An investigation of innovation and knowledge creation in virtual worlds

The Internet and World Wide Web have had, and continue to have, an incredible impact on our civilization. These technologies have radically influenced the way that society is organised and the manner in which people around the world communicate and interact. The structure and function of individual, social, organisational, economic and political life begin to resemble the digital network architectures upon which they are increasingly reliant. It is increasingly difficult to imagine how our ‘offline’ world would look or function without the ‘online’ world; it is becoming less meaningful to distinguish between the ‘actual’ and the ‘virtual’. Thus, the major architectural project of the twenty-first century is to “imagine, build, and enhance an interactive and ever changing cyberspace” (Lévy, 1997, p. 10). Virtual worlds are at the forefront of this evolving digital landscape. Virtual worlds have “critical implications for business, education, social sciences, and our society at large” (Messinger et al., 2009, p. 204). This study focuses on the possibilities of virtual worlds in terms of communication, collaboration, innovation and creativity. The concept of knowledge creation is at the core of this research. The study shows that scholars increasingly recognise that knowledge creation, as a socially enacted process, goes to the very heart of innovation. However, efforts to build upon these insights have struggled to escape the influence of the information processing paradigm of old and have failed to move beyond the persistent but problematic conceptualisation of knowledge creation in terms of tacit and explicit knowledge. Based on these insights, the study leverages extant research to develop the conceptual apparatus necessary to carry out an investigation of innovation and knowledge creation in virtual worlds. The study derives and articulates a set of definitions (of virtual worlds, innovation, knowledge and knowledge creation) to guide research. The study also leverages a number of extant theories in order to develop a preliminary framework to model knowledge creation in virtual worlds. Using a combination of participant observation and six case studies of innovative educational projects in Second Life, the study yields a range of insights into the process of knowledge creation in virtual worlds and into the factors that affect it. The study’s contributions to theory are expressed as a series of propositions and findings and are represented as a revised and empirically grounded theoretical framework of knowledge creation in virtual worlds. These findings highlight the importance of prior related knowledge and intrinsic motivation in terms of shaping and stimulating knowledge creation in virtual worlds. At the same time, they highlight the importance of meta-knowledge (knowledge about knowledge) in terms of guiding the knowledge creation process whilst revealing the diversity of behavioural approaches actually used to create knowledge in virtual worlds and. This theoretical framework is itself one of the chief contributions of the study and the analysis explores how it can be used to guide further research in virtual worlds and on knowledge creation. The study’s contributions to practice are presented as actionable guide to simulate knowledge creation in virtual worlds. This guide utilises a theoretically based classification of four knowledge-creator archetypes (the sage, the lore master, the artisan, and the apprentice) and derives an actionable set of behavioural prescriptions for each archetype. The study concludes with a discussion of the study’s implications in terms of future research.

The Cultural Dimensions of the Vietnamese Private Entrepreneurship

In this essay, we explore cultural impacts on the private entrepreneurship in the post-Doi Moi Vietnam. Some important aspects of the traditional cultural values of the Vietnamese society are explored in conjunction with the socio-economic changes over the past two decades. Traditional cultural values continue to have strong impacts on the Vietnamese society, and to a large extent to adversely affect the entrepreneurial spirit of the community. Typical constraints private entrepreneurs face may have roots in the cultural facet as legacy of the Confucian society, such as relationship-based bank credit. Low quality business education is both victim and culprit of the long-standing tradition that looks down on the role of private entrepreneurship in the country.

Liderazgo y poder: una aproximación desde la ecología

El trabajo de grado se desarrollará a partir del análisis del liderazgo y el poder como característica de éste, desde una visión ecológica, lo cual constituye un aspecto de gran importancia en los estudios de administración. Primero, se abordará el significado de liderazgo y la importancia que este representa dentro de las organizaciones, a través de la generación de procesos que llevan a la organización a su evolución y desarrollo. Posteriormente se abordará el tema de poder en relación con la comprensión del efecto que este puede tener sobre las interacciones que se dan entre las personas de la organización. Finalmente, se estudiará también desde la ecología, como el poder ejercido por los líderes puede influir en la forma en que estos agentes, es decir personas, procesos e interacciones, interactúan para movilizar a la organización. De esta forma, se asume el poder como un aspecto importante dentro del estudio del liderazgo, en cuanto éste puede afectar la forma en que las personas son lideradas al interior de la organización.

Do MBA degrees matter? A study of boards of directors in Australia's top 200 companies

Pfeffer and Fong (2002) suggest that “business school enrolments have soared and business education has become a big business”. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree has often been held out to be useful in the career development of managers. The highest level that managers can aspire to, is to be a director of a large public company. This study investigates how many directors within the boards of Australia’s top 200 companies by market capitalization hold an MBA degree. We find that larger companies have proportionally more MBA holding directors than smaller companies. Interestingly we also find that proportionally more women hold MBAs than men; nearly one in five women directors hold an MBA within the top 200 companies dataset.

Teamwork and assessment: a critique

Australian universities commonly cite "teamwork" as a graduate attribute and an integral part of their set of flexible and transferable skills suitable for different types of employment. This paper raises concerns as to whether teamwork as experienced in the university education system can claim to achieve the imparting of team skills. Pedagogically, learning through team work may be a useful educational tool however when the concept of 'teamwork' is explored a number of inconsistencies arise in the tertiary environment. The outcomes derived from team work do not generally satisfy the criteria for effective and efficient teamwork. However, it is suggested that to utilise teamwork as a learning tool for a graduate attribute the assessment criteria should take into consideration how the team worked together--the team dynamics.

Curriculum for entrepreneurial creativity and resourcefulness in New Zealand

This thesis asks: ‘How can tertiary education nurture entrepreneurial creativity?’ Entrepreneurship is considered to be a vital determinant of economic growth and the entrepreneur is understood as someone who innovates and commercialises their own innovation. The setting is New Zealand which is struggling to make the shift from relying on primary production to becoming a ‘creative economy.’ The creative individual has been identified as a new mainstream but it is argued that in New Zealand, education provision is inadequate for supporting the development of the practice of entrepreneurship. The problem is not unique. Various writers are critical of business education generally, and of the mismatch between the passion and chaos in entrepreneurs’ lives and the way education programs are typically organised as a linear sequence of discipline-based courses with prescribed content, activities and outcomes. Rich data were gathered from in-depth interviews with twelve nascent, new or experienced entrepreneurs and two associates (one a marketer, the other a scientist). Each participant was drawn from a different area of economic endeavour. They were asked to share their stories and views about creativity, the connections between creativity and entrepreneurship, business success, formal and informal education, and ways to improve tertiary education programs. The research found that a suitable environment for nurturing creativity will most likely have structure but will also enable chaos. It will present opportunities for experiencing diversity, and will stimulate unconscious and conscious mental processes. It will provide scope for hard work that is fun and involves authentic risk-taking, and will enable both individual and purposeful teamwork. The study also found that business success is not based on knowledge but is rather about being resourceful. The becoming of the creative entrepreneur thus includes developing capability to network with peers and mentors and communicate with customers and staff, and developing passion for and resilience in the pursuit of a dream. The findings suggest that in an age of uncertainty, nurturing entrepreneurial creativity and resourcefulness requires learning to be viewed as a practice-based community process where knowing and doing are interwoven with being. It is argued that this needs to align with Ronald Barnett and Kelly Coate’s (2005) notion of ‘a curriculum for engagement.’ It is suggested that an entire program might simply invite students to work collaboratively to identify and exploit an entrepreneurial opportunity by producing and commercialising an appropriate product/service innovation; to undertake this work as two separate projects – one within an existing organisation, and the other as a new venture; and to theorise their work. It is proposed that a suitable framework lies in William Doll’s (2002) advocacy for a curriculum based on a matrix of five Cs: ‘currere,’ complexity, cosmology, conversation, and community. To these, creativity is added as a sixth C.

Pocket books of engagement : a 'just-in- time' framework for a high quality first year student experience

This paper describes a 'just-in-time' engagement framework for a high quality first year experience ('FYE'). The concept 'just-in-time' refers to a student-centered timeline for a managed learning environment based on the week-to-week experiences faced by a first year student in an Australian University semester. The engagement framework detailed in this paper consists of a series of teaching strategies embedded as part of a designed, integrated and co-ordinated first year program, expanding on the transition blueprint of Nelson, Kift, Humphreys & Harper (2006), working within a transition pedagogy (Kift, 2008) and implementing an institutional-wide program of collaborative engagement. This paper discusses the application of this framework to a first year foundational unit in the Bachelor of Laws degree at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia, implemented as part of an embedded institutional-wide transition program.

Plagiarism : proactive prevention instead of reactive punishment

Purpose - This study investigated whether providing university students with extra feedback regarding their referencing improves their referencing confidence and reduces their propensity to plagiarise. The study also sought to increase our understanding of what factors underlie student plagiarism.

Design/methodology/approach - Undergraduate and post-graduate accounting students were surveyed regarding their experience when completing a formative essay designed to give feedback on their referencing ability. All students in one undergraduate and one postgraduate accounting course were invited to participate in a post-assessment, electronically administered survey consisting of sixteen question.

Findings - The results indicate that a considerable number of the students perceived the formative assessment to be of benefit with respect to improving their referencing confidence. A significant proportion of the students indicated that their understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and their confidence in avoiding plagiarism improved as a result of the assessment and its associated feedback.

Research limitations/implications - This study supports the provision of assessment designed to assist students with improving their ability to both recognise and avoid plagiarism in their written work. However, this research has not investigated whether these types of exercises lead to an actual reduction in the incidence of plagiarism in tertiary student cohorts. This is an area for future research.

Above and beyond the bottom line

Education is BIG BUSINESS! Stakeholders are many—governments and governors, parents and students, employers and corporations, communities and nations—all with their own agendas, demands and expectations. The business surrounding education is hidden from public view, but is integral to education and student learning.

Above and Beyond the Bottom Line:The extraordinary evolution of the education business manager provides insights into the dynamic evolution and exponential expansion of education business and the rise of the education business manager—now an indispensable member of educational leadership teams.

No longer is the business manager an invisible back-office employee who balances the books. The role is highly complex and accountable and the scope of the work wide-ranging and changeable. Education business managers are professionals holding knowledge, skills and ideas that increase organisational capacity, viability and provision and enable other educational leaders to focus on learning and teaching. Building on research from around the world, this book fills a huge gap in our understandings about educational leadership in its most comprehensive sense, while discussing current issues and considerations for the future.

Above and Beyond the Bottom Line will be an invaluable resource for business managers from all education settings—schools, universities, kindergartens, training colleges—and their professional associations; educational leaders and councillors; education policymakers; advisors and auditors; and scholars and researchers interested in finding out about the extraordinary developments occurring behind the scenes in educational leadership, management and administration.

Vanishing E : the decline of the e-commerce discipline in Australia

Stimulated by the increasing demand for qualified personnel for business ventures that employ the Internet in their operations, electronic commerce (e-commerce) emerged as an academic discipline at the eve of the twenty first century. This paper presents a study on the changing status of e-commerce as an academic discipline in Australia in the second half of the 2000s. The findings of the study show that e-commerce is losing its status as a distinctive academic discipline in Australia. The number of e-commerce educational programs is declining and full-fledged e-commerce programs are now offered at a limited number of Australian universities only. E-commerce is diminishing into a niche area of business education rather than prospering as a significant academic discipline.

Forensic marketing and consumer behaviour: admissibility of evidence

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying aspects of Forensic Marketing and develop models that can be used in the forensic marketing analysis process. Thus providing support for the admissibility of marketing evidence in a court of law.Design/methodology/approach- A two stage approach used in this paper. The first stage involves a literature review identifying theories and the various constructs and variables leading to the formulation of two models firstly, for conducting forensic marketing analysis and secondly, to clarify the relationship of marketing issues to profitability of a product. The second stage involves examining court rulings in regards to the admissibility of marketing evidence.Contribution / implications-The contribution of this paper is towards the clarification and justification of the underlying constructs and variables in the forensic marketing analysis as evidence in determining economic loss.

A prática de marketing e a formação de gestores na indústria de tecnologia da informação

As atuais tendências da indústria de tecnologia da informação (TI) provocam mudanças nas estratégias de marketing das empresas de TI, que abandonam o foco na venda de produtos e serviços para a venda de soluções baseadas em conceitos de mais alto nível, como cenários e estratégias de negócios. À medida que os profissionais de marketing passam a examinar os vários processos de negócios dos clientes, a empresa de TI tem que rever o posicionamento do seu negócio e as suas práticas de marketing. Este novo cenário traz a necessidade de reflexão e investigação sobre os tipos de organizações de marketing que estão sendo implementadas pelas empresas de TI, bem como os perfis de profissionais procurados e os programas de formação mais adequados. O presente estudo reflete sobre estas questões, de modo a contribuir para que a EAESP/FGV possa oferecer conteúdos programáticos que formem os profissionais para as empresas de TI.

A Escola Superior de Administração e Negócios nos primeiros vinte anos (1941-1961): uma análise sobre o currículo em administração

Este trabalho disserta sobre o currículo da Escola Superior de Administração e Negócios (ESAN) desde a sua criação em 1941 pelo jesuíta Roberto Sabóia de Medeiros até o seu reconhecimento oficial como instituição de ensino superior pelo governo em 1961. Ao contextualizá-la perante o contexto político e econômico da sociedade paulista da época, a estruturação de disciplinas na escola foi também analisada de acordo com as principais características do ensino em administração no Brasil, conforme recentes trabalhos sobre o assunto. Esta pesquisa aponta que apesar da escola do Pe. Sabóia ser anterior à instituição das principais referências de ensino administrativo no país e no exterior, a ESAN estabeleceu em suas características a importação de saberes administrativos americanos e a racionalização como condição para a modernidade do país no fim do Estado Novo e, consequentemente, no fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial e início da Guerra Fria. Para tanto, foi utilizado como método de pesquisa a narrativa histórica, cujos princípios e delineamentos eram até então exclusivos ao campo da História e, por este motivo, contribuem para a perspectiva histórica em Estudos Organizacionais. Desta maneira, a narrativa analisa as atividades curriculares da ESAN à luz dos contextos social e da história da administração alusivos ao período estudado ao reiterar-se que o currículo de uma instituição de ensino é uma construção histórica, permeado por um discurso de poder e influenciado, direta e indiretamente, pelo contexto que o envolve. Por fim, este trabalho não teve como fim limitar uma análise sobre o currículo em administração no Brasil, mas sobretudo fomentar estudos sobre os primórdios do ensino na área do país, os quais mantém atualmente uma dedicação crescente.

The Sandinista Revolution and Post-Conflict Development--Key Issues

Following Daniel Ortega's victory in the presidential election held in November 2006, Nicaragua has been undergoing a transition from a democratic to authoritarian system. In the 1980s, Ortega served as President of the Sandinista government and implemented a Cuban-type socialist system, but the system failed and democracy was established during 1990-2007. Considering this failure, why did Ortega succeed in taking power again? This paper provides a brief history of modern Nicaragua and gives some insights into the twists of Latin American politics. The paper was prepared for the international seminar on Helping Failed States Recover: The Role of Business in Promoting Stability and Development, organized by the University of Kansas Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), held on April 4-6, 2007 in Lawrence. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author. All mistakes and/or errors are entirely the author's responsibility.