Verona, G., Prandelli, E. & Sawhney, M. (2005). Innovation and virtual environments: toward virtual knowledge brokers. Organization Studies. 27(6), 765-788.
Summary (334 words):
This article aims to explore impact of virtual environment and knowledge on innovation in organizations. By examining the influences of virtual environment on innovation and knowledge management processes, the authors has provided the concept of virtual knowledge broker and its advantages on the management of innovation.
To maintain competitive advantages, firms need continuously innovate. To innovate, they need to improve their knowledge resource, and constantly update and search for new knowledge. The authors have acknowledged external actors as an importance source of knowledge and reminded that these external actors can be customers or knowledge brokers. Firms can interact directly with customers to acquire their opinions or dealing with knowledge of customers indirectly using knowledge brokers.
Knowledge broker is not only the intermediator between firms and the source of knowledge. It can transport ideas between unconnected industries and therefore stimulate innovation. The explosion of the Internet has facilitated the connection between customers and knowledge brokers. It enables the knowledge brokers to receive feedback from the diverse groups of users which significantly support new product development activities. Moreover, the Internet has enabled knowledge brokers to generate and maintain large amount of strong and direct ties without trade-off with richness of information.
While firms can also maintain direct relations with customers by using physical channel or virtual environment, knowledge from this sources are not enough for innovation. Customers are not likely to share their personal information and private life in companies’ websites. Moreover, companies will not be able to maintain the relationships with the large amount of users from the industry, who may not be their customers. Therefore, knowledge brokers will overcome this gap and play an important role in the innovation process.
In general, virtual knowledge broker has advantages of knowledge broker and virtual environment. It can absorb knowledge from a huge number of customer ties and support the innovation activity within different industries. Though it had difficulty dealing with tacit knowledge, firms who seek continuous innovation should consider it as an important source of knowledge.
Review (93 words):
This article has provided insight into the knowledge broker in the innovation context. It has an interesting approach in finding source of knowledge and reminds benefit of virtual environment in the knowledge management.
This paper is successful in explaining the role of virtual environment and knowledge broker in the innovation activity. However, while using many arguments for knowledge broker, the concept of virtual knowledge broker deserves more words and practical evidences. The authors should provide audience with a definition of virtual knowledge broker, and more importantly the current status of this interesting model.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Title : A Research Agenda for the Relationships between Culture and Knowledge Management
Author : William. R. King
Summary
This article explores the relationships between culture and Knowledge Management. The author notes that although the theme culture is very prevalent in KM literature and culture has been recognized to have a very important role to play in organization KM, the various relationships between different aspects of culture has not been empirically tested. This article attempts to integrate the different cultural aspects like national culture, organizational culture, organization climate, sub unit and organizational sub cultures, and team climate and develop a research agenda to explore their composite effect on KM. After clearly establishing the theoretical background by examining all the above mentioned aspects, the author proceeds to examine the role of these cultural aspects on KM and vice versa.
National culture (NC) influences the way people belonging to a particular society behave. This will manifest in the risk taking aptitude of a person and influences knowledge sharing behaviour which is associated with risk taking. Organizational Culture (OC) has cognitive, post-cognitive and behavioural impacts which influence aspects such as willingness to search and notice, searching and noticing, and willingness to form new patterns of cognitive association. According to the author, OC also influences the way rules and understandings of ownership of knowledge are formed within the organization. Finally, OC influences KM by affecting the norms of social interaction. Further, the author also briefly addresses the impact of KM on culture and alerts researchers to avoid neglecting relationships in which KM is the independent variable and culture is the dependant one.
Finally, the author presents a research agenda by tabulating the impact of NC, organizational and sub unit culture or climate (OC) on individuals, teams and the overall organization from which research questions could be developed.
Review
This article is highly structured and organized with clearly laid out headings and sub headings which provide for a logical and coherent reading. The theoretical background is established well through an extensive literature review and the premise is well developed. However, while tying it in with the relationships to KM, it so appears that not all the cultural aspects detailed in the theoretical background are explored well enough. The major cultural aspects discussed are NC and OC. The author more or less uses the umbrella term OC to incorporate organizational culture, climate, sub unit culture, team culture etc. whereas there was a mention in the article that all these would be dealt with separately. But I would think a convincing research agenda was developed and possible research questions that could be explored is presented successfully by the author.
By Githin George for Knowledge Regiment
Author : William. R. King
Summary
This article explores the relationships between culture and Knowledge Management. The author notes that although the theme culture is very prevalent in KM literature and culture has been recognized to have a very important role to play in organization KM, the various relationships between different aspects of culture has not been empirically tested. This article attempts to integrate the different cultural aspects like national culture, organizational culture, organization climate, sub unit and organizational sub cultures, and team climate and develop a research agenda to explore their composite effect on KM. After clearly establishing the theoretical background by examining all the above mentioned aspects, the author proceeds to examine the role of these cultural aspects on KM and vice versa.
National culture (NC) influences the way people belonging to a particular society behave. This will manifest in the risk taking aptitude of a person and influences knowledge sharing behaviour which is associated with risk taking. Organizational Culture (OC) has cognitive, post-cognitive and behavioural impacts which influence aspects such as willingness to search and notice, searching and noticing, and willingness to form new patterns of cognitive association. According to the author, OC also influences the way rules and understandings of ownership of knowledge are formed within the organization. Finally, OC influences KM by affecting the norms of social interaction. Further, the author also briefly addresses the impact of KM on culture and alerts researchers to avoid neglecting relationships in which KM is the independent variable and culture is the dependant one.
Finally, the author presents a research agenda by tabulating the impact of NC, organizational and sub unit culture or climate (OC) on individuals, teams and the overall organization from which research questions could be developed.
Review
This article is highly structured and organized with clearly laid out headings and sub headings which provide for a logical and coherent reading. The theoretical background is established well through an extensive literature review and the premise is well developed. However, while tying it in with the relationships to KM, it so appears that not all the cultural aspects detailed in the theoretical background are explored well enough. The major cultural aspects discussed are NC and OC. The author more or less uses the umbrella term OC to incorporate organizational culture, climate, sub unit culture, team culture etc. whereas there was a mention in the article that all these would be dealt with separately. But I would think a convincing research agenda was developed and possible research questions that could be explored is presented successfully by the author.
By Githin George for Knowledge Regiment
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