In the knowledge economy knowledge productivity is the main source of competitive advantage and thus the biggest management challenge. Based on a review of the concept from two distinct perspectives, knowledge productivity is defined as the process of knowledge-creation that leads to incremental and radical innovation. The two main elements in this definition are „the process of knowledge creation‟ and „incremental and radical innovation‟. The main aim of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the concept of knowledge productivity in order to support management in designing policies for knowledge productivity enhancement. After elaborating on the concept of knowledge productivity, the two main elements are combined in a conceptual framework – the knowledge productivity flywheel. This framework appeared to be an effective model for supporting initiatives that aim for enhancing knowledge productivity.
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High Performance Organization (HPO) characteristics indicate why an organization is able to achieve significantly better results than other organizations and these characteristics can facilitate associations to optimize employees’ work outcomes. The independent professional (IP) is an increasingly occurring phenomenon in the labor market that fulfils an organizations’ need for flexibility in knowledge productivity. This study focuses on the contribution of HPO characteristics to the knowledge productivity of IP's. It was conducted among managers and HRM professionals in various Dutch knowledge-intensive organizations that frequently enlist the services of IPs. This study found a number of HPO attributes that appeared to contribute to the IPs' knowledge productivity, namely the quality of management, an open and actionfocused organizational culture, and continual improvement and innovation. We will use these results to look ahead and consider the future consequences for professional practice. Managers and HRM professionals should strive to contribute to the incorporation of these characteristics within the organization in order to safeguard and enhance knowledge productivity of independent professionals.
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The sources of productivity have always been the main subject of economic debate because they are the main determinants of profitability and competitiveness. In order to improve productivity we should be able to identify the sources of productivity. This article presents a method for measuring the sources of knowledge productivity in order to give direction to knowledge management initiatives. The method is based on a theoretical framework which combines two different perspectives (economic and process) on knowledge productivity. This article presents the methodological and theoretical framework, the initial design of the method and the results of the first two case studies. The relevance of this article is that it combines the concepts of knowledge management and intellectual capital measurement in the relatively new concept of knowledge productivity.
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Purpose – purpose of this article is to report about the progress of the development of a method that makes sense of knowledge productivity, in order to be able to give direction to knowledge management initiatives. Methodology/approach – the development and testing of the method is based on the paradigm of the Design Sciences. In order to increase the objectivity of the research findings, and in order to test the transferability of the method, this article suggests a methodology for beta testing. Findings – based on the experiences within this research, the concept of beta testing seems to fit Design Science Research very well. Moreover, applying this concept within this research resulted in valuable findings for further development of the method. Research implications – this is the first article that explicitly applies the concept of beta testing to the process of developing solution concepts. Originality/value – this article contributes to the further operationalization of the relatively new concept of knowledge productivity. From a methodological point of view, this article aims to contribute to the paradigm of the Design Sciences in general, and the concept of beta testing in particular.
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Our ageing population is the result of two demographic trends: decreasing fertility levels and higher life expectancy. As a corollary to these demographic trends, the working population is ageing and shrinking at the same time. This development will affect the performance of organizations in the next decades. As today‟s economy and the performance of organizations is mainly based on knowledge, the ageing workforce will mainly affect the organizations ability to be knowledge productive. As current knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) literature hardly addresses the issue of ageing, the aim of this paper is to explore this topic in order to formulate an agenda for further KM/IC research. Combining the temporary consequences of ageing (brain drain and talent gap) and the false assumptions about the capabilities of older workers (older workers contribute negatively to a firm‟s performance), the current ageing of the working population reveals two main risks for organizations and management: underutilization of older employees, and loss of knowledge. Based on the exploration of these two risks in this paper, several issues are proposed for further research. These issues focus on the specific competences of the older knowledge worker, the implications for talent development programs, the benefits of inter-generational learning, and effectiveness of knowledge retention strategies. Today, the main fear is that large scale retirement will lead to a shortage of skills, talents, knowledge. Although acknowlegding the risks and threats of this brain drain, the current temporary ageing of our workforce might also contribute to a structural better valuation of the potential of the older knowledge worker and its specific contribution to the process of knowledge creation. In an ageing knowledge economy, increased understanding about the abilities and distinct qualities of older workers will provide opportunities for organizations to enhance knowledge productivity and thus gain competitiveness.
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Future work processes are going to change in several aspects. The working population (at least in Western European countries) is decreasing, while average age of employees increases. Their productivity is key to continuity in sectors like healthcare and manufacturing. Health and safety monitoring, combined with prevention measures must contribute to longer, more healthy and more productive working careers. The ‘tech-optimist’ approach to increase productivity is by means of automation and robotization, supported by IT, AI and heavy capital investments. Unfortunately, that kind of automation has not yet fulfilled its full promise as productivity enhancer as the pace of automation is significantly slower than anticipated and what productivity is gained -for instance in smart industry and healthcare- is considered to be ‘zero-sum’ as flexibility is equally lost (Armstrong et al., 2023). Simply ‘automating’ tasks too often leads to ‘brittle technology’ that is useless in unforeseen operational conditions or a changing reality. As such, it is unlikely to unlock high added-value. In healthcare industry we see “hardly any focus on research into innovations that save time to treat more patients.” (Gupta Strategists, 2021). Timesaving, more than classic productivity, should be the leading argument in rethinking the possibilities of human-technology collaboration, as it allows us to reallocate our human resources towards ‘care’, ’craft’ and ’creativity’.
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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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The purpose of this study was to analyse knowledge management research trends to understand the development of the field using a combination of scientometric, bibliometric, and visualisation techniques, subsequently developing a normative framework of knowledge management from the results.282 articles between the years 2010–2015 were retrieved, analysed, and visualised to produce the state of knowledge management during the selected timeframe. The results of this study provide a visualisation of the current research trends to understand the development of the knowledge management discipline. There are signals that the literature about knowledge management is progressing towards academic maturity. This study is one of the first studies to combine bibliometric and scientometric methods to assess productivity along with visualisation, and subsequently provide a knowledge management framework drawing from the results of these methods.
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This thesis investigates knowledge workersandapos; satisfaction with Activity-Based Working (ABW) environments and its impact on perceived productivity in the Netherlands. Grounded in Person-Environment Fit Theory, this study addresses the importance of employee productivity in organizational success and examines how ABW environments can enhance satisfaction and productivity by aligning with job characteristics, task characteristics, and psychological needs. This study employed a quantitative approach, gathering responses through an online questionnaire from 110 knowledge workers in Dutch ABW settings. The study examined the relationships between job characteristics, task characteristics, behavioural patterns, psychological needs, and demographic characteristics with satisfaction in ABW environments and its impact on perceived productivity. The findings revealed positive correlations between ABW environments and job characteristics, suggesting that these settings are particularly beneficial for roles requiring high autonomy, social interaction, and internal mobility. Task variety also positively influences satisfaction, underscoring the importance of offering diverse tasks to foster employee satisfaction, thereby increasing their perceived productivity in ABW settings. However, the study found that employees with a high need for structure and privacy are less satisfied in ABW environments. Overall, this study found a generally positive outlook on ABW environments. Most participants reported a good fit between their workspace and activities, leading to higher satisfaction and perceived productivity. This suggests a potential positive feedback loop within well-designed ABW settings. The results offer valuable insights for facility and workspace managers aiming to create supportive and efficient work environments. By understanding and addressing the specific needs and characteristics of knowledge workers, organizations can enhance satisfaction and productivity, thereby adding value to their organizations and achieving sustainable success.
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