Measuring organizational knowledge: a conceptual and methodological framework

Knowledge is fundamental to strategic success. Limited progress has been made, however, in measuring organizational knowledge. We employ research on resource‐based theory and organizational epistemology to suggest a perceptual approach to measuring knowledge. We present a research protocol to identify a domain of organizational knowledge resources within industries. Using a sample of organizations from the hospital and textile industries, we interviewed CEOs to identify the feasible set of knowledge resources. We presented this set to managers at those organizations to measure their perceptions of the value‐added of each knowledge resource for their organizations. The results demonstrate that the importance of knowledge resources varies by industry and organization, and calls to question efforts to generate an inventory of generic knowledge resources that is applicable across industries. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Denmark's contribution to the world food programme: a success story

The Danish government has achieved a six-fold increase in the number of people who could be fed with Danish development food aid from 1990 to 1997, at a reduced total cost. A change in the composition of the Danish food basket from high-value commodities of animal origin toward basic vegetable commodities produced this dramatic increase in the cost effectiveness of Denmark's regular contribution to the World Food Programme. The decision to change the food basket was strongly opposed by the very well organized Danish meat and dairy industries and their interest organizations. Notwithstanding the substantial opposition from these organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained its commitment to phase animal commodities out of the Danish food basket. The World Food Programme was very supportive of Denmark's initiative to promote a more flexible approach to the determination of donor food baskets. The outstanding partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Food Programme has been instrumental in the successful implementation of the new Danish food aid policy.     

CEO succession research: methodological bridges over troubled waters

Disappointed by the lack of consistent and robust findings, scholars suspect that the problems may be related to our research methods and have frequently called for longitudinal, clinical, and psychometric studies of succession. This article compares the findings from one such study with representative studies in the literature. Examining the operationalization of key variables used to study succession antecedents, processes, and organizational consequences, it reveals possible reasons for the disappointing results and suggests ways of strengthening those operationalizations. In addition to suggesting refinements in the measurement of performance, the comparative exercise demonstrates why current proxies for personality and power may create difficulty. It concludes that both field and large‐sample research stand to benefit from a closer collaboration. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Appraisal Smoothing: The Other Side of the Story

Appraisal smoothing has been widely accepted as an important factor to consider when analyzing real estate returns using appraisal-based data. In this paper, we demonstrate that the general applicability of the appraisal-smoothing arguments developed so far in the literature is limited by the assumptions upon which the arguments are based. We further show that the use of appraisal-based data can result in a higher (not lower) variance than that of true returns. Given this, it might be more fruitful to analyze the unique characteristics of real estate markets as possible explanations for the seemingly low variance observed in appraisal-based (or transaction-based) return indexes.     

A methodological note on diversity measurement

This research addresses the question, do categorical and continuous measures capture the same construct of diversity? Using analysis of variance, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis, we investigated whether continuous measures (entropy and product count) differentiate between diversification categories, whether continuous measures converted to categories and subjectively assigned categories classified companies similarly, and whether continuous and categorical measures predicted similar diversity–performance relationships. We concluded that the techniques were associated but did not yield the same performance predictions. For researchers investigating diversity–performance relationships, choice of measurement technique will influence research results. Our research results suggest that attempts to combine categorical and continuous techniques as a way to overcome the limitations of both methods is not appropriate.     

TV white spaces exploitation through a bicameral geo-location database

The exploitation of TV white spaces can meet the increasing demand for spectrum resources and create opportunities for deploying a variety of wireless services in a flexible manner. However, uncertainties from technologies, business models and regulatory policies hinder the take-off of TV white spaces exploitation. This paper proposes a bicameral (or two-chambered) geo-location database, which allows/supports both free and paid access to the TV white spaces: i.e., one chamber supports free access through opportunistic or geo-location database access; and the other chamber supports paid usage through secondary spectrum trading. Consequently, four technological scenarios for the acquisition of TV white spaces emerge, namely: sensing only, joint sensing and geo-location database access, geo-location database access only, and broker based secondary spectrum trading. An analysis of these scenarios is performed based on a theoretical framework for emerging technology evaluation while considering technological, business models and regulatory dimensions. The analyses show that free and paid access to TV white space complement each other; and that despite considerable infrastructure costs, the bicameral geo-location database is positioned to create viable TV white spaces exploitation value chains; hence have the most optimal technological, business and regulatory prospects.     

Fish as food : Present contribution and potential

The author gives an account of the importance of fish as a source of animal protein and as an appreciated food, particularly in developing countries. Despite declining growth rates in food fish production in recent years, there is considerable potential for increasing supplies in order to maintain the role of fish. The relatively low cost of many fish-producing systems should encourage increased exploitation of fishery resources for food purposes. This will not be achieved, however, unless sustained efforts in research and development are ensured. Collaboration on an international scale and financial support from developed countries will be required.     

电业人讲述电的故事--大型电视纪录片《电的故事·北京篇>(上)

为了见证中国电力工业现代化的进程,全方位地展示新中国成立后,我国电力工业取得的巨大成就和翻天覆地的变化,中国电力企业联合会与中央电视台联合摄制了大型电视纪录片《电的故事》,其中北京篇、上海篇和蓄能篇已于2004年3月中旬陆续在中央电视台一套《见证》栏目里播出,受到电视观众特别是电力行业广大职工的关注。应观众的要求,现将已播出的三集的主要内容编发如下,以飨读者。     

一个关于"疯子"的故事

前不久曾在巴黎短暂逗留,日前又观《大国崛起》之法兰西篇āā在吾国吾民言必称"创新"之热火朝天之际,笔者想起了一     

电业人讲述电的故事--大型电视纪录片《电的故事·北京篇》(下)

建国初期,北京电力远远赶不上蒸蒸日上的首都工农业发展需求,就连中央外事用电也难以确保。原石景山发电厂党委书记、全国人大常委会原副委员长李锡铭(印度总理)尼赫鲁第一次到中国来时,外交部还在朝阳门内那个大四合院里头。(举办欢迎会前)外交部的电工临时拉了好多电源,结果变压器超负荷了,他也不知道,到周恩来总理讲话时,正用着的电,一下子(灯)全灭了。原华北电业管理局副局长兼总工程师吴祖光当时我们感到,作为一个电力工作者,对总理举杯时的用电都不能保证,自己的担子是很重很重的。新中国,新纪元。中华人民共和国的诞生,使中国电力如…     

周华堂:告诉你中纺院的故事

一、周华堂的重磅故事 见到周华堂以前,就早已谙熟了他的名字--2004年度中国纺织工业协会科学技术进步奖获奖名单中,中国纺织工业设计院荣获2004年度中国纺织工业协会科学技术贡献奖;而在同样的获奖名单中,中国纺织工业设计院与中国石化仪征化纤股份有限公司,浙江大学共同开发的获奖项目"PTA工艺技术研究开发暨仪化公司PTA装置增容改造工程"的主要完成人中,其院长周华堂的名字赫然其中.这份名单不仅使人深刻地记住了"纺织设计院"和"周华堂"这两个密不可分的名字,而且也强烈地感受到周华堂作为一名领导者的胆识和个性,以及他对这份事业的投入和执著.初次见到他,是他刚从巴基斯坦签署一个日产600吨PTA工程项目合同归来,此时的他带着胜利征程的喜悦,显现出一身的豪爽和专家型领军人物的敏锐.     

The impact of decoupled payments on farm choices: Conceptual and methodological challenges

In this paper we review the methodological framework for analysing decoupled payments in models of agricultural production. Market and technological uncertainty, farm efficiency, credit constraints, farm household choices involving extra-agricultural decisions, policy uncertainty and long-run impact of decoupling on investment and land values are the relevant issues that should be pursued by methodological and empirical analysis. Future research should refine the analysis of decoupled payments, mainly trying to provide results that can be useful for policy simulation, to bridge the gap between analysis at the individual level and sector policy models.     

电业人讲述电的故事——大型电视纪录片《电的故事·北京篇》（上）

为了见证中国电力工业现代化的进程，全方位地展示新中国成立后，我国电力工业取得的巨大成就和翻天覆地的变化，中国电力企业联合会与中央电视台联合摄制了大型电视纪录片《电的故事》，其中北京篇、上海篇和蓄能篇已于2004年3月中旬陆续在中央电视台一套《见证》栏目里播出，受到电视观众特别是电力行业广大职工的关注。应观众的要求，现将已播出的三集的主要内容编发如下，以飨读者。     

Technology roadmapping (TRM) and strategic alignment for an applied research centre: a case study with methodological contributions

Technology roadmapping provides a strategic tool to help companies develop an outside‐in view and challenge their current competitive perspectives. In this paper, the authors describe the roadmapping process, which is aligned, with the research and development (R&D) strategy of an applied research centre. This process is based in an adapted combination of state‐of‐the‐art methodologies, and as a result, the case study shows interesting findings in terms of R&D strategy, technology strategy and roadmapping processes and methodology.