Knowledge exploration–exploitation and information technology: crisis management of teaching–learning scenario in the COVID-19 outbreak

Taking Stock of Knowledge Transfer Studies: Finding Ways Forward

Knowledge transfer (KT) from academia to practice is important in many fields, but comprehensive studies on identifying the most effective forms of KT are scarce. This paper aims to provide an overview of KT theory and presents a cross-disciplinary scoping review of empirically oriented peer-reviewed articles. The review offers guidance for researchers seeking to communicate effectively with practitioners. It explores the effects of research communications, delves into the understanding and measurement of these effects, attempts to identify the most effective forms of communication, and highlights important considerations when designing KT strategies. Few studies in our sample (eight of 27) systematically measured effects of KT, and merely four studies compared multiple forms of KT. Nevertheless, most studies estimated effects from KT, regardless of the chosen form (e.g., workshops or lectures). Most studies estimated knowledge change as the primary outcome. Additionally, several studies explored altered beliefs such as increased self-efficacy. A third of the studies addressed how the knowledge was applied, ranging from sharing information to developing new habits. The identified effects were, however, both small and volatile. Our findings underscore the significance of continuity and repeated interactions to enhance the impact of KT initiatives. Furthermore, researchers need to develop a comprehensive set of tools to facilitate successful KT, considering factors such as expertise, communication skills, trust-building, and participant-centered approaches. By employing these strategies, researchers can effectively bridge the gap between academia and practice, facilitating successful KT in various fields.

Ambidextrous strategies in turbulent times: the experience of manufacturing SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

The paper refers to the framework of ambidexterity to explain the strategic paths of manufacturing SMEs in turbulent times, by investigating SMEs' strategic reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted an inductive approach methodology. Using a qualitative research method, Italian manufacturing SMEs in different industries were interviewed to outline how they have faced the negative effects of the COVID-19 by considering the strategies implemented during the pandemic.

Findings

The study identifies three ambidextrous strategies for manufacturing SMEs to positively overcome the COVID-19 crisis: (1) playing different roles within the same market (business-to-business and business-to-consumer) simultaneously, (2) simultaneous entrance and management of multiple markets and (3) exploiting manufacturing knowledge for exploring product and business model innovation (simultaneous learning processes).

Research limitations/implications

Results enrich the theoretical discussion on ambidexterity and SMEs, by stressing the strategic dimension of ambidexterity and including a more fine-grained analysis of the different firm’ strategic paths in times of crisis.

Practical implications

The paper provides practical suggestions for manufacturing SMEs on how they can react during turbulent times and crises by implementing ambidextrous strategies also thanks to the use of digital technologies.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to outlining the conditions for SMEs' resilience in the international competitive context by highlighting the perspective of ambidexterity based on the analysis of multiple case studies from manufacturing industries.

Assessment of the digital competencies of university instructors through use of the machine learning method

The explosion of COVID-19 has brought new challenges to the education industry, especially higher education. Digital competency is becoming an essential competency for higher education instructors, and how to assess instructors' digital competency is attracting increasing attention in higher education. However, most studies have used self-report questionnaires or manual reviews to assess digital competencies, which are time-consuming and potentially biased, and there is a current need for valid and effective assessment methods. To address this issue, this study uses machine learning to analyze syllabi to assess the extent to which university instructors have incorporated digital competency into their courses. The results show that not only is the proposed method feasible, but the results of the assessment using machine learning are highly consistent with those of the human assessment. This approach contributes to the assessment of digital competency in higher education institutions and provides evidence that can be used as a reference for future research on the development of digital competency in higher education institutions.

Can Green Innovation Improve Regional Environmental Carrying Capacity? An Empirical Analysis from China

Green innovation has become an important driving force for China's economic transformation and development. This paper selects the 2010-2020 provincial-level regions in China as samples, and adopts a multi-indicator comprehensive evaluation method to comprehensively, objectively and scientifically evaluate the environmental carrying capacity of air pollution in two dimensions: natural resource endowment and human activity impact, and also measures and calculates the green innovation in each province, city and autonomous region to explore the specific impact of green innovation on environmental carrying capacity and its spatial spillover effect; it also explores the heterogeneous effects of green innovation on environmental carrying capacity under different pollution environments. The conclusions show that: (1) Green innovation has a positive impact on environmental carrying capacity. (2) There is a spatial spillover effect of green innovation on environmental carrying capacity. In other words, in areas with higher PM2.5 concentration, that is, lower environmental quality, green innovation has a weaker ability to improve environmental carrying capacity; in areas with lower PM2.5 concentration, that is higher environmental quality, green innovation has a stronger ability to improve environmental carrying capacity. (3) In the process of green innovation affecting environmental carrying capacity, PM2.5 plays the part of a mediating effect, indicating that green innovation is an intermediate transmission mechanism affecting environmental carrying capacity, and the results show that the absolute value of the short-term indirect effect is greater than the absolute value of the short-term direct effect, and the long-term direct effect is greater than the long-term indirect effect.

Forgotten frontline workers in higher education: Aiding Ghana in the COVID-19 recovery process

The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 triggered a chain of events in the global education system; suspended onsite instruction; migration to online learning; adoption of mobile technologies for mobile learning, and diverse technological innovations. All this was done with the objective of adhering to COVID-19 lockdown protocols to speed global recovery from the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 crisis. In many countries, online learning became the only legal means to achieve lifelong and progressive education for over 91% of the world's student population whose education was at risk. Stakeholders in higher education (parents, students, teachers, and administrators) across the globe also became "frontline workers" in a collective effort to combat the spread of the virus. The study explores the integral role of these frontline workers in curbing the virus. The researchers draw from qualitative interviews involving twenty (20) tertiary students in Ghana who experienced a physical resumption of school in 2021. Findings suggest that a policy shift by school leaders led to the adoption of a multi-track year-round education (MT-YRE) system to promote social distancing. Students were provided with personal protective equipment (PPEs), teachers educated students on COVID-19 prevention and fostered good relationships with their students. Students adhered to institutional protocols to study. Parents also provided psychological and financial support. Policymakers in education should provide clear guidelines, resources, funds, and recognition to school stakeholders as they collectively tackle the virus to ensure economic, health, and education recovery post-COVID-19. Future studies should focus on how to establish a crisis-management framework for higher education.

Can Inbound Tourism Improve Regional Ecological Efficiency? An Empirical Analysis from China

Inbound tourism has an important impact on regional eco-efficiency. This paper uses the panel data of 31 provincial administrative units in China from 2005 to 2019; uses the improved DEA model to measure the regional ecological efficiency; and uses the panel threshold model to investigate input, output, and efficiency from the perspective of green technology innovation. Then, it explores the heterogeneous effects of inbound tourism on ecological efficiency. This paper finds that cross-border tourism has a positive impact on the ecological efficiency of tourist destinations. However, the degree of influence varies and will be changed with the level of regional green innovation. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) From an overall perspective, inbound tourism has a significant positive effect on ecological efficiency. (2) With the increase in green innovation investment and output, the promotion effect of inbound tourism on regional ecological efficiency first increases and then decreases. (3) The higher the green innovation efficiency, the greater the promotion effect of inbound tourism on ecological efficiency. Therefore, the Chinese government should encourage the development of inbound tourism, adopt greener innovative technologies that are cleaner and more environmentally friendly, and enhance the welfare effect of tourism on green economy.

The impact of COVID-19 on cultural industries: An empirical research based on stock market returns

The COVID-19 virus has challenged the development of the cultural industries seriously, so far, however few studies have used empirical methods to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the overall cultural industries. Based on the panel data of listed companies, this paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on cultural industries from the perspective of stock market returns. The empirical results show that the pandemic has a significant negative impact on the stock market returns of cultural industries, but the degrees of impact on various creative sub-sectors are significantly different. The findings also indicate that digitalization can effectively reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on cultural companies, and the epidemic has bigger negative impacts on small and newly-established cultural companies. Moreover, we find that the stock market returns of cultural industries have an inverted U-shaped relationship with the daily growth in total confirmed cases and in total cases of death caused by COVID-19, indicating that the negative marginal impact of COVID-19 on the cultural industries increases firstly and then gradually decreases. Finally, implications for companies and governments are presented respectively based on the findings.

M. Knowledge diffusion–application association during the COVID-19 pandemic: investigating the role of technology intervention

Purpose

Knowledge management during the pandemic has been a challenging task due to the sudden intervention of technology in the organisational environment and the unexpected shift to the work-from-home culture. This study aims to investigate the role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted and data were collected from 541 employees who were working from home during the pandemic in India.

Findings

This study found significant relationships between knowledge diffusion and technology intervention. This study also observed the mediating role of technology intervention in the relationship between knowledge diffusion and knowledge application.

Originality/value

Tis study stands with other pioneering studies that have explored the role of technology intervention in the knowledge diffusion–application relationship using the job demand-resource model.

Spatial Pattern of Technological Innovation in the Yangtze River Delta Region and Its Impact on Water Pollution

The impact of technological innovation on water pollution is an important parameter to determine and monitor while promoting and furthering a region's economic development. Here, exploratory spatial data analysis was used to analyze: the spatial patterns of technological innovation and water pollution in the Yangtze River, the changes in technical innovation and the resulting changes in water pollution, and the impact of technological innovation on water pollution. The following major inferences were drawn from the obtained results: (1) The spatial pattern of innovation input has a single-center structure that tends to spread. The patent innovation output has evolved, from a single spatial pattern with Shanghai as the core to a diffusion structure with three cores-Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing. (2) The aggregation mode of water pollution has evolved from the original "Z" mode to a new mode of core agglomeration, and water pollution is constantly being reduced. (3) The trends of change in patent innovation output and innovation input are roughly the same, while the trends of both and that of water pollution are contrary to each other. (4) The correlations between innovation input, patented innovation output, and water pollution are relatively low. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the number of cities with medium and high levels of gray correlation with water pollution is the same.

A Model for Knowledge Management Systems in the UbuntuNet Alliance Member Institutions

In the current knowledge-driven global economy, higher education and research institutions are taking a leading role as the hubs for knowledge creation and sharing. In contribution to the needed coordination of the efforts, this paper presents a guiding model thorough assessment of the prevailing status of knowledge resources sharing and collaboration in the regional alliance for education and research networks in the eastern and southern African countries—UbuntuNet Alliance. This research carried out a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with CEOs of three active national research and education networks (NRENs), representing both the government-run and private consortium-based settings. The study adopted a socio-technical perspective in assessing the technological engagements and the knowledge resources utilization within and among the NRENs in the region. The findings show that the NRENs share a similar set of challenges as well as missions and objectives; they aspire to provide technology-enhanced knowledge-sharing platforms within and across their domains. Finally, it presents UbuntuKMS Model—a comprehensive technology-enhanced knowledge management systems model that intends to provide guidance for the NRENs to orient their efforts accordingly. The research revealed that contextual considerations in developing system solutions are vital as the developing economies experience unique realities on the ground.

What Affects Rural Ecological Environment Governance Efficiency? Evidence from China

With rapid economic development, the protection of the ecological environment has become very important. The modernization of rural ecological governance is the basis and prerequisite for the sustainable economic and social development of vast rural areas of China in the current era. It is urgent to analyze the influencing factors and to improve China's rural ecological environment governance efficiency for Rural Revitalization in the new era, and to promote the modernization of the national environmental governance system and governance capacity. This paper empirically examines the influencing factors on rural ecological environment governance efficiency in the whole country, and in the eastern, central and western regions separately, at the provincial level, using the Tobit regression model. The results show that, at the national scale, the level of rural economic development, the size of village committees and rural public participation all have positive roles in promoting the efficiency of rural ecological environment governance. Rural population agglomeration, financial support for agriculture. And environmental protection social organizations have negative roles, hindering the efficiency of rural ecological environment governance. From the perspective of the eastern, central, and western regions, the factors affecting the efficiency of rural ecological environment governance are different due to regional differences. According to the results of empirical analysis, it is proposed that the key issue in improving the efficiency of rural ecological environment governance in China is to promote differentiated regional coordinated governance mechanisms.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries: A literature review and future research agenda

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected countless businesses, leading to serious disruptions for many industries. Drawing on the resilience literature, this study offers an understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries and their response to the challenges they have encountered. This study reviews 59 papers following the systematic literature review approach and reveals several positive implications of the COVID-19 pandemic within the creative industries (e.g., IT and software) as well as the negative (the music industry, festivals, cultural events). Identifying six themes related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries, we develop a response matrix based on the discussion of firms' digital capabilities and their ability to adapt to the COVID-19 crisis. We outline future research directions using a Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology (TCCM) framework.