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To Codify or Collaborate - CFP

Deadline for special issue on KM technologies: To Codify or to Collaborate is due end of August. Do consider contributing your finest work. I act as one of the associate editors for this special issue and we have esteemed board of reviewers and editors that will do their best to help promising submissions to be developed to top quality.

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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Issue Title: Knowledge Management and e-Research Technologies: to Codify or to Collaborate?
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Special Issue of “Knowledge Management Research & Practice” 
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/kmrp/index.html
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Guest Editors:
Will Venters, London School of Economics
Elaine Ferneley, Salford Business School
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Key dates:
Deadline for submission         30th August 2008
Publication                     August 2009
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This special issue of KMRP, to appear in 2009, will focus on the role of technology within wider debates on knowledge management.  Information and Communication technologies lend themselves to the capture, transfer and storage of data, and hence have, until recently, been strongly aligned with either objectivist view of knowledge management as codification of knowledge in databases, or a limited behaviourist view as communication and collaboration tools in support of social practices. The aim of this special issue is to explore in depth the relationship between social practice and Knowledge Management technologies (broadly defined) in particular questioning the traditional dichotomy between codification and collaboration through knowledge management technology.

Our aim is to bring together research on the KM technology artefact, and research on social KM practices in order to enrich our understanding of social knowledge management technology. In particular we wish to explore and extend the traditional view that technology can only deal with explicit, codifiable knowledge.  Instead we argue that, if knowledge is socially constructed, then the technologies that now shape our world must also be given due consideration within any debate on knowledge management. We would be interested in research which considers, for example, how technologies such as mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants and Geographical Positioning Systems have fundamentally reshaped the milieu of our lives, and hence their implications for Knowledge Management. Expanding our focus we include debates concerning the use of technology in research (so called e-science or e-research) in which new computer systems are drawn upon in the discovery (or construction) of knowledge in the sciences and social sciences.  We are interested in the emergence of Web 2.0 and social networking sites which are poised to fundamentally change the interactions between individuals, groups and organisations.  Finally, as agreement on standards and data interchange formats are emerging so the vision of the semantic web is becoming a reality allowing disparate, heterogeneous data sources to be interrogated and leveraged from using and supporting ontologies and taxonomies - so technology is ceasing to be an externality and the possibility of a semantically rich, globally networked environment to support knowledge management initiatives is becoming a reality.
This special issue therefore aims to attract theoretical and empirical papers that consider the embedding of technology (in various forms) within the social practices and interactions of individuals, and the resultant effects on, and opportunities for, knowledge management theories and practice.

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Potential Topics:
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We welcome papers from a range of perspectives, potential topics include …

* Relationships between knowledge management and web2.0.
* The use of the semantic web in knowledge management initiatives.
* The growth of global information in society and its impact on organizational knowledge management practice.
* The use of technology as a medium of social networking, differing social networking models, social networking models that enable or inhibit knowledge sharing.
* The application of ontologies, or taxonomies and the emergence of folksonomies as collaboratively constructed taxonomies (e.g. http://del.icio.us/) for supporting knowledge management.
* The weaving of technology with narrative and storytelling.
* Social construction of knowing through technology.
* Social construction of knowledge management technologies.
* e-Science, e-Research and Grid technologies and their potential impact on collaboration and knowledge management within research practice.
* The role of e-science and cyber-infrastructure in scientific and social science knowledge.
* Issues of demographics, age, gender, sexuality and technologies role as shield or mediator within the design of knowledge management technologies.
* How technology supports communities.
* The use of technology to share knowledge around difficult and sensitive topics - to break down social barriers, engender trust and enable wider learning
* Philosophical perspectives on knowledge management technologies e.g. the role of knowing in artificial intelligence; the tacit dimension of knowing mediated through technology;

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Associate Editors:
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* Peter Baloh, Ljubljana, Slovenia
* Laurence Brooks, Brunel, UK.
* Mike Cushman, LSE, UK.
* Magda Hercheui, LSE, UK.
* Annemette Kjaergaard, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.
* Giovan-Francesco Lanzara, Università di Bologna, Italy.
* Aurelio Ravarini, Cattaneo, Italy.
* Steve Sawyer, Penn State, USA.
* Duane Truex III, Georgia State, USA
* Bob Wood, Manchester University, UK.
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Submission
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Papers should be submitted online at http://www.theorsociety.com and must comply with the KMRP Instructions to Authors at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/kmrp/author_instructions.html  - especially the requirement that author names should not appear anywhere in the manuscript file that is submitted. Normal KMRP reviewing procedures and standards will apply.

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The Guest Editors will be happy to answer any queries from potential authors.
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ICIS 2008 reviewer role

I have been invited to review for the worlds’ most prestigious IS-conference: ICIS, which, this year, is taking part in Paris, France. A great honor for me to be part of the best reviewer-teams in IS. An opportunity to review papers that represent the cutting edge of IS-research, is an opportunity to grow by learning from the best.

Attending the NT Conference 2008

From May 12 till May 15 I will be attending the biggest Slovenian IT-event, Microsoft’s NT Conference. This is the 13th occurence, and as each year, I am sure it will be even better than the previous one, which was a blast. Loads of interesting presentations, talks and fun events announced, nice weather and great location, plus loads of formal and informal meetings already scheduled. If you are there too, give me a howler, and let’s meet…

A new fine publication - IJIM this time

I am very pleased to hear from the IJIM editor-in-chief and the IJIM case study section editor that my submission titled “A business process oriented method of KM solution design: A  case study of Samsung Electronics” was accepted for publication. It is forthcoming in October 2008 issue of the journal - stay tuned for more details.

ISOneWorld 2008 - Submission accepted

Besides meeting outstanding guest speakers, I am very much looking forward to presenting a paper at the forthcoming ISOneWorld 2008 conference. The organizing committee sent out notifications of acceptance, and I am happy to share that my submission was accepted for the conference programme and presentation there:

• Vre?ar P, Damij T, Baloh P: Business Process Improvement Methodology: The Case of “Merkur” Trading Company.

Customer-Driven Innovation published in R-TM

A research paper from the Leveraging Ideas for Innovation project which was led by Prof Kevin C Desouza and funded through the Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) has been published:

• Desouza, K.C., Awazu, Y., Jha, S., Dombrowski, C., Papagari, S. Baloh, P., and Kim, J.Y. “Customer-Driven Innovation,” Research-Technology Management, 51 (3), 2008, 35-44.

The paper can be retrieved from the R-TM website at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iri/rtm/2008/00000051/00000003.

Research-Technology Management is the award-winning, bi-monthly SCI/SSCI indexed journal of the Industrial Research Institute, published since 1958. It contains peer-reviewed articles covering the entire spectrum of technological innovation, from research and development through product development to marketing. RTM is a leading source of knowledge and best practices on innovation management for leaders of research, development, and engineering worldwide.

AMCIS 2008 papers - done reviewing

I have just finished off reviewing papers for my track at AMCIS 2008. Knowledge management and knowledge management systems topic is hot as ever and many interesting papers have been submitted. Not a single one could be ruled out as irrelevant or substandard so the work of me and my co-chairs has not been easy. Notifications to authors are due to be sent out tommorrow…

The Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) is an annual conference for Information Systems and Information Technology academics and professionals sponsored by the AIS-Association for Information Systems. AMCIS is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious conferences for IS/IT in the Western Hemisphere, and provides a platform for panel discussions and the presentation of peer-reviewed information systems research papers, over  700 of which are submitted each year.

Renewed OCIS Student website launched

The 2007-08 Student Website Committee has been hard at work updating the website. The major enhancements include:
 
– A new design with easier navigation and even more informative content.
 
– A special section with a Call for Papers (CFP) calendar that lists current CFPs for conferences and journals.
 
– A new “Meet the Stars” feature where we interview noted OCIS scholars and practitioners. Coming soon are interviews with Varun Grover, Eric van Heck, and M. Lynne Markus. Future “star” interviews will be built upon questions posed by you on our website. This is your opportunity to ask senior scholars and practitioners any burning questions you have about the field, practice, research, or other areas!
 
If you’re new to the AOM.OCIS Student Networking Site, it’s a group blog for, by, and about doctoral students interested in organizational communication and information systems. The site has three primary objectives:
 
1) to provide an interactive location for students to share and discuss helpful resources with one another,
 
2) to facilitate student interactions during the long stretch between Academy of Management conferences, and
 
3) to help each other navigate the trials and tribulations of entry into an academic career, including how to maximize the benefit of involvement with AOM in general and, more specifically, the OCIS division. Recent management graduates, those thinking about doctoral studies in management, and students in related fields are all welcome to join the conversation.
 
In short, it’s a website just for you!
 
Finally, please join me in thanking the website committee for all their diligent efforts with the website renovations. Well done!  The committee includes Yukika Awazu (Bentley College, Mass., USA), Steven L Johnson (Temple University, PA), Nick Roberts (Clemson University, S. Carolina, USA), Vinay Tiwari (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands), and myself.

http://ocis.wordpress.com/

Call for papers - 42nd HICSS

I am glad to invite submissions for the 42nd HICSS 2008 conference, where I am acting as the co-chair of the “KM Implementations and Other Issues” track (along with David Croasdell of UNR and Ronald Freeze of ESU).

Since 1968 HICSS has become a respected forum for substantive exchange of ideas in all areas of IS and IT. It is a conference with rigor, rated in the rank of ECIS, IFIP and CHI: a conference with carefully structured format, and extensive double-blind review process performed by distinguished scholars in each of the areas. Did I mention unique environment?

Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2008

My students at KNU

My students here at KNU are awesome. Even though the subject matter we are discussing at Knowledge management and Knowledge Management Systems course is highly complex and requires constant interplay between strategic vs. operational, organizational vs. individual, and organizational vs. technological mindset, not to mention the language barrier, my students have been doing great. The results of each assignment and homework are better, and I am very pleasantly surprised by just how complex and deep-thought their group assignments, in which they needed to design a KM solution for a chosen (real life!) business context, were.

Over the 4 weeks they have demonstrated interest, eagerness to learn, and a lot of effort was invested in learning. This is the way to go, my dear students - no wonder you are perceived as one of the best in the country. Thank you for this opportunity, it was a steep learning curve for me, too.