This paper explores benefits and costs of knowledge exchange perceived by individuals in connected electronic networks of practice (ENoP) in a corporate setting. The results of 25 semi-structured interviews show 9 perceived benefits and 5 perceived costs to be of importance for knowledge exchange. Altruism and reciprocity are the two main perceived benefits from the knowledge providers’ perspective; problem solving is the main perceived benefit from the knowledge seekers’ perspective. Five perceived costs are identified for both knowledge seekers and knowledge providers; time and effort are the most frequently cited.@en

The importance of knowledge sharing within most organisations is well recognised. While abundant KM systems have been matured to encourage individual engagement in knowledge sharing, practical evidences show a low success rate of KM systems. This paper reports on a qualitative exploratory multi-case study to explore level participants’ engagement in knowledge sharing along the design principle for engagement of participatory systems. Results show that KM systems using a combined approach of supply- and demand side KM strongly influence participants’ engagement for knowledge sharing.@en

This paper explores participants’ perceived benefits and costs that influence the quantity and the quality of voluntary participation in knowledge networks in a resources-constrained economy. A conceptual model of perceived benefits and costs of knowledge sharing is designed on the basis of literature. The influence of perceived benefit and cost on perceived quantity and quality of knowledge sharing are assessed on the basis of a survey with 283 participants in a business context within a resource-restrained economy. The results indicate that reputation, reciprocity, and altruism are perceived to benefit quantity of participation, while reciprocity, altruism, and knowledge self-efficacy are perceived to benefit the quality of participation in knowledge networks. Effort and time have a negative impact on both quantity and quality of participation in knowledge sharing.@en

This article explores the use of a System Dynamics model as a boundary object in a case study regarding decision-making on water scarcity in South Africa. The model integrates expertise from the hydrological and ecological sciences with socio-economic information for a specific area, the Mossel Bay region. The model proved to be adaptable to multiple stakeholders, robust enough to maintain identity across stakeholders, and succeeded in allowing different stakeholders to work together without necessarily requiring consensus. This study supported communication between the stakeholders and enhanced the democratization of the decision-making processes by improving deliberation1 on contentious issues. Further applications of boundary spanning activities using system dynamics modeling in other cases is recommended.@en

Architectural complexity analysis plays an important role in the design of complex systems and System of Systems (SoS). In this process, a central problem is how to define the complexity indicator in the SoS level. This paper discusses a preliminary study on the architectural complexity analysis of the BRIDGE system, a typical large-scale emergency rescue management system. The traditional definition of architectural complexity, which has been successfully used to describe the architectural complexity of military SoS, is not suited for this case. The definition of architectural complexity, which consists of the multiplication of several components of complexity indicators, does not consider the varying importance of each component in different types of complex systems and SoS. This paper proposes a more general definition of architectural complexity by introducing additional exponential weighting factors to model such domain-related effects. Expert ratings on the relative importance of pair-wise components to the architectural complexity are used to estimate these weights. The new definition of architectural complexity facilitates the incorporation of the subjective domain-related knowledge and thereby provides a more flexible and reasonable measurement on the architectural complexity of complex systems and SoS.@en

Knowledge management is a critical issue in today's business world. Knowledge is considered to be one of the most strategic resources of a firm and sources of competitive advantage. This paper identifies and ranks Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for implementation of knowledge management in the Iranian Energy Sector. Using the Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method the relative quantitative weights of 8 of the major CSFs for implementation of knowledge management are identified, based on analyses with KM designers in the energy sector. The outcomes of the research designate that the critical success factors in the order of importance are: corporate culture, human and financial resources, strategy and leadership, structures and procedures, meso environmental factors, knowledge management process, macro environmental factors, technology and infrastructure.@en

The development of large-scale distributed multiagent systems in open dynamic environments is a challenge. System behavior is often not predictable and can only be evaluated by execution. This paper proposes a framework to support design and development of such systems: a framework in which both simulation and emulation play an important role. A distributed agent platform (AgentScape) is used to illustrate the potential of the framework.@en