Collaborative Network Capacity

Abstract

This article argues that collaborative network success is a function of having the necessary social, knowledge, and financial capital, and the capacity to manage that capital through collaborative governance and knowledge management. This theory is examined through a comparative case study of two early childhood/school readiness networks. The evidence suggests that both collaborative governance and knowledge management enable collaborative networks to use their resources wisely and that organizational commitment to the network, the role of data collection and sharing, and the challenges of information technology all bear further investigation as important components of collaborative network capacity.     

How information systems help create OM capabilities: Consequents and antecedents of operational absorptive capacity

In contemporary business environments, the ability to manage operational knowledge is an important predictor of organizational competitiveness. Organizations invest large sums in various types of information technologies (ITs) to manage operational knowledge. Because of their superior storage, processing and communication capabilities, ITs offer technical platforms to build knowledge management (KM) capabilities. However, merely acquiring ITs are not sufficient, and organizations must structure information system (IS) designs to leverage ITs for building KM capabilities. We study how technical and strategic IS designs enhance operational absorptive capacity (OAC) – the KM capability of an operations management (OM) department. Specifically, we use a capabilities perspective of absorptive capacity to examine potential absorptive capacity (POAC) and realized absorptive capacity (ROAC) capabilities – the two OAC capabilities that create and utilize knowledge, respectively. Our theory proposes that integrated IS capability, – an aspect of technical IS design – is an antecedent of POAC and ROAC capabilities, and business-IT alignment – an aspect of strategic IS design – moderates the relationship between integrated IS capability and ROAC capability. Combining data gleaned from a multi-respondent survey with archival data from COMPUSTAT, we test our hypotheses using a dataset from 153 manufacturing organizations. By proposing that IS design enables an OM department's KM processes, i.e., the POAC and ROAC capabilities, our interdisciplinary theoretical framework opens the “black box” of OAC and contributes to improved understanding of IS and OM synergies. We offer a detailed discussion of our contributions to the literature at the IS-OM interface and implications for practitioners.     

Learning in owner-managed small firms: Mediating artefacts and strategic space

The authors focus on the way in which owner-managers in smaller firms improve their businesses through the creation of ‘strategic space’. The term ‘strategic space’ refers to the process by which owner-managers are able to access resources, motivation and capability to review existing practices. The starting point is the owner-manager's human capital and their capacity to engage in critical reflection about their business. We highlight three concepts central to the creation of strategic space, first, social capital, which refers to the network relationships that provide access to a wide range of resources and information. Second, absorptive capacity, which describes the way in which organizational members identify, acquire and utilize knowledge from external sources. Third, mediating artefacts, which represent existing knowledge but also facilitate the translation and transformation of understanding within and between communities of practice. This process is essential to the renewal of knowledge and knowing within firms. The contribution this paper makes is to bring together these elements – human and social capital, absorptive capacity and mediating artefacts – to offer a conceptual model that illustrates the mechanism by which owner-managers create strategic space. This model provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of knowledge in smaller organizations.     

Networks,weak signals and technological innovations among SMEs in the land-based transportation equipment sector

On apprend plus par la conversation des Doctes,

que par la lecture de leurs livres

Les épistres de Seneque

Translation by François de Malherbe,

Paris, Anthoine de Sommaville, 1639, p. 21

Small and medium-sized enterprises, because of their limited resources, use a variety of sources and are linked to different networks to obtain the information they need to develop their strategy and then to gradually organize their environment. Among other things, networks keep them up-to-date with changes in the economy and allow them to take advantage of opportunities to innovate, thus remaining ahead of their competitors. The networks – personal or business – with which these firms interact the most are usually geographically or sociologically close by, embedded in the environment, and are known as strong tie networks. They generally supply signals in a familiar language, based on habit as well a good reciprocal knowledge, which are easy to understand. In addition to this, however, the most dynamic firms also have contacts with weak tie networks, which are further removed from the usual behaviours of entrepreneurs and provide weak signals that, while difficult to grasp and decode, nevertheless offer new, pre-competitive information that can support major innovations. Very little empirical research has been done so far to test the probability of this theory. This paper reports on the results of a survey involving 147 SMEs, all in the land-based transportation equipment sector. It confirms the importance of weak tie networks as opposed to other types of networks, recognizing their complementary contribution to technological innovation. The organization's absorptive capacity is also found to be a significant intermediary factor in taking advantage of weak tie networks.     

Factors shaping the international knowledge connectivity of industrial clusters: a comparative study of two Latin American cases

Abstract

Recent research has emphasized that success of industrial clusters is not only driven by intra-cluster knowledge sharing (‘local buzz’) but also by externally sourced knowledge (‘global knowledge pipelines’). This article examines the factors that determine the channels through which clusters connect with global knowledge pipelines depending on the structure of the global value chain within which they are inserted, their knowledge base and their stage of evolution. Building on a comparative case study of the salmon farming cluster in Chile and the software cluster in Costa Rica, we adopt an evolutionary perspective based on historical analysis to better understand how the configuration of clusters’ international knowledge linkages shifts over time. Our findings suggest that (i) the more hierarchical the global value chain structure, the less room for knowledge co-creation between local and foreign actors; (ii) clusters relying on analytical knowledge bases opt for more formal and coordinated links with high involvement of public actors, whereas in clusters relying on synthetic knowledge bases, international knowledge interaction is based on less formal links mainly between business actors; and (iii) as clusters evolve the channels through which they connect with foreign knowledge increase in number and new ‘hybrid’ varieties develop.     

中原经济区政府服务软环境分析及优化策略研究

政府服务环境的好坏是关系到经济发展、社会稳定和人民安居乐业的重要因素。加强政府服务能力的建设是为中原经济区全面发展提供良好软环境的关键。本文主要分析了中原经济区政府服务软环境现状,并通过实证调查发现政府服务软环境中,政策的合理性和政府为企业提供的服务是关键指标。要想留住区内企业,并吸引外来企业入驻中原经济区发展,必须从这两个方面下功夫。     

地基承载力理解和确定问题探讨

文章在阐述了地基承载力意义的基础上,对现行规范推荐的地基承载力确定方法,理论公式计算法和现场载荷试验法中存在的问题和局限性进行了分析。提出地基承载力的确定是一个非常重要而又十分复杂的问题,需要根据地质条件,基础及上部结构特点、结合理论计算、载荷试验的测试数据以及工程经验综合判断确定。     

旅游纪念品行业的服务外包转型模式浅析

解读旅游纪念品行业现状,分析旅游纪念品市场存在的问题,提出旅游纪念品行业发展转型方案,结合服务外包方式大力发展旅游纪念品行业,提高行业水平和经营收入。     

区域水资源承载力综合评价研究

区域水资源承载力综合评价对社会经济的可持续发展意义重大,文章根据水资源承载力理论,界定了区域水资源承载力的概念,构建了综合评价指标体系,在此基础上提出了AHP-德尔菲综合评价方法,具有简化以往评价过程中复杂的数学运算又能保证评价结果客观性与准确性的优点。     

基于三角模糊数的应急物资储备能力综合评价研究

近年来,随着突发事件的频发,对应急物流运作水平要求越来越高,而应急物资储备能力的构建是其中的关键环节。通过文献调查法、样卷调查法,分析了影响应急物资储备能力的因素,构建了相应指标体系。然后运用三角模糊数理论建立了与应急物资储备特性高度吻合的应急物资储备能力评价模型。最后实证研究表明,该方法既体现评价的客观性、针对性,又充分体现应急物资储备能力评价模糊性,使评价结果更加科学合理。