Morten Thanning Vendelø

Networks, cognition and management of tacit knowledge

Knowledge is a magic term with multiple connotations and interpretations. It is an issue of academic discourse as well as one with important implications for business institutions. How we define and frame knowledge carries implications for the way we try to manage knowledge in organizations and the de facto knowledge in organizations also carries implications for the knowledge existing in organizations. Within the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in the tacit dimension of knowledge, which is perhaps hardest to manage, as it cannot be formally communicated, and is often embedded in the routines and standard operating procedures of the organization. Focuses on characteristics of this strategic important knowledge and how it can be organized in networks. Should be read as a case for paying more attention to knowledge and networks and how to manage these in organizations.

Understanding context: its emergence, transformation and role in tacit knowledge sharing

Organizations, especially those adapting to rapidly changing environments, face the challenge of being able to solve complex problems within highly constrained timeframes. Complex problem solving has been addressed by theories of bounded rationality. However, these theories focus on solving complex but structured problems, and thus, context and how it emerges and transforms is not a central issue. More recently, theories of the firm as a knowledge‐creating entity have focused on how organizations solve complex unstructured problems. These theories suggest that context and contextualization are central elements in problem solving. Yet, no understanding of how context emerges and transforms emerges from these theories. The present paper focuses on the emergence and transformation of context in solving complex unstructured problems, attempts to remedy the shortcomings of the theories described above and investigates the nature of context. Concludes by explaining its role in tacit knowledge sharing.

Improvisation and Learning in Organizations— An Opportunity for Future Empirical Research:

Since the mid 1990s improvisation in organizations has attracted increasingly more attention from scholars of organizations, but in Management Learning, articles investigating learning and improvisation in organizations are absent, even if reviews of the literature on organizational improvisation suggest close links between the two concepts. Hence, there appears to be room for scholars to pursue empirical studies of connections between improvisation and learning in organizations, and thus, the purpose of this article is to provide inspiration for production and publication of such studies in Management Learning. First, the article presents a commonly accepted definition of improvisation. Thereafter, it looks at connections between improvisation and learning in organizations, and it describes recent empirical research investigating relationships between learning and improvisation in organizations. It then addresses challenges facing scholars of improvisation and learning in organization, and finally, it identifies interesting organizational contexts for empirical studies of improvisation and learning in organizations.

Knowledge Creation and IT Systems in a Small Software Firm

The knowledge management literature shows a certain preoccupation with information technology (IT), while it reflects a limited view on organizational knowledge. Knowledge management is often degraded to implementation of IT systems, neglecting human and social aspects of organizing. This paper presents a case from a small Danish software firm where these aspects are taken into account. The starting point for the utilization of IT was a study of knowledge creation and learning. Embedded in the daily activities of employees, the use of IT was intended to support and facilitate learning and knowledge creation rather than to regulate these processes. This is demonstrated in four examples from the case. We also examine how different perspectives on knowledge and knowledge processes contribute to the deployment of appropriate IT systems.

The role of theory adaptation in the making of a reference discipline

Information Systems (IS) scholars repeatedly debate the nature of the IS discipline. A series of articles have debated whether the IS field has become a reference discipline. While many scholars have argued this question from a perceptual point of view, we address it by examining the role of theory adaptation in the making of a reference discipline. Based on a review of how the sensemaking theory from organization studies is adapted and used in IS research, we show that papers that adapt and use sensemaking theory as a central construct in the theoretical framework - in other words - engaging in theory adaptation, have a higher probability of being referenced by other disciplines. Finally, we discuss the implications of the manner in which IS scholars borrow theory regarding the IS disciplines prospects of becoming a reference discipline. We examine how information systems scholars have adapted the theory of sensemaking.We examine if a particular way of adapting and using theory create more citation outside the IS discipline.We discuss the implications of the manner in which IS scholars adapt and use theory for IS to become a reference discipline.We suggest that more informed use of theory is important in being or becoming a reference discipline.

The politics of software innovation

Summary form only given. In software firms ideas for development of new software applications compete for resources. Yet, it is nearly impossible to foresee if an idea is good or bad, and thus, when deciding which ideas to fund managers cannot rely on objective measures. Also, software innovation is typically a lengthy process and many resources are needed to develop an innovation to the point where resource controllers and the innovation team can determine the end-result. Hence, to judge the outcome (success or failure) of and guide the process, in the absence of solid information about the end result, resource controllers and the innovation team construct and rely on subjective outcome assessments during the process. Resource controllers will allow an innovation team to continue its course of action when outcomes are judged successful and correct its course of action when outcomes are judged failing. However, such learning processes might be disturbed by political processes in organizations. The paper presents selected theories of organizational learning and politics of organizations, condensing these into a theoretical framework. It describes the case, called financial products, thereafter presenting the analysis of the politics of innovation in the case, and finally, it concludes and draws some implications for the management of innovation.

Recycling software - on the road to high performance in software companies

The present paper demonstrates that within the software industry high performance organisations emerge when software companies exploit the equivocality of the information technology as well as their interpretive capabilities in order to recycle software. The point of departure for the paper is the observation that, for many years, reuse of software objects, etc. has attracted much interest and energy from researchers, engineers and managers within the software industry, primarily because they perceive such reuse as the key to high performance in software development. Ultimately, this idea focuses on creation of software factories, which will improve efficiency in software development and provide managers with more control over the software development process. However, truly successful implementation of the idea has never happened, most likely because its champions solely emphasise technical aspects of the process. We already know that the equivocality of the information technology implies that it can tak...

User requirements capture for a multimedia CSCW system

The early stages of a Europen Union funded multimedia CSCW project scheduled to run for several years are described. The project, called Manicoral, concerns the definition, design, development and implementation of a CSCW as well as a study of cultural, collaborative and communications aspects of a scientific community to whom the interaction media are new. The CSCW system encompasses both data visualisation and communications tools. These are being developed iteratively together with user requirements which are expected to change as the project matures and the user groups become accustomed to using the tools. The Scandinavian perspective and Human Factors analyses are broughttogether in a wholistic conceptual framework in the project to cover both technical requirements and collaboration, communication and cultural issues. Methods applied so far and early results are reported.

Varying interpretations of technology as a problem in markets for customised high-tech products: towards an inquiring dialogue approach

Firms involved in contracting and implementation of customised high-tech products face a number of challenges in their relationships with customers because of the underlying variability of complex technologies. Existing research proposes the use of rational decision models and represents technology as an input to the firm’s production function that generates a specific return on investment when used appropriately. As such, existing research does not account for the parties’ varying interpretations of complex technology. If these interpretations are not revealed and resolved they may decrease customer satisfaction and create problems in the efficiency of technology use within the firm. This study investigates the potential of the inquiring dialogue approach for improving information sharing about technology interpretations held by the different parties. An empirical case study of a customised high-tech product in the software industry is analysed. Based on the insights obtained, we discuss the potential use of inquiring dialogue as a means to reveal information about the different interpretations held by the parties involved in contracting and implementing a customised high-tech product.

Making Space for Intuition in Decision-Making: The Case of Project Prioritization

Abstract An ongoing debate in the field of organizational decision-making concerns the use of intuition versus analytical rationality in decision-making. For the purpose of contributing to this debate we use a rich empirical dataset built from a longitudinal study of information technology project prioritization in a large financial institution to investigate how managers make space for the use of intuition in decision-making. Our findings show that during project prioritization meetings, senior decision makers apply three different techniques: bringing-in project intangibles, co-promoting intuitive judgments, and associating intuitive judgments with shared group context, when they make space for intuition in decision processes.