A bibliometric study of the literature on technological innovation: an analysis of 60 international academic journals

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on technological innovation, organization and work. Although technological innovation remained a debated topic in the academic literature during the past years, its implications for organizational processes seem still not sufficiently theorized and empirically investigated. By using two complementary journals’ rankings a search in the ISI Web of Science platform from 1985 through 2013 was performed. To analyze the 998 scientific retrieved contributions a bibliometric analysis has been conducted, adopting also Social Network Analysis tools. Our results reveal a significant growth of the technological innovation literature over the investigated period, the multidisciplinarity of the field and, particularly, the relevance of management and business & economics contributions. Overall, this study offers a broad overview of the literature on technological innovation and emphasizes the opportunity to investigate the role of technological innovation within the organizational life.This paper aims to contribute to the debate on technological innovation, organization and work. Although technological innovation remained a debated topic in the academic literature during the past years, its implications for organizational processes seem still not sufficiently theorized and empirically investigated. By using two complementary journals’ rankings a search in the ISI Web of Science platform from 1985 through 2013 was performed. To analyze the 998 scientific retrieved contributions a bibliometric analysis has been conducted, adopting also Social Network Analysis tools. Our results reveal a significant growth of the technological innovation literature over the investigated period, the multidisciplinarity of the field and, particularly, the relevance of management and business & economics contributions. Overall, this study offers a broad overview of the literature on technological innovation and emphasizes the opportunity to investigate the role of technological innovation within the organizational life.Monograph's chapter

Mechanisms for inclusive governance

How mechanisms for inclusive governance are understood is built on the framing choices that are made about governance and that which is being governed. This chapter unpacks how governance can be understood and considers different historical and contemporary framings of water governance. A framing of “governance as praxis” is developed as a central element in the chapter. What makes governance inclusive is explored, drawing on theoretical, practical and institutional aspects before elucidating some of the different mechanisms currently used or proposed for creating inclusive water governance (though we argue against praxis based on simple mechanism). Finally, the factors that either constrain or enable inclusive water governance are explored with a focus on systemic concepts of learning and feedback

Knowledge ‘Translation’ as Social Learning: Negotiating the Uptake of Research-Based Knowledge in Practice

BACKGROUND: Knowledge translation and evidence-based practice have relied on research derived from clinical trials, which are considered to be methodologically rigorous. The result is practice recommendations based on a narrow view of evidence. We discuss how, within a practice environment, in fact individuals adopt and apply new evidence derived from multiple sources through ongoing, iterative learning cycles. DISCUSSION: The discussion is presented in four sections. After elaborating on the multiple forms of evidence used in practice, in section 2 we argue that the practitioner derives contextualized knowledge through reflective practice. Then, in section 3, the focus shifts from the individual to the team with consideration of social learning and theories of practice. In section 4 we discuss the implications of integrative and negotiated knowledge exchange and generation within the practice environment. Namely, how can we promote the use of research within a team-based, contextualized knowledge environment? We suggest support for: 1) collaborative learning environments for active learning and reflection, 2) engaged scholarship approaches so that practice can inform research in a collaborative manner and 3) leveraging authoritative opinion leaders for their clinical expertise during the shared negotiation of knowledge and research. Our approach also points to implications for studying evidence-informed practice: the identification of practice change (as an outcome) ought to be supplemented with understandings of how and when social negotiation processes occur to achieve integrated knowledge. SUMMARY: This article discusses practice knowledge as dependent on the practice context and on social learning processes, and suggests how research knowledge uptake might be supported from this vantage point

Knowledge-to-action processes in SHRTN collaborative communities of practice: A study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN) Collaborative is a network of networks that work together to improve the health and health care of Ontario seniors. The collaborative facilitates knowledge exchange through a library service, knowledge brokers (KBs), local implementation teams, collaborative technology, and, most importantly, Communities of Practice (CoPs) whose members work together to identify innovations, translate evidence, and help implement changes.</p> <p>This project aims to increase our understanding of knowledge-to-action (KTA) processes mobilized through SHRTN CoPs that are working to improve the health of Ontario seniors. For this research, KTA refers to the movement of research and experience-based knowledge between social contexts, and the use of that knowledge to improve practice. We will examine the KTA processes themselves, as well as the role of human agents within those processes. The conceptual framework we have adopted to inform our research is the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>This study will use a multiple case study design (minimum of nine cases over three years) to investigate how SHRTN CoPs work and pursue knowledge exchange in different situations. Each case will yield a unique narrative, framed around the three PARIHS dimensions: evidence, context, and facilitation. Together, the cases will shed light on how SHRTN CoPs approach their knowledge exchange initiatives, and how they respond to challenges and achieve their objectives. Data will be collected using interviews, document analysis, and ethnographic observation.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This research will generate new knowledge about the defining characteristics of CoPs operating in the health system, on leadership roles in CoPs, and on the nature of interaction processes, relationships, and knowledge exchange mechanisms. Our work will yield a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the success or failure of KTA initiatives, and create a better understanding of how local caregiving contexts interact with specific initiatives. Our participatory design will allow stakeholders to influence the practical usefulness of our findings and contribute to improved health services delivery for seniors.</p

The human capital transition and the role of policy

Along with information and communication technology, infrastructure, and the innovation system, human capital is a key pillar of the knowledge economy with its scope for increasing returns. With this in mind, the purpose of this chapter is to investigate how industrialized economies managed to achieve the transition from low to high levels of human capital. The first phase of the human capital transition was the result of the interaction of supply and demand, triggered by technological change and boosted by the demands for (immaterial) services. The second phase of the human capital transition (i.e., mass education) resulted from enforced legislation and major public investment. The state’s aim to influence children’s beliefs appears to have been a key driver in public investment. Nevertheless, the roles governments played differed according to the developmental status and inherent socioeconomic and political characteristics of their countries. These features of the human capital transition highlight the importance of understanding governments’ incentives and roles in transitions

What Keeps Science Spiralling? Unravelling the Critical Success Factors of Knowledge Creation in Academic Research

Contains fulltext : 86736.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)17 p

Safety Practices: Espoused Theory and Practice

The aim of this chapter will be to consider how safety practices are learned and carried out in situ. The employees at the production site having been newly acquired are required to learn new ways of practising safety. The chapter explores the espoused safety narrative and culture of the organisation and the reality of the everyday practice of safety and how managers, in particular, re-learn to practise safety and reconcile the difference between espoused safety and practice. The chapter will draw upon Communities of Practice theory, especially the ideas of noncanonical communities (Brown and Duguid, Organizational learning and communities of practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning and innovation. In E. L. Lesser, M. A. Fontaine, & J. A. Slusher (Eds.), Knowledge and communities (pp. 99–121). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 1991) and newcomers as legitimate peripheral participants (Lave and Wenger, Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991) and how this might inform SasP