Organizational culture, organizational leadership, and Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) each play important roles in overcoming human barriers associated with knowledge creation, transfer and sharing. This paper examines three key components of organizational culture: cooperative involvement, trust and incentives. In addition, the impact of organizational leadership on knowledge management as well as the roles and qualifications of CKOs are discussed. Through an examination of previous research and existing literature on knowledge management, this paper also shows where gaps in research exist and suggests directions for future organizational research.

No abstract

Artificial neural networks are rapidly gaining popularity in the hard sciences and in social science. This article discusses neural networks as tools business researchers can use to analyze data. After providing a brief history of neural networks, the article describes limitations of multiple regression. Then, the characteristics and organization of neural networks are presented, and the article shows why they are an attractive alternative to regression. Shortcomings and applications of neural networks are reviewed, and neural network software is discussed.

Numerous studies have documented the demand for information regarding corporations' relationships to society. Much recent research has demonstrated why stakeholders need this information, and how it benefits both companies and the public. These studies suggest numerous methods by which companies can effectively disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information to the public, but in practice, reporting this type of information is fraught with legal and ethical uncertainty often unexplored in most literature. This article represents a fresh analysis of the numerous pragmatic consequences and legal and ethical complications inherent in CSR reporting, using Nike Corporation as a case example. The article discusses the theoretical viewpoints surrounding the ethics of CSR disclosure, and presents the case of Nike and the complications it encountered while advertising CSR information. The article ends with an analysis of CSR auditing as a possible solution to companies seeking to improve the method and transparency of social responsibility reporting.

Knowledge management has become the latest strategy in increasing organizational competitiveness. Proponents are calling it the only solution for competitive advantage in the new century (Evans, 1997; Hedlund, 1994; Hibbard, 1997; Martinez, 1998; Trussler, 1998) and critics are calling it the worst in passing fads (Hibbard, 1997). Robert H. Buckman, CEO of Buckman Labs, says the purpose of the knowledge management and sharing system at his corporation is to “facilitate communication across all of the organization's boundaries, so that the entire company works together to help everyone to be the best they can be” (Buckman, 1998, p. 11). Buckman Labs has become the first name in knowledge management with its innovative and relatively long‐standing (since 1991) approach to harnessing employees' collective knowledge.