Entrepreneurship is often regarded as an opportunity for productivity increase and wealth generation, especially if the new firm is technology-based. Therefore, the research of factors that may determine young engineers’ positive attitude towards entrepreneurship is of great interest. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence of close family and cultural values on the entrepreneurial intention of technical degrees’ students. Data from 1136 students in three different technical universities across Europe (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Politecnico di Bari and Technische Universität Berlin) were analysed. A survey explored their entrepreneurial intention and their perception of the support provided by their closer environment in case they decided to found a company. Other items explored the parents’ occupation (father and mother separately), as it is believed to be relevant for the success of entrepreneurial knowledge and attitude transfer from one generation to the next. Finally, cultural values based on Hofstede’s studies (1980; 1991) were also explored and their relation with entrepreneurship was analyzed. In Mediterranean cultures family ties are relatively strong, at least when compared with North European countries and North American societies (Reher, 1998). The traditionally existing family ties in collectivistic cultures may affect the mediating role model effect over entrepreneurial intention, while it may be the other way round in individualistic cultures. Therefore, in this research the influence of the family background on the entrepreneurial intention with the mediation of cultural values is addressed in three different countries: Spain, Italy and Germany. As the closer environment and the prevailing cultural values may foster (or hinder) entrepreneurial intention, it is relevant to know the extent of such influence. This is especially important for potential entrepreneurs in a technology-based field as the founding of technology-based companies is one of the best ways to increase productivity and wealth generation (Acs and Szerb, 2007). Therefore, technical universities play a key role on economic development as a technology transfer vehicle to society. For this reason, it is crucial to assess to what extent parents’ knowledge transfer can affect the entrepreneurial intention of technical degrees’ students.

Many water operators in developing countries have serious knowledge and capacity-related challenges that lead to poor service delivery. Water Operator Partnerships (WOPs) are used to strengthen the capacity of water operators for improved performance, by transferring knowledge from mentoring water operators to mentee water operators. Knowledge management (KM) within water operators requires urgent attention to ensure that the knowledge that is acquired in the context of WOPs is applied to help improve performance. The objective of this study is to investigate the KM processes of water operators and the factors influencing these processes. This study uses a qualitative case study approach, comparing three water operators involved in WOPs: two in Sub-Saharan Africa and one in South America. We use the Knowledge Value Chain by Weggeman (1997) to analyse the KM processes of these water operators. Data was collected using a variety of instruments, notably, via interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), non-participant observation and desk research. We analysed the individual cases first, followed by a cross-case analysis. A large scale survey among US water supply operators showed that more than 50% of the operators are already implementing KM strategies. However, little is known about the extent to which and how water operators in developing countries implement KM; yet arguably they are most in need of sound KM practices to improve their service delivery. The insights into KM processes of “WOPping” utilities and the factors influencing these processes enable us to identify the most salient KM-related challenges faced by water operators and provide the basis for a structured approach to address these challenges. The analysis shows that in their efforts to implement KM, these water operators put emphasis only on selected KM processes. Organisational factors (e.g., structure, management style) appear to influence KM processes to a great extent. Moreover, the implementation of KM sometimes seems to be done in a haphazard way, partly due to a lack of clearly articulated knowledge vision and strategy. The successful implementation of KM by water operators appears to require (1) a multi-dimensional approach; i.e., focusing simultaneously on individual and organisational aspects of KM, (2) the use of both technological and non-technological approaches, and (3) a KM coordinating mechanism at organisational level. Most fundamentally, water operators need to appreciate the added value of KM and support it.

There is an increasing evidence that highlights the technical and cognitive strength of the Indian educational system and workplace training focusing on formal technical and cognitive skills. However, there is limited focus on developing non-cognitive skills, which is often purported as a critical set of skills relevant for supporting innovative forms of work organisation. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to highlight the importance of non-cognitive skills in supporting innovation outcomes in the context of a developing country such as India. This conceptual paper reviews the literature of individual level influences of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities and its relationship with innovation, especially in the context of a developing country such as India. This paper sets out to identify India’s innovation gap and how it might be addressed. It addresses why innovation is important particularly to India. This study works towards filling the gap of the micro-level foundations of individual values and personality traits of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities and its relationship with innovation. This paper aims to give insights from companies in emerging economies and explore the cognitive and non-cognitive knowledge gaps, as well as provide practical tools (in form of brief case study examples) to increase the non-cognitive knowledge base in organisations.

Literature on innovation management highlights the role of technological, human resource, and management practices in developing a firm’s innovative capacity. Further, organisations that are able to simultaneously develop learning processes of exploration and exploitation or in other words display ambidexterity, are more likely to develop long-term sustained competitive advantage through incremental and radical innovations. Yet, this line of enquiry is scarce in relation to developing countries such as India, especially for its health care sector. To this end, the purpose of this study is to uncover the key mechanisms and HRM practices that support innovation in the health care firms in India. Adopting an inductive case study approach, case analysis of two purposively selected health care firms in India was undertaken using Leximancer- 4, a specialist content analysis software for automated extraction of seed concepts. Our analysis focuses on two key aspects: (i) frequency counts and co-occurrence of text leading to identification of key concepts and themes; and (ii) depiction, through maps, of how these concepts are related to different seed concepts (Smith & Humphreys, 2006). This approach helps to reduce the researchers’ bias that is typically associated with manual coding and increases face validity, stability, reproducibility and functional and correlational validity. A guided analysis of the seed concepts and themes, its relationship with other sub-constructs and themes was undertaken using visual maps, textual exploration and frequency hierarchies relevant for this paper. This study represents a pioneering exploration of innovation in the context of India’s health care sector through intersecting literatures of ambidexterity, innovation and human resource and management practices. This study identifies the key mechanisms that support innovation and ambidexterity in health care firms. Managers can focus on allocating their resources in investing in these resources.

This paper describes the concept of Cooperative Buildings and how they are intended to support creative activities in organizations. Based on personal experience (the author was member of the team who coined the term) and a literare review of the citations of seminal papers we describe the history of this approach and show in which ways it was adopted. Future knowledge work is not about tools but environments. In order to optimize creativity, innovation and quality of work it is essential to design complex and flexible architectures that can adapt to different and changing needs. In order to avoid redundant research on collaborative buildings, a key desideratum is a critical reflection of past developments, and evaluation of existing approaches in order to inform related design activities mistakes in the future. Readers from technological disciplines get informed about scenarios, tools, platforms, service architectures and applications in the context of cooperative buildings. Major requirements and R&D directions in this area will be lined out. Architects and designers of knowledge work environments get informed about the state of the art of cooperative buildings, the success and failures and how to use this knowledge for their design activities. Researchers of knowledge work get valuable insights about trends in future work environments, methodologies and further research desiderata.

The purpose of this project report is to give evidence about the effectiveness of the provided service, and of the spatial appropriations of the iShed interiors as well as exteriors. A mixed method approach was taken that combines questionnaires, qualitative interviews, and ethnographic observation. The Project focused on the key factors given by the conceptual work of Lu (sense of belonging, Lu [3]) About the concept and idea of the Innovation Sheds has been reported already [2]. Focus of this article is not on highlighting the originality of the measure itself, but giving first evidence of their effectiveness. Upon the given data, the further development of TU Dresden Innovation Sheds will be decided. One future prospect is the potential extension of the iSheds into an informal open research village.

For Whitehead (1978), creativity is about creative advance and creative imagination. Creative advance in Whitehed is the transformation of something into something better (Fetz , 1990). Creative imagination is about discovery of novelty and Whitehead uses the analogy of the flight of an airplane. Whitehead stresses the influence of imaginative thought in discovery of novelty. Lehrer (2012) argues that imagination reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind and creativity is a catchall term for a variety of distinct thought processes. Therefore, we propose to develop an integrative model to unpack sources of creativity. Creative advance in business and economics is making products and services improve and introduce new products to markets. Knowledge and creativity afford ideas to entrepreneurs for new products. The entrepreneur has the power or energy to transform ideas in new products and services. The entrepreneur evaluates ideas stemming from creativity and knowledge and puts them into effect. The paper examines the market for entrepreneurs in ICT industry based on our theoretical framework. The purpose of our paper is to build an integrative theoretical model by connecting creativity from several disciplines. We believe that this is a unique approach and the study will shed new light on the complexity of creativity. Discovery of connectivity among philosophy, cognitive social psychology, sociology and sciences will enhance the understanding of creativity. The model may be very valuable to business leaders and policy makers in increasing satisfactions of consumers and citizens since the model help contribute to transforming firm’s product to better a product. Our study is to discover generalities of creativity by examining or observing extant theories and practices of creativity. Practitioners in businesses and governments apply these generalities to improve innovation processes and they become more creative.

With the aim of deepening the study of the human and organizational cognitive endowment necessary to survive and innovate in a knowledge economy, in this study we theoretically explore and discuss the nesting architecture of ‘T-shaped’ capacities from individual to organizational level. The paper is rooted in the recent notion of ‘T-shaped’ knowledge and moves from the distinction between capacities and competences. A T-Shaped knowledge configuration means an endowment which includes both vertical competences (I-Shaped competences), but also ‘horizontal capacities’. We propose an innovative organizational design characterized by a nesting (“recursive”) architecture of T-shaped capacities. The “recursive” way to think of a T-shaped capacities set could lead to new way to frame and link together different dimensions of an organization: individual, structural and systemic. The emerging need for T-Shaped capacities set both at individual and organizational level is stimulating to deep understanding the basic elements of the T-shaped endowments. The “recursive” way to conceive a T-shaped capacities set could support organization in defining the cognitive richness and abundance (variety) necessary to effectively survive in environmental conditions of complexity. The principle of Ashby’s law of requisite variety is not an abstract concept. Rather it is a very concrete managerial principle: if an organization is not capable to change by adapting itself in response to external changes, it will not be able to survive.

This paper aims to highlight how the industrial archaeology may support the emergence of new spaces for knowledge transfer and development. We propose an inductive approach. The research strategy includes a multiple case study of Italian industrial companies that have invested in industrial archaeology since 2000. The choice of companies is based on a strategy of theoretical sampling. This methodology puts in evidence some Italian industrial companies that are investing in industrial archaeology to create value in a knowledge development perspective in the twenty-first century. The outcomes of the application outline how it is possible to turn old places – often degraded and abandoned – in “new” spaces for social meeting and cultural sharing by means of investments in industrial archaeology.

Our paper aims to investigate characteristics and the role that social networks have in the rising of SI. In doing this, we also examine the way social innovators devote to social aims, as well as how the set of relationships they establish may turn, over time, into locus for knowledge creation and diffusion, allowing the emergence of so-called Networks for Social Innovation (NfSI). We propose a two step-based approach. Firstly, an extensive literature review has been carried out in order to shape a more wide understanding of the SI, as well as to picture the characteristics and the dynamics of the NfSI. After this, a qualitative approach has been adopted by the means of ego-centred method for data collection. Three case studies located in the city of Naples have been selected and investigated in accordance with the chosen research technique. Our paper can contribute to the literature improving about SI by developing a more comprehensive knowledge-based and network oriented picture for SI. Our study allows academics and practitioners to recognize and understand SI, and how networks may be managed to support the effectiveness of firms’ innovative practices with reference to both business and social goals.

Unlike the conventional business clusters, the nature of cultural clusters is distinctive due to knowledge-intensity in production of culture which is transferable both from outside and inside of their spatiality. Earthenware pottery products crafted in Izmir, Turkey has recently declined due to the lack of new designs, promotion and marketing. This research intends to present a case study where the design grafting method has been implemented through a new knowledge acquired from an international joint venture experience and a great potential of intense know-how and knowledge gain through design, and branding strategies for cultural clusters. The design grafting process and its conceptual framework has been considered in the context of its possible role for cultural industry development. The international research project as a case study has been conducted in collaboration with foreign design institutions for design grafting implementation processes of Menemen pottery. The main objective is to transfer a foreigner design approach to current pottery making, and also manage the interdependencies between the acquired knowledge of unique design idea and its mass manufacturing in practice. The intention of such acquisitions depends integration of new design and production capabilities as maintaining cultural production process of pottery making. The employed methodology contributes to the previous collaborative efforts in knowledge creation, exchange, sharing and stimulate organizational change in cultural industry cluster. The research process improves our understanding of intra-culture design knowledge transfer processes, as well as the externally generated strategies in dealing with internal obstacles of cultural cluster. For such research, design grafting illustrates a unique collaborative effort constructed among different know-how located in different cultures. The grafting has been an actual implementation practice of design initiatives for producing, branding and identity reformation in pottery making as a cultural production. Sharing and brainstorming through collaborations within the research and design processes have been intended to transform the current craftsmanship into a more design-based and sustainable cultural industry. More significantly, this work has been a practical attempt that tries to integrate the grafting tool into the development strategies for a cultural industry concentrated in a certain location. This research can be furthered with the test of this proposed method in other cultural clusters and production sites.

The paper describes an open online course which was run in 2015 under the title Corporate Learning 2.0. The course covered current developments, challenges, and trends in the field of corporate learning which evolve through the implementation of digital media. The course was designed in a way to support the collaborative and open generation of innovative ideas. The purpose of the study accompanying the course was to find out whether the target groups, mainly employees in companies in the field of corporate learning and human resource development, can be engaged in this type of online course and will exchange ideas openly in an online environment. The course was designed in a way that each week a new topic was introduced by the presentation of an actual and real challenge or problem in the field of corporate learning by one of the participating companies. Subsequently, the participants collected and exchanged ideas, got a deeper understanding of the problem and by doing so gained new insights into aspects of corporate learning. The design of the study included online questionnaires to access how participants evaluated the course, how they handled the technical platform which was used for communication processes and how they dealt with the openness of the course design. Additionally, tracking data was analysed as well as numbers of registration, badges, time for the completion of badges for each learning unit and so comparable data. The innovative aspect of the course lies in its approach to foster open innovation processes in the field of corporate learning, an area where this type of exchange has rarely been established yet (e.g. see Wallin and von Krogh, 2010; Chesbrough, 2006; Dahlander and Gann, 2010; Enkel and Gassmann, 2007). The course design is a prototype for an open online course in which a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) is used to exchange ideas and contribute solutions to real problems and challenges presented by companies. Therefore, the course served as an experiment to find out whether the target groups can be engaged in this kind of open exchange processes and whether it is possible to meet different interests such as personal learning for the individual learners as well as the generation of ideas for the participating companies.

The organizational culture is indicated as one of the most important factors influencing knowledge management. In the literature there is ongoing debate about the link between national culture and organizational culture, especially in terms of a former being a constraint for the latter. The aim of this research was to investigate how organizational culture crosses the barriers to effective knowledge management. We propose the qualitative approach based on grounded theory and case study methods This methodology puts in evidence that the link between organizational culture and national culture might not be so strong. The founders my shape organizational culture in order to ensure effective knowledge management by implementation of norms and values typical for a particular industry segment. The other possibility lies in exposure to different national culture which is more conductive for effective knowledge management. The outcomes of the application this method bring important insight to managers in terms of sources of impact on organizational culture.

Although there is much emphasis on the importance of organizational learning culture and dynamic capability, little attention has been paid to their interactions and joint effects on performance. While the concept of dynamic capability has received increasing attention and numerous propositions have been suggested, few empirical studies have been conducted to examine its antecedents and outcomes. In this way, the paper aims to analyze how firms build dynamic capabilities, through organizational learning culture. We proposed an approach based on survey data, collected on a sample of high-tech companies. Organizational Learning Culture was analyzed as independent variables in terms of its effect of two different types of dependent variables (Dynamic Capability, Organizational Performance). Structural Equation Model was used to identify correlation between afore mentioned measures. This methodology puts in evidence that process management needs to be aligned with organizational contextual variables in order to build firms’ dynamic capabilities and consequently yield performance. Differently from much studies in this area (Hung et al., 2007), this study examine the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in the relationship between organizational learning culture and organizational performance, which contributes to make it particularly distinctive. Results of this paper highlight that organizational learning culture matters since it is strongly associated with variables influenced organizational dynamic capability and performance. Thus, when managers cultivate organizational learning culture in their organizations, should also consider to develop their dynamic capability in order to influence their organizational performance effectively.

This paper offers a new approach to strategic management and the role of employees by defining a firm’s strategic goals for the future. In addition, it is useful to have individuals themselves define, interpret and recognize their potential skills and competencies using self- knowledge and reflection techniques. The new method also helps to include employees in firm strategy efforts. We propose an approach using an arts-based research method. The clay workshop is rarely used in scientific research discussions. This research examines the clay workshop methodologically. In strategic management when there is a need to find new outcomes, knowledge and competencies, the arts-based research method offers innovative and impressive space to find the new and make knowing and competences that haven’t been used in everyday life more visible. This methodology offers new evidence for strategic management research by concentrating on divergent knowing and competencies. The outcomes of this application demonstrate that the inclusion of employees in firm strategy efforts can be more diversity and greater creativity by increasing reflection as a method.

The aim of this paper is to position the analysis presented in the associated conference presentation within the underpinning literature, especially the current Arts-in-Management debate. The conference paper focuses on the analysis of dramatic presentations written and performed by small, collaborative groups of Masters in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership students in 2012 as part of the assessment for a 15-credit module entitled ‘Creativity and the Creative Industries’. Both this paper and the conference presentation draw upon the author’s continuing PhD in Professional Education at City University London, which aims to analyse the experience of the students and of the author herself as participant researcher and module leader. This paper draws upon the initial literature review for the author’s continuing PhD, which focused the study’s analysis on themes of narrative (including metaphor), embodiment, identity and reflexive pedagogy. The analysis prepared for the conference reviewed these data, three videos of 10-minute group performances; analysis of the researchers’ journaling in response to these videos, and of my own contemporary journal; the students’ reflective module journals; related sections of their final analytical reports; and my marking and feedback related to the module assessments. The study aims to contribute to the current Arts-in-Management debate (eg Adler, 2006, 2010, 2015; Sutherland, 2012), which draws clear distinctions with established management school offerings such as the MBA; and to explore experiential, arts-informed learning experiences as ‘identity workspaces’ (Petriglieri and Petriglieri, 2010) within postgraduate management education. The outcomes of this study have the potential to contribute to evolving practice in the design, assessment and critique of arts-based experiential learning in university and professional contexts.

This paper provides a taxonomy of knowledge management systems (KMSs) in small supply firms and identifies relevant tools and practices supporting firms in the different phases of knowledge management process. Based on a field analysis that involved 61 small suppliers operating in high-tech industries, the paper highlights that suppliers are generally inclined to use not updated KMSs instead of the newer ones, which are also cheaper and user friendly. This gap shows the difficulties that small suppliers have to be responsive to the rapid technological changes. The field analysis also points out that small suppliers investigated perceive the knowledge management mainly as an issue of knowledge transfer and knowledge storage while appear to be neglected the phase of knowledge creation. Moreover, the paper highlights a misalignment between the intensity of use of knowledge management practices, that support the phase of knowledge creation, and knowledge management tools that should support such practices.

To better understand the added value that knowledge management as a managerial approach can bring to the management of knowledge-intensive organizations. This paper explores empirically the actual management practices of a knowledge-intensive organization and examines how knowledge-related phenomena are managed as embedded aspects of management. This paper makes a contribution to prior discussions concerning the relevance of knowledge management and the role of knowledge management as an embedded management practice. The findings of this study should be useful in explaining practitioners the nature, relevance and value of knowledge management.

The current article reports the New Dutch Makers-project (Havenaar, 2016). The Library The Hague communicated the wish of the integration of a technological laboratory inside the Library Schilderswijk, which has been completed during the process of the project. We propose an approach of multiple project phases in order to tackle the projects complexity. Each phase has a goal and a different approach to reach this goal. After the four main phases are completed a final evaluation phase cross-checks the goals that have been set at the beginning of the project and assesses whether these goals are met. The project has a research-through-design approach with which the local youth is involved throughout the entire design process in order to create a best as possible fit with the technological laboratory. This methodology puts in evidence that integrating a technological laboratory inside a library provides the local youngsters with a place near-by to learn with, and from, others. The threshold to participate is low since the involvement of the target group throughout the process is high. Not only do the participant learn technological skills with the different machines and techniques which are provided, but the youngsters have developed themselves on social areas as well.

This article studies organizational innovation as result of the combination of different skills, mindsets, competencies, perspectives and experiences. The purpose of this article is, i. to identify an empirical case where different knowledge-domains interact, enabling the emergence of organizational innovation. Our specific research focus is the overlapping area between traditional artisanal work and innovative technological solutions; ii. to analyze the genesis, evolution and characteristics of this empirical case, underlying both its advantages and flaws; iii. to provide insights about how handicraft and digital technologies -often characterized by extremely different mind-sets, tools and strategies- could be linked for mutual and reciprocal benefit. We chose to follow a qualitative case study methodology to “identify how a complex set of circumstances come together to produce a particular manifestation” (Hancock, et al. 1998 p.7). Thus, we attempted to capture as many variables as possible through unstructured interviews with the company founders and through documents and reports we were able to collect from the organization itself. The case study methodology, with its inductive approach, has also been chosen to support the development of concepts and theoretical models useful to understand the social dynamics emerging between two different cognitive domains (handicraft and digital technologies). The field of innovation in organizations is broad and well studied. Building on existing literature, we focus on a very narrow and relatively under-investigated research area, the possibility to combine traditional craft skills with modern digital technologies to reach the competitive advantage. The attempt is to define and discuss concepts and variables that, emerging from the case study, could contribute to shape a theoretical model to be fully developed and tested through future research. Besides the theoretical contribution, the paper attempts to identify and to discuss a set of insights potentially useful for those organizations, operating in the handicraft or in the digital technology sector, that are looking for opportunities to expand their strategic options. The structured analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of combining a traditional handicraft organization with a technological one could represent the opportunity to learn from existing empirical evidences without mechanically follow the same patterns.