Christine Soo

Knowledge Management: Philosophy, Processes, and Pitfalls

Based on a survey of 317 firms and in-depth cases on six firms, this article examines the management of the most intangible asset of the firm—its knowledge. This article examines the sources, uses, and outcomes of knowledge and shows how successful firms acquire and absorb more information and know-how. More importantly, these firms have more effective decision-making processes that enable them both to create new knowledge and to apply this knowledge to generating more innovation in products and processes. Greater levels of innovation in turn lead to improved market and financial performance. This article identifies eight key lessons for knowledge managers and demonstrates how rather than attempting to manage knowledge, firms should measure the change in the innovative outputs that arise from their knowledge management strategies and practices.

The Role of Knowledge Quality in Firm Performance

The role of knowledge in firm strategy and performance is well documented in the literature. There are numerous theoretical and empirical studies examining the relationship between knowledge and firm performance. The essence of these studies is that the higher the level of knowledge acquired or accumulated, the greater the level of firm innovation and performance.

External knowledge acquisition, creativity and learning in organisational problem solving

The role of knowledge in firm strategy and performance is well documented in existing literature. Numerous studies conclude that, in general, the higher the level of knowledge acquired, the greater the level of firm performance. In this study, we take a more micro-level approach. Specifically, we examine the impact of external knowledge on the processes of creativity and learning in problem solving. We also investigate the role of absorptive capacity in knowledge acquisition, creativity and learning. As we will show, simply having access to a pool of external knowledge is not enough. If the firm is to use this knowledge to improve its performance, it must be able to do the following: absorb that knowledge; act creatively upon that knowledge; create new knowledge from these activities.

The Operational Impact of Organizational Communities of Practice A Bayesian Approach to Analyzing Organizational Change

Organizations are increasingly making use of communities of practice (CoPs) as a way of leveraging the dispersed knowledge and expertise of their employees. One important way in which CoPs are predicted to benefit organizations is by facilitating the transfer of best practices. In this study, we examined the impact of the introduction of global CoPs on changes made to operational procedures in three refineries operated by a multinational company over a period of more than 5 years. We used a Bayesian change point detection model to assess the probability that changes in the rate of adoption of new and revised operational procedures occurred following the introduction of CoPs. The results confirmed our predictions, providing support for the idea that CoPs benefit organizations by contributing to the development of better operational routines and demonstrating the utility of Bayesian techniques for assessing the impact of complex organizational change.

Dynamic safety capability: How organizations proactively change core safety systems

We introduce the concept of “dynamic safety capability” (DSC) to describe an organization’s capacity to proactively change its core safety systems in environments characterized by change and uncertainty. Drawing on theories of dynamic capability in organizations, we define three core features of DSC: (a) sensing via scanning and attending to the future, (b) seizing via integrating complexity and, (c) transforming via enacting second-order change. We propose DSC is developed through organizational learning processes of experience, knowledge articulation, and knowledge codification. The features of DSC are integrated with major theories of safety and approaches to safety management. We discuss how organizational psychology can support the development of DSC through leadership and simulation activities.

Public Value Management: A Case Study of Transitional Change in Disability Sector Reform in Western Australia

This paper contributes to the study of public value management (PVM). PVM is distinguished from other approaches to public administration in its focus on establishing community networks and collaborative capacity building for the creation of public value. We explore PVM through a case study of a public–community sector partnership strategy called the positive behaviour framework (PBF), a state government initiative designed to transform services for people with disabilities. The development and implementation of the PBF is analysed via a transitional change or ‘sector awareness’ model. Each phase of the model is illustrated through ‘positive stories’ that depict key moments in the change process and in the activities that public sector managers employed to raise awareness, build capacity, and promote collaboration. We discuss the implications of the study for disability sector change management and for the further study of the PVM approach to public sector administration.

Enriching individual absorptive capacity

The purpose of this paper is to offer an understanding of the development and consequence of absorptive capacity (AC) at the individual level of analysis. The authors assess how perception of organizational commitment to learning and intrinsic motivation affects individual potential AC, and employee creativity and job performance as the key outcomes of individual AC. Furthermore, the authors examined the dual role of realized AC as a mediator in the potential AC-creativity relationship, and a moderator on the creativity-job performance relationship.,This paper draws from 125 paired supervisor-employee survey data, where supervisors rated subordinates’ creativity and job performance. Hierarchical regression was used to test the proposed hypotheses.,The results confirm that both perception of organizational commitment to learning and intrinsic motivation contribute to the development of individual potential AC (above and beyond extrinsic motivation). Individual realized AC mediated the potential AC-creativity relationship. Employee creativity was positively related to job performance.,This study speaks directly to the question of how an organization can encourage its employees to absorb new knowledge, and the benefits of employee learning activities on their creativity and job performance.,This is one of the first studies to offer a more nuanced understanding of the development and consequences of individual AC – a level of analysis has been lack of empirical studies. It further point out how individual characteristic and perceptions can influence their learning capacity, and in turn, their performance.

A Knowledge-Based Approach to Public Value Management: A Case Study of Change Implementation in Disability Services in Western Australia: A Knowledge-Based Approach to Public Value Management

This paper provides a knowledge‐based perspective to understanding public value management (PVM). As distinct from other approaches to public administration, PVM focuses on collaborative capacity b ...

Motivation, Knowledge Sharing, and Need Satisfaction in Groups

Research confirms that there are many forms of motivation associated with various organizational outcomes, and that there are various ways in which motivation can be supported. Self-determination t...

The Role of Intellectual Capital-Enhancing HR in Organizational Absorptive Capacity and Innovation

This study investigates the role of intellectual capital (i.e., human, social and organization capital) enhancing HR practices in the development of a firm’s potential and realized absorptive capacity, as well as the impact of absorptive capacity on the firm’s innovative performance. Results show that while human capital enhancing HR (acquisition and developmental HR) is positively related to potential absorptive capacity, social capital enhancing HR impacts on potential absorptive capacity through egalitarian practices and realized absorptive capacity through collaborative practices. Organization capital enhancing HR practices contributes to potential, but not realized absorptive capacity. Finally, our findings confirm that innovative performance is driven only by realized absorptive capacity.