Elīna Gaile-Sarkane

Tacit vs Explicit Knowledge Dichotomy: State-of-the-art Review for Technology Transfer Purposes

There is no consensus among scholars using and defining knowledge types and their interaction. Theoretical distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge has emerged. The tacit knowledge is positioned in contrast with the explicit knowledge as a result of this dichotomy. However, there are indications that every knowledge has both tacit and explicit elements that cannot exist one without the other—they are complementary and create synergy for the knowledge management. The aim of this paper is to explore relevance of knowledge distinction between the tacit and explicit knowledge for technology transfer purposes. Brief review of literature, draft discussion, and one-on-one interviews were performed in order to find the answer to the research question: Does distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge have place in the exploring of knowledge for technology transfer purposes? Content analysis was performed to process qualitative data that were collected through interviews. The research results show that the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge is not suitable for technology transfer purposes. Knowledge consists of both tacit and explicit components. There is also an explanation for many contradictions in knowledge management studies exploring knowledge explicitness in this paper. The paper provides a better understanding of the issues related to tacit versus explicit knowledge dichotomy within technology transfer. There are theoretical implications as well as recommendations for future research in this study.

Institutional attention to European policy agendas: exploring the relevance of instrumental and neo-institutional explanations

This article addresses how European policy initiatives in higher education, research and innovation are diffused in the European higher education research and education area. Based on an instrumental and an institutional perspective, specific expectations are developed as to how policy diffusion might unfold, and, through an in-depth analysis of the strategic plans of 19 higher education institutions in Latvia and Norway, the article identifies factors that potentially mediate European policies into the strategic agenda of universities and colleges. The findings show that European Union membership and policy area seems to matter for the attention given to European policy initiatives, while administrative capacity at institutional level have less or quite mixed effects. The article concludes that both instrumental and institutional perspectives are of value in explaining how European policy diffusion takes place.

SUCCESS OF A COMPANY THROUGH VALUE APPROACH

The formation of new companies is considered to be one of the most important sources of new workplaces creation. In United States new companies generate half of all new workplaces in the country (SBA, 2012). Therefore, in Latvia it is particularly important to encourage new businesses’ formation and development in order to achieve both economic growth and improvements in employment. The purpose of the Research paper is to study the factors that positively influenced the development of enterprises, named as “success factors”, creating success factors model affecting entrepreneurial process. Methodology the theoretical and methodological groundwork of the study is based of scientific and business literature. In the research generally accepted qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods of the economic science were employed, among them, statistical data processing, data grouping, and inductive-deductive data analysis methods. The scientific study employs surveying, observation study method, as well as comparative, and analytical methods, which are used by the authors to compare and analyse facts and assess solutions to specific issues. Microsoft Excel and QDA Miner programs were used for processing and analysing the study results. Findings: paper investigate stakeholders values role in entrepreneurial process during development process. It is also questioned by the authors of the paper why Latvian many start-ups are short-lived? Why in Latvia not so much success stories compared to other countries – for example Estonia, Scandinavia and United States (in proportion to the size of the economy or population). It is noted several possible causes: lack of access to finance to start-up business, quality of education programs, lack of access to infrastructure and other factors.