A configurational approach to the dynamics of firm level knowledge

Whilst there has been exponential growth in the work on the nature of organisational knowledge, relatively little progress has been made in terms of understanding the way in which knowledge specifically impacts on the firm. The aim of this paper is to further this understanding by developing a series of configurations representing some of the potential ways that knowledge is composed in organisations, with those components being tacit, explicit, architectural, component, individual and collective knowledge

Developing the wider role of business in society: the experience of Microsoft in developing training and supporting employability.

The purpose of this paper is to describe Microsoft's activities in encouraging employability and to show how these activities provide strategic advantage

Person-organization fit as a vehicle for knowledge sharing and creation

Tacit knowledge is difficult to transfer. It is also context specific. Hence it is often argued to be a key strategic asset and as such attention to how it is created and transferred in organisation in critical to strategists. The transfer of tacit knowledge is however still a challenge. It is known that shared communication and socialization are important processes in the transfer of tacit knowledge and person&ndash;organization fit (POF) is associated with such phenomena. Hence we argue that POF is likely to shape the transfer of tacit knowledge with higher levels of one resulting in higher levels of the other. We explore the interaction of tacit knowledge and POF fit and develop a matrix that suggests a complex interaction between the two.<br /

Mapping fit : maximising idiographic and nomothetic benefits

In this paper we have argue that collecting data via causal mapping, which allow to capture rich and detailed data about how people make sense of their fit or misfit can allow for both nomothetic and idiographic research, and hence may be a strong base from which to develop our understanding of fit and as such develop our understanding of the fit construct.<br /

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Surfacing tacit sources of success

Eliciting and transferring tacit knowledge is critical for the growth ambitions of small knowedge-intensive firms such as management consultancies because their work is often intangible and ambiguous. How this can be done presents a challenge as there are as yet no tools available to help them. This article explains how the use of causal mapping helped the partners of one consultancy firm to surface their tacit knowledge, to uncover what they should try to replicate within the organization to sustain their success, and to refine their raison d'etre. Through the mapping process, which is interactive, non-directive, and generates ownership of the outcomes, the partners were encouraged to tap into their ambiguous, tacit knowledge base, which constitutes a large part of their consultancy's success. The article contributes to our understanding of small business management practice, tacit knowledge and consulting interventions

What Does Value Mean and How is it Created, Maintained and Destroyed?

In this paper we suggest that 'value' has a different meaning for different stakeholders and that if the firm operates in line with investor interests, it acts as both customer and supplier and its motivations will reflect these roles. We then consider internal activities that reflect these motivations. Other activities maintain the firm, and some destroy value. Implications for the RBV are explored

Using teaching case studies for management research

Teaching case studies are widely deployed in business schools. They are contextually rich in detail, and students learn by applying and adapting theoretical concepts to specific business situations described in the case. This article proposes a new way to use teaching case studies, as research materials for academics. The article addresses three questions: (1) Can teaching cases be used as an alternative to field research? (2) When can teaching case studies be used as secondary data? and (3) How can teaching case studies be used as secondary data? The article concludes that teaching case studies are an unexploited and readily available source of research data, a source which should be considered when going into the field and gathering primary data is not possible