Contribution of knowledge management activities to organisational business performance

Purpose – Within the construction industry there is a growing awareness of the need for linking knowledge management (KM) to business strategy, organisational objectives and existing performance measures. This study was undertaken within the context of construction organisations, and attempts to provide the empirical evidence about the relationships between KM activities and organisational business performance. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of construction contractors operating in Hong Kong to investigate the opinions of construction professionals regarding the intensity of KM activities and business performance within their organisations. In parallel to the survey, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide qualitative insights that helped to clarify and deepen understanding of the KM process within the context of the research target. Findings – The investigation shows that knowledge utilisation is the strongest contributor to general business performance. In addition, the impact of KM activities on the lagging performance indicators of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), such as “financial performance”, is in an indirect manner, and through the leading indicators such as performance from “internal process” as well as “learning and growth” perspectives. Originality/value – The study empirically establishes the linkage between intensity of KM activities and business performance, and demonstrates that KM strategies need to be explicitly formulated and measured according to organisational business objectives.

Impact of the internal business environment on knowledge management within construction organisations

Purpose: Recent knowledge management (KM) literature suggests that KM activities are influenced by the elements of the internal business environment (BE) of organisations. This paper attempts to provide some unique insights into the contextual input of the KM process through empirically identifying the major factors (i.e. “forces”) within the internal BE of construction organisations operating in Hong Kong, and investigating their impact on the intensity of KM activities. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of construction contractors operating in Hong Kong to elicit opinions on the internal BE and intensity of KM activities as executed by targeted organisations. A total of 149 usable responses were received from 99 organisations representing about 38 percent of the research population. In parallel, to the survey, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide more insights into the phenomenon under investigation. Findings: Supported by the empirical and qualitative evidence, this study established that firstly, both organisational and technical environments have the capacity to either positively or negatively impact the intensity of KM activities, and both environments serve as stimuli in increasing each other's dynamism; secondly, certain types of KM activities are stronger “energy receivers” and easily to be “powered up” by manipulating factors representing these two environments. Then, through interactions between KM activities, the intensity of the whole strategic KM cycle will be increased thus helping to strengthen organisational competitive advantage.

Empirical study of interactions between knowledge management activities

Purpose – Recent knowledge management (KM) literature suggests that KM activities are not independent of each other, rather they interact with each other to form a process which receives input from both external and internal business environments, and then produces new knowledge for future utilisation. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationships between KM activities within the construction business context in order to identify and map the pattern of their interactions. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of contracting organisations operating in Hong Kong to elicit opinions of construction professionals on the intensity of KM activities currently being executed by their organisations in order to facilitate knowledge capture, sharing and utilisation. More than 150 respondents from 99 organisations responded to the survey. Additionally, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide a unique perspective on many of the challenges facing local construction organisations when dealing with KM activities. Findings – Knowledge acquisition and utilisation play paramount roles in the development of the organisational knowledge asset. The higher the intensity of these two activities, the larger the organisational knowledge pool which, in turn, demands greater knowledge dissemination capacity. This dissemination capacity enables more active and intense responses to market changes and clients' needs, thus facilitating and stimulating acquisition and utilisation of new tacit knowledge, thus improving organisational business performance. Originality/value – Interactions between KM activities were empirically investigated, from a strategic perspective, in the construction business context.

Downtime model development for construction equipment management

Downtime (DT) caused by non-availability of equipment and equipment breakdown has non-trivial impact on the performance of construction projects. Earlier research has often addressed this fact, but it has rarely explained the causes and consequences of DT – especially in the context of developing countries. This paper presents a DT model to address this issue. Using this model, the generic factors and processes related to DT are identified, and the impact of DT is quantified. By applying the model framework to nine road projects in Nepal, the impact of DT is explored in terms of its duration and cost. The research findings highlight how various factors and processes interact with each other to create DT, and mitigate or exacerbate its impact on project performance. It is suggested that construction companies need to adopt proactive equipment management and maintenance programs to minimize the impact of DT.

Business research in virtual worlds : possibilities and practicalities

Purpose – It is predicted that virtual business and related research possibilities will expand significantly. In this context, the aim of this paper is to use insights from a virtual research project to present a theoretically-informed toolbox of practical suggestions to guide the conduct of virtual world business research. Design/methodology/approach – Archival evidence is presented, and data from a study conducted in Second Lifew in 2007 is interpreted through Llewellyn’s framework (physical, structural, agential, cultural and mental dimensions). Findings – With the burgeoning of virtual business applications, appropriate systems that encompass the dynamics of both the real and the virtual will need to be developed by and for accountants, auditors and business professionals. Researchers of virtual business activities will need to adapt to the physical, structural, agential, cultural and mental dimensions unique to virtual worlds. Research limitations/implications – While based on reflections from a single study in Second Life, this paper identifies possibilities for future virtual research on issues of accountability and accounting relating to virtual worlds. Practical implications – The practical toolbox will assist virtual researchers to deal with the possibilities and practicalities of conducting research in virtual worlds. Originality/value – Despite the proliferation of virtual worlds, predictions of virtual business applications, and consequent accountability and accounting implications, there is a paucity of academic literature on conducting business research in virtual settings. This prescient paper develops a conceptual framework to guide the conduct of research in virtual worlds, and identifies the unique opportunities and challenges they present.

Libraries as co-working spaces : understanding user motivations and perceived barriers to social learning

This paper aims to inform design strategies for smart space technology to enhance libraries as environments for co-working and informal social learning. The focus is on understanding user motivations, behaviour, and activities in the library when there is no programmed agenda. The study analyses gathered data over five months of ethnographic research at ‘The Edge’ – a bookless library space at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, that is explicitly dedicated to co-working, social learning, peer collaboration, and creativity around digital culture and technology. The results present five personas that embody people’s main usage patterns as well as motivations, attitudes, and perceived barriers to social learning. It appears that most users work individually or within pre-organised groups, but usually do not make new connections with co-present, unacquainted users. Based on the personas, four hybrid design dimensions are suggested to improve the library as a social interface for shared learning encounters across physical and digital spaces. The findings in this paper offer actionable knowledge for managers, decision makers, and designers of technology-enhanced library spaces and similar collaboration and co-working spaces.

Achieving at university and beyond : does it help to be good looking?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between attitudes to academic achievement and post university success using perceptions of attractiveness, gender, ethnic identity, personality, and social acceptance as antecedents. Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was completed by male (N=116) and female (N=126) university students from various cultural backgrounds. To evaluate the proposed relationships, multiple regression analysis was used. Findings – The findings suggest that attractiveness is related to attitudes to academic achievement and success through its association with social appeal and acceptance. Ethnic identity is also related to both academic achievement and post university success. Personality is not positively related to academic achievement. Finally, social acceptance is positively related to academic achievement for males and to success for females. Research limitations/implications – Whilst the survey targeted students from various cultural backgrounds studying in Australia, it did not look at university students from other countries. A cross-cultural perspective could reveal further differences in attitudes. Originality/value – This study links attractiveness and academic achievement theories. The findings have implications for tertiary institutions and suggest academics and policy-makers to vigorously promote core personality and values such as intelligence, communication skills, and sincerity, rather than allow superficial values such as attractiveness to be placed at the centre stage of students' endeavour.

'Pretend I was Mummy': Children's Production of Authority and Subordinance in Their Pretend Play Interaction During Disputes

Purpose – This chapter examines an episode of pretend play amongst a group of young girls in an elementary school in Australia, highlighting how they interact within the membership categorization device ‘family’ to manage their social and power relationships. Approach – Using conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis, an episode of video-recorded interaction that occurs amongst a group of four young girls is analyzed. Findings – As disputes arise amongst the girls, the mother category is produced as authoritative through authoritative actions by the girl in the category of mother, and displays of subordination on the part of the other children, in the categories of sister, dog and cat. Value of paper – Examining play as a social practice provides insight into the social worlds of children. The analysis shows how the children draw upon and co-construct family-style relationships in a pretend play context, in ways that enable them to build and organize peer interaction. Authority is highlighted as a joint accomplishment that is part of the social and moral order continuously being negotiated by the children. The authority of the mother category is produced and oriented to as a means of managing the disputes within the pretend frame of play.

An entry mode decision-making model for the international expansion of construction enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a new type of entry mode decision-making model for construction enterprises involved in international business. Design/methodology/approach – A hybrid method combining analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) is used to aid entry mode decisions. The AHP is used to decompose the entry mode problem into several dimensions and determine the weight of each criterion. In addition, PROMETHEE method is used to rank candidate entry modes and carry out sensitivity analyses. Findings – The proposed decision-making method is demonstrated to be a suitable approach to resolve the entry mode selection decision problem. Practical implications – The research provides practitioners with a more systematic decision framework and a more precise decision method. Originality/value – The paper sheds light on the further development of entry strategies for international construction markets. It not only introduces a new decision-making model for entry mode decision making, but also provides a conceptual framework with five determinants for a construction company entry mode selection based on the unique properties of the construction industry.

Environmental incidents in a developing country and corporate environmental disclosures : a study of a multinational gas company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental disclosure initiatives of Niko Resources Ltd – a Canada-based multinational oil and gas company – following the two major environmental blowouts at a gas field in Bangladesh in 2005. As part of the examination, the authors particularly focus on whether Niko's disclosure strategy was associated with public concern pertaining to the blowouts. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed news articles about Niko's environmental incidents in Bangladesh and Niko's communication media, including annual reports, press releases and stand-alone social responsibility report over the period 2004-2007, to understand whether news media attention as proxy for public concern has an impact on Niko's disclosure practices in relation to the affected local community in Bangladesh. Findings – The findings show that Niko did not provide any non-financial environmental information within its annual reports and press releases as a part of its responsibility to the local community which was affected by the blowouts, but it did produce a stand-alone report to address the issue. However, financial environmental disclosures, such as the environmental contingent liability disclosure, were adequately provided through annual reports to meet the regulatory requirements concerning environmental persecutions. The findings also suggest that Niko's non-financial disclosure within a stand-alone report was associated with the public pressures as measured by negative media coverage towards the Niko blowouts. Research limitations/implications – This paper concludes that the motive for Niko's non-financial environmental disclosure, via a stand-alone report, reflected survival considerations: the company's reaction did not suggest any real attempt to hold broader accountability for its activities in a developing country.

Motivations for an organisation within a developing country to report social responsibility information : evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to describe and explain, using a combination of interviews and content analysis, the social and environmental reporting practices of a major garment export organisation within a developing country. Design/methodology/approach – Senior executives from a major organisation in Bangladesh are interviewed to determine the pressures being exerted on them in terms of their social and environmental performance. The perceptions of pressures are then used to explain – via content analysis – changing social and environmental disclosure practices. Findings – The results show that particular stakeholder groups have, since the early 1990s, placed pressure on the Bangladeshi clothing industry in terms of its social performance. This pressure, which is also directly related to the expectations of the global community, in turn drives the industry's social policies and related disclosure practices. Research limitations/implications – The findings show that, within the context of a developing country, unless we consider the managers' perceptions about the social and environmental expectations being imposed upon them by powerful stakeholder groups then we will be unable to understand organisational disclosure practices. Originality/value – This paper is the first known paper to interview managers from a large organisation in a developing country about changing stakeholder expectations and then link these changing expectations to annual report disclosures across an extended period of analysis.

Perceptions of corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices from accountants in Bangladesh

Purpose – The aim of this study is to elicit accountants’ perceptions regarding corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in a developing country such as Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) were surveyed to determine their perceptions on issues pertaining to social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in Bangladesh. Findings – Whilst the findings show that accountants have positive attitudes toward corporate social and environmental accounting, progress is limited, with the absence of ICAB in making any noticeable effort to develop such practices. Research implications – Unlike prior studies, the implications of this study suggest that without international influence, it is less likely that institutional forces in Bangladesh (ICAB and the government) would be effective in dealing with social and environmental accounting and reporting issues. Originality/value – While prior studies advocate proactive roles of the accounting profession, this study argues that proactive roles are less likely to prevail in the context of Bangladesh without direct intervention from institutional and regulatory authorities in the international arena.

Grameen Bank's social performance disclosure : responding to a negative assessment by Wall Street Journal in late 2001

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to establish a linkage between negative global media news towards Grameen Bank (GB), the largest microfinance organisation in the developing world, and the extent and type of annual report social performance disclosures by GB, over the nine-year period 1997-2005. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis instruments are utilised to analyse GB annual report social disclosure. Findings – The study finds that GB's community poverty alleviation disclosures account for the highest proportion of total social disclosures in the period 1997-2005. The results of this study are particularly significant in relation to poverty alleviation – the issue attracting severe criticism from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ?) late in 2001. The community poverty alleviation disclosures by GB are significantly greater over the four years following the negative news in the WSJ than in the four years before. The results suggest that GB responds to a negative media story or legitimacy threatening news via annual report social disclosures in an attempt to re-establish its legitimacy. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature because in the past there has been no research published linking global media attention to the social disclosure practices of major organisations in developing countries

Creating and expressing : information as-it-is-experienced

Music and dance are art forms that involve a full mind-body experience, integrating the cognitive, affective and kinesthetic domains. To engage in creating music and dance is to use information to express oneself and communicate. In this chapter I explore the information experience of two distinct groups: those who compose music for an audience, and those who dance socially with a partner. For the composer, information sources can be a stimulus for creation. Sounds, feelings, moods, images, ideas and life experiences can trigger a creative idea. These ideas are shaped by existing musical styles and structures, and by the composer’s personal aesthetic. The intention of the composer is to communicate their expressive ideas to an audience. For the social dancer, information sources are those used to communicate with a partner. There is no intention to perform for an audience. A social dancer aims to express the music and style of the dance while creating a strong connection with their partner. Information sources include the music, the partner’s body, the emotions generated by the dance, the position of other couples on the floor and the feeling of the floor. Use of information in the arts is an under-researched experience. Most information studies are based on the assumption that information is documentary and codified. Subjective and affective information is rarely recognised and legitimised. Information-as-it-is-experienced through creative practice such as music and dance is holistic in acknowledging mind, body and spirit as well as traditional documentary forms of information. This chapter draws on empirical research to illustrate experiencing information as creating and expressing.

Sample selection in a model of female labour supply : an alternative approach

Suggests an alternative and computationally simpler approach of non-random sampling of labour economics and represents an observed outcome of an individual female′s choice of whether or not to participate in the labour market. Concludes that there is an alternative to the Heckman two-step estimator.