nep-knm New Economics Papers
on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy
Issue of 2018‒09‒17
five papers chosen by
Laura Ştefănescu
Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor

  1. The Hardships of Long Distance Relationships: Time Zone Proximity and Knowledge Transmission within Multinational Firms By Bahar, Dany
  2. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN COLOMBIAN PUBLIC SECTOR - A LITERATURE REVIEW By Sylvia Villarreal; Edna Bravo
  3. Bridging research and policy: evidence based indicators on agricultural value chains to inform decision-makers on inclusiveness and sustainability By DABAT, Marie-Hélène; ORLANDONI, Olimpia; FABRE, Pierre
  4. How Persuasion Knowledge Creates Differences in the Role of Self and Functional Congruity on Predicting Customers’ Attitude and Behavioral Intention By Zarei, Shadi; Samavatiyan, Hossein; Akhoondi, Fereshteh
  5. The trouble with human capital theory By Fix, Blair

  1. By: Bahar, Dany (Brookings Institution)
    Abstract: Using a unique dataset on worldwide multinational corporations with precise location of headquarters and affiliates, I present evidence of a trade-off between distance to the headquarters and the knowledge intensity of the foreign subsidiary's economic activity, emerging from dynamics related to the proximity-concentration hypothesis. This trade-off is strongly diminished the higher the overlap in working hours between the headquarters and its foreign subsidiary. In order to rule out biases arising from confounding factors, I implement a regression discontinuity framework to show that the economic activity of a foreign subsidiary located just across the time zone line that increases the overlap in working hours with its headquarters is, on average, about one percent higher in the knowledge intensity scale. I find no evidence of the knowledge intensity and distance trade-off weakening when a non-stop flight exists between the headquarters and the foreign subsidiary. The findings suggest that lower barriers to real-time communication within the multinational corporation play an important role in the location strategies of multinational corporations.
    Keywords: multinational firms, multinational corporations, knowledge, location, proximity concentration hypothesis, FDI
    JEL: F23 L22 L25
    Date: 2018–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11697&r=knm
  2. By: Sylvia Villarreal (UNIVERSIDAD INDUSTRIAL DE SANTANDER); Edna Bravo (Universidad Industrial de Santander)
    Abstract: One of the main challenges that governments face is managing scarce resources to attend society's needs. To achieve this, among other actions, they have developed initiatives that allow the coordination of technologies, people, processes and structures; however, these actions have had a short-term vision and low impact rates.To determine the current situation of knowledge management in the Colombian public sector, a literature review was carried out to identify barriers of initiatives from the international context, detect Colombian initiatives and characterize the scientific documentation of the country related with knowledge management.As a result, in Colombia and other emerging economies, knowledge management actions are rarely documented and developed from the scientific and research literature, evidencing the absence of guidelines and guidance tools to create and manage knowledge management initiatives. This delay is attributed to the fact that, in the private sector, it is not considered a strategic issue, and, the academic focus on conceptual approach, research the importance of formulating strategies and the needs of finding an adequate model.It is emphasized that the implemented approach is related to the use of information technologies, leaving aside the importance of human interaction to create, transfer and appropriate knowledge. The identified Colombian initiatives are from the MinTIC and non-financial public companies, which have focused on the implementation of knowledge management tools and practices and the creation of specialized equipment.In conclusion, from the international perspective, where innovation is sought to be implemented as a response mechanism to the demands of current citizens, in Colombia there are significant delays in the development and documentation of knowledge management initiatives. Also, although there is a growing interest in the implementation of KM models in the public sector, but they can't achieve be materialized because there are no guidelines or processes for the creation of models that facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
    Keywords: Colombia, knowledge management, literature review, public sector.
    JEL: O31 O32
    Date: 2018–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:6408981&r=knm
  3. By: DABAT, Marie-Hélène; ORLANDONI, Olimpia; FABRE, Pierre
    Abstract: Authors showed that multiple factors have to be gathered for research to be able to serve development through policy decision. An effective way to bridge applied research and policy in order to maximize mutual benefits is to build a sound and early partnership based on a clear framework so that research can provide relevant “understandable and usable” information to decision-makers. This is the basis on which the Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) project (2016- 2022) was established. VCA4D is a partnership between the European Commission and Agrinatura, the alliance of European universities working together for agricultural research and education for development. This initiative intends to provide evidence-based knowledge to analyse development impacts of the value chains operations so as to help decision for investment projects in agriculture and to facilitate sectorial policy dialogue. Policy makers consider value chains as strategic elements for their policies. In order to achieve the overarching goal of inclusive and sustainable growth, support to value chains demands for the social, economic and environmental dimensions are thoroughly considered. The objective of this paper is to show how VCA4D applied sustainable development concept for value chain analysis to establish a manageable set of criteria allowing to provide quantitative information, which is desperately lacking in many situations in developing economies, usable by decision makers and in line with policymakers concerns and strategies (the “international development agenda”). The use of researchers to perform the analysis, contributes to the reinforcement of the linkages and mutual understanding between researchers and policy makers.
    Date: 2018–09–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa166:276197&r=knm
  4. By: Zarei, Shadi; Samavatiyan, Hossein; Akhoondi, Fereshteh
    Abstract: The present study aims to investigate the role of self-congruity and functional congruity in predicting customer attitudes and behavioral intentions in different branches of a chain store in the city of Tehran, Iran. Also, the study considers the moderating role of persuasion knowledge in the relationship between self-congruity and functional congruity with customers' attitude. The findings suggest that managers can develop certain strategies to improve customer attitudes and buying intentions.
    Date: 2018–09–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi18:275860&r=knm
  5. By: Fix, Blair
    Abstract: Human capital theory is the dominant approach for understanding personal income distribution. According to this theory, individual income is the result of "human capital". The idea is that human capital makes people more productive, which leads to higher income. But is this really the case? This paper takes a critical look at human capital theory and its explanation of personal income distribution. I find that human capital theory's claims are dubious at best. In most cases, the theory is either not supported by evidence, is so vague that it is untestable, or is based on circular reasoning. In short, human capital theory is a barrier to the scientific study of income distribution.
    Keywords: human capital theory,income distribution,critique,hierarchy,productivity,power
    Date: 2018
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:capwps:201807&r=knm

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