dt ogilvie

Things are not always what they seem: How reputations, culture, and incentives influence knowledge transfer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the question ”given all that we know about knowledge transfer in organizations, why do problems persist?” This is achieved by examining the challenges confronting organizations in developing an effective knowledge transfer strategy.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was administered to a Fortune 500 company actively engaged in pursuing a knowledge management strategy that emphasizes intra‐organizational knowledge transfer. Data were analyzed using a hierarchical regression to assess the relative importance of reputation, culture, and incentives to organizational efforts at knowledge transfer.Findings – It was found that culture and reputation have significant positive effects on knowledge transfer. However, the study found no support for the role of incentives. The findings lend credence to the notion that knowledge transfer is a social activity in which employees must willingly engage and is one that cannot be incentivized.Research limitatio...

The role of creative action in organizational learning and change

Organizational learning is depicted most frequently as an intra‐organizational information processing activity, but the role that experience plays in the development of organizational knowledge has recently become a more central focus of learning theories. The two primary perspectives on organizational learning present strikingly different depictions of the relationship between action and learning: systems‐structural models based on positivist epistemological assumptions emphasize internally‐directed information collection and distribution activities aimed at reducing uncertainty; interpretive models utilize an interpretivist epistemology that emphasizes the necessity of taking action in ambiguous circumstances as a means of creating knowledge. Proposes that neither of these alternative views of organizational learning describe how learning outcomes vary as a consequence of different types of action and that, specifically, previous models of organizational learning have not emphasized the critical role that creative actions play in the development of organizational knowledge. Delineates assumptions which serve to legitimize creative action taking within organizational contexts, and describes the learning outcomes which result from creative and routine actions. Extends previous models of organizational learning which emphasize cognition and communication processes by distinguishing the varied influences that different actions have on the production of knowledge.

Creative action as a dynamic strategy: Using imagination to improve strategic solutions in unstable environments

Abstract Confronted with rapidly changing, ambiguous environments, senior managers report that creative problem solving and the generation of new ideas are among the most important and valued traits in their workers. Managers are finding creative, action-based techniques more helpful when facing ambiguity and rapid change than rational—logical techniques designed to reduce uncertainty by collecting and analyzing data. However, imagination has surprisingly been largely neglected in the study of strategy and strategic decision making. This article takes a different approach than previous research. Bringing together research from behavioral decision theory, creativity, and strategic management, it takes an action-based view and posits that organizations should use dynamic, creative action-based decision-making processes to introduce new thinking into organizations that have severe performance problems. Creativity is important because taking creative action provides decision makers information that is different, and perhaps more helpful, than that educed from typical analytical methods.

Pathways to retirement: A career stage analysis of retirement age expectations

In western economies with aging populations, organizations are increasingly challenged to understand and manage employees’ retirement expectations. At the same time, employees’ relationships to retirement decisions and the age at which they expect to retire are likely to change as their careers unfold. This article seeks to inform the careers and management literatures on factors contributing to retirement intentions at different career stages. Using a sample of mid- and late career professionals with MBAs, we find that mid-career professionals expect to retire three years earlier than those in late career (age 62 versus age 65.) Work centrality is associated with intentions to retire later, while positive retirement attitudes and higher income are associated with intentions to retire earlier. Furthermore, the expected retirement age is more sensitive to income at mid-career (than at late career) and is more sensitive to work centrality at late career (than at mid-career). We discuss implications for careers research and for human resource management practice.

Assessing the External Environment: An Enrichment of the Archival Tradition

Organization theorists and strategy researchers have effectively leveraged archival assessments of the environment to better understand organizational actions and performance. Despite the successes, several issues continue to plague research. Vague constitutive definitions and mismatches between constitutive and operational definitions are among the most pressing of these issues. To further develop the archival tradition, we clarified existing definitions and proposed new definitions where warranted. Our work has implications not only for the selection of concepts and measures in future work but also for interpretations of past research.

An Action-Oriented Approach to Business Education.

Argues that expertise based solely on rational, quantitative approaches to decision making problematic in rapidly changing business environments that arrest the tools of forecasting, analysis and planning. Where managers must take action in the face of considerable ambiguity, they must justify decisions on “gut instincts”, “best guesses” and other qualitative considerations. Unfortunately, traditional management education is primarily based on quantitative approaches to analysis and planning that may be ineffectual in ambiguous environments. Discusses an alternative approach to management education and training that seeks to blend analytic rigour with insight, intuition, creativity and learning‐by‐doing. Compares assumptions underlying traditional and action‐oriented approaches, and provides examples that suggest how management education and training can enhance their relevance by balancing quantitative and qualitative methods of decision making.

How Technology Travels from Old to New Firms: The Role of Employees’ Entrepreneurship in Technology Ventures

A driving force in the creation of new firms resides in the developments of novel technology by members of current companies. When this happens, an employee gains the incentive to quit the parent company and start a new business venture (i.e. spin-out). Research on entrepreneurial employees and their spin-outs is fragmented and misleading. This chapter finds theoretical gaps and enlarges the understanding of the conditions that allow technological knowledge to give rise to entrepreneurial employees. The analysis of 23 entrepreneurs and 10 spin-out companies in the internet and bio-tech industries shows the pattern of creation of new technological enterprises. It recognizes the role of employees’ entrepreneurship in the formation of innovative ventures. Eventually, the new technology moves again when an existing company acquires the spin-out along with the entrepreneur. This research solves conflicting views in the literature and gives insights into how entrepreneurs actively transfer technologies from one company to another. Entrepreneurial employees create new ventures in a different industry, combine multiple experiences in mature businesses, and pursue acquisition. These conclusions push scholars and practitioners to look at employees’ accumulation of knowledge and business experience as a source of innovation.

AN EXAMINATION OF CLUSTER AND NON-CLUSTER FIRMS’ KNOWLEDGE-BASED ACTIVITIES

This study puts forth the following research questions: (i) Are there any differences between remotes’ and co-locates’ knowledge portfolios, and (ii) if so, are these differences significant? We contend that significant differences occur in how remotes configure their knowledge activities. To search for possible differences, we examined three sources of knowledge-based activities that are associated with remotes and co-locates: university collaborations and innovative activities such as patenting and scanning. Using survey data from a study of 197 U.S. biotechnology firms, this study found that remotes and co-locates have similar portfolio diversity, but remotes sponsor more faculty research, have a lower patent efficiency rate, and do not scan as frequently as co-located firms.

An Examination of Entrepreneurial Orientation in Dedicated Biotechnology Firms: Context Matters

The goal of this article is to explore under what contexts do biotechnology firms exhibit an entrepreneurial orientation? To achieve this goal, we assess entrepreneurial orientation as a configuration and individual dimension across three contexts: organizational structure, location, and age. Analyses of survey data from U.S. biotechnology firms indicate that ownership structure was the only contextual factor to yield differences in biotechnology firms’ entrepreneurial orientation when assessed as a configuration. However, the analysis identified differences at the multidimensional level within all three contexts. Both theoretical and practical implications of our findings are provided.

Outstanding Papers From the Eastern Academy of Management and Eastern Academy of Management– International Conferences:

This special issue comprises outstanding papers from the 2004 Eastern Academy of Management and Eastern Academy of Management–International conferences. Our introduction to the special issue discusses the selection and review process for the papers for the conferences and again for Group & Organization Management. We briefly describe the content of each paper.