R. de Hoog

CommonKADS: a comprehensive methodology for KBS development

The aim of CommonKADS is to fill the need for a structured methodology for KBS projects by constructing a set of engineering models built with the organization and the application in mind. We give a brief overview of the CommonKADS methodology, paying special attention to the expertise modeling-an aspect of KBS development that distinguishes it from other types of software development. We illustrate the CommonKADS approach by showing how aspects of the VT system for elevator design would be modeled.<<ETX>>

Vacationers and eWOM: Who Posts, and Why, Where, and What?

Vacationers not only read and use information from the Internet during their choice process, but also post information on the Internet. This posted information is described as eWOM (electronic word of mouth). The central questions are, which type of vacationers do post, with which motivations do they post reviews, on which type of site, and what are the message characteristics? These questions are approached in a way that differs from the usual site-centered approach. It is topic-centered and independent of a specific review site, and it focuses on motivations for all vacation sites. The conclusion is that why a vacationer makes a contribution influences the choice of a site to which he or she contributes and what he or she contributes. The main discriminating motivational factor is the one that sets vacationers with a primarily self-directed motivation apart from those with a more other-directed help motivation. Implications for tourism research and vacation marketing are discussed.

Supporting Knowledge Management: A selection of methods and techniques

Abstract Carrying out knowledge management effectively requires support from a repertoire of methods, techniques and tools. This paper provides a selection of those methods. They are described according to a conceptual framework that sees knowledge management as consisting of four activities that are performed sequentially. These activities are Review, Conceptualize, Reflect and Act. For each activity some methods are discussed while additional ones are referred to in the existing literature. At several points in the paper links with other contributions in this special issue are stipulated, as is also done the other way round. It is concluded that there is already a comprehensive set of support methods available, but for some peculiar aspects of knowledge assets there are still gaps. This holds in particular for the tangibility and measurability of knowledge assets.

The monetary value of knowledge assets: a micro approach

Abstract Measuring the value of knowledge is rapidly becoming a topic of interest in the wake of the increasing attention for knowledge management. Several approaches have been proposed in the past, most of them focused on measuring at a high level of abstraction the “intellectual capital” of a company. A low-level approach, meant to measure the value of separate knowledge assets is defined in a formal model. The model calculates the return on a knowledge asset (its value) as the difference between the cost incurred for using the knowledge asset in activities to produce products minus the revenues generated by these products. The activity side of this equation relies on Activity Based Costing. For the revenues side different procedures can be used for distributing product revenues over activities and knowledge assets. The approach is illustrated by a case study concerning loan revision performed in a large bank in Netherlands. It was shown that the method is applicable and led in the case study to the unexpected result that the return on most knowledge assets for loan revision was negative. The results of the method could also be used to calculate the financial prospects of re-engineering proposals. To conclude, several constraints and benefits of the method are discussed.

Organizational modeling in CommonKADS: the emergency medical service

Analysis-oriented modeling can help identify possible solutions to organizational problems. It also aids investigation of the impacts of and organizational support for these solutions, which helps identify the most feasible solution. We look at the problem of adequately equipping an emergency medical service to diagnose and treat heart attacks. This project required building a knowledge-based system. For application projects such as this, the time and resources for developing an organization model are typically limited. Only rarely can a full and valid behavioral model be developed. Therefore, having no simulation model at all appears to be better than having an incorrect one. Thus, analysis-oriented modeling is probably preferable to behavior-oriented modeling. We have applied the CommonKADS organization model, an analysis-oriented model, to the EMS project. Organizational modeling in the CommonKADS framework helped identify several solutions to the problem, and aided the selection of the most feasible solution from an organizational viewpoint.

A new perspective on tourist information search: discussion in couples as the context

Purpose – Information‐search for vacation decision‐making can occur in two different contexts: an individual one, in which one forms ones preferences, and a social one in response to discussions with partners and family members. This paper focuses on the latter.Design/methodology/approach – By means of a longitudinal study the research investigates the main topics of discussion in couples, and the information sources couples use in their discussion. Furthermore, the research investigates whether the information sources used depend on the nature of the sub‐decision – search‐determined or experience‐determined – the couples discuss.Findings – The research finds that there is considerable discussion between partners and that the amount of discussion varies in relation to the type of sub‐decision. During these discussions, the use of different information sources is widespread. More generally, the study confirms the overall importance of the social context: information sources used in the social context are ...

Economizing on vacations: the role of information searching

Purpose – The consumer is currently feeling the consequences of the global economic crisis, leading to decreased spending by tourists. An important economizing strategy appears to be that vacationers do not give up their holiday but are likely to travel closer to home, a phenomenon called “staycation”, but this is just one of a variety of options vacationers can use. If they make economies within a holiday, where do they get their ideas about economizing from? The purpose of this paper is to study information searching from the perspective of economizing on vacations.Design/methodology/approach – The work reported on is a survey of Dutch vacationers who stated that they economized on their 2009 holiday.Findings – The research shows that different sources have strong and weak points in relation to the different subdecisions that constitute a vacation. Information sources are used in concert for subdecisions; the strongest joint use involves marketer‐generated sites and e‐WOM, and brochures and travel guide...