How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many have expressed concern about the effects of false stories (“fake news”), circulated largely through social media. We discuss the economics of fake news and present new data on its consumption prior to the election. Drawing on web browsing data, archives of fact-checking websites, and results from a new online survey, we find: (i) social media was an important but not dominant source of election news, with 14 percent of Americans calling social media their “most important” source; (ii) of the known false news stories that appeared in the three months before the election, those favoring Trump were shared a total of 30 million times on Facebook, while those favoring Clinton were shared 8 million times; (iii) the average American adult saw on the order of one or perhaps several fake news stories in the months around the election, with just over half of those who recalled seeing them believing them; and (iv) people are much more likely to believe stories that favor their preferred candidate, especially if they have ideologically segregated social media networks.

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Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election

Pedagosko i psiholosko testiranje i procjenjivanje spadaju među najvažnije doprinose znanosti o ponasanju nasem drustvu i pružaju temeljna i znacajna poboljsanja u odnosu na ranije postupke. Iako se ne može ustvrditi da su svi testovi dovoljno usavrseni niti da su sva testiranja razborita i korisna, postoji velika kolicina informacija koje ukazuju na ucinkovitost kvalitetnih instrumenata u onim situacijama u kojima je njihovo koristenje potkrijepljeno validacijskim podacima. Pravilna upotreba testova može dovesti do boljih odluka o pojedincima i programima nego sto bi to bio slucaj bez njihovog koristenja, a također i ukazati na put za siri i pravedniji pristup obrazovanju i zaposljavanju. Međutim, losa upotreba testova može dovesti do zamjetne stete nanesene ispitanicima i drugim sudionicima u procesu donosenja odluka na temelju testovnih podataka. Cilj Standarda je promoviranje kvalitetne i eticne upotrebe testova te uspostavljanje osnovice za ocjenu kvalitete postupaka testiranja. Svrha objavljivanja Standarda je uspostavljanje kriterija za evaluaciju testova, provedbe testiranja i posljedica upotrebe testova. Iako bi evaluacija prikladnosti testa ili njegove primjene trebala ovisiti prvenstveno o strucnim misljenjima, Standardi pružaju okvir koji osigurava obuhvacanje svih relevantnih pitanja. Bilo bi poželjno da svi autori, sponzori, nakladnici i korisnici profesionalnih testova usvoje Standarde te da poticu druge da ih također prihvate.

Standards for educational and psychological testing

Evaluating Model Fit

Everybody knows that digital technology has revolutionized our economy and our lifestyles. But how many of us really understand the drivers behind the technology – the significance of going digital; the miniaturization of electronic devices; the role of venture capital in financing the revolution; the importance of research and development? How many of us understand what it takes to make money from innovative technologies? Should we worry about manufacturing going offshore? What is the role of India and China in the digital economy? Drawing on a lifetime’s experience in the industry, as an engineer, a senior manager, and as a partner in a global venture capital firm, Henry Kressel offers an expert personalized answer to all these questions. He explains how the technology works, why it matters, how it is financed, and what the key lessons are for public policy.

Competing for the Future

Our paper introduces the Global Knowledge Management Framework (GKMF) which describes components and influence factors of knowledge management in globally distributed settings. The framework identifies the key aspects when designing knowledge management processes and systems and can be used for two main purposes. On the one hand, it guides development processes by providing a solution space and success factors for decision makers as well as implementers. On the other hand, it is a reference for researchers to compare research in the field by providing a common set of context descriptions as well as aspects influencing the success of knowledge management solutions. We illustrate the application of our framework first within two scenarios and describe its first evaluation as a proof-of-concept in an educational setting. By that, we give insights into further research and development of the framework trying to stimulate discussion and initiating a broad initiative working towards global knowledge management.

/pdf/the-global-knowledge-management-framework-towards-a-theory-4vscf0ks5f.pdf

The Global Knowledge Management Framework: Towards a Theory for Knowledge Management in Globally Distributed Settings

In this paper, we examine cryptocurrencies as a potentially disruptive sort of payment method. Due to its relative importance, we focus in particular on Bitcoin. Through an inductive, exploratory interview approach with 13 individuals in three distinct groups, the determinants usability, usefulness, and subjective norm that could make Bitcoin a game-changer are explored. The results reveal that most stakeholders consider perceived ease of use still rather low, with perceived usefulness varying according to the user group. The notion of Bitcoin as having much future potential as a payment method is confirmed across all interviewees. Interestingly, the underlying concept of a blockchain is also seen as a potential revolutionary way to create a more just society based on open platforms and open data. However, the reasons of why Bitcoin is actually a disruption to existing solutions varies widely.

/pdf/cryptocurrencies-as-a-disruption-empirical-findings-on-user-3aqu6g9o5l.pdf

Cryptocurrencies as a Disruption? Empirical Findings on User Adoption and Future Potential of Bitcoin and Co

The fast advancement of mobile technologies and devices has increased the importance of mobile banking (m-banking) for financial institutions. Even though numerous studies have investigated the drivers of m-banking adoption, up to now there is no study that has critically reviewed the findings of previous efforts and evaluated the results in this field for researchers as well as practitioners. As a consequence, this article explores the most commonly used drivers to examine the adoption of m-banking through a comprehensive and up-to-date literature review of articles published between 2008 and 2011. With it, the results not only indicate that the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was mainly adapted by most m-banking studies but also reveal that the most common drivers of adoption can be categorized into four major dimensions, i.e. perceived usefulness, perceived risk, perceived compatibility and perceived cost. This article gives an introduction to the heightened relevance of m-banking, provides researchers with an overview of frequently harnessed drivers of m-banking adoption as well as future research opportunities and equips practitioners with an understanding for m-banking customers and corresponding managerial decisions.

Mobile banking — insights on its increasing relevance and most common drivers of adoption

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jbl.12238

Blockchain Applications in Supply Chain Transactions

Purpose




Considering working in the digital age, questions on the consequences for the individual workers are, so far, often neglected. The purpose of this paper is to deal with the question of whether the digital competences of the workforce is a research topic. The authors argue for the thesis that it is indeed a research topic.




Design/methodology/approach




In addition to a literature analysis of the top IS, HR, and learning publications, non-scientific sources, as well as the opinions of the authors, are included. The authors’ thesis is challenged through a debate of corresponding pros and cons.




Findings




The definition of digital competences lacks scientific depth. Focussing on the workforce is valid, as a “lifelong” perspective is not mandatory for research. Digital competence research is a multidisciplinary task to which the IS field can make a valuable contribution.




Research limitations/implications




Although relevant references are included, some aspects are mainly driven by the opinions of the authors. The theoretical implications encompass a call for a scientific definition of digital competences. Furthermore, scholars should focus on the competences of the workforce, including occupations, roles, or industries. The authors conclude by providing a first proposal of a research agenda.




Practical implications




The practical implications include the alignment of multiple stakeholders for the design of “digital” curricula and the integration by HR departments of the construct of digital competences, e.g. for compensation matters and job requirements.




Originality/value




This paper is one of very few contributions in the area of the digital competences of the workforce, and it presents a starting point for future research activities.

Markus Bick

Papers

The Global Knowledge Management Framework: Towards a Theory for Knowledge Management in Globally Distributed Settings

Cryptocurrencies as a Disruption? Empirical Findings on User Adoption and Future Potential of Bitcoin and Co

Mobile banking — insights on its increasing relevance and most common drivers of adoption

Blockchain Applications in Supply Chain Transactions

Digital competences of the workforce – a research topic?