Unpacking Knowing Integration: A Practice-based Study in Haute Cuisine

Nous proposons d'analyser l'intégration des connaissances à la source d'un avantage concurrentiel avec une approche pratique des organisations. Alors que la littérature s'est focalisée sur le transfert de connaissances et les relations entre communautés par le biais des objets frontière, nous considérons les relations intra-communauté et la façon dont les acteurs mobilisent, restructurent et créent des connaissances pour l'action. Dans une perspective pratique, la dynamique des connaissances est un phénomène situé dans un contexte social donné. Nous nous appuyons sur une phase empirique qualitative, par l'analyse de l'intégration des connaissances lors de la création de nouveaux plats au sein des équipes de cuisiniers de restaurants tri-étoilés.Apprentissage ; Avantage concurrentiel ; Connaissance ; Créativité ; Gastronomie ; Integration ; Transfert

The Social Dimensions of Idea Work in Haute Cuisine: A Bourdieusian Perspective

This paper analyzes idea work in haute cuisine through three case studies. Mobilizing Bourdieu’s praxeology, we consider idea work as a practice, an activity that takes sense and meaning in the social world. Thus, idea work reflects the position of the agent in the field and the struggles to maintain or improve this position. In grand restaurants, the chefs play a key role in idea work, even if they involve other people. Idea work is rooted in their personal experience, but is also shaped by the restaurant’ style and haute cuisine rules. Idea work relates to chefs’ reflection as well as emotions and feelings.Bourdieu; Creativity; Field; Habitus; Haute Cuisine; Gastronomy; Practice

Unpacking Knowing Integration: A Practice-based Study in Haute Cuisine

Within a practice-based approach of organizations, we explore the knowing integration phenomena at the roots of competitive advantage. While former knowing integration studies have pointed to the importance of boundary objects across occupational communities, knowing integration inside a community to ground competitive advantage remains to be explored. How do individuals integrate their knowing in practice, in complex and important situations in order to contribute to competitive advantage for the firm? We ground our analysis on the ethnographic study of performed tasks in new dishes creation in two gourmet restaurants. We trace individual knowing in this creation to highlight how a new dish emerges from knowing integration, based on our understanding of knowing as processual, social, and situated. We propose a model of knowing integration as a combination of three phenomena: comprehending, interpreting and explicitating. We show that integration leads to the development of new dishes while knowing remains largely individual. We therefore suggest that there exists a clear distinction between knowing integration and knowledge sharing or transfer. We also contribute to a clearer delineation between integration and explicitation, the latter being only one and secondary means to achieve the former. Our study advances practice-based studies of organizations by highlighting the central role of integration in knowing dynamics and by bridging micro and macro perspectives on practice.Combination; Competitive Advantage; Integration; Knowledge; Learning; Restaurants; Transfer

The Social Dimensions of Idea Work in Haute Cuisine: A Bourdieusian Perspective

Nous proposons de définir la production d'idées comme une pratique, c'est-à-dire comme une activité qui prend son sens et sa valeur dans un contexte social, pour analyser le travail créatif dans les cuisines de trois grands restaurants.Créativité ; Gastronomie ; Idées ; Pratique

Fractal dimension versus density of the built-up surfaces in the periphery of Brussels.

This paper aims at showing the usefulness of the fractal dimension for characterizing the spatial structure of the built-up surfaces within the periurban fringe. We first discuss our methodology and expectations in terms of operationality of the fractal dimension theoretically and geometrically. An empirical analysis is then performed on the southern periphery of Brussels (Brabant Wallon). The empirical analysis is divided into two parts: first, the effect of the size and shape of the windows on the fractal measures is empirically evaluated; this leads to a methodological discussion about the importance of the scale of analysis as well as the real sense of fractality. Second, we show empirically how far fractal dimension and density can look alike, but are also totally different. The relationship between density and fractality of built-up areas is discussed empirically and theoretically. Results are interpreted in an urban sprawl context as well as in a polycentric development of the peripheries. These analyses confirm the usefulness but also the limits of the fractal approach in order to describe the built-up morphology. Fractal analysis is a promising tool for describing the morphology of the city and for simulating its genesis and planning. Keywords: Fractals – dimension – periurbanisation – Brussels Note to the ERSA2004 referees: This is the state of our paper on April 30th 2004. It is not finished nor checked by an English native but results seem quite promising. Please take contact with the corresponding author for the latest version of the paper at the moment of the refereeing process or at the moment of editing the proceedings, if necessary. We thank you for your comments and questions.

Nonprofitable Nonprofits: Seeking High Impact in a Low-Cost World

With the countless nonprofit organizations in America, many people are moved to donate to the ones making the most impact. Further, many people avoid donating to charities with high costs because high costs imply that less money is going to the cause than would be otherwise. This thesis will explore the operations and costs of nonprofits in order to isolate best practices for nonprofits seeking to make demonstrable, positive impact on the causes that they were designed to support. In this thesis I will explore the measurement of a nonprofit’s impact and dissect how nonprofits operate internally and externally. I will first define impact as it relates to my research. Then I will look at the external costs that nonprofits incur through marketing, fundraising, events, exposure, and changes in economic policy. The goal is to understand the costs, benefits, and impact of nonprofits’ strategies towards increasing impact. It will explore different forms of fundraising money and how large events impact costs, awareness, effectiveness, and longevity of nonprofits. Then I will explore the internal costs of running a nonprofit with a focus on employee salary and retention. Ultimately, the following question will be answered: how can nonprofits balance revenues and costs in order to create the largest positive impact on the causes they support? This thesis will explore the amounts and types of costs that nonprofits incur along with their relative impact or success, with the goal of concluding opportunities for decreasing costs and increasing revenues for future nonprofits to consider in order to best prepare themselves for success.Business Administratio