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Begins with a critical review of the literature on knowledge management, arguing that its focus on IT to create a network structure may limit its potential for encouraging knowledge sharing across social communities. Two cases of interactive innovation are contrasted. One focused almost entirely on using IT (intranet) for knowledge sharing, resulting in a plethora of independent intranets which reinforced existing organizational and social boundaries with electronic “fences”. In the other, while IT was used to provide a network to encourage sharing, there was also recognition of the importance of face‐to‐face interaction for sharing tacit knowledge. The emphasis was on encouraging active networking among dispersed communities, rather than relying on IT networks. Argues for a community‐based model of knowledge management for interactive innovation and contrasts this with the cognitive‐based view that underpins many IT‐led knowledge management initiatives.

Seeks to reflect upon knowledge management from the vantage point of a human resource management perspective. Arguing that there is an urgent need for a greater interaction between the concerns of HRM and KM, the paper documents five perspectives of HRM and discusses them in relation to their implications for the management of knowledge with organizations. The paper culminates in developing a heuristic framework through which KM and HRM can be integrated.

This empirical study reports a unique implementation process of knowledge sharing from Buckman Laboratories. Through a socio‐technical perspective on Knowledge Management, this paper highlights the interplay between Knowledge Management systems and the organizational context.

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales.

Technical change and industrial relations are becoming inextricably linked together. There is a need for a clearsighted understanding of all the effects of technical change at the workplace. This would entail a conceptual framework in which the interaction between social and technical factors could be properly identified. At establishment level the innovation process typically involves a balancing of the social, economic and technological vectors of change. Three short case studies into the innovation process at one of the key manufacturing plants of a major British vehicle producer are presented, examining a Machine Monitoring System, Team Working and Maintenance Function. It is clear that the linked issues of work practices and labour productivity which are to the forefront of workplace industrial relations exert a significant impact on the economic consequences of technical change. Where technological innovation involves significant change in work practices, such change will be facilitated when the forms of co‐operation it demands and the costs and benefits it creates are congruent with the respective power and policies of management and unions.

This paper aims to explore Castells’ proposition that the innovation process is being progressively intensified by developments in technological and organizational forms – that knowledge is being applied to the generation of knowledge. The paper focuses on the emergence and implementation of knowledge management (KM), and its particular application in Ebank. A global approach to KM focussing on intranet technology proved unsuccessful. In explaining this outcome, the paper focuses on the constraints posed by the social embeddedness of knowledge as having a crucial effect. In this case, such embeddedness seemed to be linked to the lack of extensive intra‐organizational networks and the disparate identities developed by the different business units of the firm. These findings highlight several implications for KM's role in the innovation process.

Contrasts theories of the “Japanization” of British industry with empirical evidence from established car producers in that industry. Suggests that while the UK car industry has been heavily influenced by Japanese methods, established producers follow policies marked by indigenous influences rather than by any unmediated Japanese effect. Proceeds to explore relationships between processual change in plant‐level work organization and the overarching context of institutions and ideas. Investigates the relevance of the two major theoretical models of workplace change in the motor industry ‐ the “diffusion” and the “bolt‐on” models of change ‐ and their conflicting interpretations of the impact of the Japanese “lean production” approach. Compares models with case‐studies of changing work practices at Rover and Peugeot and suggests that neither model provides a satisfactory account of the patterns of change found. Develops instead a model of change which emphasizes the creative adaptation of production practices within the British context.

The paper aims to take a reflective stance on the relationship between policy/evidence and practice, which, the authors argue, is conceptually under‐developed. The paper aims to show that current research perspectives fail to frame evidence and policy in relation to practice.

A qualitative study was conducted in the English NHS in four Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Seventy‐five observations of meetings and 52 semi‐structured interviews were completed. The approach to data analysis was to explore and reconstruct narratives of PCT managers' real practices.

The exploratory findings are presented through two kinds of narratives. The first narrative vividly illustrates the significance of the active involvement, skills and creativity of health care practitioners for policy implementation. The second narrative elucidates how problems of collaboration among different experts in PCTs might emerge and affect evidence utilisation in practice.

The findings exemplify that policies are made workable in practice and, hence, policy makers may also need to be mindful of practical intricacies and conceive policy implementation as an iterative process.

The contribution of this paper lies in offering an alternative and important perspective to the debate of utilisation of policy/evidence in health care management and in advancing existing understanding of health care management practice. The paper's rich empirical examples demonstrate some important dimensions of the complexity of practice.

The changing environment within which SMEs are operating is examined by reference to detailed case studies of three medium‐sized firms (one in the pharmaceutical sector and two in engineering). Following the development of a framework for analysis the cases are discussed to illustrate the direct and indirect ways in which pressures in the network of business relationships affect the management of employment relations. Particular attention is given to the effects of these pressures on management structure, work organisation and human resources policies and practices. Far from enjoying greater discretion following the decline in institutional arrangements and labour market deregulation, managers in SMEs find themselves constrained in new ways. It is argued that employment relations in these firms is shaped strongly by specific customer requirements exercised through the supply chain rather than being driven by broad market forces.