Knowledge Alliance Research Articles

A developmental study on a SPAT design model for mobile learning

This paper explores another format for mobile learning (mLearning) content consisting of Still Pictures, Audio, and Text (SPAT; Rha, Instructional contents delivery through SPAT format in mobile environment: introduction to gglearn system, Global Knowledge Alliance International Forum, 2015) by considering a variety of mLearning needs. SPAT-based content is deemed to have potential for mLearning because the SPAT format can provide mobile content scenes individually, where each scene is an integration of independent still pictures, audio, and textual elements. This study aims to (1) expand the scope of mLearning materials from streaming video to SPAT and (2) develop a design model for SPAT-based mLearning content. An initial model was constructed based on a literature review and experiential data collection, from which essential processes and principles were derived. Then, the model was revised and refined by iterating the model between the researcher and the instructional designers. The resulting SPAT design model consists of two parts: a design process and design principles along with related guidelines for each principle. The model is expected to enhance effective and efficient learning and to systematically and comprehensively guide instructional design.

Founding transdisciplinary knowledge production in critical realism: implications and benefits

ABSTRACTThis article explains the implications and benefits of founding transdisciplinary collaborations of knowledge production in critical realism. We call such equal partnerships of researchers and practitioners knowledge alliances. Drawing on the distinction between the referent to which we refer (the object that our research is about) and our references (our research about this object), we show that practitioners can contribute to the process of knowledge production by providing access to referents and producing references but also by achieving societal relevance. In order to accomplish excellence, knowledge production should be organized in ways that engage different types of knowledge in a constructive interplay and use the respective strong points of researchers and practitioners. Abduction and retroduction, two modes of inference vital to critical realism, are particularly inclined to benefit from involving practitioners in knowledge production. We call such an approach potential-oriented and put it in contrast to problem-orientation and the empiricism of evidence-based research and policy-making.

Knowledge sharing, knowledge leaking in strategic alliances and firm innovation capacity: an empirical study

This study aims to examine the influence of firms’ alliance knowledge on their innovation capacity, under the contingencies of both intentional and unintentional leakage of business-critical knowledge. Based on a survey of 410 staff from 205 allied firms in Tunisia, this study applies the linear regression to investigate the research model. The results show that external knowledge sharing appears to have a positive effect on firms’ innovative capability while high levels of intentional and unintentional knowledge leakage by a focal firms’ employees, turns out to negatively moderate such a relationship. In this paper, actors of focal firm need to distinguish between the firms' critical knowledge, and the one which can be legally shared and exchanged with other partners. Sharing critical knowledge, intentionally or unintentionally, might hurt the focal firms’ innovative capacity. Although the issues of knowledge sharing and innovation have been exhaustively treated in the literature, very little are the research works which have undertaken to study the links between knowledge sharing, knowledge leakage and the firms’ innovation capacity. Thus, this study is designed to foster further enrichment to the literature, by proposing more clear differentiation between unintentional and intentional knowledge leakages and their impact on the firm’s innovation.

Knowledge sharing, knowledge leaking in strategic alliances and firm innovation capacity: an empirical study

This study aims to examine the influence of firms’ alliance knowledge on their innovation capacity, under the contingencies of both intentional and unintentional leakage of business-critical knowledge. Based on a survey of 410 staff from 205 allied firms in Tunisia, this study applies the linear regression to investigate the research model. The results show that external knowledge sharing appears to have a positive effect on firms’ innovative capability while high levels of intentional and unintentional knowledge leakage by a focal firms’ employees, turns out to negatively moderate such a relationship. In this paper, actors of focal firm need to distinguish between the firms' critical knowledge, and the one which can be legally shared and exchanged with other partners. Sharing critical knowledge, intentionally or unintentionally, might hurt the focal firms’ innovative capacity. Although the issues of knowledge sharing and innovation have been exhaustively treated in the literature, very little are the research works which have undertaken to study the links between knowledge sharing, knowledge leakage and the firms’ innovation capacity. Thus, this study is designed to foster further enrichment to the literature, by proposing more clear differentiation between unintentional and intentional knowledge leakages and their impact on the firm’s innovation.

Designing a sustainability-driven entrepreneurship curriculum as a social learning process: A case study from an international knowledge alliance project

Integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education curricula requires innovative ideas and approaches how to combine educational, sustainability and disciplinary knowledge, skills, experiences, and motivations. Curriculum developers are challenged to be open to new concepts in their discipline regarding what should be taught and how it can be taught to facilitate learning processes to prepare students for shaping a sustainable future. The European project ‘Competencies for A Sustainable socio-Economic development’ (CASE) follows a participatory, inter- and transdisciplinary approach to design a Master’s program on sustainability-driven entrepreneurship. This study presents an analysis of the social learning process that has taken place in the interdisciplinary, intercultural CASE team during the participatory development process of the new Master’s program. The methodological design of the study is based on qualitative, participative evaluation research. The process of learning is discussed based on how the group reflected on and developed their “action theories” on how to design a supportive learning environment in which a Master’s program with innovative scopes and goals can be created. The findings highlight the importance of sharing and processing the experiences, mental models and interpretations concerning concepts, ideas, perspectives and new input within the group. This seems crucial for developing the capacity of the group to bring together diverse knowledge and perspectives for innovative, feasible solutions and ideas as well as to cooperate and collaborate effectively as a team. The implications of a culture of dialogue, participation and learning in diverse teams as important principles for developing innovative ESD-based curricula in different disciplines are discussed. It is emphasized that not only students, but also curriculum developers have to acquire the corresponding ESD-related competencies.

Alianza Tríadica Familiar y Salud Mental Parental

The Lausanne Trialogue Play (LTP ) is an instrument that allows the standardized assessment of the family alliance, highlighting the importance of the father in studies of family process and interactions, as also the existence of a triadic family effect since early stages. The present study pretends to contribute to extend the knowledge in family alliances in families with preschool aged children, analyzing it’s relation with the parental mental health variables. 50 parental couples and their children were evaluated at their homes with the following instruments: LTP , BDI-I, PSI-SF and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results show that most of the families have dysfunctional alliances, without proving a statistically significant relation with the parental studied variables. Nevertheless, families with conflictive alliances tend to show higher levels of depressive symptoms and parental stress, especially in fathers.

The effect of learning approaches on the utilization of external knowledge in strategic alliances

Profiting from external knowledge is crucial for a firm's innovation, and strategic alliances are a well-recognized conduit for bringing the benefit of external knowledge as an input to a firm's innovation processes. This study investigates whether the approach a firm follows for learning from an external partner has an impact on the extent to which the learned knowledge is utilized. By contrasting the exploration and the exploitation learning modes in 114 strategic alliances formed by French firms, the authors show that exploration is positively associated with the utilization of knowledge learned from the partner. Furthermore, the findings show that even when the partners' knowledge profiles are alike, exploration is influential.

Mechanism Design in Scientific Research Collaboration between Library Consortium and R&D Institutions

Knowledge spillover not only has economies of scale, but also has economies of scope in scientific research collaboration. The paper set out to provide a framework of mechanism design of synergies gained from knowledge alliance made up of library consortium and R&D institutions. Firstly, it proposed that the formation the knowledge cooperation was mainly due to complementary resource advantages achieving, cost and risk sharing, and mutual learning. Secondly, it analyzed relational game in the knowledge alliance cooperation relations and proposed a conceptual model. Lastly, the paper put forward a relational mechanism which provided a theoretical reference for R&D institutions to enhance their knowledge alliance partnership.

Türkiye’nin Erasmus+ programına katılımının değerlendirilmesi: stratejik ortaklıklar ve bilgi ortaklıkları örneği

Erasmus+ is the programme of the European Union in the field of education, training, youth, and sport. It is implemented for the period 2014-2020. The programme is open to 33 countries in total, 28 European Union Member States and 5 other countries. As a programme country, Turkey can fully take part in all actions of the Programme. Erasmus+ is composed of three Key Actions and Sports and Jean Monnet Activities. Key Action 2 supports partnerships projects. This study reviews the involvement of Turkey in Key Action 2 Strategic Partnerships in the field of Higher Education and Knowledge Alliances. The study is considered valuable in terms of reviewing the active participation of Turkey in these Actions and, for maximum impact, taking the measures if there are some limitations.

Focusing on Corporate IT Capability and Alliance Performance: An Empirical Analysis Based on Corporate Alliances in China

This paper studied the relationship between corporate information technology (IT) capability and alliance performance based on a sample of Chinese corporate alliances. With regression analysis, this paper found IT capability has significantly positive effect on alliance performance and knowledge acquisition plays a role as a mediator, while regional industrial factor plays a role as a moderator. That means the positive effect of IT capability on alliance performance is stronger in cross-region alliances than same-region alliances and is stronger in high-dynamic industry than low-dynamic industry. The foundings can provide some valuable suggestions for executives and related policy-makers, especially in emerging markets.

Bridging academia and water-related business through competence development: Evidence from a pan-European project

Higher Education Institutions are becoming increasingly more aware of the need to join forces to contribute to making societies more sustainable. Developing innovation capabilities is one of the ways that has been identified to contribute in this respect. Within organizations, building capacity for innovation is critical across all sectors. Given this situation, the present article describes and tests a knowledge alliance in the water sector. The alliance in question has been established between universities and companies with the aim of reducing the gap between graduate-acquired and employer-required competences, especially regarding innovation capabilities, by means of international internships. The article provides a theoretical foundation regarding the concern for sustainability in two ways: i) by proposing competence-based education and learning as a more sustainable model compared to traditional approaches and (ii) identifying competences required and practiced in water innovation projects as a means of building more sustainable companies and ultimately societies. The empirical evidence is taken from a pan-European project, AQUAdemia, which is being implemented in five countries and has resulted in 18 pilot internships. The main result consists in providing an international multi-stakeholder collaboration formula through which future workforces are better trained for business needs. The theoretical value of this article is its focus on the intersection of three aspects (education, innovation and the water sector), since previous research has only relied on single topic or dual approaches.

Alliances for Knowledge: MOOCs to Create New Professional Skills in a New Model of University (Positive and Negative Aspects)

A generational clash of enormous scope is emerging within our institutions; the criticisms to the university advanced 15 years ago were "waiting ideas'': waiting for the new Web and for a new generation of students able to effectively put in question the old model of university. The university in the globalized and the interconnected knowledge society reached a turning point; we are at a crossroads between stagnation and renewal, between atrophy and renaissance. At present, however, there are very interesting facts going on worldwide; in some prestigious universities a new idea of global education is starting from the bottom; many universities are tearing down their ivory towers and are using the Internet, the most powerful platform in history to make their contents available in the Web. Lately, in the United States as well as in Europe, the “Knowledge Alliances” and the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are emerging. Unfortunately, The MOOCs show several shortcomings that are linked to their pedagogical-didactic models, to the courses evaluation systems as well as to the organizational models of the virtual structures meant to carry on the educational activities by using the MOOCs. Today we have to make a critical appreciation of the MOOCs in order to put them into a proper historical and cultural setting. Sharing the contents of different universities of the world can certainly represent a significant step towards renewal, however, in the universities, a true change can take place through the establishment of consortia among the various universities of the world and the technological enterprises linked to innovation that cooperate in the joint production of contents in the learning environments of the Internet.

基于动态能力的互联网企业竞争优势探析

随着互联网技术的进步和市场环境的变化，动态能力的应用对于互联网企业获取并维持竞争优势具有十分至关重要的作用。本文在整合国内外关于动态能力概念及分析框架的基础上，结合互联网企业的特征，对互联网企业的动态能力进行研究。同时，基于动态能力视角和竞争优势视角分析了互联网企业和动态能力之间的联系。认为互联网企业动态能力的三维度构架可以划分为识别机会、整合资源和创新发展。最后提出了互联网企业通过发展动态能力实现竞争优势的途径，即创新企业文化、变革组织形式和知识联盟。 With the development of Internet technology and the change of market environment, the application of dynamic capability is significant for the Internet enterprises to obtain and maintain the competitive advantage. Based on the integration of the concept of dynamic capability and the division of dimensions, this paper focuses on the dynamic capability of Internet enterprises in combination with the characteristics of Internet companies. At the same time, this paper analyzes the relationship between Internet companies and dynamic capabilities based on the dynamic capability perspective and competitive advantage perspective. The three-dimensional framework of dynamic capability of Internet companies can be divided into recognition opportunities, integration of resources and innovation and development. At last, it puts forward the way to realize the competitive advantage by developing the dynamic capability of the Internet enterprise, which is to innovate the enterprise culture, and transform the organization form and knowledge alliance.

The roles of boundary spanners and mentalizing skills in alliance learning and knowledge transfer

Although there is growing awareness of the significance of learning and knowledge transfer in inter-firm collaboration, most studies have been at the firm or firm-to-firm level; few have investigated individual-level effects on learning and knowledge transfer. There is thus a gap in the literature on our understanding of micro-level issues. The individuals who are responsible for the day-to-day management of inter-firm collaboration are often referred to as boundary spanners. In this paper, we emphasize boundary spanners’ actions and interactions in learning and knowledge transfer between firms, and draw on theory of mind, particularly the concept of mentalizing skills. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that examines the role of boundary spanners’ mentalizing skills, and posit a set of propositions that suggest how differences in mentalizing skills among boundary spanners may influence a firm’s ability to reveal the true intentions of its partner, identify the partner’s ability to absorb ne...

The Virtual Alliance Knowledge Sharing Model and Selection Strategy

The Knowledge sharing among virtual alliance members is intended to avoid repetitive investment in knowledge innovation and waste of knowledge resources, so as to get a higher starting point in knowledge innovation, thus improving the efficiency of organizational knowledge innovation. On the basis of analyzing knowledge sharing conditions in virtual alliance activities, this paper expounds symbiosis of alliance member of virtual enterprises and knowledge sharing levels. Knowledge sharing is further divided into four knowledge sharing models according to knowledge sharing types, flow directions and relations between alliance members. Moreover, a questionnaire survey is made to investigate the four knowledge sharing models and knowledge sharing activities of alliance members, to provide decision-making support to alliance enterprises to develop applicable solutions for knowledge sharing, and offer theoretical guidance to alliance organizers to develop management and control strategies.

Housing First in Vienna: a socially innovative initiative to foster social cohesion

Over the last years, affordable housing has become less accessible in Vienna and homelessness has remained a problem. This paper describes Housing First—a socially innovative initiative—and investigates how social innovations can complement or progressively modify the governance structures of the welfare state in order to better combat homelessness. The in-depth analysis scrutinizes the socially innovative potential of a pilot project on Housing First in Vienna, with regard to service delivery for the homeless and the respective governance structure. The specific governance system is characterized by a strong role of the municipal government as financing institution and regulator. The pilot project, however, has contributed to changing the governance system, leading to more deliberation of service providers and an incipient knowledge alliance for social innovation in this field. This has the potential to implement evidence-based policy-making as well as fostering social cohesion by striking the balance between equal access to housing for all and awareness of divergent needs of a socioculturally diverse population.

The Politics of Knowledge: Knowledge Management in Informal Settlement Upgrading in Cape Town

In situ solutions, participatory practices and the inclusion of community knowledge have become key ingredients in urban upgrading policies across the world. Knowledge, however, is not neutral, but value-laden, representing different and conflicting interests. Including community-based knowledge, therefore, is far from straightforward. To understand the politics of urban development interventions, a deeper conceptualisation of the relationship between knowledge and power is required. This article tries to contribute to this conceptualisation through an empirical analysis of informal settlement upgrading. Specifically, it interrogates the role of community knowledge in urban development through a study of two informal settlements in Cape Town. Findings from this qualitative research contradict the notion of a unified community whose ‘community knowledge’ can be engaged with. In both settlements, knowledge politics have resulted in tensions within the settlement, creating new interest groups and knowledge alliances, showing the complex interconnectedness of knowledge, power and mobilisation. As knowledge has been built, used, exchanged and contested to upgrade livelihoods, this knowledge has been standing in a mutually constitutive relationship with collective action.

Contextual Distance and the International Strategic Alliance Performance: A Conceptual Framework and a Partial Meta-analytic Test

ABSTRACTWe propose an integrative model on how contextual distance influences the learning process and performance of international strategic alliances (ISAs). We argue that contextual distance increases knowledge diversity but decreases knowledge exchange between the alliance partners, which has implications for the alliance's knowledge creation and performance. A meta-analysis of 46 empirical studies published between 1990 and 2013 dealing with Sino-foreign collaborations in China revealed that contextual distance showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with alliance performance. Proxies for partners’ contextual experience, for example, the length of an alliance's operation in China, the foreign partners’ in-country experiences, and ISAs’ location in a more developed Chinese region, moderate the learning processes. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Training in environmental health necessitates tacit knowledge

Tacit knowledge in environmental health (EH) responds to the strong need to relate environmental conditions with health effects and implement the ideas produced in the educational framework. Training programs on EH have to educate professionals in dealing with problems where environmental degradation threatens health and to answer the currently increasing volume of question society asks on these issues. Therefore, an EH professional should not only be equipped with theoretical knowledge but also with the “know-how” knowledge (or tacit knowledge) that enables in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that links environment with health and facilitates the prevention of incidents and chronic exposure to pollutants. This was the main driver behind the establishment of the Master’s Degree Program “Environment and Health: Capacity building for decision making” at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens—Greece (UoA). The program builds on the expertise of academic partners on EH issues. The experience of non-academic professionals is an important part of the program, which is aimed at developing innovative methods of knowledge alliance management, introducing the “tacit knowledge” approach, contributing to understanding and managing health-related environmental problems. In order to evaluate the accomplishment of the program’s objectives, a questionnaire was completed by current MSc holders. The program impact regarding its tacit knowledge content was highly regarded (>80.0 %) by the alumni. This adds to the evidence-based strength of tacit knowledge, which is increasingly profiled as a mandatory element of EH academic programs. A SWOT analysis discussion puts the assessment of tacit knowledge in a wider context.

Construction of Collaborative Innovation Mechanism of Knowledge Alliance between Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and Organizations

In order to improve learning ability and innovation ability in a competitive marketplace rapidly, more enterprises begin to explore a collaborative innovation model which takes knowledge alliance as its organizational form. Experts and practitioners particularly focus on collaborative innovation operation mechanism of knowledge alliance. This paper makes use of grounded theory to refine a collaborative innovation mechanism model of knowledge alliance by analyzing a concrete case from the collaborative innovation center of Dongda and Shougang Group and collecting related data by open questionnaires. It is found in the research that the collaborative innovation mechanism of knowledge alliance is composed of dynamic mechanism, operating mechanism, dispersal mechanism and safeguard mechanism. The research also elucidates the elements and concrete content of the four mechanisms of knowledge alliance's collaborative innovation. On this basis, empirical analysis conducted by SPSS validates and improves innovative mechanism model of knowledge alliance, which provides enterprises with theoretical foundation and practice guidance for knowledge alliance's collaborative innovation.