Although previous research programs have yielded valuable knowledge that can help sugar beet growers to innovate farming processes, actual transfer of this knowledge to the growers so far is lacking. Currents ways of knowledge transfer do not match learning styles, personal traits or the social environment of previously identified groups of growers. The current research was designed to asses to which level new means of knowledge transfer are suitable: using both digital means, e.g., decision support systems, and other means, e.g. study groups, knowledge transfer can be re-assessed to form specific inspiring learning environments.A survey study assessed learning styles, attitudes toward innovation, personality traits related to entrepreneurship and the social network growers use to obtain new knowledge. These data were linked to the crop yield data over the previous five years, to be able to compare the influence of learning styles, attitudes, network and individual differences on the occurrence and effectiveness of certain types of innovative behaviour. Results indicate that different learning styles correlate with different ways of using one's knowledge network: for instance, people who are more prone to seek help, have significantly more contacts and exchange more knowledge within their networks. Growers whom significantly participate more in meetings and interactions with colleagues, produce an above average crop yield, as compared to other groups. The innovation attitude appeared to predict the innovation intention of growers; people with more positive attitudes are more willing to try new ideas and implement not fully tested techniques than growers with less positive attitudes toward innovation. Knowledge networks are comprised of fellow growers, friends, family, but mostly the growers receive their knowledge from advisors, suppliers and study groups. Preferences for learning and innovating correlate with the size of the network, and how intensively it is used.
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Buildings need to be carefully operated and maintained for optimum health, comfort, energy performance, and utility costs. The increasing use of Machine Learning combined with Big Data in the building services sector has shown the potential to bring energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, upskilling and reskilling the current workforce is required to realize new possibilities. In addition, sharing and preserving knowledge are also required for the sustainable growth of professionals and companies. This formed the basis for the Dutch Research Council funded TransAct project. To increase access to education on the job, online learning is experiencing phenomenal growth. A study was conducted with two focus groups - professionals of a building service company and university researchers - to understand the existing challenges and the ways to improve knowledge sharing and upskilling through learning on the job. This study introduced an Enterprise Social Network platform that connects members and may facilitate knowledge sharing. As a community forum, Yammer from office 365 was used. For hosting project files, a SharePoint page was created. For online courses, the company’s online learning site was utilized. The log data from the online tools were analysed, semi-structured interviews and webinars were conducted and feedback was collected with google forms. Incentive models like social recognition and innovative project results were used to motivate the professionals for online activities. This paper distinguishes the impacts of initiatives on the behaviour of university researchers vs company employees.
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A case study and method development research of online simulation gaming to enhance youth care knowlegde exchange. Youth care professionals affirm that the application used has enough relevance as an additional tool for knowledge construction about complex cases. They state that the usability of the application is suitable, however some remarks are given to adapt the virtual environment to the special needs of youth care knowledge exchange. The method of online simulation gaming appears to be useful to improve network competences and to explore the hidden professional capacities of the participant as to the construction of situational cognition, discourse participation and the accountability of intervention choices.
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This study focuses on SME networks of design and high-tech companies in Southeast Netherland. By highlighting the personal networks of members across design and high-tech industries, the study attempts to identify the main brokers in this dynamic environment. In addition, we investigate whether specific characteristics are associated with these brokers. The main contribution of the paper lies in the fact that, in contrast to most other work, it is quantitative and that it focuses on brokers identified in an actual network (based on both suppliers and users of the knowledge infrastructure). Studying the phenomenon of brokerage provides us with clear insights into the concept of brokerage regarding SME networks in different fields. In particular we highlight how third parties contribute to the transfer and development of knowledge. Empirical results show, among others that the most influential brokers are found in the nonprofit and science sector and have a long track record in their branch.
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When it comes to hard to solve problems, the significance of situational knowledge construction and network coordination must not be underrated. Professional deliberation is directed toward understanding, acting and analysis. We need smart and flexible ways to direct systems information from practice to network reflection, and to guide results from network consultation to practice. This article presents a case study proposal, as follow-up to a recent dissertation about online simulation gaming for youth care network exchange (Van Haaster, 2014).
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Purpose - Focusing on management training, this study aimed to establish whether identical elements in a training program (i.e. aspects resembling participants' work situation) can improve training transfer and whether they do so beyond the contribution of two well-established predictors -- motivation to learn and expected utility. In an effort to establish mechanisms connecting identical elements with training transfer, we proposed and tested motivation to transfer as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected online from 595 general managers who participated in a management training program. Structural equations modeling was used to test the model. Findings - Identical elements, expected utility and motivation to learn each had a unique contribution to the prediction of training transfer. Whereas motivation to learn partly mediated these relationships, identical elements and expected utility also showed direct associations with training transfer. Research limitations/implications - Identical elements represent a relevant predictor of training transfer. In future research, a longitudinal analysis from different perspectives would be useful to better understand the process of training transfer. Practical implications - Participants may profit more from management training programs when the training better resembles participants' work situation. Organisations and trainers should therefore apply the concept of identical elements in their trainings, in order to increase its value and impact. Originality/value - This study contributes to the training literature by showing the relevance of identical elements for transfer, over and above established predictors.
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The Dutch greenhouse horticulture industry is characterized by world leadership in high-tech innovation. The dynamics of this playing field are innovation in production systems and automation, reduction in energy consumption and sharing limited space. However, international competitive advantage of the industry is under pressure and sustainable growth of individual enterprises is no longer a certainty. The sector's ambition is to innovate better and grow faster than the competition in the rest of the world. Realizing this ambition requires strengthening the knowledge base, stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation (not just technological, but especially business process innovation). It also requires educating and professionalizing people. However, knowledge transfer in this industry is often fragmented and innovation through horizontal and vertical collaboration throughout the value chain is limited. This paper focuses on the question: how can the grower and the supplier in the greenhouse horticulture chain gain competitive advantage through radical product and process innovation. The challenge lies in time- to-market, in customer relationship, in developing new product/market combinations and in innovative entrepreneurship. In this paper an innovation and entrepreneurial educational and research programme is introduced. The programme aims at strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between enterprise, education and research. Using best practice examples, the paper illustrates how companies can realize growth and improve the innovative capacity of the organization as well as the individual by linking economic and social sustainability. The paper continues to show how participants of the program develop competencies by means of going through a learning cycle of single-loop, double-loop and triple loop learning: reduction of mistakes, change towards new concepts and improvement of the ability to learn. Finally, the paper illustrates the importance of combining enterprise, education and research in regional networks, with examples from the greenhouse horticulture sector. These networks generate economic growth and international competitiveness by acting as business accelerators.
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The coming decades, the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) are going to retire. This retirement wave will cause a loss of knowledge for organizations and thus threatens the organization‟s ability to make knowledge productive and thus competitiveness. As knowledge management (KM) is the formal discipline that aims at improving knowledge productivity, knowledge management seems to be the discipline to provide the solutions to this problem. Although KM literature provides ample solutions, hardly anything has been said about the applicability and the effectiveness of these solutions in the context of retaining knowledge from retiring employees. Therefore, the objective in this research is to make a structured comparison of six KM interventions that are used in practice to retain knowledge from retiring employees (Modeling, Leaving expert interview, File-transfer protocol, Master-apprentice relation, Individual gap analysis, and Knowledge recall). This comparison is based on the four components of the CIMO-logic that is used in design-based research, which implies that this study contains information on what to do (I), in which type of situations (C), to produce what effect (O), and it offers some understanding of why this happens (M). Based on the comparison, this study discovered that the CIMO-logic of the six different interventions demonstrated many similarities, which resulted in the formulation of an overall CIMO-logic. In addition, based on the differences, we also formulated three distinctive CIMO-logics for File-transfer protocol, Master-apprentice relation, and Individual gap analysis. Important finding of this study is that the six KM interventions seem to fit the target group (retiring employees) very well, because they anticipate on the desire to round off and hand over. Another important finding in this study is that retaining knowledge from retiring employees is not only beneficial to the organization, but also to the retiring employee himself. From a methodological point of view, important finding of this study is that the CIMO-logic provides a valuable framework for revealing the similarities and differences between different management interventions.
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Background: Due to multimorbidity and geriatric problems, older people often require both psychosocial and medical care. Collaboration between medical and social professionals is a prerequisite to deliver high-quality care for community-living older people. Effective, safe, and person-centered care relies on skilled interprofessional collaboration and practice. Little is known about interprofessional education to increase interprofessional collaboration in practice (IPCP) in the context of community care for older people. This study examines the feasibility of the implementation of an IPCP program in three community districts and determines its potential to increase interprofessional collaboration between primary healthcare professionals caring for older people. Method: A feasibility study was conducted to determine the acceptability and feasibility of data collection and analysis regarding interprofessional collaboration in network development. A questionnaire was used to measure the learning experience and the acquisition of knowledge and skills regarding the program. Network development was assessed by distributing a social network survey among professionals attending the program as well as professionals not attending the program at baseline and 5.5 months after. Network development was determined by calculating the number, reciprocity, value, and diversity of contacts between professionals using social network analysis. Results: The IPCP program was found to be instructive and the knowledge and skills gained were applicable in practice. Social network analysis was feasible to conduct and revealed a spill-over effect regarding network development. Program participants, as well as non-program participants, had larger, more reciprocal, and more diverse interprofessional networks than they did before the program. Conclusions: This study showed the feasibility of implementing an IPCP program in terms of acceptability, feasibility of data collection, and social network analysis to measure network development, and indicated potential to increase interprofessional collaboration between primary healthcare professionals. Both program participants and non-program participants developed a larger, more collaborative, and diverse interprofessional network.
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The Dutch greenhouse horticultural industry is characterized by world leadership in high-tech innovation. The dynamics of this playing field are innovation in production systems and automation, reduction in energy consumption and sharing limited space. However, international competitive advantage of the industry is under pressure and sustainable growth of individual enterprises is no longer a certainty. The sector's ambition is to innovate better and grow faster than the competition in the rest of the world. Realizing this ambition requires strengthening the knowledge base, stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation (not just technological, but especially business process innovation). It also requires educating and professionalizing people. However, knowledge transfer in this industry is often fragmented and innovation through collaboration takes up a mere 25-30% of the opportunities. The greenhouse horticulture sector is generally characterized by small scale, often family run businesses. Growers often depend on the Dutch auction system for their revenues and suppliers operate mainly independently. Horizontal and vertical collaboration throughout the value chain is limited. This paper focuses on the question: how can the grower and the supplier in the greenhouse horticulture chain gain competitive advantage through radical product and process innovation. The challenge lies in time- to-market, in customer relationship, in developing new product/market combinations and in innovative entrepreneurship. In this paper an innovation and entrepreneurial educational and research programme is introduced. The programme aims at strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between enterprise, education and research. Using best practice examples, the paper illustrates how companies can realize growth and improve innovative capabilities of the organization as well as the individual by linking economic and social sustainability. The paper continues to show how participants of the programme develop competencies by means of going through a learning cycle of single-loop, double-loop and triple loop learning: reduction of mistakes, change towards new concepts and improvement of the ability to learn. Furthermore, the paper discusses our four-year programme, whose objectives are trying to eliminate interventions that stimulate the innovative capabilities of SME's in this sector and develop instruments that are beneficial to organizations and individual entrepreneurs and help them make the step from vision to action, and from incremental to radical innovation. Finally, the paper illustrates the importance of combining enterprise, education and research in networks with a regional, national and international scope, with examples from the greenhouse horticulture sector. These networks generate economic regional and national growth and international competitiveness by acting as business accelerators.
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