Journal of Information & Knowledge Management

This study aimed at exploring the factors influencing organisational innovation by utilising the following six factors: Organisational culture, organisational rules and policies, employees’ attitudes, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, employees’ satisfaction, and knowledge sharing. This exploratory study used a sample of 255 employees in public and private firms. A survey was used to measure the seven dimensions included in the framework. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the path diagram and test the research hypotheses. Results indicated a strong support of our proposed framework, with an $R^2$ equal to 0.434. Both employees’ satisfaction and knowledge sharing were significant predictors of organisational innovation. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations were significant predictors of employees’ attitudes, which in turn was a significant predictor of knowledge sharing. Organisational rules and policies, organisational culture, and attitudes were significant predictors of knowledge sharing. Finally, organisational rules and policies were the only significant predictor of employees’ satisfaction. Firms need to work on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to influence employees’ attitudes and thus knowledge sharing. More emphasis should be put on rules and policies that establish a culture of knowledge sharing. A systematic approach to KM would influence organisational innovation more than employees’ satisfaction side. The study utilised a newly developed Arabic language instrument. This study is the first in Jordan to test such domain and to use a newly developed instrument in Arabic language.

Small firms facing today’s turbulent business environment often fail early in their life if they do not develop the necessary capabilities to survive. The main goal of this study is to investigate how IT and knowledge co-evolve, influencing a firm’s agility, within the context of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Applying the resource-based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities, a multiple case study of eight firms was used to explore links among business, IT and knowledge strategies, resources, and capabilities. Links among IT and knowledge capabilities and firm agility were also explored. The results demonstrate that an MSE’s business strategy shapes, and is also shaped by, the firm’s IT and knowledge strategies; and that both IT and knowledge capabilities shape, and are shaped by, the firm’s agility, coevolving with it. By highlighting the important antecedents of small firm agility and presenting crucial links among agility, IT capabilities, and knowledge capabilities in MSEs, we encourage practitioners to think carefully about their IT and knowledge strategies and to rethink their use of firm resources and capabilities to develop agility in the face of environmental uncertainty and change.

Temporal Association Rule mining uncovers time integrated associations in a transactional database. However, in an environment where database is regularly updated, maintenance of rules is a challenging process. Earlier algorithms suggested for maintaining frequent patterns either suffered from the problem of repeated scanning or the problem of larger storage space. Therefore, this paper proposes an algorithm “Probabilistic Incremental Temporal Association Rule Mining (PITARM)” that uncovers the changed behaviour in an updated database to maintain the rules efficiently. The proposed algorithm defines two support measures to identify itemsets expected to be frequent in the successive segment in advance. It reduces unnecessary scanning of itemsets in the entire database through three-fold verification and avoids generating redundant supersets and power sets from infrequent itemsets. Implementation of pruning technique in incremental mining is a novel approach that makes it better than earlier incremental mining algorithms and consequently reduces search space to a great extent. It scans the entire database only once, thus reducing execution time. Experimental results confirm that it is an enhancement over earlier algorithms.

The research topic addressed in this study concern the application of knowledge management systems (KMSs) in higher education institutions. While, in the first part of this work, a theoretical model of KMS was proposed, in this second part an empirical study is conducted to test this model. The proposed model has three main elements: inputs (different types of knowledge), process (the four functions: acquire, capitalise, disseminate and use) and outputs (the three performance perspectives: customer satisfaction, operational excellence and direction of the product). On the basis of a functional analysis we propose hypotheses, which allow us to study the relations of cause and effect between knowledge management (KM) and the performance of the university. The model is tested by surveys to be carried out in some Algerian universities by the students. After, a complete analysis (descriptive, exploratory (EFA), confirmatory (CFA), correlation, regression and finally SEM) of the data obtained by the completed questionnaires, the results permit to provide empirical evidence for some of the proposed hypotheses and confirm that KM has a positive effect on performance. A high intensity of KM activities has a significant positive influence, directly or indirectly, on university performance. The results of this empirical study indicate that policies encouraging (1) interactions between different actors, and (2) student participation in decision-making for the development of new programs/courses would increase student satisfaction and ensure pedagogical, management and openness excellence that ultimately contribute to performance of the university. Furthermore, KM must be programmed as part of the holistic management process of the university, and the activities of KM should therefore be managed in the same way as other university processes.

The learning organisation (LO) phenomenon was created over 25 years ago. Several definitions of the LO have evolved as well as frameworks, features, and characteristics. One of the challenges of the LO’s credibility was the impetus of the creation of empirical methods. The LO theory has stabilised with the involvement of human resource (HR) researchers to bridge the gap between theory and practice. However, in a rapidly changing, complex, diverse, and competitive work environment, now may be the opportune time to further investigate the scope of the LO. The study examines the utility of the LO definitions and frameworks in relation to shifts in the environment to determine if the concept continues to withstand the landscape of the current workplace and beyond. The importance of creating an LO continues to be top priority in numerous organisational industries and communities and its reach is expanding to a variety of populations. However, the LO concept does not necessarily address constantly changing and complex workplace work demands. Therefore, a new definition of the LO is proposed. Recommendations for future studies and implications for HR research and practice are included.

The study seeks to ascertain the levels of awareness and usage of reference management software (RMS) among researchers of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana. The purpose and benefits as well as challenges associated with the use of these tools were also discussed. Descriptive survey methodology was employed for this study. A web-based questionnaire consisting of both multiple-choice and open-ended questions was used to collect data from 110 scientists in 13 research institutes of the CSIR, Ghana. Results show that overwhelming majority of scientists (80%) are aware and know about RMS. However, the adoption and usage of these tools are low. The percentage of non-usage was higher among the older scientists (22% for over 51 years) as against the younger researchers (9% for 31 to 40 years). Overall, 33.6% do not use RMS at all, and scientists occasionally used RMS. Mendeley was the most popularly used software among respondents. Results also show that most of the respondents got to know about RMS through training workshops and seminars. Most of the respondents had not received any training and for those who had attended a training workshop or seminar, majority of them noted that it was very easy to use. The main purpose of using these tools was for research work and literature review. Major benefits of using RMS packages are automatic generation of references list, electronic creation of bibliographies and changing of referencing style by a click of a button. Challenges associated with the use of these tools were slow internet connection, lack of training, and technical support. The study recommended that CSIR should make the effort to acquire these tools. Scientists should also be given the necessary training and technical support in order to effectively use these softwares.

This study aims to examine the influences of environmental and personal factors on knowledge-sharing behaviour (KSB) of academics and whether more influence leads to superior innovative work behaviour (IWB) at the tertiary level in Vietnam. A questionnaire survey was conducted as part of the study, including 320 academic staff at Hanoi University, one of the leading public universities in Vietnam. This study applies the structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the research model based on social cognitive theory (SCT). The results show that two environmental factors (subjective norms and trust) and two personal factors (knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others) significantly influence KSB. The results also indicate that employee willingness to share knowledge enables the organisation to promote innovative work behaviour. The study context was limited to only one Vietnamese university. It appears that the part of a bigger picture of knowledge sharing (KS) in Vietnamese universities is likely to be lost. However, given the previous studies on knowledge sharing in both developed and developing countries, it could be expected that the results of this study can be taken forward by university leaderships, academic staff and researchers in other contexts as well. A clear understanding of the critical factors that influence KSB towards promoting innovative work behaviour may help university leaders to develop suitable and evolving strategies to address the challenges of knowledge sharing. This study contributes to the growing literature on the relationships among environmental and personal factors and KSB towards promoting innovative work behaviour.

One can either use machine learning techniques or lexicons to undertake sentiment analysis. Machine learning techniques include text classification algorithms like SVM, naive Bayes, decision tree or logistic regression, whereas lexicon-based sentiment analysis uses either general or domain-based lexicons. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of domain lexicons vis-à-vis general lexicon, wherein we have performed aspect-level sentiment analysis on data from three different domains, viz. car, guitar and book. While it is intuitive that domain lexicons will always perform better than general lexicons, the actual performance however may depend on the richness of the concerned domain lexicon as well as the text analysed. We used the general lexicon SentiWordNet and the corresponding domain lexicons in the aforesaid domains to compare their relative performances. The results indicate that domain lexicon used along with general lexicon performs better as compared to general lexicon or domain lexicon, when used alone. They also suggest that the performance of domain lexicons depends on the text content; and also on whether the language involves technical or non-technical words in the concerned domain. This paper makes a case for development of domain lexicons across various domains for improved performance, while gathering that they might not always perform better. It further highlights that the importance of general lexicons cannot be underestimated — the best results for aspect-level sentiment analysis are obtained, as per this paper, when both the domain and general lexicons are used side by side.

The objective of the study is to examine the librarians’ attitude towards knowledge sharing including its concept, potential benefits, communication channels, and influencing factors that may motivate or hinder knowledge sharing practices in academic libraries in India. A questionnaire was used for data collection, 91 LIS professionals from Indian academic libraries were surveyed. In addition, 10 in-depth interviews were conducted. The findings of the study show that understanding of knowledge sharing concepts among librarians is varied though most of them perceived knowledge sharing as “dissemination or exchange of knowledge (explicit and tacit) from one individual to another individual or group of people”. Moreover, librarians have a positive attitude towards knowledge sharing and believe that knowledge sharing improves the learning process and individual competencies as well as enhance the efficiency of library operations and services. Furthermore, email was found as the most preferred communication channel because of its accessibility, convenience, and personal warmness. Conspicuously, public recognition, rewards, knowledge self-efficacy and develop relations with colleagues were identified as key motivators and on the contrary, lack of trust, personal animosity, technological support and nepotism were found to be the major barriers for knowledge sharing practices. The findings of this study may be useful to the university authorities in India in designing and implementing an all-inclusive knowledge sharing strategy for LIS professionals.

Universities are a source of technological innovation, which in turn facilitates economic growth. The Bayh–Dole Act of 1980 was enacted to support university research efforts. However, since its enactment, university technological innovation had been increasing slowly. This study applies the Technology, Organisation, and Environment framework to explore the current and future impact of university characteristics and regional industry R&D activities on university technological innovation and commercialisation. The study addresses three research gaps in the literature: (1) It investigates university and regional characteristics at the same time, (2) it includes both current and future impact on university innovation outcomes, and (3) it provides a timely update to fairly dated literature on the topic, using extensive quantitative analyses that differ from previous studies. The findings verify existing, albeit fairly dated, literature by demonstrating the positive impact of university characteristics and regional R&D activities; and extend the literature by showing their future impact to various degrees. The intricacies of the coefficients of impact enrich our understanding of how these drivers can be leveraged to boost university innovation outcomes. The results have implications on theory, policy and practice.

Customer loyalty is one of the important issues of e-commerce. In the context of e-commerce recommender systems, there is small number of studies investigating this issue. The main objective of this research is to provide a customer loyalty model for e-commerce recommender systems. The proposed model is developed using Delone and McLean Information System success model and a set of factors which are identified from the literature. To test the research hypotheses of the developed model, a questionnaire survey is conducted and the data is collected from 384 customers in a B2C website. We used SPSS and SmartPLS software for descriptive statistics and path analyses and to verify the proposed model. Our analysis on the collected data showed the acceptance of all hypotheses in the model. The result of the Structural Equations Modelling showed that trust has a significant relationship with the customers’ satisfaction in the e-commerce recommendation systems. In addition, the results revealed that satisfaction with the recommended products can improve the customers’ loyalty in the B2C recommendation systems. The proposed model will help the e-commerce managers to improve their website recommendation systems and increase the sale of the products by achieving the customers’ loyalty in the online shopping websites.

Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a vital role in disseminating agricultural information. In this backdrop, to make use of ICT for a prolific agriculture information dissemination, it is vitally important to gain a comprehensive understanding of the farmers’ information seeking behaviour. Despite the vitality, very few informational studies have been carried in Sri Lankan agriculture, particularly with respect to vegetable farmers in the country. To bridge this existing knowledge gap, this study sets out to investigate the information seeking behaviour (ISB) of vegetable farmers in Sri Lanka. Wilson’s general model of information seeking behaviour 1996 was selected to guide the present study. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 289 vegetable farmers and were analysed by performing a regression analysis. The regression analysis revealed that vegetable farmers’ ISB is greatly influenced by their information need and the channel characteristics. The regression results further revealed that the demographic characteristics such as age, education, farming experience and training, operational factors such as land extent, land ownership and types of farming system, and personal and role-related factors such as perception of agri-information and information sharing behaviour also influence vegetable farmers’ ISB significantly. The study findings will inform the policymakers, information systems and applications designers, and researchers about the factors that affecting on ISB of farmers. Furthermore, this study will help stimulate similar studies in developing countries.