Jussi Okkonen

Knowledge sharing motivational factors of using an intra‐organizational social media platform

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the motivational factors affecting the knowledge sharing through an intra‐organizational social media platform and to answer the following research questions: “What motivates employees to share their knowledge through an intra‐organizational social media platform?”; “What impedes them sharing knowledge this way?”; and “Do these factors differ from those motivational factors regarding knowledge sharing in general?”.Design/methodology/approach – The paper approaches the issue from both theoretical and empirical viewpoints. The motivational factors regarding knowledge sharing in general are summed up from literature. The social media platform perspective to the issue is studied by conducting a survey in two companies.Findings – The results reveal that the motivation to share knowledge through an intra‐organizational social media platform is the desire to help the organization reach its goals and helping colleagues, while financial rewards and advancing ones career were s...

Refining information and knowledge by social media applications

Purpose – The paper seeks to discuss how traditional knowledge refining processes differ from those enabled by using social media applications. By addressing the topic with practical examples the paper aims to outline how collaborative work setting and social media tools are used in refining unstructured and unmanaged knowledge for value adding purposes.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a conceptual analysis with reflections on current practices.Findings – The paper proposes that the collaborative setting provided by social media applications enables sharing of different insights: combining mutual insights as well as discussing conflicting insights helps to form a more multifaceted and truthful understanding on issues. Utilizing social media applications as collaborative tools also enriches information as it can also contain elements that are not predestined as in common business information systems. Social media applications empower employees to collaborate and contribute to intra‐organizational...

Use of Performance Measurement in V2c Activity

The sizes, and thereby minimum investments, of venture capital funds grew phenomenally during 1995‐2000. Simultaneously, business started to transform from capital to knowledge intensive and a new gap emerged between venture and capital. A diverse group of actors referred to herein as Venture‐to‐Capital or V2C players help entrepreneurs gross this gap. While incubators, business angels, and various other types of V2C players serve an important role in the emerging knowledge economy, research on their operation has been scarce. The objective of this exploratory study is to define the usability of performance measurement (PM) in the V2C context. Also in the V2C context, PM should be carried out by using a balanced set of measures from several perspectives. Herein, V2C operating models are examined, and critical success‐factors searched‐for, from the perspectives of both entrepreneur and venture capitalist. We suggest nine success factors, several underlying measures, and directions for further research.

How virtuality affects knowledge work: points on performance and knowledge management

The idea of organising tasks virtually arises from a lack of resources, such as time, money and competent people. As its name suggests, the virtual organisation is more dependent on the people working in it than the physical location or structure of an organisation. The concept of virtuality is approached from the organisational and professional viewpoint and the problems of working virtually are discussed in general. Thus, the results are applicable in avoiding the problems discovered. The concepts analysed are mostly from a managerial viewpoint, the theoretical framework emphasises the transformation of the economic landscape and working environment. The case exploration consists of results from a performance measurement system implementation process and participant observation and theme interviews, which aim to enlighten us as to the nature of knowledge work and performance in a virtual organisation.

The formation of coordinative knowledge practices in distributed work: towards an explanatory model

Purpose – The paper proposes a model aiming at the explanation of the formation of coordinative knowledge practices in distributed work. Findings from a pilot study aiming at the preliminary testing of the model are presented and discussed.Design/methodology/approach – The explanatory model was developed by combining concepts and findings developed in studies of social capital, knowledge sharing and computer supported cooperative work. The empirical data were gathered in 2007‐2008 in a multi‐unit Finnish chemical company production site. The methods used were structured observation of work processes, semi‐structured interviews and a web‐based questionnaire.Findings – The model suggested that coordinative knowledge practices are shaped by four major factors: work coupling, social capital, spatio‐temporality and affordances of collaboration technologies. The empirical study showed that these concepts can be successfully applied in empirical research to better understand and support the development of coordi...

Developing measures for information ergonomics in knowledge work

Abstract Information ergonomics is an evolving application domain of ergonomics focusing on the management of workload in the real-world contexts of information-intensive tasks. This study introduces a method for the evaluation of information ergonomics in knowledge work. To this end, five key dimensions of information ergonomics were identified: contextual factors of knowledge work, multitasking, interruptions at work, practices for managing information load, and perceived job control and productivity. In total, 24 measures focusing on the above dimensions were constructed. The measures include, for example, the number of fragmented work tasks per work day. The measures were preliminarily tested in two Finnish organisations, making use of empirical data gathered by interviews, electronic questionnaires and log data applications tracking work processes on personal computers. The measures are applicable to the evaluation of information ergonomics, even though individual measures vary with regard to the amount of work and time needed for data analysis. Practitioner Summary: The study introduces a method for the evaluation of information ergonomics in knowledge work. To this end, 24 measures were constructed and tested empirically. The measures focus on contextual factors of knowledge work, multitasking, interruptions at work, practices for managing information load, and perceived job control and productivity.

Democracy in management – the new coming of MBO via organisational dialogue

Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to analyse how a performance measurement system constitutes a dialogue to enable manageability in knowledge work organisations.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an action research project aimed to study the use of performance measurement in a knowledge work context. The case study is applied. The results are derived in participative action research interventions that aimed to build an applicable performance measurement system in three individual organisations. The approach is constructive and normative.Findings – The paper provides information about applications of performance measurement in knowledge work context. As a result there is discussion on applying performance measurement in the managerial system of knowledge worker organisations and description of using performance measurement in knowledge work context. The contribution consists of managerial norms for applying performance measurement in knowledge work context.Research limitations/imp...

Maturity assessment for implementing and using product lifecycle management in project-oriented engineering companies

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is a systematic and holistic way to approach challenges that exist in managing product-related information along a products lifecycle from product design to its disposal. There is an established set of information management approaches that address important subsets of lifecycle information management challenges, e.g., product data management (PDM), customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). A common characteristic of PLM is that implementation is a very challenging and complex long-term process, requiring changes in organisation, systems, conventions and importantly, skills and capabilities. The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of PLM maturity assessment and its use and application in the specific industrial context of project-oriented engineering companies. Within this context, the empirical part of the paper studies the usefulness and tailoring needs of generic capability maturity assessment in implementing and facilitating PLM.

Evaluating landmark attraction model in collaborative wayfinding in virtual learning environments

In Virtual Learning Environments efficient navigation is a major issue, especially when it is used as a component in the learning process. This paper addresses the challenges in creating meaningful navigation routes from language learning perspective. The work is grounded on findings from a specific case on German language learning, wherein two remotely located users communicated in a wayfinding guidance scenario. The users navigated through 360-degree virtual panoramic images using body gestures and could receive communication help via spoken hints by pointing at objects in the scenery. An important design consideration is how to choose these objects, as they have both navigational importance and pedagogical significance in terms of learning the desired language. Wayfinding interactions from 21 participants were compared to the values provided by a landmark attraction model applied on the landmarks along the routes. The results show that there was a clear connection between prominence of landmarks and time spent on each panorama. This indicates that together with pedagogical planning, the model can aid in selecting the interactive content for language learning applications in virtual environments.

Creating Immersive Audio and Lighting Based Physical Exercise Games for Schoolchildren

We have created story-based exercise games utilizing light and sound to encourage children to participate in physical exercise in schools. Our reasonably priced technological setup provides practical and expressive means for creating immersive and rich experiences to support physical exercise education in schools. Studies conducted in schools showed that the story and drama elements draw children into the world of the exercise game. Moreover, children who do not like traditional games and exercises engaged in these activities. Our experiences also suggest that childrens imagination plays a great role in the design and engagement into exercise games, which makes co-creation with children a viable and exciting approach to creating new games.