Hans-Dieter Evers

Social Capital and Knowledge Sharing in Knowledge-Based Organizations: An Empirical Study

The study aims to understand the social and organizational factors that influence knowledge sharing. A model of knowledge management and knowledge sharing was developed inspired by the work of Nahapiet and Ghoshal. Data on KM processes and various social capital measures were collected from a sample of 262 members of a tertiary educational institution in Singapore. Rewards and incentives, open-mindedness, and cost-benefit concerns of knowledge hoarding turned out to be the strongest predictors of knowledge sharing rather than prosocial motives or organizational care. Individuals who are highly competent in their work abilities are less likely to share what they know when they perceive that there are few rewards or when sharing is not recognized by the organization. The findings provide evidence for the importance of social capital as a lubricant of knowledge sharing and engaging performance management systems in knowledge-intensive organizations.

Knowledge clusters and knowledge hubs: designing epistemic landscapes for development

With globalization and knowledge-based production, firms may cooperate on a global scale, outsource parts of their administrative or productive units and negate location altogether. The extremely low transaction costs of data, information and knowledge seem to invalidate the theory of agglomeration and the spatial clustering of firms, going back to the classical work by Alfred Weber and Alfred Marshall, who emphasized the microeconomic benefits of industrial collocation. This paper will argue against this view and show why the growth of knowledge societies will rather increase than decrease the relevance of location by creating knowledge clusters and knowledge hubs, due to sharing of tacit knowledge and research and development outputs. Designing epistemic landscapes of knowledge clusters and hubs is, therefore, proposed as a viable development policy.

Transition towards a Knowledge Society: Malaysia and Indonesia in Comparative Perspective

Malaysia and Indonesia see themselves as being on the way of developing into knowledge societies. Indonesias political leadership only vaguely circumscribes the characteristics of this new stage of development. Malaysias political elite has, however, developed a vision when and how to reach the stage of a fully developed industrialised nation with a knowledge-based economy. This paper outlines the basic features of a knowledge society and analyses some of the social and cultural preconditions as well as consequences in reaching the stage of a knowledge society. It finally attempts to answer the question, how far Malaysia and Indonesia have advanced towards the stage of a knowledge society in comparison to other European and Asian countries.

Governing and managing knowledge in Asia

The field of knowledge for development now occupies a top position on the agenda of all Asian governments as well as large development organizations. This book reflects this mega-trend of development towards KBEs (Knowledge Based Economies). For this 2nd edition all chapters have been thoroughly edited and data, tables and graphs have been updated to reflect the latest available statistics. Trends have been re-evaluated and adjusted to reflect recent developments in the fast-moving scene of knowledge governance and knowledge management.

The Bureaucratization of Southeast Asia

Spectacular events tend to capture our attention—the war in Cambodia, oil exploration and production on Malaysias coast, the assassination of Benigno Aquino and internal strife in the Philippines, the election of two solitary opposition candidates to Singapores parliament, the rejuvenation of Indonesias military command structure, coup rumours in Thailand: an endless string of more or less spectacular or even decisive happenings that find themselves in the headlines of the international press.

Beyond the Knowledge Trap: Developing Asia's Knowledge-Based Economies

Based on the success of the World Scientific publication “Governing and Managing Knowledge” edited by Thomas Menkhoff, Hans-Dieter Evers and Chay Yue Wah in 2005, this unique volume presents 16 new theoretical-practical papers on the strategic aspects of developing knowledge-based economies with case studies from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Uzbekistan. A key question which the book seeks to answer is what Asian policy-makers and leaders in government, economy and society can do to further enhance learning and capability formation so as to foster sustainable development in an increasingly globalized world. It addresses the politico-cultural and socio-economic challenges of effectively managing both knowledge resources and coping with the great digital divide created by globalization, continuous technology innovations and rapid external change. A key objective of the publication is to enable latecomers in the knowledge race to understand some of the critical success factors of sustainable knowledge-based development and what it takes to build a resilient knowledge-based economy.

Impact of solar photovoltaic lighting on indoor air smoke in off-grid rural Ghana

Nearly 75 % of the rural households in Ghana depend on kerosene lanterns as the main source of lighting after sunset. However, concerns are being expressed on indoor air smoke and heat as well as fire hazards associated with the use of kerosene lanterns. Largely as a result of socio-economic and environmental benefits, public solar photovoltaic (PV) electrification projects have been implemented to provide alternative lighting in off-grid communities in Ghana. The purpose of this paper was to assess the impacts of solar PV lighting on indoor air smoke in rural households. Using the with/without comparison method, 209 solar-electrified and non-electrified households were surveyed to assess impacts. The study results indicated that solar PV lighting is likely to reduce the proportion of household members being affected by indoor smoke from kerosene lanterns by 50 %. Furthermore, solar PV lighting is likely to reduce the proportion of household members who get blackened nostrils from soot associated with kerosene lanterns by nearly a third. This paper maintains that, though the effects identified by this study may be short-term, further research is needed to investigate both the medium- and long-term effects on human health. Given the low income levels of the rural poor and the costs involved in maintaining PV systems, effective policies and incentives for low-income earners are fundamental steps toward improvement in quality of life and widening of access.

The Symbolic Universe of Cyberjaya, Malaysia

This paper analyses how various actors have used potent urban symbols to assert their vision of a modern, globalized Malay identity in the construction of the recently founded knowledge city of Cyberjaya, part of the flagship Multimedia Super Corridor project. As the state controls both the land and the urban planning process it has attempted to impose its own particularistic vision of Malaysian society on urban space and urban structures. This is demonstrated through an analysis of the discursive vision behind Cyberjaya, the logos of government corporations, the use of architectural forms and motifs, and the treatment of urban space itself. The discussion suggests the spatial and symbolic universe of Cyberjaya draws on both patterns of ‘traditional’ Malay life as well a projected vision of a modernized Malay identity that resonates with a globalized Islam. This generates contestations in which other possible imaginings of Cyberjaya’s symbolic space become possible.

Solar photovoltaic electrification and rural energy-poverty in Ghana

The relationship between solar photovoltaic (PV) rural electrification and energy-poverty was assessed using social, economic and environmental indicator-based questionnaires in 96 solar-electrified and 113 non-electrified households in rural Ghana. The purpose was to assess the energy-poverty status of households with and without solar PV systems, and to determine the factors that explain energy-poverty in off-grid rural households. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to construct energy-poverty index scores (EPISs). On the basis of the results of the EPISs, about 80% of the non-electrified households were assessed as relatively energy-poor compared with only 10% of the solar-electrified households. Three significant indicators increased linearly with increasing energy-poverty index score (EPIS) and therefore explained the variation in EPIS. They are monthly savings on lighting (r 2 = 0.214), number of children who can sit around lighting (r 2 = 0.388) and amount paid to obtain lighting/electricity system (r 2 = 0.261). On the contrary, EPIS decreased linearly with increasing monthly costs of kerosene, candles and dry-cell batteries. This indicates that increasing expenditure on kerosene, candles and dry-cell batteries is likely to affect household savings and investment in quality energy delivery systems that can increase EPIS. To improve EPIS, households should invest a bit more in reliable and quality energy delivery systems, which can help to improve their quality of life. The use of EPISs successfully demonstrated the difference in energy-poverty status between households with and without solar PV. This lays down a basis of understanding the relationship between solar PV rural electrification and energy-poverty improvement in off-grid communities.

Theorizing, Measuring, and Predicting Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Organizations - A Social Capital Approach

This study aims to understand the social and organizational factors that influence knowledge sharing. A model of knowledge management and knowledge sharing was developed inspired by the work of Nahapiet and Ghoshal. Data on demographics and various social capital measures were collected from a sample of members of a tertiary educational institution in Singapore in 2003. Reward & recognition, open-mindedness and cost concerns of knowledge hoarding turned out to be the strongest predictors of knowledge sharing rather than pro-social motives or organizational concern. Overall, the findings provide evidence for the importance of a conducive organizational climate and state-of-the art performance management systems in high-performing knowledge organizations.