With Kant, we called synthetic those judgments that attribute to an object something not contained in the concept of that object. The relation between subject and predicate in a synthetic judgment is not given by a definition; it is established by knowledge. The question of the validity of such judgments can be resolved only on the basis of insight into the nature of the cognitive act. We must accordingly turn back to the results of the first part of our inquiry. Not only do we find there the elements required to solve our problem; we also find the problem itself, which had already made its appearance on several occasions. At the time we were obliged to postpone an answer, even though the question troubled us very much. We were disturbed because there seemed to be no road that could lead us to indubitable, exact knowledge of reality. Now it is time to examine systematically the various possible paths. Perhaps there is some way to the earnestly sought goal of absolutely valid truths about reality, but the approach may not have been visible from the course taken thus far by our inquiry.

Knowing and Being

Purpose – This paper aims to review and critique the public sector knowledge management (KM) literature, offers an overview of the state of public sector KM research and outlines a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach – Articles published in KM journals are analyzed using a structured literature review methodology. The paper analyzes 180 papers published within ten journals specializing in the field of KM. Findings – Public sector KM is a research area of growing importance. Findings show that few authors specialize in the field and there are several obstacles to developing a cohesive body of literature. Low levels of international cooperation among authors and international comparisons mean that the literature is fragmented. Some research topics and some geographical areas within the public sector theme are over-analyzed, while others are under-investigated. Additionally, academic researchers should re-think their methodological approach if they wish to make significant contributions to th...

Public sector knowledge management : a structured literature review

This study aims to highlight and summarize the possible antecedents and factors that facilitate or impede knowledge management and knowledge sharing in organizations. A meta-review of 64 articles f...

https://cogentoa.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23311975.2015.1127744

A systematic review of knowledge management and knowledge sharing: Trends, issues, and challenges

Academic knowledge work often presumes collaboration among interdependent individuals. However, this work also involves competitive pressures to perform and even outperform others. While knowledge hiding has not yet been extensively examined in the academic environment, this study aims to deepen the understanding of the personal (individual-level) and situational (job-related) factors that affect evasive knowledge hiding (EKH) within academia.,A field study was conducted on a nation-wide sample of 210 scholars from both public and private business schools in a European Union member state. A series of paired sample t-tests were followed by hierarchical regression analyses to test moderation using the PROCESS macro.,The results suggest that scholars hide more tacit than explicit knowledge. The findings also indicate a consistent pattern of positive and significant relationships between trait competitiveness and EKH. Furthermore, task interdependence and social support buffer the detrimental relationship between personal competitiveness and evasive hiding of explicit knowledge, but not tacit knowledge.,The research provides insights into several important antecedents of EKH that have not been previously examined. It contributes to research on knowledge transfer in academia by focusing on situations where colleagues respond to explicit requests by hiding knowledge. The moderating role of collaborative job design offers practical solutions on how to improve knowledge transfer between mistrusted and competitive scholars. The collaboration–competition framework is extended by introducing personal competitiveness and relational job design, and suggesting how to manage the cross-level tension of differing collaborative and competitive motivations within academia.

Evasive knowledge hiding in academia: when competitive individuals are asked to collaborate

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of knowledge management (KM) enablers on KM processes in research universities and testing the direct relation between KM processes and OP. This study also proposes to examine the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) and innovation in the relationship between KM processes and performance of universities.,Using a sample of 217 academic and administrative personnel from research universities of Pakistan, the hypothesized relationships were tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.,The results reveal that KM enablers have a significant impact on KM processes. The results also indicate that KM processes influence organizational performance (OP) directly and indirectly through innovation and IC.,Findings of this study reinforce the corporate experience of KM and suggest how administrators of research universities and higher educational institutions can promote innovation and IC, which in turn enhance OP.,Despite the augmented importance of KM in higher education institutions or research universities, there is a dearth of studies that investigate the interplay of KM, innovation, IC and OP. This is one of the earliest studies that not only empirically investigate the interaction of KM enablers, KM processes and performance of research universities but also shed insights into the existing literature by simultaneously investigating mediating role of IC and innovation in the underlying relationship.

From knowledge management to organizational performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the limited previous research on knowledge sharing in universities, by profiling the attitudes of and intentions towards knowledge sharing of UK academics, and by profiling their views of some of the factors that might be expected to impact on knowledge sharing activitiesDesign/methodology/approach – A questionnaire‐based survey was used to gather a profile of UK academics' attitudes and intentions towards knowledge sharing and related factors, including expected rewards and associations, expected contribution, normative beliefs on knowledge sharing, leadership, structure, autonomy, affiliation to institution, affiliation to discipline, and technology platform Responses were received from 230 academics in 11 universitiesFindings – Respondents had positive attitudes towards knowledge sharing and their intentions in this area were also good This may be related to their belief that knowledge sharing will improve and extend their relationships with c

Knowledge sharing amongst academics in UK universities

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to construct and investigate relationships between knowledge-sharing factors, attitude and the intention to share of UK academics, as research on knowledge sharing in higher education is extremely sparse.




Design/methodology/approach




A research model and hypotheses were constructed from individual and organisational factors that were identified to affect knowledge sharing. Questionnaire data were obtained from 367 academics concerning their attitude and intention towards knowledge sharing. This was then used in a two-stage structural equation modelling approach where the measurement model was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was used to measure and test the hypothesised relationships.




Findings




Findings indicate that, in general, individual beliefs amongst academics were more influential on their knowledge-sharing attitudes than organisational culture. Furthermore, leadership was the most influential factor within the overall organisational culture whereas autonomy demonstrated the weakest relationship. Belief in the possibility of rewards through associations was found to be a highly significant individual factor. The relationship between attitude and intention was relatively weak although still statistically significant.




Originality/value




The research demonstrates that management should ensure that departmental leaders promote knowledge sharing and that valued rewards are linked to sharing within the department.

/pdf/an-investigation-of-factors-affecting-knowledge-sharing-1aha4a2xc9.pdf

An investigation of factors affecting knowledge sharing amongst UK academics

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organisational and individual factors on the knowledge sharing behaviour of UK academics. Although there a few articles that explore knowle...

/pdf/exploring-the-factors-that-influence-knowledge-sharing-12qm1m99se.pdf

Exploring the factors that influence knowledge sharing between academics

Despite the growing importance of volunteers to many organizations, there has been little research into how they share their knowledge and develop the skills they need. Moreover, the focus of existing research has been on short‐term episodic volunteering. This article addresses these deficits by examining the significance of knowledge sharing to volunteer development and also the relative importance of individual processes. A case study approach is adopted, which focuses on a major heritage site that is heavily reliant on a volunteer workforce. Development of volunteers is particularly relevant to the heritage sector where organizations need a sizeable, stable, and well‐trained volunteer workforce. We performed semi‐structured interviews with six managers as well as conducting five focus groups with volunteers from diverse work areas in the National Trust. The Volunteer Development through Knowledge Sharing Model is proposed. This is the first conceptual model to summarize the processes in volunteer development. Processes are clustered as follows: informal learning, formal training, learning resources, and research by volunteers. Informal learning through tacit knowledge sharing is pre‐eminent and knowledge created by volunteer research was highly significant for educating visitors. The characteristics of the volunteer workforce were found to affect all these processes. Implications for practitioners are also discussed.

The role of knowledge sharing in volunteer learning and development

The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into the processes associated with promoting volunteer engagement adopted by a large UK heritage attraction during a period of significant change. Engaged volunteers were regarded as essential to sustain, and where appropriate, to enhance the customer experience.,A case study approach was adopted. This involved review of relevant documentation and interviews and focus groups between researchers, managers and volunteers.,Working from the philosophical stance that information and involvement are strong predecessors to “buy-in”, the managers of the attraction used a series of initiatives that kept volunteers both informed and involved. These initiatives include a values-based induction programme, information and communication, training and development, and creating new narratives.,Volunteer engagement influences volunteer commitment to the organisation. This case study offers some insights into initiatives adopted in one heritage organisation to promote volunteer engagement, and thereby provides a basis for other organisations to reflect on their practices in this area.

/pdf/promoting-volunteer-engagement-in-the-heritage-sector-1ui1u6ycbk.pdf

Roger Fullwood

Papers

Knowledge sharing amongst academics in UK universities

An investigation of factors affecting knowledge sharing amongst UK academics

Exploring the factors that influence knowledge sharing between academics

The role of knowledge sharing in volunteer learning and development

Promoting volunteer engagement in the heritage sector