PurposeCompetitive advantage depends largely on the ability to activate and use organisational resources. As a result, the focus in the strategic management, organisational behaviour and human resource management literature has turned to the internal capabilities of organisations including a particular focus on employees' competencies. This paper seeks to analyse and discuss a forward‐looking, dynamic and proactive approach to competency modelling explicitly aligned with strategic business needs and oriented to long‐term future success.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a longitudinal research project sponsored by a leading Greek bank, currently undergoing fundamental corporate restructuring. This paper describes how the competency model was developed and how it facilitated strategy implementation and change by supporting communication, employee understanding of business goals, and the incorporation of new behaviours, roles and competencies in operations.FindingsA forward‐looking and proactive approach to competency modelling is presented and discussed in the context of a large‐scale organisational change. The organisational core competencies required for a business to compete successfully in the banking sector are defined and discussed. The right mix of skills and behaviours that the individuals would need to possess in order to produce and support those core competencies is also analysed and discussed.Originality/valueTraditional approach to competency management, which is analogous to job analysis, focuses on competencies of successful individuals, rather than on competencies that are needed to support an organisation to meet its short‐ or long‐term objectives. It is important to realise that there is a need to shift toward a forward‐looking and proactive approach to competency modelling and present a competency methodology that supports this need.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to conduct an investigation into knowledge-sharing mechanisms by empirically testing the role that context plays in the transfer of actionable knowledge, and, in turn, for innovation.Design/methodology/approach -A multiple-respondents survey was performed in 72 business units of companies belonging to the ICT, pharmaceutical and food industries in Greece. In total, 295 useful questionnaires were collected using a multiple respondent strategy. All constructs were measured with multi-item scales and validated using exploratory factor analyses. A total of seven hypotheses were generated following a literature review on the key determinants of context for effective knowledge sharing. The hypotheses were tested using ordinary least squares regression. Findings -The research shows that when units pursue knowledge transfer between their different actors, contextual factors such as trust, motivation to transfer knowledge, management support and learning orientation are crucial for fostering knowledge transfer and innovation. This contribution is important since the need for developing an organizational context where knowledge transfer and innovation flourish is constantly put forth in the business press, while the empirical and research based evidence for its importance has been scarce.Research limitations/implications -There is a research need in knowledge sharing theory to define and identify an integrated model concerning the contextual factors that enable the knowledge sharing process. Having established a firm relationship between organizational context and innovation, the research also sets a foundation for further exploring the organization-environment link in terms of leveraging organizational knowledge dynamics.Originality/value -The research is a first attempt to show that the construct ''perceived usefulness of knowledge'' is a critical proxy of knowledge transfer effectiveness, as well as to find support for its positive relation to innovation.

Performance measurement of R&D and new product development (NPD) activities is gaining increased importance because the effectiveness and efficiency of these activities not only determine a firm's competitive advantage, but its very survival. The literature is rich on descriptions of measurement techniques and methods, but pays less attention to the actual use of the performance results in operations and decision‐making. In this paper, reporting results from interviews conducted in three large companies in the electronics industry, we validate and further specify key areas of use and impact of R&D and NPD performance measurement results including ensuring better coherence and relevance of product portfolios, reorienting projects before failure, deciding on corrective actions, supporting the launching decision, enhancing staff motivation, and facilitating well‐balanced decision‐making. We identify implications for practice and research and propose a framework for future empirical work focusing on the interplay between the operation of the performance measurement system, the use and the impacts of measurement results.

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Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in numerous industries recognize the benefits of involving their suppliers in the product design process. Specifications play a central role in guiding that supplier‐OEM relationship. For so‐called “black‐box” parts, the OEM specifies overall requirements for product function and performance, cost targets, and development lead time, and then communicates this information to suppliers, who perform detailed engineering and testing. Black‐box engineering marks a fundamental change in the buyer‐supplier relationship, and companies that use or plan to adopt this practice must understand the factors that contribute to its successful implementation. Using survey responses from more than 300 suppliers to a European automobile OEM, Christer Karlsson, Rajesh Nellore, and Klas Soderquist identify the problems those suppliers face in the specification process. To provide insight into the context and the causes of those problems, they also describe the results of case studies conducted in the OEM and two suppliers. In this way, they attempt to identify critical factors that can help to improve the specifications process both internally at an OEM and between the OEM and its suppliers. The respondents identified numerous problems that they face in the specifications process. Based on feedback from product development managers and design staff members in the case study companies, those problems are categorized as follows: technical content and the level of detail in requirements, changes of specifications, cost, interpretation and understanding, and supplier participation in the specification process. Black‐box engineering redefines the role of specifications. Instead of a fixed document that dictates to the supplier, the specification becomes an open medium for communicating functional and performance requirements and necessary technical adjustments. In other words, black‐box products require a highly interactive design process. Product development managers for suppliers and OEMs must understand that they cannot avoid changes in specifications during black‐box engineering projects. Rather than view such changes as wastes of time and effort, they should approach the black‐box engineering process as a learning opportunity. By working with several parallel sets of functional solutions, which they can validate with the customer before developing detailed dimensional definitions, suppliers can limit the amount of time they lose as a result of changes in specifications.

In the beginning of the 21st century, when the notion of constant transformation is so frequently invoked, organizational change in the public sector is gaining increased attention. Responding to regulatory, economic, competitive and technological shifts, the challenge of reorganization is universal for all public organizations. This paper aims to explore the shift from Traditional to New Public Management (NPM), as well as the driving forces (such as the information economy, the need for better public performance, the opening of global markets, greater knowledge intensity etc.) that lead to the formulation of transformational programs to Greece. A presentation of a transformational program called Politeia, will be provided, analysed and compared to previous efforts. Finally, we address the important role of leadership and management in Greek public organizations that want successful to implement any change effort successfully. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in The Netherlands 2005New Public Management, bureaucracy, organizational change, leadership, management, Greek public sector,

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