Katsuhiro Umemoto

A strategy‐based ontology of knowledge management technologies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to distinguish and describe knowledge management (KM) technologies according to their support for strategy.Design/methodology/approach – This study employed an ontology development method to describe the relations between technology, KM and strategy, and to categorize available KM technologies according to those relations. Ontologies are formal specifications of concepts in a domain and their inter‐relationships, and can be used to facilitate common understanding and knowledge sharing. The study focused particularly on two sub‐domains of the KM field: KM strategies and KM technologies.Findings – ”KM strategy” has three meanings in the literature: approach to KM, knowledge strategy, and KM implementation strategy. Also, KM technologies support strategy via KM initiatives based on particular knowledge strategies and approaches to KM. The study distinguishes three types of KM technologies: component technologies, KM applications, and business applications. They all can ...

Integration of knowledge management process into digital library system: A theoretical perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of an integrated digital library (DL) system based on knowledge management (KM) process.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on viewpoints, review of existing concepts and frameworks of DL and KM, and the result of an interview of nine DL practitioners world‐wide. The respondents are purposively selected from the participants” lists of two international conferences held in 2008. The interview is conducted through e‐mail using a short, structured and open‐ended questionnaire.Findings – The study finds some significant overlaps between DL and KM and argues that a generic KM process of acquisition, organization, storage and retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge with receiving feedbacks can suitably be fitted in DL. Thus an integrated DL system can be consisted of digital resources, technological infrastructure, experience and expertise, DL services and a KM process. The integration of KM can add value to developing a kn...

From sashimi to zen‐in: the evolution of concurrent engineering at Fuji Xerox

This case study examines the evolution of R&D knowledge management at Japan’s business equipment maker Fuji Xerox, from the sashimi system, a Japanese origin of concurrent engineering, to its successor zen‐in system, which is composed mainly of a real high‐tech discussion room equipped with databases that provide technical information and two 70‐inch displays that shows virtual but real‐size, three‐dimensional graphic models. We found that Fuji Xerox has chosen the “hybridization strategy” that mixes human‐based and IT‐based knowledge‐sharing techniques. We also argue that concurrent engineering provides not only efficiency benefits but also positive effects on group and organizational creativity. Finally we present a conceptual framework of “how concurrent engineering works”, i.e. uncertainty and diversity necessitate concurrency which produces such benefits as efficiency and creativity, and which in turn realizes product integrity.

Modeling the development toward the knowledge economy: a national capability approach

Purpose – This paper aims to model the national development of the knowledge economy and argue its policy implications.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is a deductive research approach. First, the paper examines fundamental epistemological assumptions of the literature on the knowledge economy to identify major views on the knowledge economy. Second, it synthesizes relevant studies of the knowledge economy to develop key concepts to be used in the theoretical model of the knowledge economy.Findings – The paper argues that among three views of the knowledge economy (i.e., knowledge‐as‐asset, knowledge‐as‐relation, and knowledge‐as‐capability views), the knowledge‐as‐capability view is the most appropriate to explain the knowledge economy. However, this view is still evolving to explain the knowledge economy. Only a few studies have discussed national capabilities, but they omitted many points of capability as an aspect of knowledge. Although many studies have discussed organizational capabilit...

Knowledge Management's Relevance to Library and Information Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach

The study aims at exploring the relevancy of knowledge management (KM) to library and information science (LIS). Besides the review of relevant literature, the study has conducted an online survey of KM education programs offered by different schools of the world. An interdisciplinary approach of KM education is analysed to find its link with LIS. After a random search of KM education programs, 30 graduate programs are investigated to identify leading academic and professional disciplines contributing to the promotion of KM education and research, and also to examine the extent and scope of KM education with special reference to LIS schools. The survey finds that the highest number of KM graduate programs originated from LIS/Information Management (IM) followed by computing/engineering and business and management. The convergent course titles and wide range of KM skills and competencies clearly indicate its interdisciplinary nature. Finally, the paper explores some areas where both LIS and KM can contribute to each other and encourages KM implication in LIS education and library practices.

Selected Papers from the SIGGRAPH Asia Education Program: An educational framework for creating VR application through groupwork

Virtual reality (VR) application creation is a comprehensive development process that requires a variety of skills: not only hardware and software knowledge but also aesthetic design and storytelling abilities. A groupwork-based project is a suitable approach for creating a VR application because the group members can utilize their full powers and knowledge of their special fields through collaboration. Students learn best when they are actively involved in a process, such as in group discussion and field work. Such groupwork projects are also effective in improving their collaboration skills. This paper introduces an educational framework for creating VR applications through groupwork, and highlights the advantages of this framework.

Knowledge creation for science and technology in academic laboratories: a pilot study

In the last decade, there has been increasing pressure on academic laboratories to produce practical results. The last 10 years also have seen a growing interest in knowledge management, a management discipline believed to enhance organizations’ innovative capability by the sharing and creation of knowledge. While most knowledge management cases refer to the business setting, we believe that the introduction of these practices can also enhance knowledge creation and knowledge sharing within and among research units. This paper focuses on a pilot study being conducted at a Japanese public graduate university – JAIST – under a Center of Excellence (COE) program that was established to bring the performance of research laboratories up to a world class level in productivity by applying the theories and tools of knowledge science. This study is a cooperative effort between the School of Knowledge Science, doing research on knowledge management and systems, and two research laboratories in the School of Materials Science, doing basic and applied research on materials science. The goal of this project is to enhance materials science students’ capabilities so that they become successful creators of new scientific knowledge. A group of seven graduate research students volunteered for the study. As one of the first steps, we introduced a formal and periodic written reporting system that motivates students to think strategically about their experiments, helps them to improve their communications skills, and enables students to self-evaluate their skills and supervisors to evaluate the students’ skills as well as monitor their progress and developments in a formalized way. Since the project is relatively new, these preliminary results are associated with a generalized awareness and participation of the students in the project. However, we are expecting to obtain more concrete results, that is, quantifiable improvements in scientific production, in the near future.

Exploring LIS academics' responses to knowledge management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why library and information science (LIS) academics have responded to the advent of knowledge management (KM). Design/methodology/approach – The study employs an “experience survey” as a research strategy. Besides a review of scientific literature, this study conducts an e-mail survey of 106 LIS academics of the world who have adopted KM education in their schools. A structured questionnaire comprising of both closed and open questions is used as the data collection instrument. The study analyses 57 filled-in valid questionnaires following a mixed-method approach of research. Findings – The ways of knowing and degrees of understanding of KM concepts among the LIS academics are varied. Although KM is distinct from LIS, there exists a strong link between the two knowledge domains. LIS academics have positively responded to KM and considering its long root in LIS, they have argued for a serious consideration of the adoption of KM in LIS. The signi...

An education method for VR content creation using groupwork

VR content creation is a comprehensive development, and it requires a variety of skills, not only sensing technology and computer graphics techniques, but also aesthetic design and storytelling, for completing the project. A groupwork-based project is a suitable approach for creating a VR application, because the group members can exert their full powers in their special fields by collaborating with each other. Students learn best when they are actively involved in the process, such as in group discussion and field work. These groupwork projects are also effective in improving their collaboration skills. This paper introduces an education method for creating virtual reality content by means of groupwork, and shows the advantages of this method.

Emergence of common tacit knowledge in an international IT project

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge processes in an international IT outsourcing project between two countries when knowledge is transferred from one country to the other due to business situations. A theoretical model is presented regarding knowledge processes in international projects which explains emergence of international common understanding as one of the solutions for knowledge-related challenges in international projects. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study was conducted at the headquarters of a chemical company in Japan and its subsidiary in Singapore. The study employed a qualitative analysis method. Interviews were conducted in these companies and the results were analyzed according to grounded theory. Findings – The authors propose ARC Model of Knowledge Management in International IT Outsourcing Projects, which is a new theoretical model of project knowledge management in international settings, with a view of localization into knowledge processes. Inter...