Classifying organizations by knowledge intensity - a necessary next step in knowledge management research

Knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs) have recently emerged as a popular topic of study in the knowledge management literature. This study explores what KIOs are and the key elements for differentiating these organizations from other traditional organizations. The results suggest that organizations can generally be divided into two groups - KIOs and non-KIOs, and there appears to be some clear and outright factors that differentiate KIOs from non-KIOs

Information Seeking Behaviours of Business Students and the Development of Academic Digital Libraries

<b>Objectives</b> ‐ To gain insight into the extent to which user information‐seeking behaviours should inform the design and development of Digital Libraries in an academic setting, a study was carried out at Dalhousie University, Canada to explore the information‐seeking behaviours of business students.<br><b>Methods</b> ‐ The students studied were drawn from the School of Business Administration at Dalhousie University, Canada. The study was based on qualitative and quantitative data collected through a survey, in‐depth semi‐structured interviews, observational study and document analysis. Qualitative case study data was coded using QSR N6 qualitative data analysis software. The data was categorized using Atkinson’s “Model of BusinessInformation Users’ Expectations” and Renda and Straccia‘s personalized collaborative DL model. Atkinson’s model defines the expectations of business students in terms of cost, time,effort required, pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Renda and Straccia’s model of a personalized and collaborative digital library centres around three concepts: actors, objects, and functionality. The survey data was analysed using the Zoomerang software.<br><b>Results</b> ‐ The study results revealed that students tend to select resources based on cost(free or for fee), accessibility, ease of use, speed of delivery (of results), and convenience. The results showed that similar to Atkinson’s findings, the business students’ information seeking behaviour is influenced by the concepts of cost‐benefit and break‐even analyses that underlie business education. Concerning speed of delivery and convenience, the organization of the resources was paramount. Students preferred user‐defined resource lists, alert services, and expert‐created business resource collections. When asked about the usefulness of potential digital library functionalities, students valued a personalized user interface and communal virtual spaces to share information and communicate in real‐time with their peers.<br><b>Conclusion</b> ‐ This study reveals that when digital libraries are developed, user behaviours and needs should be taken into consideration. It demonstrates that the activity as well as the “user’s orientation and motivation” (here the business student training) can directly influence the design and use of a digital tool. In other words, this study confirms a new typology of a business digital information user or use behaviour, one that requires the building of dedicated accredited library research systems. Providing information and information tools tailored to this specific audience is more likely to increase the appeal and use of an academic business digital library

Big Data in the Big D

Presentation paper for the 2017 International Conference on Knowledge Management. This paper explores and identifies the vehicles of university-firm collaboration and contextual relationships within the knowledge ecosystem which impacts the success of innovations among small and medium sized enterprises in Canada

The Dynamics of Collaborative Tagging: An Analysis of Tag Vocabulary Application in Knowledge Representation, Discovery and Retrieval

This study investigates the contribution of collaborative tagging to the design of user-driven vocabularies in knowledge management systems (KMS). Three metrics, tag growth, tag reuse, and tag discrimination, were used to examine the evolution of the tagging vocabulary of the knowledge management community of interest in CiteULike over a three-year period. Results indicate a steady decrease in the number of unique tags over the four years, suggesting an increasing stability in the community vocabulary over time and the establishment of domain-specific vocabulary. Members reused each others' tags over time and exhibited increasingly collaborative tagging behaviour. Tag discrimination was high, with 4.11 distinct articles per tag. The stable and discriminatory nature of the community's tags suggests that collaborative tagging may serve as a useful resource for vocabulary choice or maintenance by KMS managers.Knowledge management systems, CiteULike, collaborative tagging, folksonomies, knowledge representation, knowledge discovery, knowledge retrieval

Effectuation, Innovation and Performance in SMEs: An Empirical Study

Purpose – Ever since Sarasvathy’s (2001) seminal article, scholars have sought to test effectuation’s affect on firm performance. Although recent work has begun the arduous process of testing effectuation’s effect on entrepreneurial performance, there is still much to learn about its impact on firm performance. One such area is the relationship between effectuation and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to first, propose a scale suitable to the explication of the effectuation construct relative to innovation. Second, it proposes a more parsimonious scale for the measurement of innovation. Third, these scales are tested relative to firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper develops and tests a structural model, which investigates aspects of effectuation as mediators between innovation orientation and product/service innovation. This is accomplished using a sample of 169 electronic product manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Subjective measures of performance are used as the dependent variable. Findings – The three most widely used measures of innovativeness were found to break cleanly into two sub-constructs, namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Effectuation measures included means (who I know), leverage contingencies (experimentation), pre-commitments and affordable loss. Means and leverage contingencies were found to positively mediate innovation orientation and product/service innovation leading to increased firm performance. Affordable loss did not show a mediating role, but had a direct effect on firm performance. Research limitations/implications – This study establishes two distinct sub-constructs of firm-level innovation; namely innovation orientation and product/service innovation. Second, by testing an innovation-centric effectuation model, this research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance. Practical implications – Practical implications include establishing a relationship between means, leverage contingencies and innovation-performance, indicating that the ways through which small and medium-sized enterprises use their innovation networks may affect innovation outcomes and ultimately firm performance. Originality/value – This research establishes an empirical relationship between effectuation, innovation and firm performance, extending effectuation theory from the entrepreneurship to the innovation literature

Online Learning Experiences of Canadian Black Nova Scotians during Covid-19: Adopting an Intersectionality Framework

Though school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected all students globally, the effect was significantly more for students from marginalized and vulnerable communities. In Nova Scotia, Canada, the concern was the racial achievement gap that the education system is addressing through an inclusive education policy. The worry, especially for Black Nova Scotian students, was the online learning demands and the associated challenges. Through an analysis of a household survey and intersectionality framework, we explored these challenges. We argue that students have multiple and simultaneously acting identities that lead to differential learning experiences and outcomes, and an intersectionality approach should be considered to inform education improvement decisions. Keywords: online learning, Black Canadians, intersectionality, household survey, structural equation modelling Bien que les fermetures d'écoles dues à la pandémie de COVID-19 aient touché tous les élèves du monde, l'effet a été nettement plus marqué pour les élèves issus de communautés marginalisées et vulnérables. En Nouvelle-Écosse, au Canada, l'inquiétude portait sur l'écart de réussite raciale que le système d’éducation s'efforce de combler par une politique d'éducation inclusive. L'inquiétude, en particulier pour les élèves noirs de Nouvelle-Écosse, portait sur les exigences de l'apprentissage en ligne et les défis qui y sont associés. Par l'analyse d'une enquête auprès des ménages et d'un cadre d'intersectionnalité, nous avons exploré ces défis. Nous soutenons que les élèves ont des identités multiples qui agissent simultanément et mènent à des expériences et des résultats d'apprentissage différents, et qu'une approche d'intersectionnalité devrait être considérée pour informer les décisions portant sur l’amélioration de l'éducation. Mots clés : apprentissage en ligne, Canadiens noirs, intersectionnalité, enquête auprès des ménages, modélisation par équations structurelles