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We constructed a corpus of digitized texts containing about 4% of all books ever printed. Analysis of this corpus enables us to investigate cultural trends quantitatively. We survey the vast terrain of 'culturomics,' focusing on linguistic and cultural phenomena that were reflected in the English language between 1800 and 2000. We show how this approach can provide insights about fields as diverse as lexicography, the evolution of grammar, collective memory, the adoption of technology, the pursuit of fame, censorship, and historical epidemiology. Culturomics extends the boundaries of rigorous quantitative inquiry to a wide array of new phenomena spanning the social sciences and the humanities.

Ignoring the informal, non-canonical nature of knowledge sharing, including people's motivation, ability and opportunity to share knowledge, is one of the key causes of resistance to use knowledge-sharing tools. In order to improve knowledge sharing supported by information technology (IT), tools need to be embedded in the social networks of which it is part. This has implications for our knowledge on the design requirements of such socially embedded IT. The paper reviews tools that are designed for the purpose to foster social capital. We will then discuss what is needed for an IS design theory related to knowledge communities and how such a theory could incorporate social capital theory.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a study of knowledge management understanding and usage in small and medium knowledge-intensive enterprises.Design methodology approach - The study has taken an interpretitivist approach, using two knowledge-intensive South Yorkshire (England) companies as case studies, both of which are characterised by the need to process and use knowledge on a daily basis in order to remain competitive. The case studies were analysed using qualitative research methodology, composed of interviews and concept mapping, thus deriving a characterisation of understandings, perceptions and requirements of SMEs in relation to knowledge management.Findings - The study provides evidence that, while SMEs, including knowledge intensive ones, acknowledge that adequately capturing, storing, sharing and disseminating knowledge can lead to greater innovation and productivity, their managers are not prepared to invest the relatively high effort on long term knowledge management goals for which they have difficulty in establishing the added value. Thus, knowledge management activities within SMEs tend to happen in an informal way, rarely supported by purposely designed ICT systems.Research limitations implications - This paper proposes that further studies in this field are required that focus on organisational and practical issues in order to close the gap between theoretical propositions and the reality of practice.Practical implications - The study suggests that in order to implement an appropriate knowledge management strategy in SMEs cultural, behavioural, and organisational issues need to be tackled before even considering technical issues.Originality value - KM seems to have been successfully applied in large companies, but it is largely disregarded by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This has been attributed primarily to a lack of a formal approach to the sharing, recording, transferring, auditing and exploiting of organisational knowledge, together with a lack of utilisation of available information technologies. This paper debates these concepts from a research findings point of view.

Based on literature review, this article identifies and assesses measurement approaches for two different purposes: determining the value of business intelligence (BI) and managing the BI process within an organization. In today's rapidly changing business environment, the need for timely and effective business information is recognized as essential for organizations not only to succeed, but even to survive. In this article, BI refers to a managerial philosophy and a tool used to help organizations manage and refine business information with the objective of making more effective business decisions. There are two main purposes for measuring BI: to prove BI is worth the effort and to help manage a BI process. Measures intended for managing the BI process are applicable for the continuous improvement of the process. On the basis of findings, the authors encourage companies to start applying the measurement of BI in practice. The balanced performance measurement of BI is proposed as a potential measurement approach.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of what electronic social networking encompasses. It also aims to educate IT, business decision makers, knowledge workers and librarians about the various applications, benefits and risks associated with social networking.Design methodology approach - After a literature review of the available resources (academic literature, journal articles, white papers, popular media and books) the benefits and perceived risks associated with electronic social networking on organisations are investigated.Findings - An individual's success in society depends on the shape and size of his her social network and ability to network and form connections with other social groups. Organisations which can harness this innate human ability to manage knowledge will be able to lower transactions costs and become more profitable.Originality value - The paper increases the understanding of what electronic social networking encompasses and how it can be utilised for business purposes. The ideas and discussion put forth are equally applicable to libraries and may give them new insights into the provision of social networking applications as part of their services to users.

Managing a global network of suppliers presents considerable challenges for large multinational corporations. Chief among these is how to effectively transfer knowledge among members of strategic alliances while maintaining tight control over intellectual property. This paper highlights the efforts of a Fortune 100 manufacturing firm (hereafter US Manufacturing) and its management of global IT suppliers. Using a social capital framework developed by Inkpen and Tsang (2005), we explore the supplier network at three levels (structural, cognitive, and relational) and present eight proven practices for creating, managing, and exploiting social capital within strategic alliances. The Inkpen and Tsang framework examines the linkages between knowledge transfer and social capital for three network types: intracorporate networks, strategic alliances, and industrial districts. We use the strategic alliance of US Manufacturing and its suppliers to illustrate salient social capital dimensions and the conditions and practices that facilitated knowledge transfer. These practices enabled US Manufacturing to improve knowledge transfer, decrease development costs, shorten cycle time, increase the quality of developed deliverables, quickly respond to changes in the regulatory environment, and, most importantly, build strong, strategic relationships with its suppliers.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linking of a folksonomy (user vocabulary) and LCSH (controlled vocabulary) on the basis of word matching, for the potential use of LCSH in bringing order to folksonomies.Design methodology approach - A selected sample of a folksonomy from a popular collaborative tagging system, Delicious, was word-matched with LCSH. LCSH was transformed into a tree structure called an LCSH tree for the matching. A close examination was conducted on the characteristics of folksonomies, the overlap of folksonomies with LCSH, and the distribution of folksonomies over the LCSH tree.Findings - The experimental results showed that the total proportion of tags being matched with LC subject headings constituted approximately two-thirds of all tags involved, with an additional 10 percent of the remaining tags having potential matches. A number of barriers for the linking as well as two areas in need of improving the matching are identified and described. Three important tag distribution patterns over the LCSH tree were identified and supported: skewedness, multifacet, and Zipfian-pattern.Research limitations implications - The results of the study can be adopted for the development of innovative methods of mapping between folksonomy and LCSH, which directly contributes to effective access and retrieval of tagged web resources and to the integration of multiple information repositories based on the two vocabularies.Practical implications - The linking of controlled vocabularies can be applicable to enhance information retrieval capability within collaborative tagging systems as well as across various tagging system information depositories and bibliographic databases.Originality value - This is among frontier works that examines the potential of linking a folksonomy, extracted from a collaborative tagging system, to an authority-maintained subject heading system. It provides exploratory data to support further advanced mapping methods for linking the two vocabularies.

The tendency of acquiring information systems and other high technology services from international suppliers continues at unprecedented levels. The primary motivation for the offshore sourcing of technology and services continues to be labor cost arbitrage, and secondly, access to higher levels of expertise. Yet paradoxically, large gaps in technical proficiency, cultural values, and communication styles between client and vendor can undermine the overall success of the offshore relationship. This paper argues that a new breed of entities have emerged, brokering or intermediating offshore relations. The capabilities of such ‘middlemen’ include moderating disparities in expertise, culture, and communication styles that often deteriorate performance in offshore relationships. The paper presents a preliminary theoretical justification for the emergence of offshore intermediaries, describes how and why they develop boundary spanning capabilities, and offers a case study as initial evidence substantiating the function and processes in intermediating transnational offshoring relationships. Our theory development concludes with propositions concerning four major offshore intermediary capabilities: (i) intermediating cultural distance, (ii) intermediating cognitive distance, (iii) pre-contractual preparation and negotiation, and (iv) post-contractual operational management.

Purpose – The purpose of this conceptual paper is to consider the possibility of designing a story-based image indexing system based on users’ descriptions of images. It reports a pilot study which uses users’ descriptions of two images. Design/methodology/approach – Eight interviews were undertaken to investigate storytelling in user interpretations of the images. Following this, storytelling was explored as an indexing input method. In all, 26 research subjects were asked to create stories about the images, which were then considered in relation to conventional story elements and in relation to Hidderley and Rafferty's (2005) image modality model. Findings – The results of the semi-structured interviews revealed that the majority of interpretations incorporated story elements related to setting, character, plot, literary devices, and themes. The 52 image stories included story elements identified in the first part of the project, and suggested that the image modality model is robust enough to deal with the “writerly” images used in this study. In addition, using storytelling as an input method encourages the use of verbs and connotative level responses. Originality/value – User indexing is generally based on paradigmatic approaches to concept analysis and interpretation in the form of tagging; the novelty of the current study is its exploration of syntagmatic approaches to user indexing in the form of storytelling. It is a pilot, proof of concept study, but it is hoped that it might stimulate further interest in syntagmatic approaches to user indexing.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to establish pluralism as the basis for bibliographic classification theory and practice and examine the possibility of establishing trustworthy classifications.Design methodology approach - The paper examines several key notions in classification and extends previous frameworks by combining an explanation-based approach to classification with the concepts of cognitive authority and trust.Findings - The paper presents an understanding of classification that allows designers and editors to establish trust through the principle of transparency. It demonstrates that modern classification theory and practice are tied to users' activities and domains of knowledge and that trustworthy classification systems are in close dialogue with users to handle bias responsible and establish trust.Originality value - The paper establishes a foundation for exploring trust and authority for classification systems.