Technology Transfer Centres (TTCs) have been analyzed in the last few years\ud by focusing on the relationship between a TTC, provider of knowledge-intensive services,\ud and a firm client-receiver. Less attention has been devoted to a more complex relationship\ud which involves in the dyadic provider-receiver tie a third relevant body, University. We\ud provide both a theoretical and an empirical contribution by studying whether TTCs can\ud bond the academic and industrial system and we define the activities that make-up this role\ud such as: scanning and selection of R&D opportunities, bridge building, semantic translation\ud of domain specific knowledge, co-production of new knowledge. The boundary\ud spanning role of TTCs is discussed drawing on different and complementary theoretical\ud perspectives. Moreover, we test research hypotheses on the antecedents of boundary\ud spanning activity from a knowledge-based perspective. We argue that TTC boundary\ud spanners need to leverage on both technical skills and networking competences. Empirical\ud investigation has been carried out with a survey of the TTC population of North East Italy.\ud The research findings highlight the task coordination activities implied by a boundary\ud spanning role in joint R&D projects and show that the endowment of human capital at\ud individual level and a qualified social capital at individual and organizational level are the\ud main determinant

While large, international enterprises have developed/adopted state-of-the-art business practices and knowledge management systems, in SMEs (small and medium enterprises) individual competences usually represent the cornerstone of a firm's intellectual capital and a key determinant of organizational performance. The increasingly fierce competition deriving from globalization and ICT has challenged this approach calling for new ways to develop, diffuse and retain knowledge in SMEs. Starting from the assumption that SMEs' core capabilities and intellectual capital are deeply rooted in personal knowledge, and building on competence modelling and development research, this article identifies a cross-firm competence model for middle managers working in SMEs in north-eastern Italy and relates it to these companies' core capabilities. The article presents the results of a two-year field study on the individual skills and competences of 310 middle managers in the manufacturing, product design and accounting departments of 46 SMEs. It also draws some managerial implications in terms of competencebased human resource management systems in SMEs.

The diffusion process of e-learning has been, in recent years, at the centre of several studies. These researches focused mainly on the USA case, where there has been an exponential adoption both in the public and private sectors. From this perspective the paper would give a contribution to understand the diffusion process of e-learning in a specific country and it deals with the following questions: are there relevant consistencies in the rate and the model of adoption of e-learning solutions in Italian companies? What are the causes of this process? Building on bandwagon theories and institutional literature, the paper analyses the antecedents of the adoption process in Italy, asking whether it is determined by the rational search for economic benefits, or is it driven by the fear of lost legitimacy or strategic advantage under institutional or competitive bandwagon pressures. The paper also looks into the solutions adopted by the Italian firms, studying their e-learning strategies. To answer the research questions and to test the related propositions, an empirical study has been developed based on a survey, on interviews and document analysis. Since the e-learning diffusion process in Italy is at an early stage, the research has been undertaken in two sectors, pharmaceutical and banking, where e-learning has been adopted to a greater extent than in other sectors.

Metaphors are central in organization theory for they help the creation of\ud knowledge by altering concepts or generating new ones. Yet, despite their importance,\ud little is known about how metaphors are used in processes of knowledge creation across\ud worldviews. In such contexts, participants maintain their specialization, work separately,\ud and resort to interpretable devices like metaphors to create together. With a longitudinal\ud study of a multidisciplinary scientific project aimed at repairing broken spinal cord\ud tissues, we show how metaphors facilitate collective knowledge creation. We contribute\ud to the theory of knowledge creation across worldviews by showing the consequences of\ud the diverse creative outcomes of metaphors on the orientation and stability of the collective\ud work. Moreover, we propose how to control and predict the creative outcomes of\ud metaphors by modifying the knowledge bases that are engaged in the creative process.\ud We contribute to the theory on cycles of knowledge creation by showing that a metaphor\ud can extend knowledge both horizontally and vertically, and by specifying the relationships\ud between the knowledge created and the elements that simultaneously populate the\ud creative cycle

No abstract