Programme

At the dawn of our millennium, information started to gain momentum as on of the most valuable resources, both for managerial purposes and for personal life. A whole lifestyle has emerged, based on information acquisition and exchanges. Two main forces drove such a revolution. On one hand, technological innovations led to the convergence between information technology and communication technology, giving birth to the ICT industry. On the verge of an outstanding growth, this industry is now well established, and it is forecast to continue growing, thanks to the developing countries. On the other hand, socio-economic forces contributed to shape a new society, in which information is embedded, and access to information sources is considered the most valuable asset. From a managerial perspective, this transformation requires firms to develop new competitive behaviours, in order to stay successful.
The course aims to investigate the major issues related to the management of corporate knowledge, particularly with regard to information-intensive sectors and in the broader context of the knowledge-based view of the firm. Given the rapid obsolescence of the knowledge base, firms need to constantly renew their knowledge management strategies and practices. Thus, students will engage in active participation through exercises and project work in order to understand strategies of knowledge management, organizational conditions and enabling technologies.
This course is designed to understand the role of data-driven knowledge within the contemporary economy, and to provide the students with a clear analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of information-based goods.

Programme
The course will cover the following topics:
Characteristics, drivers and criticality of information-based economy and the knowledge-based view of the firms.
Organization and globalization.
Taxonomy of knowledge: the distinction between data, information, knowledge.
The dimensions of knowledge: the model of Nonaka and Takeuchi.
The processes for the creation, dissemination, and capitalization during the harvesting of knowledge.
Platform organizations and emerging digital business models
What’s next: Industry 4.0 (overview)
Using forums and Web 2.0 applications.
An hyper-local, global market
Business culture, communication, work organisation in the digital economy
Being a digitiser, working in the digital economy
Digital transformation
Cloud business model innovation

Core Documentation

Textbook
We will be using the following textbooks:
Marchegiani, L. (2021). Digital Transformation and Knowledge Management. Routledge.

Newell S., Robertson M., Scarbrough H., Swan J. (2009) Managing Knowledge Work and Innovation. Palgrave.

Additional material will be posted in this workspace or in the shared dropbox folder.

Reference Bibliography

Customer engagement in a big data world' Journal of services marketing, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 161-171 Nonaka Knowledge Creating Company The Knowledge Economy, Powell and Snellman Network Capital, Social Capital and Knowledge Flow: How the Nature of Inter-organizational Networks Impacts on Innovation Peruffo, E., Marchegiani, L., & Vicentini, F. (2018). Experience as a source of knowledge in divestiture decisions: emerging issues and knowledge management implications. Journal of Knowledge Management.

Type of delivery of the course

The course takes a heavily case-oriented managerial perspective and in-class participation is requested and evaluated

Type of evaluation

Grading Components In class participation Each student is required to read and understand each assignment per each class. The meeting in class will always be interactive and the participation will be graded accordingly. Students can bring up their own experience, their interpretation of the assignment, as well as any additional material that could be of help in rendering the discussion vivid. Leading the class Each student can sign up to lead one or more classes and (s)he will be assessed accordingly. Each student MUST lead at least ONE class. Leaders are required to summarize the content of the daily assignment and to organize the class in order to bring the most important issues of the day to the attention of all the participants. It is recommended that each leader provide stimuli for the interaction in class. The leader could bring in class additional readings or case studies to foster the discussion. Wiki Participation Each student is required to interact through the wiki posting at least ONE contribution per each discussion. Teamwork Project Throughout the semester, students will work on a teamwork coordinated by the TA. A dedicated space to the teamwork is provided in the online workspace. Grades Each student will be evaluated according to: - in class participation (one grade per each class): 25% - wiki participation: 25% - leading the class: 25% - teamwork: 25%