International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning

Communities of Practice as a Knowledge Management Tool in Ghana's Telecommunication Industry: A Systematic Review

2023-01-10T19:17:10+00:00

Communities of Practice(s) (COPs) have become an important instrument for knowledge transfer in Ghana's telecom industry. It functions as a catalyst in enabling telecommunications' competitive advantage as the key industry on the development agendas of African countries. The study deals with the introduction, methodology, discussions, significance of the study, limitations of the study, future directions, and conclusions. The study used a systematic review technique to analyse the literature and discuss and present conclusions. The findings demonstrated that CoPs have strengthened a variety of essential abilities in the telecoms industry, allowing information from the company's technical and operational sectors to be diffused across the organization's broad skill set. The study suggests that the key aspects of a successful CoPs are ensuring that learning is a social force, knowledge is unified into the community's culture, standards, and language, learning and community affiliation are inseparable, knowledge and experience are indivisible, and authorization is essential to learning.

Mechanism of Transformational Leadership on Team Performance and Recommended Interventions on AI-Lab

2023-01-10T19:16:38+00:00

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to synthesize the relationships between transformational leadership and the intermediate outcomes (e.g., team vision, team coordination, team cohesion, team project innovation) of team performance, then to propose relevant interventions to enhance the team performance of the case setting.

Study design: Based on the empirical literature review, this study employs the case study method to incorporate relevant transformational behaviors and techniques into the practical issues of the case setting.

Findings: This study demonstrates the positive relationships between the 4I’s of transformational leadership and the intermediate outcomes of team performance, and finds some unique transformational techniques to cope with the managerial problems during business transition.

Originality/value: This study contributes to formulating an original theoretical framework on transformational leadership and team performance, and employing a series of exclusive intervention measures to improve the team performance of the case setting. The contributions may generalize into the wider education service sector.

The Impact of Organizational Culture on the Opportunities and Threats in Digital Transformation

2023-02-18T07:19:37+00:00

Purpose: The aim of the research is to show how the individual elements of the organizational culture - learning organization - affect the opportunities and threats related to the introduction of Industry 4.0.

Study design/methodology/approach: A structured questionnaire was used to survey Hungarian companies. The online questionnaire with closed and measurable scale questions were created and distributed. Questions covered following: perceived and detected threats that may hinder organizations in the digital transition process, the benefits that businesses see as an opportunity in the digital transformation, by examining the most important variables of learning organizations and the opportunities and dangers of digital transformation. As a result, survey received a positive feedback with 639 fully completing the questionnaire. Measurement was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 22.) In the first stage of the research, an Opportunities and a Threats factor were created using principal component analysis. As a result, instead of seven and twelve variables, one can be used to examine additional relationships. In the next stage of the research, we examined how each element of the organizational culture (Organizational Culture - Learning Organization) affects the factors we created, what percentage they contribute to the formation of each factor. The measurement was performed by linear regression analysis.

Findings: A comparison of two queries was performed, the results of which are summarized below. (A) How do certain elements of the organizational culture affect companies’ the Industry 4.0 Opportunities? (B) How do certain elements of the organizational culture affect companies’ Industry 4.0 Threats? In „A” case, the organizational culture factors explain 15.1% (R Square = .151) of the companies' Opportunity Factor. After the 5^th modeling of the program, there are 5 Organizational Culture variables that significantly contribute to the Opportunities of companies. In „B” case, the Organizational Culture factors explain only 5.6% (R Square = .056) of the companies’ Threats Factor. Following the 7th modeling of the program, there are 3 Organizational Culture variables that contribute significantly to the Threats of companies,

Originality/value: The five Organizational Culture variables that significantly contribute to the Opportunities of companies are: The organization proactively anticipates change, The organization is looking for innovative, new solutions, not limited by the habit, The organization also focuses on long-term impacts when making decisions, In the operation and development of the organization, the effects of the changes on other organizational units are taken into account and, The aim is to jointly develop the learning and development skills of the members of the organization, group learning. The three Organizational Culture variables that contribute significantly to the Threats of companies are: The organization is open to environmental change, The aim is to jointly develop the learning and development skills of the members of the organization, Employees can act to achieve their personal vision, ie. free self-realization.

Peer Instruction as Teaching Method in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

2022-12-15T16:52:36+00:00

Cybersecurity and data privacy are important fields today. Basic education in these two interconnected areas should already be offered in schools, as practically everyone today can encounter the dangers and risks of the Internet in terms of data theft, data manipulation or the like. However, the topics of cybersecurity and data privacy are generally abstract, and many people are not interested in such rather technical topics. To arouse interest and provide a certain basic education, we used ‘peer instruction’ combined with storytelling as a promising method. Within the framework of an EU project called GEIGER and with the support of students who have learned data privacy by means of the presented method, the method has been further developed, applied, tested, reflected, and iteratively improved. In summary, the method presented is useful for the topics of cybersecurity and data privacy, but the recommendations compiled must be considered in particular with regard to careful preparation and testing.

An Examination of Factors Determining User Privacy Perceptions of Voice-Based Assistants

2023-02-14T04:41:34+00:00

Purpose: Voice-based assistants have become ubiquitous in our homes and all around us. We interact with voice-based assistants through smartphones, dedicated home devices, or other Internet-connected devices. The proliferation of these devices in our lives makes us question whether the data transmitted through these devices are secure and the role perception of privacy the users of these devices have in the usage of the device. This paper focuses on the user privacy issues specific to two voice-based assistants – Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant using quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper will answer three research questions regarding user privacy perceptions and how a user’s technology adoption, smartphone operating system, and demographics influence their perception of privacy.

Study design/methodology/approach: This is a mixed research study where survey data was collected from faculty, staff, and students of a large University in the United States and professional connections globally.

Findings: Privacy perceptions vary based on user age, educational level, gender, smartphone adoption, and technical awareness and expertise.

Originality/value: This study is unique in highlighting the perception of privacy for voice-based assistants and assigning a numerical value based on survey data to the concern. Another feature of the study is its correlation of privacy perception with mobile phone operating systems and the level of technical expertise of voice-based assistant users.

Online Collaborative Learning in Higher Education in Albania: Some Necessary Innovations

2023-01-16T08:30:09+00:00

Purpose: The purpose of the current paper is to discuss the necessity for the internationalisation of Albanian HEIs, in light of the recent changes that HEIs in Albania are undergoing. Online collaborative learning is thus introduced as a necessary innovation to be embraced in HE in Albania, illustrated by implementation and findings and comments based on an authentic case study undertaken in the third course, Bachelor level, Fan S. Noli University, Korça, Albania.

Study design/methodology/approach: The paper is supported by a theoretical background on online collaborative learning and factual data about the current state of HEIs in Albania. The latter factual information illustrates the necessity of embracing online learning practices through collaborative learning, supported by examples from the case study. The paper adopts a mixed method approach, combining qualitative analysis with quantitative data derived from surveys carried out with Albanian students.

Findings: There are some conclusions and findings that we have derived from the factual information presented about the current state of HEIs in Albania, combined with data extracted from the case study. They point to the necessary innovations involving Albanian teachers and students of HEIs in online collaborative learning.

Originality/value: The current study bears original value because it provides direct links between the current need for the internationalisation of HEIs in Albania and online collaborative learning as a concrete way to bring about internationalisation. Examples brought are also authentic, taken from the case study, supported by data from pre- and post-implementation surveys conducted with Albanian students who took part in the case study.