Australian Computer Society: ACS Digital Library
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Evaluating the Knowledge Assets of Innovative Companies
Get PDFKnowledge has long been recognised as a valuable resource for organisational growth and sustained competitive advantage, especially for organisations competing in an uncertain environment (Miller & Shamsie 1987). In the current post-industrial society, knowledge is recognised as a primary source of a company’s wealth. However knowledge assets are much more difficult to identify and measure than are the physical assets with which we are much more familiar. (Boisot 1998) As a company’s innovative capacity may be dependent upon its ability to take advantage of its knowledge assets, it is important to be able to identify and measure those assets. While large companies can afford extensive knowledge management projects, there is a acute need for a method by which managers in smaller organisations can easily and reliably locate, quantify and compare their knowledge assets in order to maximise their potential for innovation.
The paper will begin with an overview of current thinking on the topic of Knowledge Management (KM). It will then introduce the three functions of the knowledge life cycle (Bhatt 2000, Tan 2000), the four modes of conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka 1995) and the five knowledge enablers (Von Krogh 2000). The research, reported here, aims to identify, from the literature, a set of knowledge elements that will give a balanced view of knowledge assets across the four modes and five enablers. An integrated model, which is the result of research to date by the authors, will then be defined. This model combines the functions of the knowledge life cycle and Nonaka’s knowledge creation spiral with the notion of I-Space, which has been used to classify information across three dimensions, to form a new model of K-Space, which can be used to classify the knowledge elements. The paper will present this model and discuss the appropriateness of a set of knowledge elements as a means of measuring the knowledge asset of an organisation. It is suggested that the measure be verified by testing the outcomes against established indicators of innovation. The purpose of this research is to determine a practical way by which managers can determine the value of their knowledge assets and track the growth or decline of knowledge in their companies
Exploratory Analysis of the Effect of Consultants on the Use of World Wide Web Sites in SMEs
Get PDFThere is little published research on the role of consultants in technology adoption. Given the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web in commercial environments and the number of consultants now offering web development services, some analysis into the effects of their engagement would be of benefit.
In an extension of an ongoing study, an existing sample of 113 World Wide Web adopters was used to examine the nature of World Wide Web site use with respect to consultant and Internet Service Provider (ISP) engagement. Analysis was also conducted into the use of consultants and ISPs as developers and maintainers of these sites.
This preliminary research finds a number of interesting outcomes. No significant relationship is found between consultant or ISP engagement and World Wide Web site use, regardless of whether the consultant was engaged as site developer or site maintainer. The study raises a number of additional findings that are of interest but are not directly related to this study. These findings merit further research
Electronic Commerce and Market Focus: some findings from a study of Swedish small to medium enterprises
Get PDFIn the past, organisations relied on traditional quantitative metrics, such as return on investment (ROI) to make decisions when investing in technology. With the advent of electronic commerce (EC), these decisions are becoming less reliant on ROI measures. Instead different driving forces are taking precedence in the decision making process. This paper presents the findings of a study of 118 Swedish small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that have adopted EC. The results of the study suggest that improvements to customer service, internal efficiency and organisational competitiveness have become equally important when making EC investment decisions. The study also examined whether major market focus (local, regional, national or international) had an influence on the organisation’s decision to adopt EC. Findings indicate no associations between the market focus and the driving forces, however the existence of a fully developed plan for EC adoption and the size of the business were found to be highly associated with the development of new markets as an EC adoption criteria
The Impact of Business Size and Business Type on Small Business Investment in Electronic Commerce: a study of Swedish small businesses
Get PDFIn the past, organisations relied on traditional quantitative metrics, such as Return on Investment (ROI) to make decisions when investing in technology. With the advent of electronic commerce (EC), organisations have had to rethink their investment and acquisition decisions due to the strategic nature of electronic commerce. Where ROI measures have failed, they have been replaced with a plethora of organisational driving forces. This paper focuses on the driving forces behind EC adoption by small and medium enterprises (SME's) and aims to determine the impact of organisational factors such as size and type of business on EC acquisition criteria. The results of a research study carried out in Sweden are presented and suggest that there exist high levels of significance between the size of the business and customer demand, reduced costs, developing new markets and improvement to marketing as driving forces, and the type of business and customer demand, pressure from competition, increased sales and improvement of relationship with business partners as driving forces for EC adoption
The Evolution of Confusion: soft systems methodology and social theory revisited
Get PDFSoft Systems Methodology (SSM) is a potentially powerful tool for improving the management of the complex social systems aspect of Information Systems. Yet if it is to be employed effectively IS managers need to understand the theory of social systems that makes SSM a meaningful practical approach. However finding out about that social theory is not straightforward. It is 20 years since the first discussions of the social reality implied by Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and the area has been given little attention since. Yet SSM itself has progressed dramatically since those first critiques of its underpinning social theory were first developed. This paper revisits the area in order to provide a contemporary perspective and foundation for future development. It reveals apparent weaknesses in the research debate about SSM and social theory, and shows how the evolution of SSM has apparently been affected by that debate. SSM is introduced and examined according to the primary literature and re-evaluated using Burrell and Morgan's four-paradigm matrix of social theory paradigms in order to understand the social reality implied by SSM. The paper examines criticisms of SSM, the recent evolution of SSM, and suggests future directions for development
Understanding the Diffusion of Efficient Consumer Response: an Australian survey study
Get PDFEfficient Consumer Response (ECR) is designed to make the grocery industry more efficient. Although it originated in the US, the concept has been adopted in many regions. To enrich the findings of the existing studies that indicate a slow diffusion rate of ECR, this study examines ECR adoption in Australia by conducting a survey. The findings suggest that in Australia, ECR diffusion has also been slow. Differences in barriers, perceptions, and benefits experienced between manufacturers and retailers discovered in this study suggest that Australian retailers are leading manufacturers in ECR implementation and that they experience more benefits than manufacturers
A Theoretic Basis for IS? The Contribution of ANT
No full textRepresentation is a key issue of IS design and operation that is often ignored. Actor-network theory (ANT), a semiotic theory of stakeholders, provides a way of dealing with representation. Combining aspects of ANT and Foucault's discourse theory allows us to include concepts as actors and promises a flexible and durable foundation for IS practice, but ANT itself indicates that the search for a purely theoretical foundation for IS is misguided
Virtuous Hackers: developing ethical sensitivity in a community of practice
Get PDFIt is estimated that losses due to computer break-ins by malicious 'crackers' (who might be external intruders or disgruntled employees intent on personal gain or revenge) are costing companies billions of dollars each year. But former hackers are now assisting the computer security industry to track down such intruders, and to develop sound security practices in order to ward off future attacks. It is argued that in recent times computer programming has moved from a craft-based, bricolage activity to a scientific approach which has led to a knowledge gap developing between the former fraternity of hackers and the computer security industry. The current inadequacies of the security industry have made this co-operation with hackers necessary but problematic, that is, should hackers who have developed their unique skill by breaking into company and government systems now be used for the rightful purposes of strengthening computer security? However, this relationship might also suggest that the hacker ethos, which has developed through the membership of a 'community of practice', and which has as its cornerstone the moral custodianship of computers and the information they contain, may represent the best way of developing ethical practice in the computer industry