Sharing expert knowledge is a key process in developing software products. Since expert knowledge is mostly tacit, the acquisition and sharing of tacit knowledge along with the development of a ...transactive memory system (TMS) are significant factors in effective software teams.
We seek to enhance our understanding human factors in the software development process and provide support for the agile approach, particularly in its advocacy of social interaction, by answering two questions: How do software development teams acquire and share tacit knowledge? What roles do tacit knowledge and transactive memory play in successful team performance?
A theoretical model describing the process for acquiring and sharing tacit knowledge and development of a TMS through social interaction is presented and a second predictive model addresses the two research questions above. The elements of the predictive model and other demographic variables were incorporated into a larger online survey for software development teams, completed by 46 software SMEs, consisting of 181 individual team members.
Our results show that team tacit knowledge is acquired and shared directly through good quality social interactions and through the development of a TMS with quality of social interaction playing a greater role than transactive memory. Both TMS and team tacit knowledge predict effectiveness but not efficiency in software teams.
It is concluded that TMS and team tacit knowledge can differentiate between low- and high-performing teams in terms of effectiveness, where more effective teams have a competitive advantage in developing new products and bringing them to market. As face-to-face social interaction is key, collocated, functionally rich, domain expert teams are advocated rather than distributed teams, though arguably the team manager may be in a separate geographic location provided that there is frequent communication and effective use of issue tracking tools as in agile teams.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate pertinent knowledge protection literature. At the same time, however, knowledge protection is often a neglected or underdeveloped area. This is ...all the more concerning as knowledge protection plays an essential part in preserving an organization’s competitive advantage. Despite the recognition of this issue by scholars, the knowledge management literature has so far tended to concentrate on the facilitation of knowledge sharing rather than on knowledge protection.
Design/methodology/approach
– In this paper, the authors present the results of a structured literature review undertaken to investigate the current state of research on knowledge protection. The paper identifies core domains in knowledge protection literature, discusses theoretical perspectives and research methods, sheds light on the role of the information technology (IT) artefact in knowledge protection research and develops a portfolio of knowledge protection measures.
Findings
– In this paper, 48 papers were analyzed by taking five analytical dimensions into account: research domains, research methods and models, the role of the IT artefact, theoretical views and measures to enforce knowledge protection. Based on the discussion of the results, promising avenues for further research were identified and a research agenda was proposed. The authors argued for more research on the protection of tacit knowledge, more in-depth empirical investigations, more research on IT support and a stronger consideration of theories in knowledge protection research, as well as research on how organizations could build a strategy of knowledge protection.
Research limitations/implications
– Tacit knowledge, as well as informal alliances or (social) networks, is under-researched so far. Knowledge protection phenomena need to be investigated in depth to test the assumptions stated in many conceptual papers. IT artefacts should be developed and evaluated. More theory-based research and overarching frameworks or strategies for knowledge protection need to be developed.
Practical implications
– In this paper, a portfolio of knowledge protection measures was developed, which might be of particular interest for practitioners. Further, the paper provides a good overview of the current state of practice regarding knowledge protection.
Originality/value
– So far, there is no structured literature available focussing on the topic of knowledge protection.
Purpose
This study aims to identify differences in knowledge-sharing mechanisms and personality among expert, typical and novice managers within the Malaysian public sector. Strengthening knowledge ...sharing function is essential for enabling public institutions around the world to be more productive.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study involves 308 employees from management and professional groups within 98 local authorities in the Malaysian local government. Stratified random sampling techniques were used and the sampling frame comprised 1,000 staff using postal surveys. Data analyses were carried out using analysis of variance and correlations to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The findings reveal that expert managers are more proactive in sharing their knowledge, particularly those with the personality traits of conscientiousness and openness. These two personality traits were also related to expert behaviours such as thoroughness, responsibility and persistence, which led to work competency and managerial success.
Originality/value
This study provides theoretical insights into how managerial tacit knowledge differs and can accumulate, depending on the personality traits of middle managers. The paper shows the different mechanisms of knowledge sharing, tacit knowledge and personality among expert, typical and novice managers. Practically, this study is important for guiding senior managers in their attempts to identify the most appropriate personalities of their middle managers. This study found that the expert group was higher in conscientiousness, openness and overall personality traits compared with the typical and novice groups. The paper also highlights the value of sharing managerial tacit knowledge effectively.
Firms need to transform dramatically to maintain their operations and survive. The pandemic has shown how family businesses (FBs) are solving complex problems faster than non-family. They have ...demonstrated the flexibility to transform and adapt because of their closeness to the firm’s processes and management and their social network inside and outside organizations that allow them to respond quickly to market needs based on a fast-making decisions process. FBs’ knowledge, which is embedded in their values, making decisions process, and remaining for generations, requires resilient and robust management. The relationship between family values and FB management differentiates by their complexity and generational aspect. These relations demonstrate that personal values can influence professionalization, succession, and innovation processes. In this regard, there is a lack of research to understand the findings, practices, and processes associated with managing the knowledge flows through which FBs execute innovation strategies and to build on professionalization and succession capabilities that could provide different avenues of innovation and adaptation for dealing with turbulent and uncertain times. This editorial intends to provoke discussion on what we know about family businesses and how they face different challenges in a complex world to survive. FBs must develop adaptive strategies and strengthen crucial processes to generate a competitive and sustainable advantage. Knowledge management provides models and tools to reinforce tacit knowledge management’s relevance in the professionalization and succession processes. Knowledge management becomes critical in an era in which uncertainty seems to be permanent.
The central and paradigmatic cases of knowledge discussed in philosophy involve the possession of truth. Is there in addition a distinct type of practical knowledge, which does not aim at the truth? ...This question is often approached through asking whether states attributed by "know-how" locutions are distinct from states attributed by "know-that". This paper argues that the question of practical knowledge can be raised not only about some cases of "know-how" attributions, but also about some cases of so-called "know-wh" attributions; and that certain features of this practical knowledge-wh put pressure on the standard analysis of know-wh.
Our knowledge includes irreducible tacit elements which are related to the individual’s personal nature that go beyond what we can express, which makes it very difficult to formalize, communicate and ...share. As this tacit knowledge consists of either actions or personal attitudes, we propose an approach to acquisition of tacit knowledge based on an ontological model. The ontology is built top down by changing the actors’ cognitive focus from the focal to the subsidiary, or from the aim of an action to its detailed objectives. We also use explicitation interviews and self-confrontation techniques to identify the tacit elements in actors’ activities, such as the concepts of situation, know-how and know-that, which constitute our ontology for knowledge acquisition.
In 2004, Gabbay and le May showed that clinicians generally base their decisions on mindlines-internalised and collectively reinforced tacit guidelines-rather than consulting written clinical ...guidelines. We considered how the concept of mindlines has been taken forward since.
We searched databases from 2004 to 2014 for the term 'mindline(s)' and tracked all sources citing Gabbay and le May's 2004 article. We read and re-read papers to gain familiarity and developed an interpretive analysis and taxonomy by drawing on the principles of meta-narrative systematic review.
In our synthesis of 340 papers, distinguished between authors who used mindlines purely in name ('nominal' view) sometimes dismissing them as a harmful phenomenon, and authors who appeared to have understood the term's philosophical foundations. The latter took an 'in-practice' view (studying how mindlines emerge and spread in real-world settings), a 'theoretical and philosophical' view (extending theory) or a 'solution focused' view (exploring how to promote and support mindline development). We found that it is not just clinicians who develop mindlines: so do patients, in face-to-face and (potentially) online communities. Theoretical publications on mindlines have continued to challenge the rationalist assumptions of evidence-based medicine (EBM). Conventional EBM assumes a single, knowable reality and seeks to strip away context to generate universal predictive rules. In contrast, mindlines are predicated on a more fluid, embodied and intersubjective view of knowledge; they accommodate context and acknowledge multiple realities. When considering how knowledge spreads, the concept of mindlines requires us to go beyond the constraining notions of 'dissemination' and 'translation' to study tacit knowledge and the interactive human processes by which such knowledge is created, enacted and shared. Solution-focused publications described mindline-promoting initiatives such as relationship-building, collaborative learning and thought leadership.
The concept of mindlines challenges the naïve rationalist view of knowledge implicit in some EBM publications, but the term appears to have been misunderstood (and prematurely dismissed) by some authors. By further studying mindlines empirically and theoretically, there is potential to expand EBM's conceptual toolkit to produce richer forms of 'evidence-based' knowledge. We outline a suggested research agenda for achieving this goal.
Purpose
This research investigates the means of tacit knowledge (TK) communication between the designer and the computer in architectural design. Despite the integration of state-of-the-art ...computational technologies in different design phases, this integration happens within a limited scope, focusing mainly on tangible aspects of the design process, such as technical systems and visual representations. This lets architectural design miss the wider scope technology provides, where it can help in developing the computational design process through incorporating new intangible knowledge domains that were usually neglected, such as tacit knowledge, and through incorporating more design entities that were not included in the design process before.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducts an interdisciplinary analytical review of the literature to achieve two main research goals. The first goal investigates TK communication between human beings and the second understands approaches of TK communication between humans and computers. For each goal, three phases were implemented; an initial research phase, where main keywords are identified, a sampling and selection of literature phase and an analysis of literature phase.
Findings
Through interlinking findings from different disciplines, the study presents a theoretical framework for TK communication. The framework provides architects with an approach to construct and transfer TK while using the computer in a computational design environment, presenting an individual and a social set of conditions and factors revealed from the review of the analyzed literature. The framework particularly emphasizes the significance of a human–computer symbiotic relationship for the process of TK communication to take place.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel interdisciplinary reading into the literature of fields beyond architectural design, incorporating intangible knowledge domains into the computational design process and expanding the capabilities of computational design tools to allow for the transfer of intangible design attributes between different design entities, particularly tacit design knowledge.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore participants’ perceived benefits and costs that influence the quantity and the quality of voluntary participation in knowledge networks in a resources-constrained ...economy.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model of perceived benefits and costs of knowledge sharing is designed on the basis of literature. The influence of perceived benefit and cost on perceived quantity and quality of knowledge sharing are assessed on the basis of a survey with 283 participants in a business context within a resource-restrained economy.
Findings
The results indicate that reputation, reciprocity and altruism are perceived to benefit quantity of participation, whereas reciprocity, altruism and knowledge self-efficacy are perceived to benefit the quality of participation in knowledge networks. Effort and time have a negative impact on both quantity and quality of participation in knowledge sharing.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides insights into the factors that influence acceptance and use of knowledge networks and can thus influence business policies.
Originality/value
This exploratory study explores both perceived benefits and costs of participation in knowledge sharing in a resource-constrained economy.
The paper explores and ranks the key factors that support tacit knowledge sharing in automotive assembly lines. Existing studies on knowledge sharing tend to overwhelmingly focus on ...knowledge‐intensive, white‐collar work, and despite the acknowledgment of the importance of blue‐collar workers' tacit knowledge, both the knowledge management and operations management literature have devoted limited attention to manufacturing environments, and, in particular, those working on assembly lines. This study draws on qualitative and quantitative data from workers and plant managers of an automotive assembly line located in the Brazilian automotive Modular Consortium (MC), a unique production concept which produces vehicles in high volume and high variety. MC works with six multinational suppliers, which interact directly on the assembly line, sharing physical space, responsibilities, and quality control. The qualitative element of the study included interviews, informal conversations, and on‐site observations. Transcriptions were interpreted using content analysis. The quantitative element entailed a comparison of worker and management survey responses on the relative importance they ascribe to the different factors contributing to knowledge sharing, by ranking them using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The findings compare and contrast the perspectives of managers and workers on knowledge sharing with reference to factors related to people and processes. Implications for managerial action based on knowledge, HRM, and work management are discussed.
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