Maximiliane Wilkesmann

Cultural characteristics of knowledge transfer

– In most of the literature, knowledge management is treated as a universal practice, which is transferable from one country or company to another. There are some empirical hints that this is not always the case. The main research question, which this paper aims to answer, is: Which cultural characteristics in Germany and Hong Kong influence knowledge transfer?, – A qualitative and exploratory approach has been used to answer the research question. A series of 13 in‐depth interviews was conducted during April and May 2008 with experts from a range of various professional backgrounds in Hong Kong and Germany. Approaches of cultural characteristics are discussed and linked with the topic of knowledge transfer., – The findings show that knowledge transfer depends on national cultural characteristics which are power distance, performance orientation, in‐group collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance., – As the research was conducted in two countries only, the findings cannot be generalized. In addition the sample is limited to only 13 interviewees. Therefore, further and also quantitative research is necessary., – If companies introduce knowledge management systems in order to support worldwide knowledge transfer, national cultural characteristics have to be taken into account; it is not enough to provide only the technology., – Findings of cultural studies (e.g. GLOBE) and the approach of knowledge transfer are linked with each other. Moreover, empirical evidence is given for the cases Hong Kong and Germany.

The Absence of Cooperation Is Not Necessarily Defection: Structural and Motivational Constraints of Knowledge Transfer in a Social Dilemma Situation

There is a wealth of literature about knowledge transfer in general, but only a small amount deals with cultural and motivational factors of knowledge transfer. The main question of this article is: How can knowledge transfer be supported? First, we present a theoretical underpinning of knowledge transfer as a social dilemma situation. Second, we analyze how a situation of social dilemma can be overcome by means of structural and motivational solutions. Third, we provide empirical evidence from our survey in hospitals. These findings support three of our five hypotheses: direct channels for interaction, organizational culture, and intrinsic motivation are relevant requirements for knowledge transfer. Team size is not a significant factor for transferring knowledge in hospitals. Furthermore, our empirical findings differentiate between providing and obtaining knowledge. The last finding leads back to a modification of the theoretical framework.

Knowledge transfer as interaction between experts and novices supported by technology

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to link two sides of knowledge transfer (obtaining and providing knowledge), represented by the interplay between experts and novices, possibilities of technical support, and individual and organizational outcomes. An heuristic is developed to link up these different aspects and focus on practical application of some of them; the authors seek to answer the following research question: how can the organization support activities that would encourage knowledge transfer between novices and experts?Design/methodology/approach – The authors used interviews, document collection, and observations on‐site to gain insights into knowledge management and e‐learning activities at Lufthansa, a German airline company, beginning in 2004, with the first qualitative investigation, in the form of telephone interviews. Over the following six years, the authors followed up with archival analysis and in 2010 conducted interviews with four experts who are responsible for knowledge management ...

Industry 4.0 – organizing routines or innovations?

The rise of new information and communication technologies forms the cornerstone for the future development of work. The term Industry 4.0 refers to the vision of a fourth industrial revolution that is based on a network of autonomous, self-controlling, self-configuring, knowledge-based, sensor-based and spatially distributed production resources. All in all, different forms of the application of the Industry 4.0 concept can be observed, ranging from autonomous logistic transport systems drawn upon the idea of swarm intelligence to smart knowledge management systems. This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework to analyze different applications of Industry 4.0 on an organizing continuum. The general research questions are: What forms of organizing digitalized work lead to the reproduction of routines, and what forms foster innovation within Industry 4.0? The authors thus analyze the consequences of different forms of organizing work on workers’ perceptions and the results of the working process.,This paper provides case studies for different stages of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. The cases and a further analysis of all 295 funded projects are based on the Platform Industry 4.0 Map, which is part of the Industry 4.0 initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consequences for people acting in such organizational and digitally supported structures are discussed.,A variety of applications of Industry 4.0 can be found. These applications mainly vary in the dimensions of the degree of formalization, the location of control authority, the location of knowledge and the degree of professionalization. At the right side of the organizing continuum, the digitalization organizes a work environment that supports highly qualified humans. They have broad leeway and a high degree of autonomy to design and create innovative forms of digitalization for tomorrow. At the left side of the organizing continuum, Industry 4.0 structures a work environment with narrow leeway, a low degree of autonomy and a top-down structure of control authority predetermined by digital applications. In this case, employees fill the gaps the machines cannot handle.,As the paper focuses on Industry 4.0 developments in Germany, the comparability with regard to other countries is limited. Moreover, the methodological approach is explorative, and broader quantitative verification is required. Specifically, future research could include quantitative methods to investigate the employees’ perspective on Industry 4.0. A comparison of Industry 4.0 applications in different countries would be another interesting option for further research.,This paper shows that applications of Industry 4.0 are currently at a very early stage of development and momentarily organize more routines than innovations. From a practical point of view, professional vocational and academic training will be a key factor for the successful implementation of digitalization in future. A joint venture of industry and educational institutions could be a suitable way to meet the growing demand for qualified employees from the middle to the right-hand of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0.,Industry 4.0 is designed by men, and therefore, humans are responsible for whether the future work situation will be perceived as supportive or as an alienated routine. Therefore, designers of Industry 4.0, as well as politicians and scientists, absolutely must take the underlying outcomes of digitalized work into account and must jointly find socially acceptable solutions.,This paper provides a promising avenue for future research on Industry 4.0 by analyzing the underlying organizational structures of digital systems and their consequences for employees. Moreover, the paper shows how Industry 4.0 should be organized to simply reproduce routines or to support innovation.

Ignorance management in hospitals

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how professionals, like doctors, deal with their ignorance? Which strategies do they apply? How can the organization support activities that encourage dealing with ignorance in a positive way? The paper shows how ignorance can be managed in professional organizations like hospitals. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nTo explore this touchy subject, the research follows a sequential mixed method design. The advantage of combining research methods is the opportunity to explore an uninvestigated research field. In the first exploratory research sequence (empirical study 1) preliminary questions were defined by means of 43 qualitative semi-structured interviews with hospital physicians and literature analysis. The results of the qualitative content analysis also served as a starting point for the development of a Germany-wide online-questionnaire survey with more than 2,500 physicians (empirical study 2). n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe results show that breaks, a lack of negative organizational constraints, collective learning, positive role models and intrinsic motivation have the highest impact on ignorance sharing of physicians in hospitals. In reverse, negative organizational constraints, distrust, a lack of intrinsic motivation and omitting the implementation of evidence-based insights in terms of collective learning have the highest impact on hiding ignorance. These findings help to manage ignorance in a positive way. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nPhysicians all over the world have to deal with incomplete information and ignorance in their daily work. Mostly, they have no time and/or resources to gather all relevant information before they make a diagnosis or administer a therapy. It is quite evident that scientific discourses on knowledge management and professions mostly emphasize the power of expertise and knowledge, whereas research on ignorance is currently more or less neglected. This paper is one of the first attempts to overcome this research gap.

From Demigods in White to Normal Employees: Employment Relations and New Incentive Structures in German Hospitals

This chapter further assesses the impact of New Public Management-style incentive structure reforms on employment relations in German hospitals. The author shows that while medical doctors once boasted a large degree of autonomy and flexibility within the workplace, reforms enacted in the past decade have considerably altered contracts by introducing pay-for-performance, bonus, and penalty schemes tied to state-defined targets and care objectives. As the number of private hospitals has risen and intensified competitive pressures within the health sector, physicians have increasingly found themselves in the position of agents responding to the requests of administrative principals charged with monitoring their performance and measuring it against state goals. While seemingly achieving the state’s intent of reigning in doctors’ discretionary power, these reforms have nevertheless engendered unintended consequences by promoting unethical behaviour in the pursuit of pay and performance targets, and by contributing to a dramatic increase in locum doctors, who retain wider professional freedom and can demand higher pay for temporary contracting services, thus casting doubt upon the potential cost savings associated with heightened managerial governance.

Von Fürsten zu Knechten

Der Beitrag fragt danach, welche Erkenntnisse gewonnen werden, wenn die professionelle Eigenlogik der (Chef-)Arzteschaft in deutschen Krankenhausern mit dem Filter der sog. Principal-Agent-Theorie gleichsam methodologisch eingeklammert wird und Entwicklungen in den okonomischen Machtbeziehungen zwischen der (Chef-)Arzteschaft und ihren Arbeitgebern fokussiert werden. Auf diese Weise wird der Wandel der Position der Arzteschaft als Auseinandersetzung einer Profession mit unterschiedlichen wirtschaftlichen Zwangen rekonstruiert. Es zeigen sich eine Reihe von paradoxen Effekten: Einerseits drohen der Profession Machtverluste, andererseits enaktiert der Versuch, Chefarzte okonomisch zu disziplinieren (u.a. durch die Einschrankung der Privatliquidation), diese erneut zu okonomisch starken Akteuren, die – etwa indem sie die Flucht in den Honorararztstatus antreten – das Spiel wieder zu ihren Gunsten wenden konnen.

Inwieweit unterstützen die Faktoren Motivation und Organisationskultur technikorientiertes Wissensmanagement in Krankenhäusern

Der Artikel diskutiert die Wirksamkeit der Faktoren Organisationskultur, Motivation Gruppengroβe auf IT-gestutzte s Wissensmanagement. Hierbei wird getrennt nach den beiden Berufsgruppen der Pflegekrafte und Arzte untersucht, wie ein Wissenstransfer sinnvoll gestaltet werden kann. Im Rahmen einer Faktorenanalyse wird evaluiert, auf welchen verschiedenen Ebenen Wissensmanagement in Krankenhausern stattfindet.

Erwartungen an Interessenvertretungen

Die industriellen Beziehungen werden auf der betrieblichen Ebene bisher vornehmlich aus der Perspektive der betrieblichen Interessenvertretungen oder deren Beziehung zum Management analysiert, waehrend die Perspektive der abhaengig Beschaeftigten mehr oder weniger vernachlaessigt wird. Diese Forschungsluecke wird mit diesem Beitrag gefuellt, indem in einer repraesentativen Befragung von abhaengig Beschaeftigten in Deutschland deren Erwartungen an betriebliche Interessenvertretungen erhoben wurden. Dabei wird folgender Forschungsfrage nachgegangen: Wie lassen sich diese Erwartungen abhaengig Beschaeftigter an betriebliche Interessenvertretungen anhand bestimmter sozialer Milieus klassifizieren’ Die Frage wird durch Clusterbildung von fuenf Erwartungen und deren Kombination sowie durch eine Sozialstrukturanalyse eines jeden Clusters beantwortet. (In the past, research on industrial relations has been conducted primarily from the perspective of works councils and their relations to the management, whereas the perspective of the employees has been more or less neglected. With the help of a representative survey of German employees we will answer the following research question: How can the employee expectations regarding works councils be classified by means of social milieus’ We answer the research question by conducting a cluster analysis regarding five different expectations and their combination. Moreover, we analyze the corresponding groups in each case.)

Unterstützungsfaktoren für den Wissenstransfer im Kontext von sozialer Arbeit

Die zentrale Frage des Artikels ist: Welche Voraussetzungen sind zu beachten, damit Wissenstransfer im Bereich der sozialen Arbeit funktioniert? Dazu werden zuerst der Begriff des Wissenstransfers definiert und anschliesend Hypothesen entwickelt, die die unterstutzenden Einflussfaktoren aufzeigen. Die Hypothesen beschreiben Routinen, Motivation und Einstellung sowie Normen und Fuhrungskultur. Am empirischen Beispiel eines Wohlfahrtsverbandes werden die entwickelten Hypothesen getestet. Dazu wurden die Nutzer und Wissensmanagementbeauftragten eines Wissensmanagementsystems des Wohlfahrtverbandes online befragt.