One area of omission in knowledge intensive studies is within higher educationresearch where there is the virtuous circle of teaching, research and consulting professional work. Using a model adapted from Handzic (2001) and a survey modified from Arthur Andersen (1998) the perceived importance and perceived implementation to faculty members is explored. The discrepancy between results of the two forced the researchers to confront their own biases. Guidance was sought from ethnographic accounts which allowed allows the researcher to state personal feelings in a confessional accompaniment to the formal findings.

There is no credible methodology for knowledge management systems development (KMSD). We report on a KMSD approach that has emerged from an investigation based on action research and grounded theory into a number of business problems experienced by organizations. The KMSD approach is highly participatory, requiring full involvement of members of an organization. It has three interacting aspects: envisioning knowledge work behaviour, design of knowledge management system (KMS), and exploring technology options for supporting the KMS. In the first of these aspects, challenges and opportunities in an organization's current situation are analysed and an improved situation is envisioned to expose knowledge concepts and their properties. In the second, a logical design of a KMS is produced using knowledge entities, knowledge flows and knowledge interfaces; the design is guided and constrained by an organization's structure, culture, and resources. The third aspect is to do with introducing appropriate IT into KMS design, integrating organizational, social and technological aspects of the system. The paper describes this KMSD approach and how it emerged from both practical and theoretical investigation.

The various dimensions of the problems of productivity and technology cannot be found in technology alone, but rather there are also human factors that either facilitate or constrain the ability of firms and workers to adopt and implement new technologies. This paper discusses the factors that contribute to Knowledge Management Systems effectiveness. Through a case study and literature reviews a general framework has been delineated. This framework describes dimensions involved in the adoption of technology at both the users and organisational level.

Abstract: Social media is no longer a negligible phenomenon; tools like Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube have taken the world in a storm. Social media has become a mainstream, modified personal relationships, allowed individuals to contribute to number of is sues and generated new possibilities and challenges to facilitate collaboration. Organizations have urgent need of not only focusing on innovation of new products and services, but also paying specific attention to effective knowledge sharing, which is of vital importance for their success. The potential advantage of embracing and implementing social media is enormous. Although the interest in social media is increasing, on the one hand knowledge workers and managers are waiting to get involved in this co llaborative world, because they may not feel motivated or may not be aware of the advantages of using these tools for work purposes. On the other hand, organizations do not tend to allow their employees to use social media technologies because they may be concerned about the risks and consequences of a potential misuse. Our exploratory survey investigates how internal or external social media technologies are being used for knowledge sharing during work or for professional development. The study was accom plished with the help of enterprises and institutions operating in Hungary from profit and non‑profit sectors, applying quantitative research methods. In total 299 individuals participated by completing the online, web‑based questionnaire. The results hav e shown that Hungarian organizations prefer not to allow the usage of external social media; but where the employees are supported to reach these tools, high proportion of the people utilize them. The paper provides recommendations to the organizations ho w to foster motivating employees for using social media technologies for work purposes in knowledge sharing. In the discussion, a short summary of our study, managerial implications and new research direction are presented.

Abstract: In recent years the adoption of ICT by small enterprises has been growing thanks to prices reduction, diffusion of digital services in SaaS modality, cloud computing and ICT consumerization. However little is known about how small enterprises us e these technologies and in particular social media. Social media open up a new way of doing business, based on innovative concepts such as sharing, collaboration and co‑creation. However, this is a little‑known model, with still unknown implications on m anagement and organization. For this reason it is not enough to know how much small enterprises use social media, but it is necessary to understand how small enterprises use them. The aim of the paper is to understand if small enterprises are able to full y exploit social media potentialities. To this end a sample of 48 Italian small firms is analyzed. Data has been collected by websites analysis, a questionnaire survey and interviews with entrepreneurs and/or ICT/Marketing managers. Results show that, al though social media are quite common among small businesses, they are not always able to use these tools in a truly profitable way. Social media are often introduced because they are "fashionable", because companies feel "forced" to use them, as "all comp etitors do it". The research, however, has highlighted the existence of a wide range of different situations. Together with low innovative businesses, in fact, there are also other small businesses that are very open to the use of social channels and inte ractive technologies and able to take full advantage of their adoption. Entrepreneurs mentality makes a difference in these companies, and in particular entrepreneurs ability to conceive new ways of doing business and his willingness to get involved wit h new initiatives.

Emerging as one of the most important corporate assets, there is evidence that, in some developed countries, the impact of knowledge capital in the GDP now surpasses the fixed capital. This paper uses quantitative data to broadly qualify the impact of the two main building blocks in the knowledge management integration process: information and communication technologies (ICT) and Education. The data analysis suggests that by providing efficient network platforms, knowledge can be captured, transformed and disseminated to individuals, groups and organisations. Investment in ICT seems to enable to connect people and support knowledge sharing and interpersonal interaction and therefore facilitate knowledge management processes and strategies. A case‑study of Portugal is used to illustrate the conclusions drawn.

A range of collaborative group structures are analysed from the perspective of knowledge management enabling technologies. A framework is developed demonstrating the application and role of specific technologies in supporting collaborative group structures including Communities of Practice, Centres of Practice, Special Interest Groups, Centres of Competence and Communities of Competence. In evaluating the utilisation of such technologies, the nature, purpose and capabilities of such group structures are analysed.

Currently there is much interest in the use of Web 2.0 technologies to support knowledge sharing in organisations. Many successful projects have been reported. These reports emphasise how the use of such technology has unlocked new pathways for knowledge transfer. However, the limitations of Web 2.0 technologies are not yet well understood and potential difficulties may have been overlooked. This paper reports a case study of a Wiki which was implemented to support a group of researchers. Although belonging to the same institution, the group members were relatively dispersed and their research areas were disparate. Nevertheless a short study showed that there were benefits to be gained from sharing knowledge and that many of the researchers felt that a Wiki would be a good mechanism to support this. A Wiki was implemented and was initially very successful. A significant number of researchers contributed to the Wiki and almost all made use of it. However the usage declined over time and attempts to stimulate interest by providing incentives for contributions were unsuccessful. One year after launch use was minimal. A qualitative study was carried out to understand the reasons for this decline in use, and is reported in this paper. Responses suggest that two factors may have been particularly significant in explaining the failure of the system. One problem appears to have been a lack of critical mass. Only a small proportion of users are likely to contribute and there may be a threshold size for a community to be able to support a vibrant Wiki. Time also seems to have been an issue. Some respondents said that they simply were too busy to contribute to or use the system. Organisations which are considering the use of Web 2.0 technologies to support a knowledge management initiative should consider the likely impact of these factors in their own situation. Although technologies such as Wiki have great potential there are also pitfalls in undertaking such projects which are not yet well understood.