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The firm as a distributed knowledge system: a constructionist approach

Article Abstract:

The argument that firms are distributed knowledge systems in a strong sense is examined. This assertion means that firms are decentered systems without an omnipotent 'mind.' The organizational problem facing firms is the usage of knowledge which is not and cannot be recognized through only one agent. Moreover, no single agent can completely determine prematurely what kind of practical knowledge will be pertinent, when this will be relevant and where this knowledge will be important. The knowledge of a firm cannot be monitored wholly and is not self-contained. It is innately indecipherable and endlessly shifting. This argument is investigated using Austrian economics as the context and draws on interpretive philosophy, ethnomethdology, Bourdieu's sociology and discursive psychology.

Organizational behavior

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Exploring internal stickiness: impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm

Article Abstract:

Companies must learn how to make an internal transfer of their best practices to ensure their continued competitiveness in this age of unending performance improvement and organizational learning. A study investigated internal stickiness of knowledge transfer and tested the generated model via canonical correlation analysis. The study involved 271 observations of 122 best practice transfers in eight companies. Findings revealed the primary impediments to internal knowledge transfer. They are knowledge-related factors, including the recipient's lack of absorptive capacity, causal vagueness and an unstable source-recipient relationship. This contradicts commonly held assumptions that blame motivational factors for weak internal transfer.

Transfer of training

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Presumptive adaptation and the effectiveness of knowledge transfer

Article Abstract:

Knowledge transfer process in business organizations and presumptive adoptions in these transfers is analyzed.

United States, Management dynamics, Methods, Management, Company business management, Organizational learning

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