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Purpose – The growing complexity of social systems and the faster technology evolution make central the role of the innovative information technology in complex organisations, geared towards collective intelligence processes among the various social actors and analytical tools. These are able to foster the participant knowledge, manage the feedback through a holistic approach and hence shift organisations from a plurality of voices to an interactive intelligence representing the ultimate identity of the organisation itself. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to offer a model for managing external and internal knowledge in order to support the viability of the organisation (system) in the longer term. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts the interpretative lens provided by Systems Thinking, System Dynamics and Viable System Approach (vSa) to investigate the challenging domain of the knowledge and information management for complex systems as organisations. Therefore, a qualitative and interpretative approach is carried out to reflect upon Big Data approaches and Collective Knowledge Systems (CKS), embracing a system perspective. Findings – The proposed conceptual model shows the crucial role covered by the holistic managing of the external and internal knowledge that permits to align the information variety of the organisation to the context and the entities that compose it in order to create harmonic relations. Leveraging on the concepts of vicariance, bricolage and exaptation, several advantages emerge that are correlated to the capacity of the complex system to reach a greater level of survival, by adapting and dynamically evolving itself. Originality/value – The paper shows how Systems Thinking and Viable System Approach can provide deep insights into the field of information technology, evidencing the systems thinking contribution in analysing, understanding and managing dimensions and paths of social dynamics. A contribution to previous studies is provided with reference to themes as Big Data, information and knowledge management.

Propelled by digitalisation, crowd knowledge (CK) has gained popularity alongside a plurality of related crowd-based concepts (crowdsourcing, wisdom of crowds and collective intelligence), resulting in an inconsistent understanding of the terms and their application. Based on a structured literature review, we conceptualise CK and develop a formal definition, which is then evaluated using knowledge artefacts on different crowd-related platforms and differentiation criteria in relation to participants, context, purpose and process. The paper posits that CK is conceptually different from related concepts, due to its dynamic nature and its instantiation in the form of a CK knowledge artefact which requires a specific context and a unique knowledge-creation process. Furthermore, we discuss how the concept of CK and its associated artefact relates to established knowledge management concepts such as knowledge assets and the flow of CK in the epistemological differentiation of knowledge into tacit and explicit elements. The article contributes to the formal conceptualisation of crowd-based concepts and therefore improves understanding of existing implementations and supports the prudent design of future systems.

Collaborative projects imply a wide variety of skills, ranging from technical abilities to teamwork and problem-solving attitudes. Innovative teaching programmes focused on the use and promotion of open-source geospatial tools represent a key element in developing such transversal abilities. OpenStreetMap (OSM) brings into play open and collaborative dynamics that build a critical ecosystem where single contributions are part of collective intelligence. This initiative led to the foundation of structured contributors groups such as PoliMappers, the first European YouthMappers chapter based in Politecnico di Milano (Italy). Pursuing the objective to build a responsible student-led community of Free and Open Source Software users, in 2021 PoliMappers organised the course entitled “Collaborative and Humanitarian Mapping”. The programme is structured into 7 meetings and aims to introduce university students to the OSM environment with a focus on the potential of open data and related geospatial tools, especially in the humanitarian field. It has seen the participation of the World Food Programme, Open Knowledge Foundation, TECHO Colombia, IMM Design Lab, Map for Future, UN Mappers, Spazio Vita Niguarda Onlus, Ledha Milano, AUS Niguarda Onlus and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. Enrolled attendants’ contributions have been assessed with tools for quality review and statistics. Also, Q&As and suggestions to the attendants have been collected to detect common issues. The paper presents the course, from the design to the assessment of the students’ activities, and the lessons learned in this experience in such a way to provide some guidance to those who want to organize similar initiatives.

The popularity and ubiquity of social networks has enabled a new form of decentralised online collaboration: groups of users gathering around a central theme and working together to solve problems, complete tasks and develop social connections. Groups that display such `organic collaboration' have been shown to solve tasks quicker and more accurately than other methods of crowdsourcing. They can also enable community action and resilience in response to different events, from casual requests to emergency response and crisis management. However, engaging such groups through formal agencies risks disconnect and disengagement by destabilising motivational structures. This paper explores case studies of this phenomenon, reviews models of motivation that can help design systems to harness these groups and proposes a framework for lightweight engagement using existing platforms and social networks.

This paper proposes a framework based on the collective intelligence principle to understand how the healthcare ecosystem is facing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 by using the Internet of Things (IoT) combined with other digital technologies. The underlying assumption is to consider the Healthcare ecosystem as a collective intelligence system in which the multitude of actors can be coordinated to address the pandemic-specific management challenges. The Italian healthcare ecosystem is analyzed as scenario taking in consideration the ‘genes’ of the collective intelligence: What is being done?, Who is doing it?, Why are they doing it? and How is it being done?. Our analysis introduces policy implications based on a unique decision support system (DSS) to allocate a limited set of IoT devices to a larger group of patients, to balance the alternative needs to improve the conditions of the most severe patients but to maximize the efficiency of device use.

This study aims to answer the following research question: Is there any difference in the effects of collective intelligence on the open innovation between before (2001–2005) and after (2011–2015) of the introduction of smartphones and crowd web services regarding electronics and mathematics? The research method of this study includes multiple regression analysis, including (1) the effect of collective intelligence on open innovation (i.e., the number of citations), (2) the effect of the amount of knowledge (i.e., the number of references) on open innovation and (3) the moderating effect of the amount of knowledge (i.e., the number of references) between collective intelligence and open innovation. The research scope of this study is Scopus published papers from two periods, namely, 2001–2005 and 2011–2015. The scope here is limited to mathematics and electronics. According to the research conducted here, if the amount of knowledge increases in an economic system, collective intelligence will increasingly motivate open innovation. The implication of this study is that there are diverse methods for collective intelligence to impact open innovation and the consequent results.

Overview: When designed and driven efficiently, crowdsourcing can leverage the power of collective intelligence and yield innovative solutions. To date, the crowdsourcing literature has focused on ...

The application of the collective intelligence (CI) concept has yielded significant results in many knowledge areas and it has substantial potential to yield results in the educational context. In view of distance education and online educational technologies, the use of CI has enormous potential to improve collaboration, social learning, and problem solving. However, there is still not a clear understanding of how CI has been used in combination with online educational technologies, due to a lack of secondary studies in this context. Thus, in this article, we conducted a systematic literature review with the objectives of determining how CI has been used in online learning environments and identifying the benefits and/or the difficulties that are encountered in the process of its use. We have analyzed 354 studies and only 30 have met our inclusion criteria. The main contributions to online learning of these 30 studies were categorized and discussed. Our results have shown that CI enables the exploration. of the potential of collaboration and collaborative learning in social environments to create more diverse educational contents and to improve educational aspects using group intelligence. Moreover, approximately 74% of the studies presented positive evidence of learning benefits. However, approximately 40% of the studies also presented positive evidence of implementation difficulties. These and other results presented in this article demonstrate that more research is necessary to explore the potential of CI in online learning technologies

The traditional Scoring-Based Peer Review system has been the predominant radiology performance quality assurance model, which can become a condemning, ineffective process. In 2015, the Institute of Medicine called for "policies and practices that promote a non-punitive culture that values open discussion and feedback on diagnostic performance." The development of Peer Learning (PL), a process that encompasses peer feedback, learning, and improvement, has positively impacted radiology through the recognition of success, identification of mistakes as learning opportunities, and development of a professional culture of trust. Furthermore, collective intelligence advances the PL process within the learning community, optimizing the abilities of a group effort that outperform that of a single individual, especially in the setting of complex medical and diagnostic imaging decision-making. The objective of the review article is to highlight the collective intelligence aspect of PL program, which allows PL to be more effective than established peer review model.

Uncertainty in business environments is promoting learning as an organizational value. Organizations need to implement knowledge management (KM) processes as well as organizational mechanisms transforming collective knowledge into a learning organizational capability. Literature identifies knowledge sharing (KS) as a fundamental KM process. Moreover, KM was found to be a prerequisite to a learning organization. Unfortunately, organizational initiatives promoting KS are challenged with the hoarding wisdom, “knowledge is power.” Literature has researched intrinsic and extrinsic motivations affecting KS intention. The rational action theory (RAT) explains the embedded utility function merging these motivations. Despite many studies, the dynamics of KS behavior needs further examination. This paper is an attempt to frame the KS behavior using game theory and RAT. We represent individuals’ perceived utility in two functions: knowledge and trustworthiness. This limits the perceived utility to personal enjoyment and reciprocity, which could be viewed as establishing a baseline KS behavior. We use the assurance game framework to incubate the two utility functions. Finally, we argue that KS intention is actually a dynamic state within a KS strategy. We identify five KS strategies: cooperation, defection, tit-for-tat, unforgiving, and random. It is the performance of these strategies that needs to be studied. Several scenarios are simulated to observe the progression of knowledge within each strategy. Interestingly, two strategies start with positive KS intention yet end up converging with those who started with negative KS intention. On the long run, only cooperatives seem to be contributing to collective knowledge. Empirical data from a teaching hospital is collected and analyzed for comparison.

Adaptability is at the center of many important organizational challenges. In this work, we study the connection between network structure and collective adaptability to a shifting environment. Prior research has shown that network centralization — the degree to which communication flows disproportionately through one or more members of the organization rather than being more equally distributed — interferes with collective problem-solving by interfering with effective integration of existing ideas, information, and solutions in the network. We hypothesize that the mechanisms that are responsible for that poor integration of ideas, information, and solutions would prove beneficial for problems requiring adaptation to a shifting environment. We conducted a 1,620-subject randomized online laboratory experiment, testing the effect of seven network structures on problem-solving success. To simulate a shifting environment, we designed a murder mystery task and manipulated when each piece of information could be found: early information encouraged an incorrect consensus, requiring a collective shift of solution when more information emerged later. We find that when the communication network within an organization is more centralized, it achieves the benefits of social influence (learning) without the costs (herding). We also find, however, that these benefits of centralization come with a major caveat: they only materialize in networks with two-way flow of information and not when information only flows from the center of the network outwards (as can occur in hierarchical structures or digitally mediated communication). We draw on these findings to re-conceptualize theory on the impact of centralization on collective intelligence in problem-solving that demands collective adaptation by an organization’s members.

The problem of knowledge in business was born several years ago. Indeed, new forms of work generate informal learning situations. This is how individuals develop their knowledge and skills. These situations are recognized by companies doing knowledge management. They encourage and make all to build communities of practice and knowledge exchange networks. This makes it possible to formalize the procedures, the good practices and the failures (feedback of experiences) thus to constitute sources of exploitable data. At the university, like any organization, each teacher has his/her own knowledge, his/her know-how, and he/she develops skills on his/her field of work in order to make that knowledge collected. This tacit or implicit teacher knowledge is shared so that each student can appropriate it and use it. However, depending on the nature of knowledge, and given the peculiarity of the pedagogical flow and its dependence on individuals (teacher), creating collective knowledge is not simple. During retirements, transfers, position change or any other academic life event, causing teacher displacement, knowledge may be lost. To deal with this problem, an empirical study of educational system perception of higher education in Morocco was carried out. Emphasis was placed on: pedagogical knowledge management, educational and e-learning platforms and overall student satisfaction. According to obtained results, we propose a smart education knowledge management system based on Artificial Intelligence to avoid loss of pedagogical knowledge and cover learning environment complexities and users' constraints.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the dichotomous role of knowledge through an examination of tacit and explicit knowledge in organizational change contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe study's aim is achieved by an analytical review of the seminal and contemporary knowledge management literature.FindingsThe paper contributes to the current body of knowledge management literature by analyzing a wide range of key literature and presenting a contemporary overview that compares the role of tacit and explicit knowledge within organizational change contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings contribute toward theoretical development in the knowledge management field by providing researchers with future research directions to build upon previous theoretical understandings and advance our collective knowledge of the research domain.Practical implicationsThe paper offers practical and pragmatic insights that will help firm managers to use tacit and/or explicit knowledge to manage organizational change.Originality/valueThis article presents an original comparative table that summarizes and compares the key understandings and insights from across the literature sources on a range of important aspects, and then presents implications for the two knowledge typologies. The paper also presents an original research framework containing a structured database of related calls for research by the latest academic publications. Furthermore, it provides specific and informed managerial recommendations for best practice in the integration of these knowledge typologies into organizational change management.

This work aims to ascertain whether the communication resources of the Web 2.0 used in virtual communities of patients with rare diseases successfully provide useful information and improve the health conditions of those affected by rare diseases. This observational study conducted on the websites of 80 organizations shows that these communities of social networks are indeed the preferred means of health-related communication for those affected and they provide a helpful mutual support network. The collective knowledge generated fosters co-participation in decision-making and provides a more focused approach to care for patient needs.

Innovation is among the pursuits of any modern organization nowadays, constituting the core of collective progress and of competitive advantage. The global rising tendency in competitiveness urges companies, public institutions and other community actors to adhere to this naturally evolutionary pattern that occurs in any kind of system. To achieve welfare in a context of continuous changes, an organization has to make sure that its processes are perfectly aligned to its mission. Additionally, having a clear picture on its innovation capability, meaning the ability of producing a valuable output by transforming internal collective knowledge, enables it to follow the road to success. In the case of traditional enterprises, which pursue profit accumulation, evaluating the innovation capability is done on the basis of clearly defined instruments, but when referring to social enterprises, a variety of factors come in place and make the evaluation more difficult. The scarce current research done concerning the assessment of innovation capability for social enterprises makes this topic meaningful to be explored, so their societal purpose can be better delivered. Thus, the aim of the paper is to formulate a framework for determining the innovation capability of Romanian social enterprises by building on the good practices reflected by innovation projects in the social field, funded through the Horizon 2020 programme at EU scale. The research methodology resides on two pillars. In the first place, it contains literature review on the concepts of innovation, social innovation, innovation capability and the instruments used to assess it. Secondly, it brings together the exemplary undertakings of multiple social innovation projects delivered through the Horizon 2020 programme and concentrated into online reports, accessible through its website.

En el presente artículo se intenta reflexionar acerca de las competencias docentes que son necesarias para convertir a estos “actores” en configuradores de escenarios de formación profesional prolíficos, mediante el uso de proyectos y las buenas prácticas promovidas por el Project Management Institute – PMI®, de manera que, desde esa posición, sean los promotores de experiencias prácticas que incorporen esos saberes y experiencias colectivas en una nueva cultura de trabajo basada en proyectos. También, se vincula el enfoque por competencias desde la perspectiva del desempeño efectivo y eficiente, y que no dejan de ser el resultado de la recopilación de prácticas desarrolladas por profesionales con elevados niveles de desempeño en todas las industrias y que son abordadas con integralidad mediante el denominado “triángulo del talento” que considera el conjunto de conocimientos técnicos, el liderazgo y análisis de negocios y estrategia. De ahí la importancia de que los docentes desarrollen competencias en Dirección de Proyectos, ya que fortalecerán definitivamente el abordaje de cualquier resultado o producto académico, más allá de la disciplina, con gestos tan básicos y fundamentales que podrían ir desde el definir claramente el “alcance” de cada proyecto hasta una oportuna gestión de plazos o cumplimiento de los tiempos previstos.