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The purpose of this paper is to examine a specific online pedagogical tool, "Digital Moments" that can be an effective strategy for building online communities in a knowledge building environment. While the paper will examine the specific techniques and teaching methodologies that enabled the authors to create authentic online learning experiences in undergraduate and graduate courses, it also analyses how and why this strategy moves beyond simple constructivist thinking to the complexities of teaching in the digital world. Knowledge building in online environments requires students to take risks, try new digital tools, and find the modalities that work best to express the new knowledge they are creating. This pedagogical approach views students as more than consumers of technology, but creators of new and innovative digital means of expressing concepts. Using both synchronous and asynchronous methodologies, the authors examined the highs and lows of translating meaningful face to face practice to the online environment. The paper examines teaching strategies used in a six week online graduate course using Adobe connect, Blackboard LMS and synchronous weekly meetings. Through the use of unique strategies such as "digital moments" and embracing creative thought, an authentic, constructivist community was created. The authors' journey to developing this authenticity, their online pedagogical style and an innovative, safe learning community has been chronicled using narrative qualitative inquiry in this paper. The writers' use of digital moments empowers students to create and have ownership of their own online community. This paper articulates their journey into the abyss of digitizing themselves as teachers; it examines the specific techniques used for best practice in online learning, while simultaneously celebrating the splash of colour that is essential to brighten digital learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing is a special challenge for KIBS. KIBS deliver knowledge embedded in services, consulting activities, and problem solving capability. Consequently, marketing must communicate the provider's ability to manage knowledge exchanges with customers. The implementation of an appropriate marketing strategy also implies a proper approach to auditing marketing activities, but marketing audit procedures and tools are generally targeted to manufacturing or retailing companies. This paper proposes a novel approach to marketing audit for KIBS companies that focuses on their relational and cognitive capabilities. It consists of a questionnaire-based tool subdivided in sections, each of which considers a particular stage of the customer-provider relationship. The basic assumption is that the effective delivery of knowledgeintensive services requires intense and continuous exchanges of knowledge between customer and provider, and this capability must fit the specific business environment in terms of markets, competitors, etc. The marketing capability of a company is measured in terms of its ability to fruitfully interact with customers in the conditions of the particular operating environment. The questionnaire can help executives of KIBS companies to self assess the "marketing positioning" of their firms. Due to its easiness of use, it is particularly suitable for small companies. The paper describes the theoretical foundations on which the audit tool is based, a particular implementation for the ICT services sector, and the results of a test conducted with ICT companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual capital has become a key element of the knowledge economy. Their management is a factor that influences the competitive advantage of companies. The main objective of this paper is to present a methodology (ICM - Intellectual Capital Model) that allows the audit of intellectual capital management in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). From the conducted research, it can be concluded that the model is technically robust and determines that the management of intellectual capital is likely to be audited and certified in order to control the quality and dynamism of the knowledge generated and allowing the partner organizations (customers, suppliers and enders) to estimate the innovation capacity and verify the conformity of their management parameters, compared with a reference standard. Indeed, the results of surveys also show that the proposed model forms the basis of a credible accreditation system for intellectual capital management in the majority of Portuguese SMEs. This paper also contributes to enhance the discussion around the value of organizations intangible assets and therefore to change the current concepts of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadband infrastructure is seen as crucial to a country's social, economic and scientific goals and a requirement of the knowledge economy. Broadband has the ability to improve the lives of citizens as it can provide ICT skills for employment and improve access to online forms of education. It has been purported to provide consumers with better work/life balance attributed to increased empowerment and productivity, the ability to work from home and reduced stress. South Africa has recognized the importance of high-speed broadband technology to advance the communications infrastructure of the country. However, although the demand for broadband is quite high, the adoption of the technology is lower than anticipated, particularly within the households of consumers. South Africa has fallen behind international peers in both the developed and some developing markets in its rollout of broadband services. While various studies and models aim to explain the adoption of broadband, there is little literature on the impact of broadband services in African countries. To address this need this paper investigates the use and impact of broadband services in South African households. The research comprises an initial literature review, followed by a qualitative study which is then validated by a quantitative study. The study shows that South African broadband users are predominantly experimental users. Users with higher usage of broadband in terms of variety or rate of use are able to work from home and purport to save time which results in a more comfortable lifestyle. They are more satisfied with the technology and show an interest in future-oriented communication technologies. The resultant model adds to the existing literature and this analysis will allow various stakeholders such as government, Internet Service Providers (ISP), business consumers and public organisations to make more informed decisions on broadband infrastructure investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online learning environment has become a highly competitive industry in which many stakeholders have become more interested and involved in its overall operation. One particular area that most stakeholders will agree upon is the value of human capital in this industry. Stewart (1997) classified Intellectual Capital into three key areas: human capital, structural capital, and customer capital. This paper will focus on the human capital element in the online learning environment. Human capital is explained as "the capabilities of the company's employees necessary to provide solutions to customers, to innovate and to renew. As a result of changing technology and economic times, many organizations are realizing the need to update, innovate, and rejuvenate. InCaS (2010) noted that "As a result of constant changes caused by globalisation, emerging technologies and shorter product life-cycles, knowledge and innovation have already become the main competitive advantages of many companies. Especially European small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are highly dependent on the ability to identify changes in their global economic environment quickly and respond to these changes with suitable solutions." (p. 4) Just liked their European counterparts, American enterprises and organizations are scanning their environments and focusing on responding to potential changes in order to capture and maintain their market share and prepare for the future. In additional in individual capabilities, human capital includes the dynamics of an intelligent (learning) organization in a changing competitive environment, its creativity, and innovativeness" (Stewart, 1997, p. 13). Thus, there has been an increase in the focus as to how online learning providers are investing more money and time in preparing their online instructional staff. Sokolowska (2006) commented that "if we look at learning organizations we can see two types of trends. She stated that "such organizations are understood in dynamic organizational categories that are oriented at their development, searches for new chances on the market and continually increases their effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility. The second group of learning organizations consists of such entities that choose growth through development of their employees." (p. 158) This paper examines the online learning environment, requirements for the online instructional staff, and strategies to help better prepare and develop their intellectual capital in this particular learning environment. Further, this paper will examine how these strategies are reinforced by the commitment of the educational institution in terms of preparing their online instructors, as well as mentoring them along the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network analysis of Word of Mouth (WOM) examines how customers exchange opinions within their social networks. Compared to standard survey questions, which typically measure the likelihood to recommend, the network approach provides more metrics (e.g., average path length, clustering coefficient, density, average degree) that can be used to diagnose customer chatter. Unfortunately, traditional WOM has not benefitted from network analysis, which usually is applied to online WOM due to the availability of stored data. Despite the pervasiveness of online WOM, recent commercial reports reveal that traditional WOM still surpasses online WOM by a large margin. Traditional WOM is also perceived as more trustworthy and persuasive than online WOM. Thus, given the heavy reliance on traditional WOM and the advances made in network analysis that deal with online WOM, the main purpose of this study is to demonstrate that network analysis is a viable option for gaining insights in traditional WOM. This is the first study to utilize a survey method for collecting WOM network data for a wide range of products, which allows a direct comparison of their network structures. While network analysis may be more demanding on the researcher and the respondents, as the study illustrates, it also is more diagnostic than a standard survey. The main study utilized network analysis by using an alter-alter method, which was used to map the WOM networks structures for multiple products. Specifically, we examined the WOM networks structure as a function of product type (search, experience, and credence products) and opinion valence (positive vs. negative). The results reveal that WOM networks are affected primarily by product type. People are most likely to share opinions about experience products, followed by opinions about search products, and least likely to talk about credence products. The effect of opinion valence is limited. These findings are of practical relevance because they show that WOM can be managed by including search, experience, or credence qualities in promotional messages. This study also is the first to compare WOM networks to the existing social network, which can serve as a benchmark for evaluating WOM campaigns. The results reveal that for most products, people do not utilize all of their social connections for WOM, but there are exceptions, such as sharing a positive opinion about a movie, where WOM chatter can exceed the social network. Introducing a new method for studying traditional WOM also brings new research questions, and the study concludes with limitations and future research directions. Overall, the conclusion is that network analysis is a viable technique for studying traditional WOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational innovation is one of the main tools for attaining a competitive advantage. Multinational corporations operate in different countries may capture new knowledge from diverse markets, customers or suppliers. This paper focuses on the knowledge transfer from the subsidiaries to the headquarters (knowledge transfer reverse). Furthermore, we try to analyse how this transferred knowledge facilitates the generation of innovations. Its study has demanded the analysis of the mediator role of absorptive capacity. Our results show that reverse knowledge influences indirectly on the headquarters' innovation trough the existence of an absorptive capacity. Several conclusions and managerial implications are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time when intellectual capital and product innovation management are both considered to be critical for companies to gain a competitive edge (and even survive) in today's unstable business environment, this paper discusses the influence of relational capital on product innovation performance at innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Building upon the intellectual capital and new product development perspectives, an empirical research was conducted, using a questionnaire administered to a network of Portuguese innovative SMEs. The findings suggest that relational capital does have a positive effect on product innovation performance. In particular, "Vertical relationships" emerges as the main relational capital element significantly affecting product innovation at the innovative SMEs level. The existence and proactive management of relationships with customers and suppliers emerge as critical factors to product innovation success. We find our results to be useful for both researchers and practitioners: we contribute to the ongoing understanding of relational capital's impact on critical business phenomena, while also identifying additional critical factors for new product development success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economy is changing. Resources are scarce and companies, of all sizes, need to be more competitive and productive. The company's financial risk ratings have demonstrated numerous weaknesses. The funders, shareholders or even the State need tools that improve the quality of their decision making. Several authors argue that the real competitive advantages resulting from the management of intangible assets, i.e. assets of knowledge, as a condition for achieving the productivity and competitiveness. However, organizations have always valued the knowledge; the novelty is the recognition that knowledge is an asset that must be managed with the same attention given to other assets. The literature contains numerous definitions of knowledge. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) consider knowledge as "a dynamic human process of justifying personal belief about the truth" and the understanding how crucial to the creation of knowledge to differentiate between tacit knowledge (which is obtained through practice) and explicit is. In this sense, knowledge is the information to be used by the human mind allowing the decision-making. And knowledge management is the ability that the organization has to identify and codify knowledge, stimulate their development and facilitate its implementation (Lopes and Matos, 2005). The knowledge management can also be understood as the orientation of the dynamics of subjectivity and objectivity within the organization (Rowley and Gibbs, 2008), maximized through use of new technologies and organizational networks. From this perspective, knowledge management is the quality of the interactions of individuals, teams, processes and customers and its ability to identify and encode the same knowledge, stimulate their development and facilitate its implementation. Following the conceptualization these are the dimensions that allow us to define intellectual capital. But to manage in times of market globalization, in which trust is based on evidence, becomes crucial to know whether it is possible to audit and certify assets of organizations. Therefore, it is necessary to create reliable and accessible tools in this field. Thus, intellectual capital management, in a form which is able to be audited and certified in order to control the quality and dynamism of the knowledge generated in the organization, will enable the partner organizations (customers, suppliers and lenders) to determine the capacity for innovation, and verify the conformity of their management parameters, compared to a reference standard. Considered this conceptualization, Matos and Lopes (2009), proposed a methodology to audit intellectual capital management, which has been refined through several researches. This paper summarizes the results obtained with one of these researches. Using the biplot methodology (Gabriel, 1971) it was possible to reconfirm the proposed methodology. It shows that development degree of intellectual capital can be audited in a credible way, using this methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the nature of the impact of learning on the adoption of information technologies (IT) and vice versa in the naval sector. It is necessary for a shipyard to acquire new knowledge, distribute it, interpret it, and store it enabling the use of Information Technologies by internal and external agents. For this reason, a model must be found in order to examine the impact of IT on the codification of knowledge considering external agents (customers, suppliers and retired personnel) and internal agents (engineers, workers and managers) in the shipyard. The authors investigate the implementation of IT through a learning process in the naval industry through a case study. The authors collected data through interviews and presented a model depicting linkages between agents of a shipyard organization (customer, suppliers, engineers, workers, directors), knowledge-related processes (codification, storage, reutilization) and benefits. Following discussion of the model, authors conclude that acquiring external knowledge is beneficial and facilitating interactions between agents increases the benefits for the shipyard organization. In the study it is possible to appreciate that acquiring and distributing knowledge from external agents is a previous step to the codification of this knowledge using Technological tools. Only considering this sequence, it is guaranteed a knowledge update by internal agents in the shipyard. During the last few years the naval industry has been modernized in defence matters and a lot of money has been spent in IT. That is why it is necessary to assess the use of IT and learning in this sector as well as to analyse the knowledge learning process and systematisation used in the naval industry during the different phases required for construction. Finally, the results have implications for managers of the shipyard when they make a choice as to the organizational capabilities to target in order to ensure the effective adoption of IT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relevance and awareness of IC in two hotel chains in the Caribbean. A qualitative exploratory case study method was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the constructs relating to IC within indigenous Caribbean hotels. The data collection procedures employed were documentation, archival records and twenty interviews with top managers. Content analysis was used as the major technique for analyzing the data. The major finding is that there is no formal recognition of the construct of IC, but the embedded practices within the organisations suggested the presence of such. The data clustering and analysis of the evidence suggested two themes for HC -personal competencies and human resource praxes; three themes for RC - customer capital, brand and community capital; and three themes for SC - information systems, innovation and organization. The case studies further revealed that the chains had embedded human resource practices and well established customer relationship management systems which created linkages among the components of IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the final phase of a larger research project that investigates knowledge transfer in global supply chains from the perspective of South East Asian reseller companies. In a previous study a theoretical model for knowledge transfer in global supply chains was developed and quantitatively validated for the case of Thai resellers of laboratory equipment where equipment resale companies (donors) provide training to their customers (recipients). Results from that previous study indicated that the transfer capability was the most important issue for the donor firms. Furthermore, the most critical factor for the recipient firms was their absorptive capacity in the form of certain capabilities for the successful utilization of the technical knowledge received from the donor firms. By adopting a qualitative sense-making research approach and a two-round focus group interview method for data collection and analysis the current study attempts to provide further deeper explanations for the results of previous quantitative survey. Five participants were chosen for two-round of focus group meetings for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we sketch a "problem-based perspective" of the service business, following the latest theoretical developments in the field of the knowledge-based view of the firm and the related problem-solving perspective. In particular, we approach services as "problems to be solved" for and with the customer. Our paper outlines a framework in which the knowledge processes regarding service delivery are conceptualized on two axes: 1) the intensity of knowledge sharing and co-creation of services between the provider and the customer and 2) the nature of the problem-solving process regarding the service delivery. Based on the developed conceptual framework, we provide implications concerning the organizing of various types of services in terms of the different problem- solving processes they require. Furthermore, after identifying the distinctive problem-solving processes with the help of the typology, theoretical and practical implications for service and knowledge management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Web applications is an important focus of the modern information enabled organization -- whether the Web application development is in-house, outsourced, or purchased as 'commercial-off-the-shelf' (COTS) software. Traditionally Web application development has been delivered via the dominant waterfall system. The waterfall system relies upon well-defined governance structures, linear phases, gating, and extensive reporting and sign-off documentation. An increasing number of development stakeholders criticise the waterfall system for web application development. The criticisms include a disproportionate focus on governance and process at the direct expense of flexibility and, most importantly, reduced productivity. One consequence of these criticisms is the increasing adoption of Web application development via agile-system methods. This agile-system approach centres upon smaller design teams, fewer development phases, and shorter development time tables. This case study examines the implementation of the agile-system approach as used by a Small-to-Medium Enterprise (SME) software developer. The case study data collection involves interviews and observations across three different SME sources: project managers, Web application programmers, and customers. The case study analysis synthesises the experiences of these managers, programmers and customers to produce an overall assessment of the usefulness of Web application delivery via agile-system methods. The major conclusions from the case study are that a 'default' agile-system approach may be tailored or fine-tuned to fit an individual developer's software process. This tailoring is based upon the developer's assessment of best practice from the overall agile-system methodology. This tailoring, however, delivers a software development process that exhibits efficiencies and risks. The efficiencies include a more fulfilling role for each development team member, greater richness and continuity in design, a simple management system that delivers key information on a timely basis to all stake-holders, and increased business and technical quality within the delivered application, and a relatively low cost for actioning changes to user requirements. The risks pivot upon experience levels, skills levels, and the quality of interaction within -- and between - both the development team and customer organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-channel retail banking is a novel banking approach, one which encompasses traditional banking approaches as well as modern Internet-based banking innovations. The main objective of the study is to investigate the factors that influence the choice and adoption of a particular banking channel, from amongst available options. This study is conducted within an interpretivist paradigm under the guidance of an inductive grounded theory approach. The purpose of this combination is to allow for the exploration of the phenomenon through the use of semi-structured interviews to gather data from individuals who have bank accounts. The gathered data was analysed employing the techniques available through grounded theory methodology. The theory reveals that prior to using a particular banking channel for a specific transaction, consumers sub-consciously or consciously perform an evaluation of available and known channels, and then make a choice. Various factors influence this choice, such as comparative advantages of one channel over another, compatibility with personal preferences and the transaction being performed, and the time and place. After usage, consumers assess the satisfaction of the banking experience before deciding whether to continue using a certain channel for a specific transaction, or choosing an alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the advent of the Internet, B2C e-Commerce has grown substantially across the globe. Whilst much research has examined factors influencing adoption of e-commerce, not as many studies have investigated the post-adoption phenomenon of success. Those studies that have investigated IS success and the extensions required to accommodate e-commerce have mainly been conceptual. Few have attempted to test and validate the models empirically. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap. By drawing from the technology acceptance model, expectation-confirmation theory and IS success theory, a revised conceptual model was derived. The model and relationships were tested and validated using data gathered from 166 online consumers in South Africa. 7 interrelated dimensions of B2C e-commerce success were confirmed, namely service quality, system quality, information quality, trust, perceived usefulness, user satisfaction and continuance intentions. Direct relationships between dimensions were identified. These showed that user intentions to continue using an online retail site are directly influenced by perceived usefulness, user satisfaction and system quality. User satisfaction is directly influenced by service quality and perceived usefulness, whilst perceived usefulness is directly influenced by trust and information quality. Trust in the online retailer is directly influenced by service quality and system quality. The implications of these and other findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer-Driven Development is a technique from the software development method called extreme Programming (XP) where customers (most importantly including end users of all levels) are closely involved in the software design and redesign process. This method of producing software suitable for customers has been adapted to help in the production of e-learning material, in particular, Assessment Learning Objects (ALOs) consisting of multiple-choice questions. Asking undergraduate students to produce multiple-choice questions as part of their formal assessment processes facilitated this. The outcome shows two distinct benefits to this process. Firstly, the students who took part in this project benefited from the encouragement to participate in reflective learning, both on the specific topic on which they chose to produce a multiple choice question, and in the methods and purposes of multiple choice questions (which form a significant part of their self-assessment regime and summative assessment exam). Secondly, of the questions produced by students a significant number of them were of suitable quality to be used for future cohorts and to be made available to the wider community. This gives two important benefits to staff: developing a wide range of questions is difficult and time consuming; student insight into misunderstandings of material can often be greater than that of staff. Resources for the development of ALOs are scarce and given that students benefit directly from being asked to develop their own questions, the year-on-year expansion of a question set produced by students can be a very useful resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]