The social construction of cooperation: exchange, identification and collective intentions within the organization

My aim is to develop a theory of cooperation within the organization and empirically test it. Drawing upon social exchange theory, social identity theory, the idea of collective intentions, and social constructivism, the main assumption of my work implies that both cooperation and the organization itself are continually shaped and restructured by actions, judgments, and symbolic interpretations of the parties involved. Therefore, I propose that the decision to cooperate, expressed say as an intention to cooperate, reflects and depends on a three step social process shaped by the interpretations of the actors involved. The first step entails an instrumental evaluation of cooperation in terms of social exchange. In the second step, this “social calculus” is translated into cognitive, emotional and evaluative reactions directed toward the organization. Finally, once the identification process is completed and membership awareness is established, I propose that individuals will start to think largely in terms of “We” instead of “I”. Self-goals are redefined at the collective level, and the outcomes for self, others, and the organization become practically interchangeable. I decided to apply my theory to an important cooperative problem in management research: knowledge exchange within organizations. Hence, I conducted a quantitative survey among the members of the virtual community, “www.borse.it” (n=108). Within this community, members freely decide to exchange their knowledge about the stock market among themselves. Because of the confirmatory requirements and the structural complexity of the theory proposed (i.e., the proposal that instrumental evaluations will induce social identity and this in turn will causes collective intentions), I use Structural Equation Modeling to test all hypotheses in this dissertation. The empirical survey-based study found support for the theory of cooperation proposed in this dissertation. The findings suggest that an appropriate conceptualization of the decision to exchange knowledge is one where collective intentions depend proximally on social identity (i.e., cognitive identification, affective commitment, and evaluative engagement) with the organization, and this identity depends on instrumental evaluations of cooperators (i.e., perceived value of the knowledge received, assessment of past reciprocity, expected reciprocity, and expected social outcomes of the exchange). Furthermore, I find that social identity fully mediates the effects of instrumental motives on collective intentions.

When the Practice of Theorizing Meets the Theorizing of Practice. Social Knowledge Making in Organization Science Academia and Managerial Communities

The aim of the present work is to contribute to a better understanding of the relation between organization theory and management practice. It is organized as a collection of two papers, a theoretical and conceptual contribution and an ethnographic study. The first paper is concerned with systematizing different literatures inside and outside the field of organization studies that deal with the theory-practice relation. After identifying a series of positions to the theory-practice debate and unfolding some of their implicit assumptions and limitations, a new position called entwinement is developed in order to overcome status quo through reconciliation and integration. Accordingly, the paper proposes to reconceptualize theory and practice as a circular iterative process of action and cognition, science and common-sense enacted in the real world both by organization scholars and practitioners according to purposes at hand. The second paper is the ethnographic study of an encounter between two groups of expert academics and practitioners occasioned by a one-year executive business master in an international business school. The research articulates a process view of the knowledge exchange between management academics and practitioners in particular and between individuals belonging to different communities of practice, in general, and emphasizes its dynamic, relational and transformative mechanisms. Findings show that when they are given the chance to interact, academics and practitioners set up local provisional relations that enable them to act as change intermediaries vis-a-vis each other’s worlds, without tying themselves irremediably to each other and to the scenarios they conjointly projected during the master’s experience. Finally, the study shows that provisional relations were accompanied by a recursive shift in knowledge modes. While interacting, academics passed from theory to practical theorizing, practitioners passed from an involved practical mode to a reflexive and quasi-theoretical one, and then, as exchanges proceeded, the other way around.

Towards an inter-organisational knowledge transfer framework for SMEs

This paper aims to develop a framework for SMEs to help them understand, and thus to improve, the process of knowledge exchange with their customers or suppliers. Through a review of the literature on knowledge transfer, organisational learning, social network theory and electronic networks, the key actors, key factors and their relationships in the process are identified. Finally, a framework containing all above points is proposed.

Convergence and knowledge processing in multi-agent systems

Multi-agent systems are complex systems comprised of multiple intelligent agents that act either independently or in cooperation with one another. Agent-based modelling is a method for studying complex systems like economies, societies, ecologies etc. Due to their complexity, very often mathematical analysis is limited in its ability to analyse such systems. In this case, agent-based modelling offers a practical, constructive method of analysis. The objective of this book is to shed light on some emergent properties of multi-agent systems. The authors focus their investigation on the effect of knowledge exchange on the convergence of complex, multi-agent systems.

What happens at the gap between knowledge and practice? Spaces of encounter and misencounter between environmental scientists and local people

Researchers studying processes of global environmental change are increasingly interested in their work having impacts that go beyond academia to influence policy and management. Recent scholarship in the conservation sciences has pointed to the existence of a research-action gap and has proposed various solutions for overcoming it. However, most of these studies have been limited to the spaces of dissemination, where the science has already been done and is then to be passed over to users of the information. Much less attention has been paid to encounters that occur between scientists and nonscientists during the practice of doing scientific research, especially in situations that include everyday roles of labor and styles of communication (i.e., fieldwork). This paper builds on theories of contact that have examined encounters and relations between different groups and cultures in diverse settings. I use quantitative and qualitative evidence from Madidi National Park, Bolivia, including an analysis of past research in the protected area, as well as interviews (N = 137) and workshops and focus groups (N = 12) with local inhabitants, scientists, and park guards. The study demonstrates the significance of currently unacknowledged or undervalued components of the research-action gap, such as power, respect, and recognition, to develop a relational and reciprocal notion of impact. I explain why, within such spaces of encounter or misencounter between scientists and local people, knowledge can be exchanged or hidden away, worldviews can be expanded or further entrenched, and scientific research can be welcomed or rejected.

Built environment education and research : making connections

This conference is a landmark gathering of those from around the world concerned with the future of Built environment education and Research. It takes place at a time of great change and opportunity. Around the world the long-standing principles of what, how and who we teach for graduate entry into Built environment professions, is increasingly under review. The need for research and the way in which it is funded, conducted and knowledge shared is also under increasing pressure. Both changes are being triggered by a fast changing and increasingly challenging competitive environment for education and research. Competition for the highest quality of graduate entrants in the right numbers is becoming more intense. Competition between Universities, as funding for education and research comes under ever close scrutiny, is intensifying and we are all being forced to look for more effective and exciting ways of recruting, retaining, enhancing and maximising the achievement of our students and of our staff in their research activities. Competition amongst employees in industry is becoming more intense as professional employers increasingly recognise that people and knowledge are their key strategic resources. Universities are increasingly looking to partnerships with industry, the professions and other Universities to further improve their eduacation, research and innovation activities. These challenges are unfolding at a time of accelerating development in information technologies and systems and in our understanding of principles of knowledge management and pedagogical advancement. This environment presents both opportunities and threats to the world of education.

Developing capabilities for ongoing learning and change in intermediary programs

In dynamic environments, firms seek to build capabilities which will permit them to become innovation and change ready. Programs offered by intermediaries, while varying greatly in content and format, are designed to support those firms wishing to enhance their competitiveness. Firms which participate in intermediary programs have displayed their willingness to overcome deficiencies or barriers to competitiveness through acquiring knowledge which is external to the firm. This paper reports on interviews with 24 firms who were involved in a MAP or TAP program offered by QMI Solutions. The findings of the research suggest that knowledge intermediaries serve to disrupt organisational paths and in so doing establish mechanisms for ongoing learning and change. They do this first by disrupting the firm with a positive learning experience and also by establishing processes for developing new relationships and access to knowledge which are critical for learning and change. It is the experience of learning through knowledge exchange which can trigger the pursuit of new paths and it is the processes involving new relations and knowledge processing that provides the micro-foundations for ongoing learning and change. This suggests that the role of intermediaries goes well beyond merely knowledge transfer to include longer term effects on the capability of organisations to innovate, which is critical to economic competitiveness and the survival rate of firms.

Innovative Practices in the Australian Built Environment Sector : An Information Resource for Industry

PROJECT BRIEF Information provided by the Built Environment Industry Innovation Council as background to this project includes the following information on construction and innovation within the industry. • The construction industry contributes around $67 billion to GDP and employs around 970,000 and generates exports of nearly $150 million. • The industry has one of the lowest innovation rates of any industry in Australia, ranking third last across all Australian industries in terms of its proportion of business expenditure on innovation, and second last in terms of the proportion of income generated from innovation (ABS, 2006). • Key innovation challenges include addressing energy and water use efficiency, and housing costs in preparing for the implementation of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The sector will need to build its capability and capacity to deliver the technical and operational expertise required.The broader Built Environment Innovation Project aims to address the following two objectives: 1. Identify current innovative practice across the Built Environment industry. 2. Develop a knowledge exchange strategy for this information to be disseminated to all industry stakeholders. Industry practice issues are critical to the built environment industry’s ability to innovate, and the BRITE project from the CRC for Construction Innovation has previously undertaken work to identify the key factors that drive innovation. Part 1 of the current project aims to extend this work by conducting a stocktake of current and emerging innovative practices within the built environment industry. Part 2 of the project addresses the second of these objectives, that is, to recommend a knowledge exchange strategy for promoting the wider uptake of innovative practices that makes the information identified in Part 1 of the study (on emerging innovative practices) accessible to Australian built environment industry stakeholders. The project brief was for the strategy to include a mechanism to enable this information resource to be updated as new initiatives/practices are developed. A better understanding of the built environment industry’s own knowledge infrastructure also has the potential to enhance innovation outcomes for the industry. This project will develop a coordinated knowledge exchange strategy, informed by the best available information on current innovation practices within the industry and suggest directions for gaining a better understanding of: the industry contexts that lead to innovative practices; the industry (including enterprise and individual) drivers for innovation; and appropriate knowledge exchange pathways for delivering future industry innovation. A deliverable of Part 2 will be a recommendation for a knowledge exchange strategy to accelerate adoption of innovative practices in the built environment industry, including resource implications and how such a recommendation could be taken forward as an ongoing resource.

Informational city

Many cities worldwide face the prospect of major transformation as the world moves towards a global information order. In this new era, urban economies are being radically altered by dynamic processes of economic and spatial restructuring. The result is the creation of ‘informational cities’ or its new and more popular name, ‘knowledge cities’. For the last two centuries, social production had been primarily understood and shaped by neo-classical economic thought that recognized only three factors of production: land, labor and capital. Knowledge, education, and intellectual capacity were secondary, if not incidental, factors. Human capital was assumed to be either embedded in labor or just one of numerous categories of capital. In the last decades, it has become apparent that knowledge is sufficiently important to deserve recognition as a fourth factor of production. Knowledge and information and the social and technological settings for their production and communication are now seen as keys to development and economic prosperity. The rise of knowledge-based opportunity has, in many cases, been accompanied by a concomitant decline in traditional industrial activity. The replacement of physical commodity production by more abstract forms of production (e.g. information, ideas, and knowledge) has, however paradoxically, reinforced the importance of central places and led to the formation of knowledge cities. Knowledge is produced, marketed and exchanged mainly in cities. Therefore, knowledge cities aim to assist decision-makers in making their cities compatible with the knowledge economy and thus able to compete with other cities. Knowledge cities enable their citizens to foster knowledge creation, knowledge exchange and innovation. They also encourage the continuous creation, sharing, evaluation, renewal and update of knowledge. To compete nationally and internationally, cities need knowledge infrastructures (e.g. universities, research and development institutes); a concentration of well-educated people; technological, mainly electronic, infrastructure; and connections to the global economy (e.g. international companies and finance institutions for trade and investment). Moreover, they must possess the people and things necessary for the production of knowledge and, as importantly, function as breeding grounds for talent and innovation. The economy of a knowledge city creates high value-added products using research, technology, and brainpower. Private and the public sectors value knowledge, spend money on its discovery and dissemination and, ultimately, harness it to create goods and services. Although many cities call themselves knowledge cities, currently, only a few cities around the world (e.g., Barcelona, Delft, Dublin, Montreal, Munich, and Stockholm) have earned that label. Many other cities aspire to the status of knowledge city through urban development programs that target knowledge-based urban development. Examples include Copenhagen, Dubai, Manchester, Melbourne, Monterrey, Singapore, and Shanghai. Knowledge-Based Urban Development To date, the development of most knowledge cities has proceeded organically as a dependent and derivative effect of global market forces. Urban and regional planning has responded slowly, and sometimes not at all, to the challenges and the opportunities of the knowledge city. That is changing, however. Knowledge-based urban development potentially brings both economic prosperity and a sustainable socio-spatial order. Its goal is to produce and circulate abstract work. The globalization of the world in the last decades of the twentieth century was a dialectical process. On one hand, as the tyranny of distance was eroded, economic networks of production and consumption were constituted at a global scale. At the same time, spatial proximity remained as important as ever, if not more so, for knowledge-based urban development. Mediated by information and communication technology, personal contact, and the medium of tacit knowledge, organizational and institutional interactions are still closely associated with spatial proximity. The clustering of knowledge production is essential for fostering innovation and wealth creation. The social benefits of knowledge-based urban development extend beyond aggregate economic growth. On the one hand is the possibility of a particularly resilient form of urban development secured in a network of connections anchored at local, national, and global coordinates. On the other hand, quality of place and life, defined by the level of public service (e.g. health and education) and by the conservation and development of the cultural, aesthetic and ecological values give cities their character and attract or repel the creative class of knowledge workers, is a prerequisite for successful knowledge-based urban development. The goal is a secure economy in a human setting: in short, smart growth or sustainable urban development.

Beyond difference : reconfiguring education for the user-led age

In recent years, various observers have pointed to the shifting paradigms of cultural and societal participation and economic production in developed nations. These changes are facilitated (although, importantly, not solely driven) by the emergence of new, participatory technologies of information access, knowledge exchange, and content production, many of whom are associated with Internet and new media technologies. In an online context, such technologies are now frequently described as social software, social media, or Web2.0, but their impact is no longer confined to cyberspace as an environment that is somehow different and separate from ‘real life’: user-led content and knowledge production is increasingly impacting on media, economy, law, social practices, and democracy itself.

Shut up & write!

This case-study exemplifies a ‘writing movement’, which is currently occurring in various parts of Australia through the support of social media. A concept emerging from the café scene in San Francisco, ‘Shut Up and Write!’ is a meetup group that brings writers together at a specific time and place to write side by side, thus making writing practice, social. This concept has been applied to the academic environment and our case-study explores the positive outcomes in two locations: RMIT University and QUT. We believe that this informal learning practice can be implemented to assist research students in developing academic skills. DESCRIPTION: Please describe your practice as a case study, including its context; challenge addressed; its aims; what it is; and how it supports creative practice PhD students or supervisors. Additional information may include: the outcomes; key factors or principles that contribute to its effectiveness; anticipated impact/evidence of impact. Research students spend the majority of their time outside of formal learning environments. Doctoral candidates enter their degree with a range of experience, knowledge and needs, making it difficult to provide writing assistance in a structured manner. Using a less structured approach to provide writing assistance has been trialled with promising results (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson, 2001; Stracke, 2010; Devenish et al, 2009). Although, semi structured approaches have been developed and examined, informal learning opportunities have received minimal attention. The primary difference of Shut Up and Write! to other writing practices, is that individuals do not engage in any structured activity and they do not share the outcomes of the writing. The purpose of Shut Up and Write! is to transform writing practice from a solitary experience, to a social one. Shut Up and Write! typically takes place outside of formal learning environments, in public spaces such as a café. The structure of Shut Up and Write! sessions is simple: participants meet at a specific time and place, chat for a few minutes, then they Shut Up and Write for a predetermined amount of time. Critical to the success of the sessions, is that there is no critiquing of the writing, and there is no competition or formal exercises. Our case-study examines the experience of two meetup groups at RMIT University and QUT through narrative accounts from participants. These accounts reveal that participants have learned: • Writing/productivity techniques; • Social/cloud software; • Aspects of the PhD; and • ‘Mundane’ dimensions of academic practice. In addition to this, activities such as Shut Up and Write! promote peer to peer bonding, knowledge exchange, and informal learning within the higher degree research experience. This case-study extends the initial work presented by the authors in collaboration with Dr. Inger Mewburn at QPR2012 – Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference, 2012.

Motivations for eWOM exchanges in an online community : self-development, problem solving support, relaxation

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has gained significant attention from academics and practitioners since it has become an important source of consumers’ product information, which can influence consumer purchase intentions (Cheung & Lee, 2012). eWOM exchanges exist in two types of online communities: online communities of practice and online communities of interest. A few prior studies in online communities of interest have examined members’ motivations for product knowledge exchange (Hung & Li, 2007; Ma & Agarwal, 2007). However, there is a lack of understanding of member motivations for exchanging social bonds and enjoyment in addition to exchanging knowledge pertaining to products in the community. It is important to have an initial comprehension of motivation as an antecedent of these three eWOM exchanges so as to be able to determine the driving factors that lead members to generate eWOM communication. Thus, the research problem "What are the driving factors for members to exchange eWOM in an online community?" was justified for investigation. The purpose of this study was to examine different member motivations for exchanging three types of eWOM. Resource exchange theory and theory on consumer motivation and behavior were applied to develop a conceptual framework for this study. This study focused on an online beauty community since there is an increasing trend of consumers turning to online beauty resources so as to exchange useful beauty product information (SheSpot, 2011). As this study examined consumer motivation in an online beauty community, a web-based survey was the most effective and efficient way to gain responses from beauty community members and these members were appropriate samples from which to draw a conclusion about the whole population. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationships between member motivations and eWOM exchanges. It was found that members have different motivations for exchanging knowledge, social bonds, and enjoyment related to products: self-development, problem solving support, and relaxation, respectively. This study makes three theoretical contributions. First, this study identifies the influence of self-development motivation on knowledge exchange in an online community of interest, just as this motivation has previously been found in online communities of practice. This study highlights that members of the two different types of online communities share similar goals of knowledge exchange, despite the two communities evincing different attributes (e.g., member characteristics and tasks’ objectives). Further, this study will assist researchers to understand other motivations identified by prior research in online communities of practice since such motivations may be applicable to online communities of interest. Second, this study offers a new perspective on member motivation for social bonding. This study indicates that in addition to social support from friends and family, consumers are motivated to build social bonds with members in an online community of interest since they are an important source of problem solving support in regard to products. Finally, this study extends the body of knowledge pertaining to member motivation for enjoyment exchange. This study provides a basis for researchers to understand that members in an online community of interest value experiential aspects of enjoyable consumption activities, and thus based on group norms, members have a mutual desire for relaxation from enjoyment exchange. The major practical contribution is that this study provides an important guideline for marketing managers to develop different marketing strategies based on member motivations for exchanging three types of eWOM in an online community of interest, such as an online beauty community. This will potentially help marketing managers increase online traffic and revenue, and thus bring success to the community. Although, this study contributes to the literature by highlighting three distinctive member motivations for eWOM exchanges in an online community of interest, there are some possible research limitations. First, this study was conducted in an online beauty community in Australia. Hence, further research should replicate this study in other industries and nations so as to give the findings greater generalisability. Next, online beauty community members are female skewed. Thus, future research should examine whether similar patterns of motivations would emerge in other online communities that tend to be populated by males (e.g., communities focused on football). Further, a web-based survey has its limitations in terms of self-selection and self-reporting (Bhatnagar & Ghose, 2004). Therefore, further studies should test the framework by employing different research methods in order to overcome these weaknesses.

Literacies on the Web : Co-Production of Literary Texts on Fan Fiction Sites

In this chapter the authors discuss and informal learning settings such as fan fiction sites and their relations to teaching and learning within formal learning settings. Young people today spend a lot of time with social media built on user generated content. These media are often characterized by participatory culture which offers a good environment for developing skills and identity work. In this chapter the authors problematize fan fiction sites as informal learning settings where the possibilities to learn are powerful and significant. They also discuss the learning processes connected to the development of literacies. Here the rhetoric principle of “imitatio” plays a vital part as well as the co-production of texts on the sites, strongly supported by the beta reader and the power of positive feedback. They also display that some fans, through the online publication of fan fiction, are able to develop their craft in a way which previously have been impossible.

Understanding causal relationships between the built and social environment, health and associated behaviours and risk factors

Introduction: Built environment interventions designed to reduce non-communicable diseases and health inequity, complement urban planning agendas focused on creating more ‘liveable’, compact, pedestrian-friendly, less automobile dependent and more socially inclusive cities.However, what constitutes a ‘liveable’ community is not well defined. Moreover, there appears to be a gap between the concept and delivery of ‘liveable’ communities. The recently funded NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Healthy Liveable Communities established in early 2014, has defined ‘liveability’ from a social determinants of health perspective. Using purpose-designed multilevel longitudinal data sets, it addresses five themes that address key evidence-base gaps for building healthy and liveable communities. The CRE in Healthy Liveable Communities seeks to generate and exchange new knowledge about: 1) measurement of policy-relevant built environment features associated with leading non-communicable disease risk factors (physical activity, obesity) and health outcomes (cardiovascular disease, diabetes) and mental health; 2) causal relationships and thresholds for built environment interventions using data from longitudinal studies and natural experiments; 3) thresholds for built environment interventions; 4) economic benefits of built environment interventions designed to influence health and wellbeing outcomes; and 5) factors, tools, and interventions that facilitate the translation of research into policy and practice. This evidence is critical to inform future policy and practice in health, land use, and transport planning. Moreover, to ensure policy-relevance and facilitate research translation, the CRE in Healthy Liveable Communities builds upon ongoing, and has established new, multi-sector collaborations with national and state policy-makers and practitioners. The symposium will commence with a brief introduction to embed the research within an Australian health and urban planning context, as well as providing an overall outline of the CRE in Healthy Liveable Communities, its structure and team. Next, an overview of the five research themes will be presented. Following these presentations, the Discussant will consider the implications of the research and opportunities for translation and knowledge exchange. Theme 2 will establish whether and to what extent the neighbourhood environment (built and social) is causally related to physical and mental health and associated behaviours and risk factors. In particular, research conducted as part of this theme will use data from large-scale, longitudinal-multilevel studies (HABITAT, RESIDE, AusDiab) to examine relationships that meet causality criteria via statistical methods such as longitudinal mixed-effect and fixed-effect models, multilevel and structural equation models; analyse data on residential preferences to investigate confounding due to neighbourhood self-selection and to use measurement and analysis tools such as propensity score matching and ‘within-person’ change modelling to address confounding; analyse data about individual-level factors that might confound, mediate or modify relationships between the neighbourhood environment and health and well-being (e.g., psychosocial factors, knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, functional status), and; analyse data on both objective neighbourhood characteristics and residents’ perceptions of these objective features to more accurately assess the relative contribution of objective and perceptual factors to outcomes such as health and well-being, physical activity, active transport, obesity, and sedentary behaviour. At the completion of the Theme 2, we will have demonstrated and applied statistical methods appropriate for determining causality and generated evidence about causal relationships between the neighbourhood environment, health, and related outcomes. This will provide planners and policy makers with a more robust (valid and reliable) basis on which to design healthy communities.