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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2025–10–06
six papers chosen by Laura Nicola-Gavrila, Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Caroline Gaudreau; Dani Levine; John List; Dana Suskind |
| Abstract: | Research shows responsive caregiving enhances children's brain development, with parental knowledge predicting positive behaviors and outcomes. However, knowledge varies widely across educational levels, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. Despite evidence that this knowledge can be improved, no comprehensive metric exists for efficient assessment. We introduce SPEAK (Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations and Knowledge), a computer adaptive tool grounded in item-response theory that we created, to address this gap by measuring parental and educator knowledge across development domains with precision and speed. This paper details SPEAK's development, including domain construction, cognitive interviewing, expert review, psychometric calibration, and validity evidence. SPEAK offers a flexible, scalable solution for clinical, educational, research, and policy settings. By identifying knowledge gaps, it enables tailored interventions, supports professional development, and informs policy, ultimately improving parent-child interactions and child outcomes. Our tool bridges critical gaps in assessing child development knowledge, advancing research and cross sector collaboration to promote early childhood development worldwide. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:artefa:00827 |
| By: | Al-Naemi, Mai; Lee, Hyun Jung; Reade, Carol |
| Abstract: | Evidence suggests that language diversity and the asymmetric fluency of corporate lingua franca among employees negatively affect social integration, knowledge sharing and performance in the workplace. We explore the boundary conditions that might mitigate such negative consequences. Our research context is a multilingual firm where English is mandated as the corporate lingua franca and employee English fluency is generally low. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach and longitudinal design across three studies, we discover an informal network, Language Advice Network (LAN), in which individuals with varying levels of English fluency seek and share language-related knowledge. Contrary to extant research findings, our analysis shows that individuals actively seek language advice from fluent speakers, forming ties between fluent and less-fluent English speakers across different language clusters in the organization. It is the low English fluency of the majority of employees and the strict English language mandate that drives connection between individuals who may otherwise segregate. We also find that language-advice giving is positively associated with the advisors’ annual performance rating, indicating that management recognition and rewards play an important role in sustaining the informal language advice network. Our findings provide fresh theoretical insight on the relationship between corporate lingua franca, social integration and knowledge sharing, and management implications for fostering social integration, particularly in contexts of high first-language diversity. |
| Keywords: | AOM Annual Meeting Proceedings 2024; AOM Chicago 2024; best paper; international management |
| JEL: | J50 |
| Date: | 2024–08–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126149 |
| By: | Kazuyuki MOTOHASHI; Naotoshi TSUKADA; Kenta IKEUCHI |
| Abstract: | Corporate scientists that are involved in scientific activities, often leading to research paper publications, are important for corporate innovation, since science-based innovation tends to be transformative, spanning the boundaries of existing R&D pipelines. Such scientists can also play a role as a bridge between academic researchers, injecting scientific knowledge from outside the firm. However, the publication of internal corporate scientific activities could benefit competitor firms, providing them with input towards their own transformative innovation. In this study, we analyze this trade-off using a linked dataset of research papers and patents (disambiguated by paper author and patent inventor information and patent citation in research papers) of Japanese firms. Specifically, we analyzed two aspects, (1) contribution of corporate scientist research papers to in-house innovation (patent) and (2) capacity of corporate scientists to absorb scientific findings from outside their firms to obtain high quality patents. Our findings indicate that corporate scientists contribute to both aspects of innovation in their firms. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25089 |
| By: | Ritam Chaurey; Gaurav Nayyar; Siddharth Sharma; Eric Verhoogen |
| Abstract: | Knowledge spillovers among firms are widely viewed as a key driver of agglomeration and growth, but are difficult to estimate cleanly. We randomly allocated an energy-efficient motor --- a “servo'” motor --- among leather-goods firms in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and tracked adoption, information flows, beliefs about energy savings, and other variables. We use the difference between actual exposure and expected exposure (from simulated randomization draws) to identify the effect of exposure. We find a robust positive effect of exposure to treated neighbors within a small geographic area (500 meters in our baseline specification) on information flows and adoption. A marginal value of public funds (MVPF) calculation taking learning spillovers into account yields a significantly larger value than one considering only treated firms and suggests that adoption subsidies would be a cost-effective policy intervention. |
| JEL: | L23 L67 O12 O14 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34296 |
| By: | Michela GIORCELLI; Yuki HIGUCHI; Yutaro TAKAYASU; Mari TANAKA |
| Abstract: | In the aftermath of World War II, a large-scale management program, sponsored by the United States and known as the Productivity Program, was implemented in several European countries and Japan. The program involved sending corporate executives to observe business practices at U.S. firms and aimed to share modern management practices and enhance productivity in the recipient countries. In this paper, we first summarize the similarities and differences in how the program was implemented in Japan and European countries based on historical documents. Next, using data on Japanese firms that participated in the program, combined with a database of stock-listed firms, we document the characteristics of participating firms and compare them to other stock-listed firms during the same period. We also provide a simple comparison of firm performance over the first two decades of the program between participating firms and non-participating firms with similar initial characteristics. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25092 |
| By: | Kuosmanen, Natalia; Kaitila, Ville; Kuusi, Tero; Kässi, Otto; Maczulskij, Terhi; Pajarinen, Mika |
| Abstract: | Abstract This report examines the factors shaping productivity in Finland’s private service industries. Specifically, we focus on the link between capital intensity and labor productivity, as well as the allocation of labor. In addition, the report highlights the roles of global megatrends, such as offshoring, digital adoption and generative AI, in productivity development. Using firm- and industry-level data, three broad patterns emerge. First, capital intensity in Finnish service industries is consistently below that of peer countries and is closely associated with weaker productivity. Second, firms systematically employ fewer workers than implied by profit-maximizing conditions, with gaps especially pronounced in knowledge-intensive services. Third, digital adoption is uneven: firms with broader use of digital technologies perform better, while many smaller and traditional providers lag behind. Scenario analysis suggests that generative AI could raise economic growth if paired with capital investment, while the offshoring of services does not appear to improve productivity but may support employment and reshape the composition of the workforce. The findings indicate that Finland’s service productivity challenges are long-standing and structural rather than short-term fluctuations. |
| Keywords: | Capital intensity, Digitalization, Offshoring, Productivity, Service industries |
| JEL: | C23 F14 L80 O14 O30 O33 O47 |
| Date: | 2025–09–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:167 |