Knowledge management in a major construction firm in Tawian: a case study-examining the impacts of KM initiatives within the firm.

This paper addresses knowledge management (KM) in a project management organisation through a case study. The case study organisation is a small- edium sized Taiwanese-owned construction company (staff size of approximately 50) with an annual turnover of approximately TWD50 (AUD$1.85) billion. Approximately one half of the company comprised project-related staff (e.g. construction project management, project documentation, estimation, procurement, and design), while the other comprised administrative and business-related staff (e.g. office administration and management, business development, and finance and accounting). The researcher undertook a series of surveys and one-on-one interviews whilst ‘embedded’ for several months with the organisation. As part of a larger research project, this case study was one of four case studies conducted in major construction organisations in Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia. The study revealed the recognition, importance and commitment of organisational culture to KM, and the effects the knowledge management initiatives have on the organisation’s ability to manage knowledge across its projects and deliver the projects at various ‘levels’ of the organisation (individual, project, departmental, and corporate). It concludes that a technologically and functionally sound KM infrastructure does not necessarily assure an organisation with a capability to manage knowledge. Organisations need to ensure that the KM repository is made up of quality and relevant contents (not just quantity), and that corporate culture (especially the willingness of individuals to share what they know) is a critical determining factor to the organisation’s ability to share, apply and create knowledge (i.e. low sharing capability leads to low application and creation capabilities).

Are knowledge management infrastructructures capable of managing knowledge?: Case study of a major construction firm in Taiwan

This paper addresses knowledge management (KM) in a project management organisation through a case study.

The case study organisation is a small-medium sized Taiwanese-owned construction company (staff size of approximately 50) with an annual turnover of approximately TWD50 (AUD$1.85) billion. Approximately one half of the company comprised project-related staff (e.g. construction project management, project documentation, estimation, procurement, and design), while the other comprised administrative and business-related staff (e.g. office administration and management, business development, and finance and accounting).

The researcher undertook a series of surveys and one-on-one interviews whilst ‘embedded’ for several months with the organisation. This study is part of an on-going international comparison involving major construction organisations in Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan.

This study examines the recognition, importance and commitment of organisational culture to KM, and the effects the knowledge management initiatives have on the organisation’s ability to manage knowledge across its projects and deliver the projects at various ‘levels’ of the organisation (individual, project, departmental, and corporate).

It concludes that a technologically and functionally sound KM infrastructure did not necessarily assure that an organisation had a capability to manage knowledge. Organisations need to ensure that their KM repository is made up of relevant and quality contents (not just quantity), and that corporate culture (especially the willingness of individuals to share what they know) is a critical determining factor to the organisation’s ability to share, apply and create knowledge (i.e. low sharing capability leads to low application and creation capabilities).

Urban growth centres on the periphery : ad hoc policy vision and research neglect

The focus of this paper is peripheral urban growth centres on the edges of capital cities in Australia and the challenges they face as dormitory suburbs attempting to establish their own local business development. These challenges create dilemmas as infrastructure and climate change place pressure on long commuting times, while developing strong locally based communities is limited by many resource and demand constraints. The main research question is to examine how these challenges are being addressed in both public policy and academic research. Two propositions emerge from this analysis. The first is that, despite clear recognition of these challenges by public policy makers, there is a lack of coherent policy vision in addressing the dilemmas that are facing these urban growth centres. The second is that, despite all the concerns and lack of policy vision, there is a dearth of useful academic research in Australia to understand the dilemmas and provide guidance for appropriate policy options. In the context of ad hoc policy and academic neglect; Casey, Melton and Wyndham are the three major urban peripheral local government areas in Victoria that are profiled in this paper. They serve as examples in examining incoherence of policy and then analysing the elements that are needed for effective and strong peripheral growth centres that could propel these centres towards efficient and equitable liveable communities. A broad composite model of regional economic development is used to examine the attendant problems in these urban centres and the various viable policy options for addressing these problems. In the process, this paper aims to provide a basis for further rigorous academic investigation of peripheral urban growth centres in Australia and, arising from this, more coherent policies for the economic development of such centres.

Social entrepreneurship and experiential learning

Social entrepreneurship is a growing, but currently ill-defined area of innovation and business development. It is about accountability not just to commercial imperatives but to the wide range of stakeholders in a social enterprise, potentially an area of great tension. Social responsibility is about a commitment to society, entrepreneurship is usually understood to provide a business outlook on the enterprise – it needs to be sustainable commercially.

To educate the modern or millennial learner (born after about 1980 and grappling with burgeoning youth needs for creative employment development) into developing a small to medium enterprise with a social responsibility, modern postgraduate coursework programs have looked closely at experiential learning. This provides a performative learning through transforming theory into applied situations. The workplace based projects used for the postgraduate programs are effective immersive learning. This paper will include a case study of two postgraduate coursework units New Ventures in Creative Enterprise, and Building Creative Teams, part of a Masters in Communication/Creative Enterprise. These provide experiential learning about strategic planning for startup creative businesses, and work-based projects which build on interpersonal skills for ongoing success.

Relating practice to theory in indigenous entrepreneurship : a pilot investigation of the Kitsaki partnership portfolio

In Canada and elsewhere around the world, Indigenous Peoples are struggling to rebuild their "nations" and improve the socioeconomic circumstances of their people. Many see economic development as the key to success. This is certainly true for Indigenous people in Canada (the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit, collectively called Aboriginal or Indigenous people). Among them, participation in the global economy through entrepreneurship and business development is widely accepted as the key to economy building and nation "re-building." As elaborated in the next section, the demand is that this participation must be on their own terms for their own purposes, and traditional lands, history, culture, and values play a critical role. There is an intriguing symmetry between the modernity of the desire for global business competence and competitiveness and the insistence upon the distinctive importance of cultural heritage in developing new enterprise. The way that the two superficially contrasting concepts of innovation and heritage are combined in the field of Indigenous entrepreneurship has been expounded by Hindle and Lansdowne.1

Recognizing the challenges they face in attempting to compete in the global economy on their own terms, Indigenous people are increasingly developing enterprises in the form of partnerships of all types among themselves and with non-Indigenous enterprises. As both a form and a context of business organization, the partnership or alliance model is particularly fraught with the need to blend the old with the new, heritage with innovation. This study is a preliminary investigation of the Kitsaki initiative of the Lac La Ronge Indian band. In it we:

* explore several ventures involved in the partnership, asking key operatives for their opinions about the factors that explain success and failure;

* distill the explanations into as few, all-embracing factors as possible;

* relate the findings to the emerging theory of Indigenous entrepreneurship, with particular reference to the suggested paradigm of Indigenous entrepreneurship developed by Hindle and Lansdowne (2002);

* project the results of the investigation into suggestions for a more structured program of future research.

How should we measure indigenous entrepreneurship? A search for explanatory variables

In Canada and elsewhere around the world Indigenous Peoples are struggling to rebuild their ‘nations’ and improve the socioeconomic circumstances of their people. We are embarking on a program of research in an effort to understand this phenomenon and to inform the process. In this paper we (i) explore the approach to development being adopted by Indigenous people in Canada; (ii) conduct a preliminary literature review; (iii) identify input indicators of entrepreneurship and business development capacity, process measures of development activity and an output indicator of development effectiveness and (v) identify the information available from secondary sources relating to these indicators and the gaps in information that will have to be filled by primary research.

Finding and filling the gaps in the Australian governments' innovation and entrepreneurship support spectra

A national innovation system is concerned with the full process of converting new knowledge into commercially viable results. Governments are policy-active in trying to create productive national innovation systems. This paper reviews ways of thinking about entrepreneurship as the commercialisation component of Australia’s innovation system. The paper explores the impact and relevance of selected existing Australian Commonwealth, and to a lesser extent State government, programs for the commercialisation channels so identified, using four frameworks for the analysis: financial, management/start-up, innovation and entrepreneurial. The analysis indicates program initiatives covering the later development and commercialization phases, but serious gaps in the support available for the entrepreneurship phase involving the act of new entry. This gap is covered by research provider business development people and to a limited extent by incubator and State government initiatives. A critical issue has been and is access to smaller amounts of seed finance. The critical human component is the education of public servants and politicians about the nature and operation of entrepreneurship.

Tale of two Koreas

The economic performances of North and South Korea over the past decade have differed significantly. This is largely due to the government policies of the two countries, which affect business in conflicting ways. Despite the differences in economic growth, there are a number of similarities between North and South Korea, which are examined in this paper. More importantly, the resource endowments of North Korea, together with the human capital of South Korea, could combine successfully to foster entrepreneurship. This paper discusses the legal, cultural and business environment of North and South Korea and discusses the important possibilities for business development particularly in the small business sector between the two countries.

Aquatic toxicity of manufactured nanomaterials: challenges and recommendations for future toxicity testing

 Aquatic nanotoxicologists and ecotoxicologists have begun to identify the unique properties of the nanomaterials (NMs) that potentially affect the health of wildlife. In this review the scientific aims are to discuss the main challenges nanotoxicologists currently face in aquatic toxicity testing, including the transformations of NMs in aquatic test media (dissolution, aggregation and small molecule interactions), and modes of NM interference (optical interference, adsorption to assay components and generation of reactive oxygen species) on common toxicity assays. Three of the major OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) priority materials, titanium dioxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver (Ag) NMs, studied recently by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Nanotechnology Initiative (NNBNI), a Canadian consortium, have been identified to cause both bulk effect, dissolution-based (i.e. free metal), or NM-specific toxicity in aquatic organisms. TiO2 NMs are most toxic to algae, with toxicity being NM size-dependent and principally associated with binding of the materials to the organism. Conversely, dissolution of Zn and Ag NMs and the subsequent release of their ionic metal counterparts appear to represent the primary mode of toxicity to aquatic organisms for these NMs. In recent years, our understanding of the toxicological properties of these specific OECD relevant materials has increased significantly. Specifically, researchers have begun to alter their experimental design to identify the different behaviour of these materials as colloids and, by introducing appropriate controls and NM characterisation, aquatic nanotoxicologists are now beginning to possess a clearer understanding of the chemical and physical properties of these materials in solution, and how these materials may interact with organisms. Arming nanotoxicologists with this understanding, combined with knowledge of the physics, chemistry and biology of these materials is essential for maintaining the accuracy of all future toxicological assessments.

A gestão de custos e o desenvolvimento empresarial : um estudo de caso na RGB Indústria Metalúrgica Ltda

A presente dissertação desenvolve uma análise sobre a gestão de custos e a utilização das informações para fins gerenciais, discutindo sua importância e potencialidades para o desenvolvimento empresarial. O trabalho faz uma revisão conceitual a respeito da gestão de custos e sua importância como insumo essencial para a atividade gerencial, contemplando o ambiente competitivo da indústria brasileira e expõe visões a respeito do papel e da importância da gestão de custos enquanto instrumento de gerenciamento e administração. Também sugere que devem ser mais exploradas pela gestão de custos as possibilidades de fornecimento de informações final ao tomador de decisões. A importância das informações de custos para fins gerenciais é ilustrada através do modelo de gerenciamento dos custos como fator decisivo para o desenvolvimento empresarial. Constatou-se que a implantação e a disponibilidade de informações oriundas da gestão de custos foram determinantes para o desenvolvimento da RGB Indústria Metalúrgica Ltda. Concluiu-se que as informações da gestão de custos são elementos imprescindíveis para viabilizar o processo de desenvolvimento empresarial.

Desenvolvimento social e empresarial no estado do Pará: um estudo de caso do empreendedorismo do SEBRAE Pará

A partir da missão do SEBRAE, que é promover o desenvolvimento sustentável, a competitividade das micro e pequenas empresas e o fomento ao empreendedorismo nos municípios paraenses, o estudo objetiva tratar a contribuição do órgão no desenvolvimento sócio-empresarial do Estado do Pará a partir de um foco empreendedor dentro de uma concepção teórica schumpeteriana. O SEBRAEPARÁ proporciona a criação de ferramentas de gestão e de consultorias (capacitação, mobilização, disseminação do empreendedorismo e do associativismo, entre outros) para a construção de um ambiente favorável à sustentabilidade e à ampliação dos pequenos negócios. A metodologia adotada para a pesquisa foi o estudo de caso, por se tratar de uma estratégia de pesquisa muito empregada em problemas contemporâneos. Os resultados da pesquisa enfatizam que o SEBRAEPARÁ é uma instituição totalmente alinhada à sua missão e aos desafios impostos pela globalização e abertura comercial que ainda estão em andamento no atual estágio da economia brasileira. Com isto, as micros e pequenas empresas assistidas no órgão, no Estado do Pará, estão se tornando mais focadas na qualidade, na competitividade e na sustentabilidade dos negócios implementados.

Internacioanlização de pequena empresa brasileira de base tecnológica: Caso Pipeway Engenharia Limitada

O objetivo desta dissertação é verificar a aderência de atividades desenvolvidas por uma empresa prestadora de serviços de base tecnológica, atuante na área de petróleo, gás e energia, a Pipeway Engenharia Limitada , aos conceitos teóricos do Paradigma Novas Empresas Internacionais - NEI (RENNIE,1993; MCDOUGALL et. Al., 1994) durante seu processo de internacionalização. Trata-se de um estudo que assume, para o autor, uma relevância significativa, já que a compreensão do processo de internacionalização da empresa analisada, considerada de porte pequeno, permitirá que suas atividades profissionais venham a ser desenvolvidas com melhor compreensão das necessidades, exigências e soluções que esse tipo de empresa requer para a sua internacionalização. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, a metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso único em função, assim definido, por um lado, pelo fato de não existir no Brasil uma quantidade importante de empresas com características semelhantes à estudada e, por outro, por ser um método que se aplica, quando se deseja ter respostas a questões, tais como: “como” e “por que”, permitindo a compreensão de fenômenos individuais. Para compreender melhor a evolução do setor de serviços nos mercados internacionais foi necessário fazer um estudo sucinto, baseado em análises documental e bibliográfica, para determinar a evolução e importância do mesmo como fator gerador de riqueza, inovação e sustentação do desenvolvimento empresarial. Considerando que a empresa analisada foca seu trabalho no segmento de petróleo e gás, para melhor compreensão desse segmento econômico, foi realizada análise tanto de âmbito nacional como internacional, de sua atual conformação e situação, pois, diferentemente de outros segmentos internacionais, as empresas que neles desenvolvem suas atividades se deparam com mercados mais abertos e globalizados e essas características têm impacto significativo na empresa analisada. A junção da primeira com a segunda análise permitiu avaliar o grau de competitividade e demais parâmetros a que a empresa estudada teve que atender para ser considerada ou não um Novo Empreendimento Internacional. Posteriormente, com os preceitos metodológicos de estudo de caso, acrescidos dos dados obtidos na pesquisa documental e entrevistas com a alta gerência da empresa, foi efetuado um relato historiográfico da evolução do processo de internacionalização da empresa, destacando os eventos e fatos que possibilitaram verificar a aderência, ou não, aos pressupostos do paradigma NEI. Por fim, foi investigada a evolução internacional da empresa à luz dos critérios de análise, diretamente relacionados com princípios do Paradigma NEI, o que permitiu no capitulo seguinte, vinculado às conclusões em forma empírica, que o processo de internacionalização da Pipeway responde na sua totalidade às características do Paradigma NEI. Um exemplo é a data de início da internacionalização e relação entre as receitas de exportação e faturamento total. Também são apresentadas sugestões para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras, aprimoramento dos programas governamentais de apoio ao processo de internacionalização de Pequenas Empresas e desempenho profissional do autor

The BoP approach and its links to main related research fields: sense-making of the current discussion

A Base-da-Pirâmide (Base ofthePyramid- BoP) é referida na literatura como sendo o segmento sócio-econômico mais baixo em termos de paridade do poder de compra. Esse segmento encontrase geralmente excluído do sistema capitalista global. Esta tese analisa o tema BoP e discute dentro de um contexto sócio-econômico, como essa abordagem se relaciona com outras áreas de pesquisa, assim como a teoria do desenvolvimento internacional e a teoria de negócios internacionais. Estas duas teorias são identificadas como tendo uma relação mais forte com BoP. No que se segue, a abordagem BoP é incorporada nessas duas teorias com o objetivo de tornar este conceito mais claro e abrangente. Seguindo este raciocínio a abordagem BoP vem identificar contribuições no tocante a cada uma dessas abordagens teóricas. O argumento principal da tese é que a abordagem BoP é capaz de ligar essas duas teorias (teoria do desenvolvimento internacional e a teoria de negócios internacionais) em um só modelo teórico, mostrando assim que essas duas abordagens teóricas distintas podem na realidade serem complementares.

Private equity and venture capital in an emerging economy: evidence from Brazil

This article, based on the Brazilian experience, examines how Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) adapts to an emerging economy Our dataset is based on two extensive questionnaires answered by each of the 65 PE/VC organizations with offices in Brazil. The results reveal that a lack of infrastructure and security create investment opportunities. However, institutional idiosyncrasies represent a major barrier and force PE/VC – a U.S. investment model – to adapt by investing in different stages of business development, avoiding LBOs, taking a generalist industry approach, geographically concentrating in the financial cluster and relying on arbitration for dispute resolution.

Ecommerce as internationalization strategy: an exploratory study based on premium fashion brazilian brands: case study of farfetch

As stated by Hoffmann and Coste-Manière (2012) “The web is a mass medium that contrast completely with the traditional codes of exclusivity associated with the luxury industry, and has long been simply rejected by the luxury industry for being an illegitimate distribution channel.” Meanwhile this market presents an incomparable pace of growth and is gradually changing the existing retailing business model and companies must be aware of this change and capable to adapt to it. The internet and cross-border sales already changed the competition throughout retailing and it will increase even more, so companies must be ready to face it. Internet has shown its great opportunity for all markets, although luxury/premium market is not yet taking the proper advantage of its potential, but the necessity to be an omnichannel business strategy is growing. This paper presents an exploratory research based on a case study of how premium fashion Brazilian brands are using Farfetch, e-commerce, as an entry market strategy and how this affects them. The research question of this study is: How is Farfetch helping on the internationalization of Brazilian premium fashion brands?, and in order to answer it was conducted an in-depth interview with the Brazilian head of business development of Farfetch, apart an extensive secondary data research. As expected the study found a list of trade-offs of using an e-commerce, luxury specialized, with a marketplace approach to the brands willing to internationalize. As stated by Altagamma and McKinsey (2015) study “[...] luxury brands have no choice but to embrace the digital era and become truly omnichannel. This will require them a radical rethinking of both their customer experience of their consumer engagement strategy.” Looking either from the Farfetch point of view, trying to understand why they offer this opportunity to the brands, or also from the brand side if this is a manageable approach. This study presents a contribution for both sides, trying to give tools to the brands on understanding the internationalization reasons and approach, as well as explaining Farfetch business model, and the advantages it can bring to them, at the same time of a general market trend analysis for Farfecth.