Papers in Current Issue


Vol 3, Issue 1 - July 2005
Editorial Comment Charles Despres, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers – and - College de Polytechnique, Paris, France

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An Empirical Study of the Impact of Question Structure on Recipient Attitude during Knowledge Sharing (pp 1-10) Heather Bircham-Connolly, James Corner and Stephen Bowden Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Abstract: This paper contributes to the body of literature on knowledge sharing through insight into the relationship between the format of questions asked of individuals who are sources of knowledge and the attitudes of those that have been given the opportunity to cognitively integrate this knowledge into their own knowledge base. Aspects of the theoretical model proposed by Bircham (2003) are empirically evaluated, with results supporting the model. Keywords: knowledge sharing; question response structure; recipient attitude
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To shape practice act on theories (pp11-22) Matteo Bonifacio and Chiara Zini Informatics and Business Studies (DISA), University of Trento, Italy Abstract: Practice based studies have provided rich descriptions of knowledge dynamics. On the other hand, they led to conceptualizations that question the possibility to view knowledge as a resource that can be oriented and shaped by managers. From this perspective, questions such as why an existing community has developed, or how to enable the emergence of a new community, are still unanswered. Such weaknesses are rooted in a tendency to ignore the cognitive motivations (theories) that lead actors to behave in a particular way. As a consequence, we propose that social practice can be explained as the outcome of interlocking cognitive theories and, moreover, that to shape practice, we need to act on theories. Keywords: communities of practice, situated learning, cognition, knowledge management, organizational learning, theory of action.
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The Success of Virtual Communities of Practice: The Leadership Factor (pp23-34) Anne Bourhis, Line Dubé and Réal Jacob HEC Montréal, Canada Abstract: Contrary to the “one-fits-all” approach used in the literature on how to sustain virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), this paper advocates that successful management practices should be contingent upon their basic characteristics. More specifically, this study of eight virtual communities of practice investigates how the actions taken by the communities’ leadership teams may influence their success. The results show that decisions regarding the operational leadership of a VCoP are crucial elements to counteract the challenges arising from its structuring characteristics. Among those decisions, the choice and availability of a leader and the support of a coach are shown to be crucial. Keywords: Virtual community of practice, virtual group, leadership, knowledge sharing, organizational learning
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The Ambiguous Relationship of Leadership and Intellectual Capital: Understanding how Intellectual Capital is Developed (pp 35-44) Claudia Müller and Margit Raich University of Innsbruck, Austria Abstract: Intellectual Management deals with these interactions between all resources, tangible and intangible to create maximum value. Leadership plays an important role when turning knowledge within an organization into Intellectual Capital. Therefore it is of major interest to consider and evaluate the relationship as well as possible synergies between Intellectual Capital and Leadership to improve organizational processes and performance. Keywords: Knowledge, Intellectual Management, Leadership, Organizational Processes, Measurement
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A Conceptualization of Knowledge Management Practices Through Knowledge, Awareness and Meaning (pp 45-52) Nathan Nifco Fielding Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, USA Abstract: Knowledge management practices are based primarily in conceptual frameworks that are responsible for the design and development of methodologies and technologies that can provide some common ground in the way people use and manage knowledge in an organization. These conceptual frameworks are often derived from integrated perspectives that are influences not by one but multiple disciplines and practices. Can a knowledge management framework be useful and practical when is based on the universal constructs for knowledge, awareness and meaning? Operational definitions for these constructs were designed within a recent research study that was conducted by reviewing and analyzing 180 relevant sources from a variety of disciplines and practices including psychology, cognition and the cognitive sciences, human and organizational development, complexity theory and physics, computer science and artificial intelligence, philosophy, neuroscience and biology, mathematics and statistics. The operational definitions obtained from the research process were combined with general principles that were formulated in order to explore a potential model that may integrate and apply the three constructs of knowledge, awareness and meaning with the view of facilitating the conceptualization of knowledge management practices. The research presents the multiple perspectives from various disciplines on knowledge, awareness, meaning, thinking methods and organic models and at the same time provides a conceptual framework to determine the effectiveness of knowledge management practices with the purpose of integrating the know what, the know how and the know why of managing knowledge. Keywords: Knowledge, Awareness, Meaning, Thinking methods, Organic models, Knowledge Management
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The Impact of Stories (pp53-64) Joanna Sinclair Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Helsinki, Finland Abstract: Stories intrigue the field of Knowledge Management. Employing stories in both personnel and stakeholders communication is currently being recommended in several best practice guides on effective knowledge transfer and leadership communication. The aims of this article are to present further understanding of the impact of stories, and assess which kind of communication tasks stories are most apt for by considering stories as a medium. This allows for the examination of stories through two interlinked theories: Social Presence Theory and Media Richness Theory. These are found to be limited indicators of media effectiveness and it is suggested that elements of the theories should be broadened to make both theories useful for assessing core media effectiveness, although it is recommended that they be combined with other modes of evaluation to achieve thorough assessment of media impact. Keywords: Stories, Storytelling, Communication, Social Presence Theory, Media Richness Theory, Knowledge Management.
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