http://ejkm.com EJKM News en © 2013, EJKM Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:11:16 +0000 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:11:16 +0000 EJKM EJKM EJKM RSS generator http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss This is my first editorial, as I have just recently become the editor of the Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, following a long period as a paper reviewer. I feel very honoured to be able to contribute to the continued success of our journal at a challenging time for the KM discipline. While the field has evolved significantly since its emergence in the early 1990s and attracted a high level of interest across both the academic and the practitioner communities, any comprehensive review of recent publications across the discipline might produce some sense of déjà vu, as many are concerned that limited progress is being made in the broader recognition of the discipline in the academic community and in the adoption of good KM practices. http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p116 Ken Grant http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p116 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 Tacit knowledge has become one of the most used buzzwords in many scientific areas, especially in the area of knowledge management, during the past twenty years. In the mainstream of contemporary KM literature the concept of tacit knowledge has been broug ht in a relatively rough way alongside the traditional conception of knowledge (explicit knowledge) without further analysing the theoretical coherence of the resulting epistemology. Moreover, tacit knowledge is usually defined only vaguely as knowledg e difficult to articulateŽ as opposed to articulate, explicit knowledge. These factors have led to puzzling or even internally contradictory epistemological views. We critically analyse the predominant epistemological views in the knowledge management lit erature from the theoretical perspective. We outline a theoretically firmer epistemological model based on Polanyis original conception of tacit knowledge. We claim that although knowledge management is relatively new scientific area, its roots should be firmly grounded in the philosophical problems concerning knowledge if it is expected to present credible theories that could support knowledge management practices http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p118 Ilkka Virtanen http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p118 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 A fundamental necessity for the transfer of actionable knowledge is that it must occur within a context. This essay suggests that governing frameworks provide the medium within which it becomes possible to share actionable knowledge. To support this claim the notion of governing frames is first explicated. Frameworks provide the basic support structures for sharing knowledge within organizations through the development of an inextricable linkage between context and meaning often found in the underlying fo undation for governance structures. Each of the classic governing frameworks discussed, formal, informal, markets, and professional, has different manifestations of key structural elements, relationships, elements, context, configurations, and temporal st ability and thus different implications for sharing knowledge. The strengths and weakness of the various frameworks for understanding the sharing of knowledge in organizations are exemplified by focusing on two exemplar problems: information seeking an d clinical and translational science. In conclusion, the concept of governing frameworks offers a new way of looking at the often intractable problem of sharing knowledge in our ever more complex organizations. A compelling focus of future research is how these frameworks are negotiated in an increasingly professionalized world where specialists must integrate their activities in interprofessional teams. http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p127 David Johnson http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p127 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 This exploratory study investigates how post-graduate students manage information and knowledge and how these skills evolve over time during their post-graduate studies. The concepts of personal information management, personal knowledge management and b rain filtering as well as the critical role of technology are discussed in the context of the post-graduate learning experience. A short illustrative case study is presented that highlights the evolution in the way that post-graduate students learn to han dle information and develop new knowledge. The study contributes to the still nascent literature on personal knowledge management through increased understanding of the way students learn and their use of technology tools. The findings have implications f or universities as well as the private sector to better develop genuine knowledge creators http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p139 Elaiza Benitez, David Pauleen and Tony Hooper http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p139 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 In the modern business environment a greater number of organizations act worldwide and regularly meet with new cultures and environments. The change calls for a more rapid learning process than previously, in order to adjust to new situations. In order to http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p150 Ulrica Pettersson http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p150 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 The purpose of this paper is to examine the process by which firms search for external knowledge, with a view to better understanding how to represent and manage this central function of the knowledge exchange process; the identification and acquisition o f external knowledge being a fundamental activity for organisations seeking to replenish their internal knowledge stocks. However, previous research on search activity does not distinguish between internal and external search actions. Therefore, conceptu al and empirical understandings about external search activity are very scarce. This paper seeks to address this gap by investigating the external search activity of three Irish based manufacturing firms. The comparative case method is used to develop a f ramework of external knowledge search. Findings regarding external knowledge search activity are identified across six key areas; drivers of external search, problem definition and external search, external search actions, external search paths, external knowledge sources and external search frequency. This papers theoretical contributions and empirical findings increase our understanding about the external knowledge search process and in turn aid managerial decision making centered on harnessing the val ue of external knowledge and resource allocation to boundary spanning activity. http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p158 Rebecca Purcell and Fergal McGrath http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p158 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000 The aim of the present is to verify the degree of applicability of the financial valuation method developed by Rodríguez-Castellanos et al. (2006a, 2007) for the valuation of real option-based intangibles in the Spanish region of the Basque Country. The field study consisted on a telephone survey of CFOs in a random sample of Basque Countrys firms, selected using segmentation criteria based on size and business sector. Considering the 517 replies received it is stated that, despite three of every four CFOs answering that options were included in their intangibles, approximately one of every five is actually capable of identifying such options. When we consider the difficulties encountered in estimating the models parameters, the conclusion is that les s than 10% of the regions firms are likely to be in a position to directly apply the method proposed for the valuation of real option-based intangibles, which means a preliminary phase of analysis and diagnosis is required before the method can actually be applied in practice. The present paper makes a substantial contribution because its the first study that tries to verify the utility of a method for the financial valuation of intangible resources to take into account the associated real options. It c ould be useful from an academic and managerial point of view. http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p168 Belen Vallejo-Alonso, Gerardo Arregui-Ayastuy, Arturo Rodriguez-Castellanos and Domingo García-Merino http://ejkm.com/volume11/issue2/p168 Wed, 01 May 2013 01:01:01 +0000