Analysis of the interplay between knowledge and performance management in industrial clusters

The concept of industrial clustering has been studied in-depth by policy makers and researchers from many fields, mainly due to the competitive advantages it may bring to regional economies. Companies often take part in collaborative initiatives with local partners while also taking advantage of knowledge spillovers to benefit from locating in a cluster. Thus, Knowledge Management (KM) and Performance Management (PM) have become relevant topics for policy makers and cluster associations when undertaking collaborative initiatives. Taking this into account, this paper aims to explore the interplay between both topics using a case study conducted in a collaborative network formed within a cluster. The results show that KM should be acknowledged as a formal area of cluster management so that PM practices can support knowledge-oriented initiatives and therefore make better use of the new knowledge created. Furthermore, tacit and explicit knowledge resulting from PM practices needs to be stored and disseminated throughout the cluster as a way of improving managerial practices and regional strategic direction. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2012) 10, 368-379. doi:10.1057/kmrp.2012.23

Análise da relação entre estrutura e desempenho de redes interorganizacionais colaborativas

Cada vez mais, as empresas têm percebido as vantagens de estabelecerem alianças umas com as outras, formando redes. Essas vantagens podem estar ligadas aos mais variados objetivos, que são mensurados por diferentes indicadores de desempenho. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo a determinação das características estruturais que são mais adequadas, considerando uma série de possíveis indicadores de desempenho, para uma rede interorganizacional colaborativa. Para tal, foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico-exploratório em duas bases de dados, e utilizada uma abordagem qualitativa para sistematizar as informações encontradas. Como principal resultado deste trabalho, foi construído um quadro teórico que sistematiza a relação entre a estrutura e o desempenho de uma rede. Acredita-se que este artigo possa servir como uma contribuição inicial para um campo de pesquisa ainda pouco explorado.

Two extensions for the ALWABP: Parallel stations and collaborative approach

In this article, we introduce two new variants of the Assembly Line Worker Assignment and Balancing Problem (ALWABP) that allow parallelization of and collaboration between heterogeneous workers. These new approaches suppose an additional level of complexity in the Line Design and Assignment process, but also higher flexibility; which may be particularly useful in practical situations where the aim is to progressively integrate slow or limited workers in conventional assembly lines. We present linear models and heuristic procedures for these two new problems. Computational results show the efficiency of the proposed approaches and the efficacy of the studied layouts in different situations. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.