If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore how active learning may help address the legitimacy and practicability issues inherent in introducing education for sustainability into business-related degree programs. Design/methodology/approach -The focus of this study is the experience of the authors in the development and implementation of education for sustainability within their business-related higher education programs. To address the inherent challenges of the task, they apply the principles of active learning, with substantial use of problem-based learning, in the classroom and engage in a process of staff development in their personal time. The method used is a simplified version of action research where the authors worked together over two years and then reflected on the experience through interviews and extensive discussions with each other, with their respective teaching teams, and with sustainability educators from outside of their programs. Findings -The findings suggest that active learning approaches move learners away from dependence on (possibly illegitimate and unprepared) educators and towards a personal responsibility approach. This also means accepting that learners are free to understand sustainability in a "global" sense or instead choose only its "business as usual" applications. Originality/value -The paper provides a useful insight into the practical value of active learning for educators grappling with the dilemma of delivering globally responsible business and/or management-related education programs.

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Purpose-The purpose of this article is to integrate existing theoretical explanations for innovation diffusion across the disciplines of marketing, innovation and sociology research. Design/methodology/approach-Literature reviews and historical case analysis were used to support an integrative model. Findings-Innovation diffusion is affected by technological, social and learning "conditions" while operating in the contextual "domain" of the individual, community or market/industry. Research limitations/implications-The model is drawn from new product development and marketing theory. Both fields are dominated by the assumption that users adopt new technology to maximise their utility. Also, the model does not integrate the overlapping effects of the different contexts and domains. Practical implications-The article provides a sound model for orienting new product development strategy, since it may reduce the risk of low and slow user adoption of radical innovations due, for instance, to their technological, social, and cognitive differences with former products. A second critical managerial implication is that technological, social and learning conditions clearly have an effect on marketing actions and competitive strategies. Originality/value-The article provides a literature review of resistance to technology adoption through a multidisciplinary lens.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a holistic interpretation of the scope of knowledge management processes whose intent is to enhance the effectiveness of new product development (NPD).Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews key concepts in NPD and knowledge management (KM), leading to propositions about the effective management of NPD‐relevant knowledge. It develops a structured, holistic model of organizational KM including practical mechanisms and processes for managing knowledge transfer.FindingsEffective knowledge management needs to: acknowledge the multiple organizational levels at which knowledge is deployed; support the production, elicitation and exchange of tacit knowledge as well as explicit, codified information; hence accommodate and enable both informal and formal, typically IS/IT enabled knowledge processes.Practical implicationsKM is work‐in‐progress, not a one‐time search for an idealised state. Computer‐enabled information systems are necessary but not sufficient elements of a comprehensive approach to KM. Holistic KM should be integral to the organization, working with not against the grain of its technical, social and cultural processes. Senior managers with titles such as “chief knowledge officer” may be crucial in establishing strategic priorities and change programmes, but all NPD personnel bear responsibility for effective KM.Originality/valueThe paper combines propositions about the effective conduct of KM for NPD with a model of holistic KM that involves multi‐level flux and constructive knowledge transition. It identifies practical mechanisms, IS/IT enabled and otherwise, in this context. It suggests that new research to identify effective KM practices in NPD is a priority for KM researchers.