There is a growing body of literature calling for work on the emerging role of smart cities as information hubs and knowledge repositories. This article reviews the existing smart city literature and integrates knowledge management perspectives to provide an overview of future research directions. By demonstrating the multi-stakeholder relationships involved in smart city development, it takes a crucial step towards looking into the role of knowledge management in future smart city research. Eighty-two peer-reviewed publications were analyzed covering smart city studies in various research domains. The systematic review identifies five different themes: strategy and vision, frameworks, enablers and inhibitors, citizen participation, and benefits. These themes form the basis for developing a future research agenda focused on knowledge sharing and co-learning among cities via three research directions: socio-technical approaches, knowledge sharing perspectives and organizational learning capabilities. The paper also proposes a series of knowledge-driven policy recommendations to contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify individual variables with an impact on knowledge sharing and explore the under-discussed construct of employees’ ignorance. This can enhance the knowledge-sharing process and facilitate the development of greater intellectual capital. Design/methodology/approach – Eighty-four dependent variables affecting knowledge sharing are analyzed and classified into 11 categories. In addition, the direct effect of employees’ ignorance on knowledge sharing is introduced and empirically investigated in a case study of a multinational organization operating within the aerospace and defense industry. Findings – The findings suggest that employees’ ignorance may negatively affect their intention to share knowledge, thus leading to poor decision-making and communication in organizations. Employees’ ignorance could also limit the organizational ability to repel external threats, implement innovation and manage future risks. Originality/value – A classification scheme based on different categories of employees’ ignorance is developed, providing tailor-made recommendations for practitioners facing different types of ill-informed organizational scenarios. Further, the need to shift the emphasis away from the management of knowledge to the management of ignorance is also an important contribution of this paper.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the supplier perspective on competitive tendering processes and build on an increasing and developing interest in supplier satisfaction with public sector procurement activities. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data was collected from 20 interviews with a variety of suppliers to the UK public sector, which was then analysed using Nvivo and a series of empirically supported propositions developed. Findings The findings are combined into an integrated supplier satisfaction model, which explains how a multi-layered set of expectations (past and ideal) and quality dimensions (fairness, ambiguity, unnecessary information, tender focus, relationship irrelevance, unresponsiveness, outcome success) lead to dissatisfaction. This paper also establishes the implications of these judgments (non-response, poor quality and relationship impact) and that they are impacted by comparison to alternatives. Practical implications Supplier dissatisfaction can have serious ramifications for public sector buying organisations by reducing the pool of applicants, creating relationship barriers and a disconnect between the tender and the eventual services provided. This paper gives empirically derived advice to managers and policymakers on how to avoid these issues. Social implications Ensuring that as wide a pool of possible suppliers can respond to tender requests, means that the services that are provided by the public sector can make the most effective and efficient use of available resources. In addition, small to medium-sized enterprises may be encouraged to overcome their feelings of dissatisfaction and respond more frequently and readily to tender requests. Originality/value This paper contributes to the field of public sector procurement and in particular that which looks at increasing supplier satisfaction, by developing a supplier satisfaction model based on supplier generated data, which uses disconfirmation theory to explain the dynamics of how individuals make judgments by comparing perceptions of performance with a multi-layered set of expectations. This paper identifies service quality dimensions that influence satisfaction judgments and the implications of these judgments.

PurposeThis paper explores critical failure factors (CFFs) in the context of knowledge sharing. It provides further insights into what can cause knowledge- sharing failures, inflexible knowledge-sharing strategies and ineffective knowledge- sharing mechanisms. It also examines how practitioners can reduce or even mitigate such dysfunctions.Design/methodology/approachA case-based inductive approach was conducted. Data were collected from two studies applying mixed methods. The first data set included nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews with highly skilled personnel from an aerospace and defense organization. The second data source included 375 successfully completed questionnaires from participants employed at the same organization.FindingsThe paper identifies six CFFs with an impact on knowledge sharing. It also reveals that managing organizational ignorance can play a key role in generating new knowledge and averting failure. Study findings provide insights into the importance of identifying these failures when sharing knowledge and propose relevant mitigation strategies.Originality/valueThis paper identifies a range of empirically validated CFFs that complement the extant work on the complexity of knowledge sharing and have hitherto not been seen in the literature. It also provides a more nuanced understanding of why both organizations and their people often fail to share knowledge by exploring the role of organizational ignorance.

This paper examines the information and knowledge processes of one of the largest innovative and agile computer software organisations in the world. The aim of this research is to increase the performance of the employees at the case study organisation by learning lessons from previous implemented knowledge strategies that have failed. The research methods used are based on a positivism approach to reduce potential bias views of employees and an interpretivist approach to add richness and depth to the collected data. The findings of the study suggest that the company should stop investing in building asynchronous teaching learning environments to aid knowledge management but turn to more traditional methods outlined in this paper. The overall results confirmed the need for a robust communication strategy to enhance the information and knowledge process within the agile knowledge intensive organisation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.