowledge management, emergent systems, and cognition theories were synthesized to enhance understandings of emergent ICAS forces. Individuals create unique ICAS flow emergent force dynamics in relation to micro- and macro-meso sensemaking and sensegiving. Findings indicated individual knowledge work significantly shapes emergent ICAS flow dynamics. Collectively enhancing knowledge stewardship over time could foster positive social change by improving national welfare

Strengthening the gender lens in agricultural production and value-chain research in Vietnam

Farming systems in Vietnam are undergoing rapid change, including increased levels of commercialisation and market integration, adoption of (or desire for) labour efficient technologies, and migration of youth in response to non-farm work opportunities. These processes are not only shaping rural landscapes and communities, but challenging traditional gender roles. ACIAR’s research portfolio seeks to understand underlying trajectories and develop technical and policy innovations to help deliver more productive, sustainable and profitable agricultural systems. Failure to consider gender norms in this process ultimately leads to low levels of adoption of technological innovations and exacerbates gender inequality. As such, gendered roles and differences in access to agricultural knowledge and resources needs to be considered in the design, implementation and evaluation of agricultural research for development to ensure the technologies and policies being evaluated are accessible to women, result in widespread adoption, and leads to the desired impact in terms of improved livelihood

Knowledge Management in Rural Uzbekistan : Peasant, Project and Post-Socialist perspectives in Khorezm

Agricultural knowledge is important in rural Uzbekistan. Presented in this thesis is sociological data from field research in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, illustrating the ways in which knowledge operates in a certain context of power and culture. The way in which this agricultural knowledge is created, shared, stored and used is discussed in this thesis on the basis of three ‘systems’ of knowledge. These knowledge systems; peasant, project and post-Socialist are used to understand how agricultural knowledge is used differently. The peasant system constitutes the local knowledge of the rural community in the Khorezm province of Uzbekistan. Within this province a development research project, through which this research was conducted, also operates and the particular approach to knowledge creation and sharing is discussed here. Finally, both these systems operate within a knowledge ‘governance’ structure which establishes the ‘rules of the game’ for the region. Yet what we find in all three of these systems is that three phenomena of knowledge exist, in varying ways, in agriculture in Khorezm. These three phenomena are: (i) Knowledge dynamics: how knowledge is made, lost and destroyed, (ii) Power and Knowledge: the interplay of knowledge and power, (iii) Knowledge and Culture: why culture matters in knowledge management. Knowledge loss, especially in the post-1991 period is crucial to understanding the economic and ecological challenges in rural Khorezm and the process of knowledge loss (and creation) is prevalent in my research. Specific to the local knowledge system, evidence is presented that whilst specialisation is inherent in any knowledge system; this characteristic of the knowledge system is embedded in the patriarchal and hierarchal nature of Uzbek culture, and the position of power that this entails. Similarly, I examine the modes of knowledge reproduction within Khorezm and find these to be overwhelmingly family based, even in cases where formal education is necessary, although there are examples of external forms of knowledge being accessed and then reproduced within the knowledge system. I find that in all three systems there is a complex interplay of knowledge and power, with a mutually reinforcing of each occurring in social interactions, within and between the knowledge systems. Finally the phenomena of knowledge loss and knowledge/power relations are grounded in a specific cultural context and it is argued that the peculiarities of Khorezm, including the Soviet history and a specific understanding of authority (joshuli), means that knowledge is shaped and informed by the cultural context from which it is drawn. These findings are then discussed in terms of the theoretical implications of this research which argue for a wider appreciation of knowledge loss and deeper analysis of power/knowledge interactions. Finally, practical development advice is given on how foreign projects can better develop local knowledge in Uzbekistan, by seeing agricultural knowledge as it operates in the cultural context of Khorezm and by accessing local knowledge

Inter-Organisational Knowledge Sharing in the Public Sector: The Role of Social Capital and Information and Communication Technology

This thesis explores the dynamics of knowledge sharing, through the context of interorganisational collaboration in the public sector. The growth of collaboration across public sector organisations places increasing importance on knowledge sharing, yet it is an area that has historically proved difficult for the sector. Knowledge sharing research increasingly emphasises the importance of social capital in facilitating and influencing knowledge sharing behaviours, yet the public sector’s approach to knowledge sharing has predominantly focussed on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools. The aim of this research is to better understand the dynamics of knowledge sharing, and the roles that social capital and ICT play in knowledge sharing. This is a contemporary and important research topic. Public sector commitment to increasing collaboration requires a strong focus on inter-organisational knowledge sharing. This multiple-case, multi-method research incorporates a research design that blends qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The research extends and deepens current understanding of the dynamics of knowledge sharing and contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of knowledge sharing, social capital, and ICT. It also provides valuable empirical evidence relating to public sector based sharing at the inter-organisational level. The research found that social capital is a significant concern for collaborative teams. Factors such as trust, group identity and shared purpose and goals were identified as important considerations for team members. Despite the sector’s focus on ICT tools as key knowledge sharing mechanisms, the actual availability of tools was limited. Further, individuals’ use of tools was low due to their perceptions of the available tools as difficult to use and of limited usefulness. A key outcome of the research was the development of a conceptual framework that can be used to support the work of academics and practitioners engaged in the field of collaboration and knowledge sharing. The framework identifies six important antecedents that influence the development of social capital, and the availability and use of ICT. These antecedents include collaboration design, leadership, the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of ICT, and individual technical ability. The final antecedent identifies individual’s commitment to the ‘intrinsic value of public sector work’ as a key collaboration factor

Understanding knowledge networks

The emergence of Linked Open Data (LOD) enables data on the Web to have a well defined structure and thereby to represent and in? terlink information from different sources and application areas. This web of data is a complex socially created network, where concepts and rela? tions are connected in intricate ways, collectively forming a network of knowledge. These data are published in a decentralized fashion and they stem from different sources, have different types of relationships, and use different terminologies, ontologies and meta models. While this so-called LOD cloud has become a very valuable resource, we know only very little about the general structural properties of the contained data, which im? pedes our ability to use and organize this resource in an efficient and accu? rate manner. The objective of this paper is to provide a basic understand? ing of LOD from the point of view of network structures. We analyze LOD networks with respect to fundamental network properties such as degree distribution and clustering. Using these metrics, we compare our results to non-LOD networks, such as email, Web, and protein networks, that have been reported in the literature. Our results show that the LOD cloud ex? hibits a broad variety of different network structures, consistent with the diversity found in other types of networks