Business processes and knowledge management

Knowledge has been a subject of interest and inquiry for thousands of years since at least the time of the ancient Greeks, and no doubt even before that. “What is knowledge” continues to be an important topic of discussion in philosophy. More recently, interest in managing knowledge has grown in step with the perception that increasingly we live in a knowledge-based economy. Drucker (1969) is usually credited as being the first to popularize the knowledge-based economy concept by linking the importance of knowledge with rapid technological change in Drucker (1969). Karl Wiig coined the term knowledge management (hereafter KM) for a NATO seminar in 1986, and its popularity took off following the publication of Nonaka and Takeuchi’s book “The Knowledge Creating Company” (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge creation is in fact just one of many activities involved in KM. Others include sharing, retaining, refining, and using knowledge. There are many such lists of activities (Holsapple & Joshi, 2000; Probst, Raub, & Romhardt, 1999; Skyrme, 1999; Wiig, De Hoog, & Van der Spek, 1997). Both academic and practical interest in KM has continued to increase throughout the last decade. In this article, first the different types of knowledge are outlined, then comes a discussion of various routes by which knowledge management can be implemented, advocating a process-based route. An explanation follows of how people, processes, and technology need to fit together for effective KM, and some examples of this route in use are given. Finally, there is a look towards the future.

A study of business user based information systems development, and modelling success factors

This thesis describes research into business user involvement in the information systems application building process. The main interest of this research is in establishing and testing techniques to quantify the relationships between identified success factors and the outcome effectiveness of 'business user development' (BUD). The availability of a mechanism to measure the levels of the success factors, and quantifiably relate them to outcome effectiveness, is important in that it provides an organisation with the capability to predict and monitor effects on BUD outcome effectiveness. This is particularly important in an era where BUD levels have risen dramatically, user centred information systems development benefits are recognised as significant, and awareness of the risks of uncontrolled BUD activity is becoming more widespread. This research targets the measurement and prediction of BUD success factors and implementation effectiveness for particular business users. A questionnaire instrument and analysis technique has been tested and developed which constitutes a tool for predicting and monitoring BUD outcome effectiveness, and is based on the BUDES (Business User Development Effectiveness and Scope) research model - which is introduced and described in this thesis. The questionnaire instrument is designed for completion by 'business users' - the target community being more explicitly defined as 'people who primarily have a business role within an organisation'. The instrument, named BUD ESP (Business User Development Effectiveness and Scope Predictor), can readily be used with survey participants, and has been shown to give meaningful and representative results.

Changing the corporate mind : a Buddhist perspective on business morality

This thesis is concerned with establishing where the Buddhist tradition, founded in India some 2500 years ago, can make a contribution to the new and growing discipline of business ethics. Part One: From the growing body of business ethics literature it seems that business managers increasingly have a problem of learning how to respond to public and political pressure on business to behave more ethically while, at the same time, continuing to run their affairs profitably in an increasingly complex and uncertain business environment. Part One first looks at the evidence for this growing interest and at the nature of the `business ethics problem', and then reviews the contribution of Western theory to solving it. Part Two: In Part Two a possible solution which overcomes some of the limitations of Western theory is described. This is based on a Buddhist analysis of individual morality, and of the moral relationship between the individual and the group. From this a general theoretical framework is proposed. To show how it can be practically applied to the needs of business a description is then given of how the framework was used to design and test a pilot `moral audit' of Windhorse Trading, a Buddhist company based in Cambridge, England. From the results of this pilot study it is concluded that, given some additional research, it would be possible to take the theoretical framework further and use it as the basis for developing operational guidelines to help businesses to make detailed ethical decisions.

New business formation in a rapidly growing economy: The Irish experience

The extraordinary growth of the Irish economy since the mid-1990s - the 'Celtic Tiger' - has attracted a great deal of interest, commentary and research. Indeed, many countries look to Ireland as an economic development role model, and it has been suggested that Ireland might provide key lessons for other EU members as they seek to achieve the objectives set out in the Lisbon Agenda. Much of the discussion of Ireland's growth has focused on its possible triggers: the long term consequences of the late 1980s fiscal stabilisation; EU structural funds; education; wage moderation; and devaluation of the Irish punt. The industrial policy perspective has highlighted the importance of inflows of foreign direct investment, but a notable absence from the discourse on the 'Celtic Tiger' has been any mention of the role of new business venture creation and entrepreneurship. In this paper we use unpublished Irish VAT data for the years 1988 to 2004 to provide the first detailed look at national trends in business birth and death rates in Ireland over the 'take-off' period. We also use sub-national VAT data to shed light on spatial trends in new venture creation. Our overall conclusions are that new business formation made no detectable contribution to the acceleration of Ireland's growth in the late 1990s, although we do find evidence of spatial convergence in per capita business stocks.

New business formation in a rapidly growing economy:the Irish experience

The extraordinary growth of the Irish economy since the mid-1990s—the ‘Celtic Tiger’—has attracted a great deal of interest, commentary and research. Indeed, many countries look to Ireland as an economic development role model, and it has been suggested that Ireland might provide key lessons for other EU members as they seek to achieve the objectives set out in the Lisbon Agenda. Much of the discussion of Ireland’s growth has focused on its possible triggers: the long-term consequences of the late 1980s fiscal stabilisation, EU structural funds, education, wage moderation and devaluation of the Irish punt. The industrial policy perspective has highlighted the importance of inflows of foreign direct investment, but a notable absence from the discourse on the ‘Celtic Tiger’ has been any mention of the role of new business venture creation and entrepreneurship. In this paper we use unpublished Irish VAT data for the years 1988–2004 to provide the first detailed look at national trends in business birth and death rates in Ireland over the ‘take-off’ period. We also use sub-national VAT data to shed light on spatial trends in new venture creation. Our overall conclusions are that new business formation made no detectable contribution to the acceleration of Ireland’s growth in the late 1990s, although we do find evidence of spatial convergence in per capita business stocks.

The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model. Findings: The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

Responsible management education from across the pond:innovations and experiences in UK business schools

The session draws upon experiences highlighted within a series of ongoing CSR/sustainability teaching days organized through the British Academy of Management CSR Special Interest Group, designed to encourage UK schools to develop new innovative curricula and to engage with the UN PRME initiative. The panel will consist of representatives from UK universities all of which are at different stages of developing responsible management curricula and have adopted different approaches towards these challenges.

Doing business in India:building research-based practice

In response to the increasing interest in the growth and developments in the Indian economy, and the dynamic nature of the rapidly changing Indian business environment, this textbook is designed to provide a comprehensive guide to doing business in the Indian context. Written by academic experts in their respective fields, this book is divided into three parts: the Indian business context, conducting business in India, and India and the world. Key information is presented on a wide range of topics, including: •Both the shortcomings and opportunities associated with the Indian business environment •The economic development model in India •Critical skills for negotiation and incentives for foreign investors, including case studies of Italian companies that have entered the Indian market in different ways •Business culture in India, including particular customs and etiquette In addition to the pedagogical features, each chapter contains a set of key issues, and there is also a list of useful websites covering a wide range of business needs. This book introduces students to business in India, and will be also be of use to investors, organisations and managers who are already doing business, or intend to start one, in India.

A framework for assessing business-incubation input, process and output performance:proceedings of the RENT XXVII Conference, 20-22 November 2013, Vilnius, Lithuania

With business incubators deemed as a potent infrastructural element for entrepreneurship development, business incubation management practice and performance have received widespread attention. However, despite this surge of interest, scholars have questioned the extent to which business incubation delivers added value. Thus, there is a growing awareness among researchers, practitioners and policy makers of the need for more rigorous evaluation of the business incubation output performance. Aligned to this is an increasing demand for benchmarking business incubation input/process performance and highlighting best practice. This paper offers a business incubation assessment framework, which considers input/process and output performance domains with relevant indicators. This tool adds value on different levels. It has been developed in collaboration with practitioners and industry experts and therefore it would be relevant and useful to business incubation managers. Once a large enough database of completed questionnaires has been populated on an online platform managed by a coordinating mechanism, such as a business incubation membership association, business incubator managers can reflect on their practices by using this assessment framework to learn their relative position vis-à-vis their peers against each domain. This will enable them to align with best practice in this field. Beyond implications for business incubation management practice, this performance assessment framework would also be useful to researchers and policy makers concerned with business incubation management practice and impact. Future large-scale research could test for construct validity and reliability. Also, discriminant analysis could help link input and process indicators with output measures.

Can accreditation help a leopard change its spots? Social accountability and stakeholder engagement in business schools

Purpose: Neo-institutional theory suggests that organisations change occurs when institutional contradictions, caused by exogenous and endogenous dynamics, increase over time to the point where change can no longer be resisted. Human praxis will result, but only when sufficiently powerful interests are motivated to act. This paper aims to examine the role that the accreditation of business schools can play in increasing institutional contradictions and hence fostering organisational change towards stakeholder engagement and engagement with social responsibility and sustainability issues. Numerous accreditations are promulgated within the higher education and business school contexts and a number of these relate to, or have aspects that relate to, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: The paper first analyses the take up of accreditations across UK business schools and then uses a case study to illustrate and explore stakeholder engagement and changes related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability linked to accreditation processes. Findings: Accreditations are found to be an increasingly common interest for UK business schools. Further, a number of these accreditations have evolved to incorporate issues related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability that may cause institutional contradictions and may, therefore, have the potential to foster organisational change. Accreditation alone, however, is not sufficient and the authors find that sufficiently powerful interests need to be motivated to act and enable human praxis to affect change. Research limitations/implications: This paper draws on previous research that considers the role of accreditation in fostering change that has also been carried out in healthcare organisations, public and professional bodies. Its findings stem from an individual case study and as such further research is required to explore whether these findings can be extended and apply more generally in business schools and universities in different contexts. Practical implications: This paper concludes by recommending that the newly established UK & Ireland Chapter of PRME encourages and supports signatory schools to further embed ethics, social responsibility and sustainability into all aspects of university life in the UK. This also provides an opportunity to engage with the accrediting bodies in order to further support the inclusion of stakeholder engagement and issues related to this agenda in their processes. Originality/value: This paper contributes by introducing accreditation as an institutional pressure that may lead indirectly to organisational change and supports this with new evidence from an illustrative case study. Further, it draws on the role of institutional contradictions and human praxis that engender organisational change. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Small business performance:business, strategy and owner-manager characteristics

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the factors that influence small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) performance and particularly, growth. Design/methodology/approach: This paper utilises an original data set of 360 SMEs employing 5-249 people to run logit regression models of employment growth, turnover growth and profitability. The models include characteristics of the businesses, the owner-managers and their strategies. Findings: The results suggest that size and age of enterprise dominate performance and are more important than strategy and the entrepreneurial characteristics of the owner. Having a business plan was also found to be important. Research limitations/implications: The results contribute to the development of theoretical and knowledge bases, as well as offering results that will be of interest to research and policy communities. The results are limited to a single survey, using cross-sectional data. Practical implications: The findings have a bearing on business growth strategy for policy makers. The results suggest that policy measures that promote the take-up of business plans and are targeted at younger, larger-sized businesses may have the greatest impact in terms of helping to facilitate business growth. Originality/value: A novel feature of the models is the incorporation of entrepreneurial traits and whether there were any collaborative joint venture arrangements. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

On the compatibility of benevolence and self-interest:philanthropy and entrepreneurial orientation

This article explores the philanthropy of owner–managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investigating whether and why more entrepreneurially oriented SMEs are also more likely to engage in philanthropic activities. We find support for a positive link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and philanthropy in a representative sample of 270 Lithuanian SMEs controlling for alternative explanations. We highlight that philanthropy is relatively common among SME owner–managers and thus complement existing research which views philanthropy as sequentially following wealth generation. In line with our theorizing, further qualitative findings point to drivers of philanthropy beyond those considered in the dominant strategic-instrumental perspective. Building on social-psychological theories of motivation, we argue and confirm that philanthropy can also be an expression of owner–managers’ altruistic values; these values can be compatible and even mutually reinforcing with entrepreneurship. Our study is set in a transition economy, Lithuania, facilitating the analysis of heterogeneity in attitudes toward philanthropy.

Servitization: academic research and business practice

En los últimos años, la servitización de la manufactura ha llegado a ser un tópico de interés tanto a nivel académico como empresarial. Así, las empresas están contemplando que la servitización es una forma de mejorar su posición competitiva y estar más cerca de sus clientes. Diferentes estudios empíricos han intentado explicar por qué y cómo se servitiza. Facilitan información clave para entender mejor el proceso de servitización. La conexión entre la academia y la práctica empresarial es decisiva en los fundamentos de este tópico de investigación. La fundamentación del mismo, permitirá continuar con su desarrollo y a la puesta en práctica en las empresas. Así, este número especial pretende contribuir en el avance de la teoría y práctica de la servitización. In recent years, the servitization of manufacturing has become a topic of interest to both academics and practitioners. Indeed, companies are realising that servitization is a way to enhance their competitive advantage and get closer to their customers. Several empirical studies have attempted to explain why and how to servitize. They provide important insights to better understand the processes of servitization. The connection between academia and business practices is decisive in the foundation of this research topic. This foundation will allow continuing with its development, contributing in turn to improve the implementation in companies. Hence, this special issue aims to contribute to the theoretical and practical aspects of servitization.

A közérdek védelmének intézményei Public-Private Partnership esetében = Institutional approaches to protecting public interest in Public-Private Partnership projects

A tanulmány a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) egyik nagy kérdésének megközelítéseit vizsgálja: miként védhető a közérdek e projektekben. Piaci és nem piaci megoldásokat tesz az elemzés mérlegre, valamint kitér arra, hogy miért különleges a PPP projektek esetében a közérdek védelmének kérdése. A szabályozott verseny körülményeinek kialakítása több megközelítésben is perdöntő kérdés a PPP értéknövelésének előmozdításához, bár a létező megoldások nem mentesek anomáliáktól. A képviseleti demokrácia intézményi működésének támogatására pedig a társadalmi részvétel megoldásait javasolja az irodalom. E megközelítés is több formájában, többféle céllal és szintén kihívásokkal segítheti az értéknövelő PPP projekteket. A tanulmány az elvi lehetőségek értékelő elemzését követően a megvalósítás realitásait is mérlegre teszi. = This study focuses on a key issue in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects: how may public interest be protected. It assesses market based and non market based approaches, and also explains why PPP projects are peculiar when addressing the protection of public interest. Setting up the conditions for simulated competition is of paramount importance for different reasons in order to enable value creating PPP projects. Existing solutions however are not without anomalies. To promote the institutions of democracy, participatory solutions are recommended in the literature. That approach may help value creating PPP projects in various forms, with a range of objectives and challenges. The study concludes the analytical assessment of options by highlighting the realistic conditions of implementation.

Associations between SOX 404 opinions and auditors, audit committees, and executives

This dissertation examined three issues associated with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) that are of current interest to regulators and the accounting profession. For the first essay, I examined auditor changes from 2003 to 2005 for 2,454 non-financial firms that filed their initial SOX 404 opinions prior to July 1, 2005. My results showed that there is a significant association between the receipt of an adverse SOX 404 opinion and auditor resignations - both before and after the issuance of the SOX 404 opinion. The data related to auditor dismissals show that clients are not successful in opinion shopping, since clients dismissing the auditor before the SOX 404 report also are more likely to receive an adverse SOX 404 opinion than clients not changing auditors. My second essay examined the relation between audit committee characteristics and changes in material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting under the new SOX regime. My results showed that improvements in internal control in the second year of SOX are associated with: (1) the number of audit committee members and (2) financial expertise of audit committee members. My third essay examined the relation between the appointment of the new executives and the subsequent receipt of initial section 404 of SOX opinions. My results showed that adverse SOX 404 reports will be more likely at firms that recently hired a new chief financial officer (CFO).