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Consolidating knowledge for aggregated enterprise in tourism SMEs

Davenport, Elisabeth; Taylor, Katharine

Authors

Elisabeth Davenport

Katharine Taylor



Contributors

D G Campbell
Editor

Abstract

The authors present the design and evaluation process for a prototype learning platform that can assist micro-organizations to work together in the interests of local or regional development. The prototype addresses important issues in knowledge management. These include ways in which the tacit knowledge of one group may be extended across other groups as a public good; the extent to which social learning may be 'engineered' within and across organizations; the extent to which sustainable communities of practice may be formed in problem-based or scenario-based learning settings. The context of the project is microenterprises in the European tourism industry (traditionally a highly fragmented group), who, as part of an EC policy to improve global competitiveness in the SME sector, have been encouraged to aggregate into networked organizations with sufficient critical mass and 'presence' to compete with larger agencies in global markets. The team have drawn on theories of distributed cognition and communities of practice to design and evaluate the modules and have focused on the preparation of materials for two groups: learners and facilitators. The material for facilitators has been constructed with the help of professional 'trainers' in the tourism sector, who have strong ties with local and national government agencies. Each of these groups may be important champions of the learning platform if it is sustained beyond the prototype stage, and opportunities for long-term evaluation of the materials (e.g. have virtual 'destination management enterprises' formed in give regions) will depend on their support.

Citation

Davenport, E., & Taylor, K. (2001, May). Consolidating knowledge for aggregated enterprise in tourism SMEs. Presented at 29th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science, Universite Laval, Quebec

Conference Name 29th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science
Start Date May 27, 2001
End Date May 29, 2001
Publication Date 2001
Deposit Date Jul 2, 2010
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 217-226
Book Title Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science
Keywords knowledge management; social learning; European tourist industry; communities of practice; SME's;
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/3286
Contract Date Jul 2, 2010