Search

The research on chatbots has gained momentum over the past few years. Academics and practitioners investigate how these tools for communication with customers or internal team can be improved in terms of their performance, acceptance, and deployment. Although there is a plethora of recent studies available, not all of them deal with the digital business transformation implications of chatbots. The main aim of the research presented in this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review of high-quality journal research papers in order to summarise the current state of research on chatbots, identify their role in digital business transformation and suggest the areas warranting further attention. 74 papers were included in the research. Topical (focus and applications), methodological (methods used, sample size, sample type,and countries studied) and bibliometric (publication outlet, citations, and Altmetric Attention Score) aspects are evaluated and described. Scholars and practitioners can use the results to identify topics, areas, and applications that are intensely discussed in the literature and require further attention, select a methodology for their research that is well established in the field or is emerging, identify the most influential publications not to be missed in their research or identify publication outlets for publishing their research on chatbots. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Thesis (PhD(Computer and Information Science))--University of South Australia, 2018. Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-244) The healthcare environment is generally perceived as data and information rich, yet knowledge poor. Data and information has to be transformed into knowledge, as knowledge is an established resource for innovation. However, knowledge will not stimulate innovation unless healthcare employees learn from, apply or absorb new knowledge. The consumption or absorption of new knowledge is a challenge for healthcare organisations in their journey to become more innovative and gain competitive advantage. This study explored knowledge absorption in healthcare organisations, focusing on factors that impact healthcare organisations' capability to absorb new knowledge. Two studies were conducted to investigate how absorption of knowledge in healthcare organisations can be enhanced.

Purpose– This study aims to explore deterrents to knowledge-sharing in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Effective knowledge-sharing is fundamental to stimulation of the process of knowledge absorption. The limited proximal communication between the employees in the pharmaceutical industry stifles their knowledge-sharing behaviour significantly.Design/methodology/approach– A cross-sectional case study, consisting of semi-structured interviews with managers and scientists, was conducted in a multinational pharmaceutical company in Australia. Respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their current knowledge-sharing practices and to identify organisational deterrents to knowledge-sharing. The data were condensed into themes according to the thematic analysis method.Findings– The pharmaceutical industry is extensively regulated and its excessive competitiveness is cultivating organisational reticence towards the development of a knowledge-sharing culture. Nine categories of deterrents to intra- (within) and inter-organisational (between organisations) knowledge-sharing have been identified. These categories include high cost of sharing knowledge, information technology limitations, knowledge-hiding, lack of socialisation, lack of trust culture, non-educational mindset, organisational politics, poor leadership and time pressure.Research limitations/implications– The population of this study consists of managers and practitioners working for a pharmaceutical company. Hence, the generalisability of the findings to other health-care settings is unknown.Practical implications– The findings have implications for leaders and managers who should be aware of these professional diversities, instigators as well as the ripple effects of limited knowledge-sharing to guide the organisation towards developing an optimal knowledge-sharing culture.Originality/value– A focussed investigation of knowledge-sharing behaviour within the pharmaceutical industry in Australia, considering the pressure applied to this industry over the past decade. This case study specifically focusses on the diversity of deterrents to knowledge-sharing in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

In this era of rapid growth in information and communication technologies organizations are going through melodramatic changes in their environments and culture. This challenge demands dynamic capabilities to sustain its competitive advantage. One such a capability is the knowledge absorption capability (i.e. absorptive capacity) that can be described as the ability of an organization to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge gained from external sources. Absorptive capacity operationalization refers to the functioning of its dimensions. Although absorptive capacity has been extensively studied, the role of trust in operationalizing absorptive capacity is not yet been investigated. This research seeks to understand the role of trust in each of the absorptive capacity dimensions. A qualitative research methodology is employed through exploratory case studies to answer the research question, using semi-structured interviews as a dynamic data collection strategy. A theoretical framework is proposed to further understand the relationship between trust and absorptive capacity. A model will be developed to guide organizations to enhance absorptive capacity towards innovation, improved performance and competitive advantage. The paper is representing work in progress and the framework is currently being tested in the Healthcare industry in Australia. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

In rapidly changing and dynamic environments an organisation must have dynamic capabilities to sustain its competitive advantage among rivals. Knowledge Management research has investigated these capabilities. One such a capability is absorptive capacity (AC) that can be described as the ability of an organisation to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge gained from external sources to apply to commercial ends. Although AC has been extensively studied as a construct during the last two decades, survey-based empirical studies have only paid attention to the linear relationship between AC and performance measures. However, trust-related issues have not yet been studied with respect to AC operationalisation in organisations. This research seeks to offer a holistic approach for studying how trust influences AC as an antecedent as well as a fundamental ingredient, bridging knowledge sharing, transfer and absorption. This paper looks at how organisations can enhance their AC with more sophistication by establishing trust culture and by qualifying trust as an antecedent for enhancing AC. The basic premise of this paper is that enhanced absorptive capacity has four interrelated linkages. The first linkage relates to trust values and trust-worthiness leading to knowledge sharing. The second linkage relates to knowledge sharing and its antecedents, leading to knowledge transfer. The third linkage relates to knowledge transfer and its antecedents leading to knowledge absorption. The fourth linkage relates to knowledge absorption and its antecedents enhancing AC. The paper also argues that the effective enhancement of AC demands various enablers in each linkage, such as information technology infrastructure and social integration mechanisms. A framework is proposed to establish these linkages and to open further research avenues. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Since the start of the twenty first century, scholars of the theory of social capital, intellectual capital and knowledge management have investigated the role of trust in the creation of social capital and the ways in which social capital increases innovation, performance, success and competitive advantage. However, a roadmap to enhance innovation, performance, success and competitive advantage has not been developed yet. In this article we seek to contribute to this body of work by developing a roadmap with the following arguments: (1) trust facilitates the activation of social learning; (2) trust-based social networks are effective mechanisms to drive social learning; (3) social learning facilitates the generation of social capital; (4) social capital contributes to innovation, increased performance and competitive advantage. We suggest a trust-based framework that incorporates these overall arguments by using trust-based social networks to generate social capital to ultimately enhance innovation Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Organisational politics, both on intra– and inter–organisational level breaks down trust and becomes a barrier to effective collaboration, information sharing and knowledge management. Literature agrees that organisational politics strongly conflicts with the interests of both employees and the organisation. Employees need to share, collaborate and learn in order to further their personal career development, whereas organisations rely on information sharing and knowledge absorption to promote an innovative culture, enhance performance and achieve competitive advantage. To enable these positive outcomes, the negative effects of organisational politics have to be eliminated or at least minimised. In this paper we investigate the impact of organisational politics on trust, information‐ and knowledge sharing. A number of propositions are developed, suggesting that organisations adopt a trust‐based approach to curb the negative effects and promote a culture of information sharing and knowledge absorption towards enhanced innovation, improved organisational performance and sustainable competitive advantage. The paper includes findings from a reverse brainstorming session with information and knowledge management practitioners and consultants, as well as an online discussion with knowledge management experts. Furthermore, exploratory case studies with semi‐structured interviews are currently conducted in the Healthcare industry of Australia. The initial data collected support the propositions and indicate the need for such a trust‐based approach in these organisations. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are evolving so fast that their impact on organisations is very high in terms of culture, environment and how businesses are managed today. This challenge demand organisations to adopt or adapt technologies that enable them to enhance their absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge, to create a trust culture, achieve their goals and sustain their competitive advantage among rivals. In particular, information technology plays an important role as an enabler for trust-building, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer practices, and as such, for influencing the absorptive capacity of organisations. Although information technology has been extensively studied as a tool and medium for a variety of organisational practices, the role of information technology as an enabler of trust-building for knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption practices has not yet been studied. This research seeks to fill this gap. A qualitative research methodology is used, specifically through exploratory case studies and semi-structured interviews, to answer the research question. A framework is proposed to understand the role of information technology as an enabler for trust-building, knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption processes. The final version of the framework will guide organisations to deploy adequate information technology and -infrastructure to facilitate trust-building environment and to enable the pathway to innovation, improved performance and competitive advantage. The paper represents research in progress. The final model will be validated in the Healthcare industry in Australia. Refereed/Peer-reviewed