Abstract: Web 2.0 applications aim at improving the interaction between users. Web 2.0 principles overlap with characteristics of knowledge management (KM) or could be applied to reshape KM practices. Applying Web 2.0 applications to KM has the potential to improve the sharing and creation of knowledge. However, little research has been conducted in this area. This research aims at identifying Web 2.0 applications for bolstering up organizations’ KM practices. An additional aspect addressed is how Web 2.0 applications for KM can be categorized and how they match different aspects of the KM strategy of an organization. The research examines the suitability of Web 2.0 applications in KM by conducting exploratory case studies in two student‑run organizations, which are an interesting research subject because their members are considered most open towards new technologies. The case studies aim at exploring which Web 2.0 applications are in place. Based on the findings we propose a framework for categorizing Web 2.0 applications for KM. The findings indicate that Web 2.0 applications may enhance KM and may even initiate a new era of KM. Moreover, the article provides a discussion of a number of Web 2.0 applications and proposes a way of categorizing these applications. The proposed framework allows assessing the use of Web 2.0 applications for KM and can be used as an orientation for the introduction of Web 2.0 applications in organizational KM. The research contributes to the general understanding of how Web 2.0 applications can be used in KM. The proposed framework for categorizing Web 2.0 applications provides an orientation for organizations that want to use these applications for bolstering up their KM practices. 

Inter generational learning is an open process people of all ages can learn from each other in a stimulating context. It is a complex process of knowledge sharing that overcomes age and cultural barriers. Inter‑generational learning is more specific for those organizations where people group together in age layers or strata. Universities are such kind of layered or nested organizations. The purpose of this paper is to present some results of our research in the field of inter‑generational learning and knowledge sharing in universities. This topic is important because a university is by its own nature a nested knowledge organization, due to a continuous flow of students and the bottom‑up regeneration of the faculty staff. Knowledge creation and knowledge loss are intertwined processes, and both of them are strongly influenced by the age scale. A university is a multilayered knowledge organization, where the inner most layers are represented by older professors who concentrate the fundamental structures of knowledge, and the outer layers are represented by students in their different learning cycles. In this paper we are interested in assessing the choices done by the academic staff, in the context of the determinant criterions and trade‑offs in inter‑generational learning. This had been done in the framework of Analytic Hierarchic Processes (AHP). We thought that this is a proper tool since it mainly belongs to the field of decision‑making with the possibility to determine vectors of priorities for the individuals participating in the decisions under study. 

The Spanish healthcare system has undergone important changes, particularly with respect to the development of new hospital services. Today, more than ever, the factors that define the nature and structured of the Spanish healthcare environment (e.g. demand, costs, system deregulation) are undergoing rapid change thus obliging hospital administrators to develop and implement flexible and adaptive strategies in order to survive in an increasingly challenging environment facing hospital management. This work examines how the existence of some learning practices is linked to knowledge transfer and how this component is linked to relational capital. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 54 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 Hospital‑in‑the‑Home Units. In an applied sense, the findings provide homecare practitioners with identifiable factors, which enable two learning models (conceptual and operational) and address the relevant issues by changing strategies at both the individual and organisational levels. 

This paper will continue our work concerning the strategic management of intellectual capital. Based on the Rothberg/Erickson SPF framework which balances knowledge development with knowledge protection, we continue to explore differing circumstances and their impact on IC strategy. The framework differentiates between IC that needs to be aggressively developed by the firm (or not) and IC that is vulnerable to competitive intelligence incursion and needs protection (or not). Previously, we have looked at an environment within which substantial development of IC is necessary in order to be competitive but in which those same knowledge assets are at risk from competitive efforts to appropriate them (Erickson & Rothberg 2009b). In this paper, we will develop the scenario wherein aggressive development of IC may not be useful (highly tacit knowledge, difficult to share or apply in other situations) and little competitive intelligence activity is taking place (SPF 5 in the framework). In particular, we will characterize the nature of this environment in terms of theory, identify representative firms and industries, and apply data to the framework. Where appropriate, contrasts with other SPF environments will also be made. 

In this study, we sketch a problem‑based perspective of the service business, following the latest theoretical developments in the field of the knowledge‑based view of the firm and the related problem‑solving perspective. In particular, we approach services as problems to be solved for and with the customer. Our paper outlines a framework in which the knowledge processes regarding service delivery are conceptualized on two axes: 1) the intensity of knowledge sharing and co‑creation of services between the provider and the customer and 2) the nature of the problem‑solving process regarding the service delivery. Based on the developed conceptual framework, we provide implications concerning the organizing of various types of services in terms of the different problem‑solving processes they require. Furthermore, after identifying the distinctive problem‑solving processes with the help of the typology, theoretical and practical implications for service and knowledge management are discussed. 

The term knowledge‑intensive business services (KIBS) indicates private companies whose job consists of collecting, generating, analysing, and distributing knowledge with the purpose of delivering customized services to satisfy client’s needs. KIBS firms rely on highly educated professionals, and supply knowledge resources or other knowledge‑based services that clients are unable or unwilling to develop by themselves. The provision of KIBS entails a bilateral exchange of knowledge between the service provider and the end user along with the entire supply cycle. In this process, not only KIBS firms supply clients with precious elements of technical and applicative knowledge, but also client firms provide KIBS with pieces of knowledge that are necessary for designing a successful solution. As is well underlined in the literature, trust is an essential ingredient of client‑provider knowledge exchanges, so that KIBS companies have deal with it properly. This is not simple, since trust has several dimensions that rely on different trust‑building mechanisms. In light of this, the paper aims to analyse the different forms of trust and the related trust‑building mechanisms that come into play during the delivery of a knowledge‑intensive service. This is done by discussing the findings of a multiple case‑study of a particular group of KIBS, i.e. computer service companies located in the Northeast of Italy. Specifically, the study: a) offers a knowledge‑oriented description of the interactions that take place during the service delivery process between client and KIBS firms; b) analyses the role played by the different forms of trust, as antecedents and consequences of each interaction; c) makes some remarks about the trust building mechanisms that a KIBS company can exploit, and the resulting management implications. 

This paper focuses on the question: how can a personal work profile be created most easily and effectively for people considering their future? A personal work profile is a detailed description of the skills a person would like to use and characteristics of a work environment they would like to experience. This is valuable for all people of working age because it helps them find, or move towards, work which suits them best. This is tremendously important in Knowledge Management (KM). This is because when the an individual’s knowledge and skills are matched well with the work they conduct, there is a high level of job satisfaction, motivation and performance. Therefore, if there is a good match, employees and organisations benefit enormously. The paper categorises and critically examines literature relevant to the research question and explains why the new Look Into your FuturE (LIFE) technique (‘the LIFE Technique’) was designed, what is new about it, how it works and how it has been road tested, reflected upon and improved. The primary data strongly suggests that the stages of the Technique are useful and easy to do, and that it is a valuable initiative that should be developed and applied further in the future. 

Knowledge is widely accepted as strategic resource in companies, but its developmental potential is often not well exploited. Amongst others this is caused by the wide variety of knowledge management concepts, methods and tools challenging company management in selecting the appropriate measure for the specific company situation and developmental goal. Furthermore, knowledge is directly linked to people and knowledge‑based interventions therefore cannot be successful without reaching the company’s employees and getting them involved in any change processes. Against this background the paper discusses the changing role of knowledge in companies and investigates how knowledge‑based change processes in companies need to be launched and run. Based upon this a methodological framework is proposed in order to help companies in identifying their needs for change and purposefully intervening in their processes and eventually to lend them a hand in managing their human resources, selecting technology or changing the organisation. Conclusions open up the view towards future research still required for achieving the goal of methodologically grounded managerial support and guidelines on how to best intervene in company knowledge.