Miltiadis D. Lytras’s research while affiliated with Athens University of Economics and Business and other places

This chapter introduces the promotion of existing product scheme classifications to the Linked Open Data initiative in the context of the European Union and other official organizations such as United Nations. A common data model and an enclosed conversion method based on Semantic Web vocabularies such as SKOS are also presented to encode data and information following the W3C standards RDF and OWL. This work is applied to the e-procurement sector, more specifically, to enhance the access to the public procurement notices published in the European Union. Finally, an evaluation of the gain, in terms of expressivity, is reported with the objective of demonstrating the advantages of applying Linked Data to retrieve information resources.

This case study examines the Web Electronic Service framework for a University in Australia. The department is in the process of developing and implementing a Web-based e-service system. The user experience to use e-services requires insight into the attributes that shape the experience variable. The descriptive data about the attributes that form the experience variable is provided in this study.

In the spite of explosive growth of the Internet, information relevant to users is often unavailable even when using the latest browsers. At the same time, there is an ever-increasing number of documents that vary widely in content, format, and quality. The documents often change in content and location because they do not belong to any kind of centralized control. On the other hand, there is a huge number of unknown users with extremely diverse needs, skills, education, and cultural and language backgrounds. One of the solutions to these problems might be to use standard terms with meaning; this can be termed as controlled vocabulary (CV). Though there is no specific notion of CV, we can define it as a set of concepts or preferred terms and existing relations among them. These vocabularies play very important roles classifying the information. In this chapter, we focus the role of CV for publishing the web of data on the Web.

Data mining allows managers to make more knowledgeable decisions by predicting future trends and behaviors. One of the most widely used areas of data mining for the retail industry is in marketing. There are also at least seven methods of analysis or statistical techniques that are commonly used in data mining. It is obvious that the approach to the data mining is the key determinant of the statistical technique to be used. Predictive modeling uses variety of techniques such as linear regression, logistic regression, and their extensions can be used to identify patterns, which can be used to predict the future. This research specifically focuses on the application of multiple regression technique a data mining tool in Indian retail industries to predict the retail satisfaction using store attributes as independent variables.

As firms lose skilled labour force through mass retirement, turnover and economic fluctuations, a pressing concern is how to ensure that the skills of the present-day masters are conveyed to the future professionals. This chapter examines the process of how the skills leading to professional performance are acquired in the context of on-the-job learning and identifies the key factors in this process. Based on an empirical examination of the on-the-job training periods of 20 Finnish vocational college students a model is built, suggesting that there are three different levels of professional performance on a junior’s path towards professionalism. The results suggest that individual activity, critical observation, conscious doing and creativity are crucial in the learning process. The chapter contributes to the emerging discussion on knowledge sharing across generations in organisations.

For years, experts have recognized that medical errors exist and compromise healthcare quality. Much has been written worldwide about medical errors and improvements in their reporting and handling, with the proposals ranging from the implementation of nationwide mandatory reporting with public release of performance data to voluntary reporting and quality-assurance efforts that protect the confidentiality of error-related data. In the present chapter, the author first points out the lack of standardized nomenclature and a universal taxonomy-classification for adverse events and medical errors, which complicates the development of a response to these issues. The chapter also reviews a number of methods of and adverse events’ and medical errors’ knowledge management, each of which has evolved over time and been adapted to different contexts. Finally, the author assesses each of these methods, unveiling their particular strengths and advantages, and also weaknesses and limitations.

This chapter develops a research protocol to identify a domain of organizational knowledge resources and assets within firms and provides the final main insights of a research project managed by the Intellectual Assets Center in Scotland in order to support the adoption of knowledge asset management initiatives for driving innovation and performance improvement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in the renewable energy sector. The chapter first presents a methodology for valuing organizational knowledge assets within SMEs operating in the renewable energy industry. Then, an exploratory survey with a sample of 58 organizations from the Scottish renewable energy sector is introduced. Finally, the chapter analyses and discusses the main insights about SMEs’ perception and orientation to identifying, measuring, and managing knowledge, and to qualitatively identify a feasible set of knowledge resources and assets potentially driving performance improvement.

Innovation in the service/retail sector has not been fully examined in the non-Western literature. This preliminary work presents a study that was conducted in Shanghai, China. Three sets of the literature are consulted: Porter’s Generic Strategies Model, Hunt’s Resource Advantage Theory (R-A), and previous studies in the service and retail sectors. Findings developed from six selected successful Chinese supermarket companies have identified three types of innovation adopted by Chinese retailers: Technology based, non-technology based, and resource based innovation. The study takes a qualitative approach by using the methods of documentation survey and in-depth interviews with a panel of ten supermarket experts. Some managerial implications are explicated, and the limitations of the study and directions for future studies are discussed.

ALSA began its operations in China in 1984, at the beginning of China´s policy of economic opening to the outside world. In order to become one of the companies of reference in the field of road passenger transport in China, ALSA has made a long process of adaptation of its business management to the characteristics of the country, including the establishment of a knowledge management system

Internet-based information, communication, and collaboration technologies are making it easier for organizations and knowledge workers to collaborate across organizational boundaries. However, it is necessary for organizations to monitor, regulate, and build appropriate security mechanisms in collaboration systems to prevent loss of strategic knowledge and competitive advantage. In this chapter, the authors synthesize literature on knowledge sharing and IS/IT risk assessment to present a risk assessment framework that can help organizations identify valuable knowledge assets exposed through collaboration technologies, and assess the risk of knowledge loss, intellectual property leakage, and the subsequent loss of competitive advantage so that appropriate security mechanism can be designed to prevent such a loss.