Knowledge Protection Challenges of Social Media Encountered by Organizations

Although social media (SM) represents a new means of creating and sharing knowledge, it also presents new challenges for protecting confidential information and other data that companies do not want to share. However, knowledge protection and security-oriented knowledge management processes related to SM have received little attention in previous studies. This research attempts to close that gap by examining which information and knowledge protection challenges arise from employees' use of SM, why they arise, and how organizations can address them. The main contribution of this study is a framework that integrates three types of knowledge protection challenges (information security challenges; reputation challenge; management challenges) with five special characteristics of SM (information distribution speed; blurry audience; merging of private and professional identity; easily collectible information; generation transition), which explain why these challenges arise. In addition, the framework presents eight questions that organizations should answer to help them address the three types of knowledge protection challenges. Our findings have practical implications: by answering the eight questions proposed in this study, companies can create knowledge management and protection policies for SM. Furthermore, the findings in this study open up several future research questions.     

Internal Effects of Stakeholder Management Devices

Stakeholder management devices (SMDs) are the mechanisms through which organizations respond to stakeholder concerns. Given that SMDs serve as organizational control systems for employees and managers, this research investigates the internal rather than the external effects of a firm's SMDs. Unlike most previous research, I examined the effects of these formal structures, processes, and procedures in the aggregate, rather than focusing attention on a single type of device. The study investigates the effects of a firm's stakeholder management devices, in the aggregate, on three factors that influence individual behavior in organizations: expectations, attitudes, and perceived organizational climates. Respondents were managers in 112 for-profit businesses located throughout the United States. Results suggest that a firm's stakeholder management devices affect the perceived moral climates in the firm, and affect managers' expectations about the consequences of good corporate social performance, but do not affect organization members' attitudes about corporate social responsibility.     

Social Media in Organizations: Leveraging Personal and Collective Knowledge Processes

By using social media, many companies try to exploit new forms of interaction, collaboration, and knowledge sharing through leveraging the social, collaborative dimension of social software. The traditional collective knowledge management model based on a top-down approach is now opening up new avenues for a bottom-up approach incorporating a more personal knowledge management dimension, which could be synergized into collective knowledge using the social-collaborative dimension of social media. This article addresses the following questions: (1) How can social media support the management of personal and collective knowledge using a synergetic approach? (2) Do the personal and collective dimensions compete with each other, or can they reinforce each other in a more effective manner using social media?

Our findings indicate that social media supports both the personal and collective dimensions of knowledge, while integrating a social collaborative dimension. The article introduces a framework that classifies social software into four categories according to the level of interaction and control. With certain tools, individuals are more in control. With other tools, the group is in control, resulting in a higher level of interaction and a diversity of knowledge and mindsets brought together. However, deploying and adopting these new tools in an organizational context is still a challenging task for management, owing to both organizational and individual factors.     

A Multilevel Perspective of Tensions Between Knowledge Management and Social Media

In this article, we discuss the tensions that are perceived in organizations as the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter challenge past approaches to knowledge management initiatives in organizations. We address these perceived tensions using a three-level conceptual framework: the macro- (organizational) level, the meso- (group) level, and the micro- (individual) level. In our discussion, we posit that perceived tensions arise when managers seek to maintain their traditional roles at the macro- (organization) level, yet social media affordances enable these roles to be performed at the micro- (individual level) and mesolevels. Shifts in the extent of the meso-level connections beyond the immediate organizational boundaries enable a wider community of practice than before. As a consequence, traditional management roles may give way to more flexible roles, with greater individual responsibilities for control and more sense-making and knowledge access taking place at the mesolevel. Our contribution is three-fold. In our article, we examine four key organizational factors (roles, ownership, control, and value) using a three-level conceptual model; associate the perceived tensions that arise in organizations with implicit shifts in these variables that accompany the use of social media; and suggest that shifts in emphasis in roles and control at each level can be instrumental in resolving perceived tensions as knowledge management efforts encompass social media.     

Knowledge transfer between self-initiated expatriates and their organizations: Research propositions for managing SIEs

Knowledge management is increasingly recognized as a key aspect of international business and management. This paper offers research avenues for investigating knowledge transfer between self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and their employer organizations. Building on the existing literature on expatriation and knowledge transfer, it offers a series of research propositions. It illustrates the knowledge transfer process in three phases: opportunity seeking, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application. We suggest that different characteristics of SIEs and their organizations can influence the knowledge transfer process. Furthermore, we advance that SIEs may be a source of sustained competitive advantage to their companies. Several implications for future empirical research are also discussed and the paper concludes with practical implications for SIE talent management.     

Global talent management: Literature review,integrative framework,and suggestions for further research

The environment for most organizations today is global, complex, dynamic, highly competitive, and extremely volatile, and is likely to remain so for years to come. In addition to these external conditions, most organizations are also facing several global challenges including those related to: talent flow; the managing of two generations of employees, viz., older or mature workers and younger workers; and a shortage of needed competencies. One major result of these challenges for organizations is that they have to be global and that they have to be systematic in managing their human capital if they wish to have any hope of gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage in the years ahead. Many human resource practitioners and consultants (HR professionals) are now recognizing this, especially those that operate globally, the multinational enterprises. Academics are also showing a strong interest as evidenced by their work in the new area referred to as “global talent management”. In this article we review that academic work and attempt to organize that literature by creating an integrative framework for understanding and advancing further research in global talent management. To guide this research our framework highlights several selected challenges in global talent management, and several drivers of those challenges. It also highlights the potential role of IHRM activities in addressing those selected challenges. A discussion of possible criteria of global talent management effectiveness completes the framework. Hopefully this integrative framework may guide further academic research on global talent management and might also inform the work of HR professionals.     

Will enterprise social networking systems promote knowledge management and organizational learning? An empirical study

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, enterprise social media practitioners and researchers are keen to know how the enterprise usage of social media can be converted into the improved organizational performance. Meanwhile, organizational learning has long been considered as one of the measures of organizational performance. This article investigated the impact of enterprise social networking systems (ESNS) usage on knowledge management processes and organizational learning; in particular, we examined the mediating role of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. Four theories from sociology and strategic management were used to build the hypotheses in the research model. An online survey was conducted to empirically test the model. Our study results showed that ESNS usage directly and indirectly influences organizational learning; and that knowledge management processes (knowledge creation and sharing) mediate the path between the two. This study contributes to the existing literature on enterprise social media for three reasons. First, it is among the first to connect the three independent concepts (social media, knowledge management, and organizational learning) and explore their relationships in one theoretical framework. Second, this work also specifically examines the influence of ESNS (Yammer in this case) on organizational processes and outcomes. Third, this is a pioneering study that employs multiple theories to address the research questions under the organizational social media context. Therefore, the research gives implications for both practitioners and scholars who are interested in understanding the effectiveness of ESNS usage in the modern organizations today.     

Managing relational conflict in Korean social enterprises: The role of participatory HRM practices,diversity climate,and perceived social impact

Social enterprises are hybrid organizations that primarily pursue social missions while also seeking economic gains. Drawing on workplace diversity and conflict theories, this article addresses recent calls for further research to explore how employees within social enterprises experience internal conflicts arising from the organizational pursuit of dual, competing missions (i.e., social and economic), and how social enterprises manage, and potentially overcome, these challenges. In the context of Korean social enterprise, we conducted a quantitative study that built on an initial explorative qualitative study. Our research examined whether perceived participatory human resource management practices and diversity climate increase employees’ affective commitment by reducing their relational conflict. We further explored a boundary condition, perceived social impact, which strengthened this mediation relationship. Our results offer significant insights into social enterprise, business ethics, and broader management literature. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.     

Dealing With Uncertainties When Governing CSR Policies

As corporate social responsibility involves a voluntary business endeavour to address social and environmental issues beyond legal compliance, governments cannot fall back on hierarchical command-and-control policies to support it. As such, it is complementary with the increasing popularity of public policies known as New Governance policies, where the government is engaged in a horizontal inter-organizational network of societal actors and where public policy is both formed and executed by the interacting and voluntary efforts from a multitude of stakeholders. However, such policies are known to generate substantive uncertainty about the content of CSR and its related issues, strategic uncertainty regarding the behavior of the actors involved and institutional uncertainty related to the interaction process involved in the institutional change. We explore New Governance policy instruments to address these uncertainties in the context CSR and discuss the experiences with these methods in the European Union. Jan Lepoutre is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Economics at Ghent University, Belgium. In his dissertation, he focuses on the competences associated with small business social responsibility and networks as governmental means to build competences among small businesses. Nikolay A. Dentchev is an independent research fellow at Ghent University, Belgium, and a project coordinator at the corporate venturing department of Fortis Group (Fortis Venturing). He holds a Ph.D. in business economics from Ghent University. His current research is related to entrepreneurship, instrumental stakeholder theory, and management challenges of corporate social responsibility. Aimé Heene is a professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Ghent University, Belgium. He teaches strategic management for private and public organizations and currently focuses his research on (competencebased) management in public and social profit organizations.     

Decision augmentation and automation with artificial intelligence: Threat or opportunity for managers?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising and increasingly available technology for managerial decision-making. With the adoption of AI-enabled software, organizations can leverage various benefits of the technology, but they also have to consider the intended and unintended consequences of using the technology for managerial roles. It is still unclear whether managers will benefit from enhancing their abilities with AI-enabled software or become powerless puppets that do more than announce AI-enabled software results. Our research has revealed distinct ways in which organizations can use AI-enabled decision-making solutions: as tools or novelties, for decision augmentation or automation, and as either a voluntary or a mandatory option. In this article, we discuss the implications of each of these combinations on the relevant managers. We consider outcomes related to managerial job design and derive practical advice for organizational designers and managers who work with AI. Our outcomes provide guidance on how to deal with the conflict-riddled relationship between managers and technology with regard to capabilities, responsibilities, and acceptance of AI-enabled software.     

组织中的社会阶层影响研究述评

近些年来社会阶层分割及社会阶层固化的不断加剧促进了社会阶层研究的新发展。组织中社会阶层差异的普遍存在也使得组织管理学者开始关注社会阶层在组织中扮演的重要角色。不过目前相关研究还较少并且比较零散，阻碍了组织内社会阶层研究的深入推进。文章系统梳理了组织内社会阶层研究文献，在对组织内社会阶层内涵及相关概念厘清的基础上，阐释了组织情境中社会阶层对个体自我态度与行为、对他人认知与评价以及阶层出身印刻效应机制的影响，剖析组织中基于社会阶层的互动与阶层工作，并基于上述分析探讨组织与个体双重视角下的社会阶层的管理影响，最后提出了组织内社会阶层影响研究的未来方向。期望借以促进组织内社会阶层影响的理论研究，同时对阶层分割突出背景下的当前组织管理实践有所借鉴。     

Crafting solutions to leadership demands for well-being and effectiveness

Leadership is a prominent function within organizations and social entities, and research suggests leadership that is more active tends to be more effective. However, emerging research contends that more active leadership can place stressful demands on leaders, which can jeopardize their well-being and eventual effectiveness. In this article, we draw from research on job demands, job resources, and stress coping to outline an applied framework of leader strain management. The model explains how leadership demands (i.e., the challenges/hindrances leaders face) can influence leader strains (i.e., negative implications of the demands) and how leader resources (i.e., tangible/intangible assets) can be leveraged through coping activities to resolve demands or reduce strains. We propose five guidelines for leaders seeking to balance engaging their leadership responsibilities with maintaining their well-being and sustaining their effectiveness over time.     

Social Entrepreneurship in Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Investigation of the Synergy Between Social and Business Objectives

Social entrepreneurship in nonprofit organizations has emerged as an increasingly important domain, both in academic research and in practice. This article attempts to further enhance our understanding of the management of nonprofit organizations by investigating the way they balance social and business objectives. Over 200 senior managers of nonprofit organizations participated in our structured telephone interview. The data revealed that many organizations worried about the potential for reduced or lost funding, especially during economic hard times. Issues of sustainability usually headed their list of concerns. Many of these organizations sought to establish revenue generating business streams to offset expected funding shortfalls. The data suggested that over 70% of the nonprofit organizations we interviewed resided in the social entrepreneurship zone. Our results also showed that maintaining a social objective and managing a viable business can be complementary and mutually beneficial activities.     

The promise and problems of price subsidization in social entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship research has often focused on the benefits and challenges of designing hybrid organizations that integrate competing institutional logics to tackle social problems using market-based methods, especially in developing economies. Drawing on case evidence from the Safe Water for Africa program, we show how and why pricing new products at other than market prices offers a seductive but dangerous mechanism for managers seeking to pursue dual objectives in hybrid organizations. We identify five strategic and operational challenges with ethical implications that manifest as pricing dilemmas and show how and why they are likely to elicit moral dilemmas among stakeholders of social entrepreneurship who are not equally committed to both social and economic objectives.     

How can we make this work? Understanding and responding to working parents of children with autism

As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) escalates in prevalence, organizations are likely to encounter employees whose lives are touched and reframed by this intense, pervasive, and lifelong condition. Families are dramatically affected as emotional and financial challenges are heightened. Employees want and need to remain productive members of their organizations, but some adjustments are necessary. However, little is known regarding the needs and expectations of employees whose children have been diagnosed with ASD. Even less is known about how organizations, managers, and co-workers can respond to provide sensitivity, maintain overall team equity, and ensure high-quality performance. This article reports the results of an in-depth study of working parents of children with ASD as they openly and candidly share perspectives on workplace needs and accommodations. Employees—adamant that performance expectations should not be mitigated—discussed the support and the primary accommodation they sought: flexibility. Guides for both managers and co-workers are offered herein.     

How and When Socially Entrepreneurial Nonprofit Organizations Benefit From Adopting Social Alliance Management Routines to Manage Social Alliances?

Social alliance is defined as the collaboration between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Building on the insights derived from the resource-based theory, we develop a conceptual framework to explain how socially entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations (SENPOs) can improve their social alliance performance by adopting strategic alliance management routines. We test our framework using the data collected from 203 UK-based SENPOs in the context of cause-related marketing campaign-derived social alliances. Our results confirm a positive relationship between social alliance management routines and social alliance performance. We also find that relational mechanisms, such as mutual trust, relational embeddedness, and relational commitment, mediate the relationship between social alliance management routines and social alliance performance. Moreover, our findings suggest that different types of social alliance motivation can influence the impact of social alliance management routines on different types of the relational mechanisms. In general, we demonstrate that SENPOs can benefit from adopting social alliance management routines and, in addition, highlight how and when the social alliance management routines–social alliance performance relationship might be shaped. Our study offers important academic and managerial implications, and points out future research directions.     

Broadening the concept of marketing

Marketing in business is the task of finding and stimulating buyers for a firms's output. Product development, pricing, distribution, and communication are the mainstays of marketing, while progressive firms also develop new products and chart the trends and changes in people's needs and desires. Marketing can either apply its knowledge to social problems and organizations or remain in a narrowly defined business activity. Every organization has basically the same functions: personnel management, production, income, and promotion, which are using modern marketing skills in commercial sectors. Suppliers and consumers are needed by all organizations. In Canada a group wished to promote an antismoking campaign but they had little money compared to the tobacco companies. This group used modern marketing techniques to combat their lack of funds and found many ways, e.g., books, articles. A business firm uses a multitude of marketing tools to sell its product. Nonbusiness organizations frequently do not integrate their programs the way the businesses place all activities under one marketing vice president and department. Astute marketing depends on continuous feedback from consumers and suppliers. They are dependent upon up-to-the-minute research that tells them about changes in the environment and moves of competitors. Nonbusiness organizations are often casual about the research upon which they base their vital decisions.     

Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management

Practices of knowledge management are context-specific and they can influence organizational effectiveness. This study examines the possible mediating role of knowledge management in the relationship between organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness. A survey was conducted of 301 organizations. The results suggest that knowledge management fully mediates the impact of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness, and partially mediates the impact of organizational structure and strategy on organizational effectiveness. The findings carry theoretical implications for knowledge management literature as they extend the scope of research on knowledge management from examining a set of independent management practices to examining a system-wide mechanism that connects internal resources and competitive advantage.     

Controls as a Sharable Knowledge Commodity: An Architecture for Open Exchange

The world seems to be getting more dangerous: terrorists; fraudulent corporations; money laundering; hurricanes; pandemics. Governments and organizations respond with a flurry of new controls. In some cases these are centrally mandated (e.g. Sarbanes Oxley). In others, organizations struggle to find their own control solutions. Seldom, however, do organizations work together as a community of common interests to share solutions to their control threats. In this paper we consider how an open exchange of control solutions might be supported electronically. We assume a community of similar organizations that wish to exchange detailed knowledge about organizational control techniques. These might be non-competing institutions, such as libraries, customs agencies, and even universities; or, they may in fact be competing organizations, wishing to exchange control solutions in dimensions where they do not compete – e.g. the airlines exchanging best practice about safety and security. The main point is to propose an information technology architecture that permits a view of organizational controls as shareable, exchangeable knowledge commodities.