Dr Stephen Little
Senior Lecturer in Knowledge Management
Dr Stephen Little is a member of The Open University's Centre for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise.
You can email Dr Stephen Little directly; but for media enquiries please contact a member of The Open University's Media Relations team.
Biography
Stephen has degrees in Architecture and Applied Psychology. He has been researching technology and organisation since leaving architectural practice in 1981 to undertake a PhD at the Department of Design Research, Royal College of Art, London. This examined the organisational dynamics of innovation in computer aided architectural design at his former employer, the Scottish Special Housing Assocation (since incorporated into the Scottish Government).
He joined The Open University in 1999 as course team chair for the presentation of the MBA elective course in Managing Knowledge (B823) following eleven years in Australia based at Griffith University, Brisbane, and the University of Wollongong NSW.
While in Australia Stephen held visiting appointments to the Urban Research Program at the Australian National University and the Fujitsu Centre for Managing Information Technology in Organisations at the Australian Graduate School of Management. At the former he investigated non-place aspects of community. At the latter he studied the deployment of knowledge-based computer systems in a number of key sectors, including rail transportation.
Currently he holds visiting positions in the Department of Technology and Innovation, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands, and in Business Logistics, Innovation and Systems at the University of Bolton, UK.
Teaching interests
Dr Little is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and his background in architecture underpins a commitment to problem-based approaches to learning which was applied to a ground-breaking Bachelor of Informatics degree at Griffith University and continued at Wollongong where he utilised his studies for a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education to overhaul the project-based component of a Bachelor of Commerce information system major.
For BS811 Strategic Management in Life Sciences he was an author for Block 3 Strategy and Value and Production Chair for Block 4 Creating the Future. He was also responsible for the completion of the scenario planning elements of Block 4 and at the launch of the course in 2007 became both presentation chair and responsible for the final development and delivery of the residential school. Based around a group-based scenario planning exercises, this drew on his experience with a major DTI Foresight project.
Currently he is contributing to the Science Faculty’s redevelopment of key material for their successor course S811 in their Masters in Professional Science and is a course team member of B322 Investigating entrepreneurial opportunities.
Research interests
His current research interests include the role of migration in the transfer of intellectual capital and regional capacity and development. He was co-investigator on an ESRC Science in Society small award 'Diffusion of Knowledge through Migration of Science Labour in India: Issues, Challenges and Implications'. This project rated was 'outstanding' by independent assessors.
With European colleagues he is investigating the role of place branding, identity and heritage in the attraction of inward migration and investment and as a member of the CERN-MODE collaboration he is investigating the role of technology transfer from large scale scientific collaborations in maintaining governmental and public support for pure science research.
He has co-edited books and journal issues covering the influence of the Asian economies in the twenty-first century, intelligent urban development and meta-governance. His book, Design and Determination: the role of information technology in redressing regional inequities in the development process, was published by Ashgate in 2004 and is now available on-line.
Impact and engagement
In 2005 Dr Little contributed a State of Science Review: The social impacts of intelligent infrastructure on transport for the UK DTI Foresight Project on Intelligent Infrastructure Systems.
He is Chairman of the Asia Pacific Technology Network (www.aptn.org.uk/), a company limited by guarantee which organises specialist seminar series co-hosted by government and industry partners, including major London law firms specialising in intellectual property and the Asian economies. APTN was originally affiliated to Chatham House in London of which he is also a member.
Other events have been co-organised with the Daiwa Anglo-Japan Foundation and Asia House in London India
External contributions
He is external examiner, for DBA and PhD coursework at the Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK, the Masters in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at the Manchester Business School and undergraduate modules at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School.
He was lead academic on two of the programmes in the BBC2 Virtual Revolution documentary series which subsequently gained both Emmy and BAFTA awards.
As Chairman of the Asia Pacific Technology Network he has been a delegate and invited participant at High Technology Fora in London, Seoul and in Shanghai and in July 2011 was an invited participant in a high-level joint EU/US conference on the science of science policy hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation and consequently a co-author of the subsequent Bellagio Statement (http://www.iscintelligence.com/event.php?id=22).
He attended the October launch of this report at the European Parliament and is contributing to EU Council Secretariat discussions of a pilot European implementation and in January 2012 participated in an ONR led seminar on R&D led innovation also in Brussels.
Presently he is liaising with the conference facilitators, ISC Intelligence, on an aerospace meeting to be held in Brussels in 2013 to which the BRICS Aerospace collaboration can make a major contribution.
International collaborations
Since leaving Australia Dr Little has maintained his links to colleagues in the Pacific Rim nations and as Board Member at Large for the Asia Pacific Researchers in Organization Studies (www.apros.org) he is co-organising their 2013 conference on the impact on organisational forms of the recovering and reconfiguring global economy, to be hosted by Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo.
He is working with Swedish colleagues in the University of Lund and Region Skane and with Professor Paul Couchman at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia, on a comparative study of the economic impacts of high energy physics investments on regional economies and their global links.
He holds a reciprocal appointment at the Rotterdam School of Management in conjunction with visiting Professor Frank Go and is a member, of the International Program Board of the Masters in Hospitality Management, Hotelschool Den Haag, Netherlands.
Web links
Research student supervision
Publications
(2013) 'Does knowledge management work in NGOs? - a longitudinal study', International Journal of Public Administration, vol. 36, pp. (In press). Abstract
(2011) 'Shadow factories, shallow skills? An analysis of work organisation in the aircraft industry in the Second World War', Labor History, vol. 52, issue 2, pp. 193-216. Abstract
(2010) 'Big Pharma, social movements, international labour and the internet: critical perspectives on coordination', Labor History, vol. 51, issue 1, pp. 71-86. Abstract
(2008) 'Disruptive dragons: can China change the rules of globalisation's game?', Prometheus, vol. 26, issue 4, pp. 387-397. Abstract
(2007) 'Flows and cohesion: balancing capabilities across an expanded union', Regional Studies Association International Conference Shaping EU Regional Policy: Economic Social and Political Pressures Leuven, JuneMobilities, vol. 2, issue 1, pp. 99-108. Abstract
(2007) 'From imitation to innovation: the evolution of R&D capabilities and learning processes in the Indian pharmaceutical industry', Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, vol. 19, issue 5, pp. 589-609. Abstract
(2006) 'The skill of travel: networks into neighbourhoods', 37th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, JulyEuropean Spatial Research and Policy, vol. 13, issue 1, pp. 9-22. Abstract
(2005) 'Knowledge generation in developing countries: a theoretical framework for exploring dynamic learning in high technology firms', Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 3, issue 2, Reading, Academic Conferences International Limited, pp. 87-96. Abstract
(2005) 'Recovering experience, confirming identity, voicing resistance: The Braceros', Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. 1, issue 2-3, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 123-136. Abstract
(2003) 'Globalisation, Europeanisation and metagovernance: society, space and technology', European Spatial Research and Policy, vol. 10, issue 2, pp. 9-24. Abstract
(2003) 'Introduction: the silent revolution: electronic data exchange, metadata and metagovernance', European Spatial Research and Policy, vol. 10, issue 2, pp. 5-7.
(2001) 'Communication and context: collective tacit knowledge and practice in Japan's workplace ba', Creativity and Innovation Management, vol. 10, issue 3, pp. 154-164. Abstract
(2001) 'Calling up culture: information spaces and information flows as the virtual dynamics of inclusion and exclusion', IFIP WG9.4 Conference: Information FlowsInformation Technology and People, vol. 14, issue 4, pp. 353-367. Abstract
(1999) 'Global production and global consumption: designing organizations and networks for the next century', Creativity and Innovation Management, vol. 8, issue 1, Blackwell Publishing, pp. Aug-19.
(1999) 'Opportunistic strategy formulation for IS/IT planning', European Journal of Information Systems, vol. 8, issue 2, Palgrave Macmillan Ltd, pp. 119-126.
(1996) 'Global business and cross-cultural information systems: technical and institutional dimensions of diffusion', Information Technology and People, vol. 9, issue 3, pp. 30-54.
(1995) 'Getting smart: developing an action research approach to the integrated management of technical and organizational innovation', Journal of Human Systems Management, vol. 14, issue 1, pp. 91-103.
(1993) 'Cyberspace versus citizenship: information technology and emerging forms of non-space community', Australian Journal of Information Systems, vol. 1, issue 1, pp. 38-45.
(1991) 'Technological cultures of weapons design', Science as Culture, vol. 2 (2), issue 11, pp. 227-58.
(1990) 'TASK environments and institutional environments: understanding the context of design decision-making', Design Studies, vol. 11, issue 1, pp. 29-42.
(1990) 'Social aspects of computing in computing education', Australian Computer Journal, vol. 22, issue 2, pp. 30-35.
(1989) 'A project- based approach to information systems design for undergraduates', Australian Computer Journal, vol. 21, issue 3, pp. 130-138.
(1987) 'Incremental and systemic innovation strategies: reflections of strategic choice', Design Studies, vol. 8, issue 1, Elsevier Ltd., pp. 41-54.
(1987) 'The role of time frames in design decision-making', Design Studies, vol. 8, issue 3, pp. 170-182.
(2005) 'Managing Knowledge: an essential reader. 2nd edition', Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 368. Abstract
(2004) 'Design and determination: the role of information technology in redressing regional inequities in the development process', Voices in Development Management, Aldershot, UK, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, pp. 260. Abstract
(2001) 'Managing knowledge: an essential reader', London, UK, Sage Publications Ltd. Abstract
(2000) 'Global Change: the impact of Asia in the 21st century', London, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 432.
(1992) 'Proceedings of the Third Australian Conference on Information Systems', University of Wollongong.
(1987) 'Organizational Implications of Computing for Professional Work', Aldershot, Avebury Publishing Ltd.
(2012) 'Sustaining a brand through proactive repair: the case of Manchester', International Place Branding Yearbook 2012: Smart Growth and Sustainability, Basingstoke, Palgrave-macmillan, pp. (In press). Abstract
(2011) 'Reconfiguration of knowledge management practices in new product development- The case of the Indian pharmaceutical industry', Case Studies in Knowledge Management Research, Reading, UK, Academic Publishing International Ltd, pp. 102-119. Abstract
(2010) 'Creating desert islands – Abu Dhabi', International Place Branding Yearbook 2010: Place Branding in the New Age of Innovation, Basingstoke, UK, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 77-87. Abstract
(2010) 'Globalisation, migration and knowledge transfer: the reconfiguration of R&D capability in Indian pharmaceutical firms', Organizing and Managing in the Era of Globalization, New Delhi, Sage. Abstract
(2010) 'In the shadow of Bangalore – place branding and identity for Chennai', International Place Branding Yearbook 2010: Place Branding in the New Age of Innovation, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Abstract
(2010) 'Regional-national ICT Strategies', E-strategies for Technological Diffusion and Adoption: National ICT Approaches for Socioeconomic Development, Hershey PA, IGI Global, pp. 63-87. Abstract
(2008) 'Liverpool '08 – brand and contestation', Regional and Urban Regeneration in European Peripheries: What Role for Culture?, Bratislava, Institute of Public Policy, pp. 44-50. Abstract
(2008) 'Open performance management: the Internet and electronic observability', Performance Management: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 149-159. Abstract
(2007) 'Changing track: repositioning the Irish and Australian railways in the national consciousness', Les Carnets du Cerpac, vol. 4, Montpellier, Service des Publications, Université Paul Valéry - Montpellier III, pp. 77-92. Abstract
(2007) 'Models of development: finding relevance for Africa in China's experience of development', Africa in China's Global Strategy, issue 1, London, Adonis and Abbey, pp. 182-197. Abstract
(2006) 'Electronic stepping stones: a mosaic metaphor for the production and re-distribution of communicative skill in an electric mode', Space, Organizations and Management Theory, issue 17, Malmo, Copenhagen Business School Press, pp. 174-182. Abstract
(2006) 'Twin Towers and Amoy Gardens: mobilities, risks and choices', Mobile Technologies of the City, London, Routledge. Abstract
(2006) 'Knowledge generation in developing countries', Knowledge Based Economy - Country Perspectives, Hyderabad, India, ICFAI Publications. Abstract
(2006) 'Meeting the information challenge: exploring partnerships with Africa', Meeting the Information Challenge: the Experience of Africa, Uxbridge, UK, Cambridge Scholars Press, pp. 137-153. Abstract
(2005) 'Making sense of managing knowledge', Managing knowledge: an essential reader (2nd ed.), London, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 1-20. Abstract
(2005) 'Tacit knowing, communication and power: lessons from Japan?', Managing knowledge: an essential reader, London, UK, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 319-347. Abstract
(2005) 'Human resource policies for knowledge work', Managing knowledge: an essential reader (2nd ed.), London, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 199-221. Abstract
(2005) 'Managing knowledge in a global context', Managing knowledge : an essential reader, London, UK, Sage, pp. 368-389. Abstract
(2003) 'Building and maintaining distributed communities of practice: knowledge management in the OUBS MBA', Learning and teaching for business: case studies of successful innovation, London, UK, Kogan Page, pp. 179-195. Abstract
(2002) 'Distributed globalization: identity, virtuality and adjacency', Organising in the Information Age: distributed technology, distributed leadership, distributed identity, distributed discourse, Aldershot, UK, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 105-124. Abstract
(2001) 'Managing Japanese organizational knowledge creation: the difference', Managing knowledge: an essential reader, London, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 102-117. Abstract
(2001) 'Strategic thinking and knowledge management', Managing knowledge: an essential reader, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 122-138. Abstract
(2001) 'Managing knowledge in a global context', Little, SE, Quintas, P and Ray, TE (eds) Managing Knowledge: an essential reader, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 368-389.
(2001) 'Managing knowledge in a new century', Managing knowledge: an essential reader, London, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 1-14. Abstract
(2009) 'CERN through the looking glass: narrative, meta-narrative and strategy in a twenty-first century organisation', APROS 13 Stream 4: Strategy and Change: Living with Maps, Masks and Mirrors!, Monterrey, Mexico. Abstract
(2009) 'Change and continuity: hotel-supplier relationships in Japan', Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference Marketing Innovations for Sustainable Destinations: Operations, Interactions, Experiences, Bourenmouth. Abstract
(2009) 'Overcoming Nostalgia: Heritage as a progressive force for regional economic innovation', Regional Studies Association Annual International Conference Understanding and Shaping Regions: Spatial, Social and Economic Futures 6th – 8th April 2009, Leuven, Belgium.
(2009) 'Perspectives on demographic shift and tourism business in the UK', 2009 RARC Seminar for Tourism and Hospitality Management Rikkyo University, Saitama, Japan, November 2009.
(2009) 'Regional identity and regional development: the role of narratives in the European Capital of Culture Programme', 3rd Central European Conference in Regional Science, Kosice, Slovakia. Abstract
(2008) 'Capital of Culture 2008: contested narratives of development and identity', International Sociological Association RC21 Conference, Session 20: Landscapes of Tourism, Projects and Events: Representing and Framing Development in Cities and Regions, Tokyo, December 2008.
(2008) 'Tourism and regional development - creating intellectual capital: 3rd-age tourists as a development resource', Regional Studies Association Research Network Tourism Regional Development and Public Policy, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, November 2008.
(2007) 'Globalisation, migration and knowledge transfer: the reconfiguration of R&D capability in Indian pharmaceutical firms', APROS 12, Challenges in Organizing and Managing in Rapidly Emerging Economies: Learning to Organize in the Global World New Delhi, December.
(2006) 'Big pharma, international labour, social movements and the internet: coordination and critical perspectives on international business', International Conference on Global Companies - Global Unions, Global Research - Global Campaigns, Cornell Global Labor Institute, New York, February.
(2006) 'The challenge of e-business in China: exploring competitive advantages within the electrical appliance industry', Information Resources Management Association Conference, Washington DC, 21-24 May.
(2006) 'Social movements and new technology: a challenge to the existing order of business'', Workshop on Trade Unions in the Information Age, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Lancaster June.
(2005) 'Changing track: repositioning the Irish and Australian railways in the national consciousness', Transport(s) in the British Empire and the Commonwealth (Research Centre for Commonwealth Studies) Paul Valery University, Montpellier III, November.
(2005) 'Exploring sources of competitive advantage: e-business applications within Chinese home appliance industry', IADIS International Conference: E-commerce, Porto, Portugal. Abstract
(2005) 'Plugging the gap: information systems research and the 'unwired' world', UK Academy for Information Systems, 10th Annual Conference 'Information Systems Unplugged: developing relevant research', University of Northumbria, March.
(2005) 'Remittance and recovery: a paradigm for ad-hoc inclusion through ICTs', Development Studies Association Annual Conference 2005: Connecting People and Places: Challenges and Opportunities for Development, Milton Keynes, UK. Abstract
(2005) 'Virtual proximity and diasporic identity', Regional Studies Association International Conference 2005: Regional Growth Agendas, Aalborg, Denmark. Abstract
(2004) 'Twin Towers, Amoy Gardens and transport choices', Alternative Mobility Futures Conference, Centre for Mobillities Research, Lancaster University, January.
(2003) 'Electronic stepping stones: a mosaic metaphor for the production and re-distribution of skill in electronic mode', 19th EGOS Colloquium: Organization Analysis Informing Social and Global Development, Copenhagen, Denmark. Abstract
(2003) 'From Bletchley Park to the NSA: scientific management and "surveillance society" in the Cold War and beyond', Critical Management Studies 3 Conference, Stream 9: Cold War and Management, Lancaster University, UK. Abstract
(2003) 'Reconfiguration of competencies for innovation: the case of Indian pharmaceutical industry', Paper published and presented at conference in honour of Keith Pavitt, titled 'What we know about innovation', The Freeman Centre University of Sussex, 13-15 November.
(2003) 'Reconfiguration of knowledge creation processes in new product development: the case of Indian pharmaceutical industry', 4th European Conference on Knowledge Management, Oxford.
(2003) 'Reconfiguration of knowledge management practices in new product development - the case of Indian pharmaceutical industry', 25th R&D Management Conference on Implementing the Theories of R&D Management - Advancing the State of the Art, Manchester.
(2002) 'Building on virtual common ground: design participation for the network age', Common Ground: Design Research Society International Conference, Brunel University, September.
(2002) 'Following KM through the ages', Essential Knowledge Management Conference, Sandton, Johannesburg, March.
(2002) 'Managing knowledge at a distance', Asia-Pacific Learning Knowledge Management Council Meeting, Sydney, July.
(2002) 'Supported distance learning: moving from broadcast to interactive media at the Open University', First UK-China High Technology Forum, Shanghai, October.
(2001) 'Communication & context: tacit knowledge tools and knowing in Japanese organizations', Managing Knowledge: Conversations and Critiques, Leicester University, April.
(2001) 'Cultural barriers to virtual co-location: distributed creativity in the information age', APROS (Asia-Pacific Researchers in Organization Studies): Organization Theory in Transition, Hong Kong, December.
(2001) 'Managing knowledge generation in Japanese organizations: the significance of tacit knowledge tools and knowing', The Future of Innovation Research, Eindhoven Centre for Innovation Studies, TU Eindhoven, September.
(2001) 'Managing knowledge generation in Japanese organizations: the significance of tacit knowledge tools and knowing, Nedorostova, Z.E. and Dologova, M. (eds),', Proceedings of the 14th International Conference, 'CS Online', Stara Lena, Vysoké Tatry, Slovak Republic, November, pp. 25-30.
(2001) 'Relocating skill in an information age - an African experience', APROS 2001 Organization Theory in Transition: Transitional Societies, Transitional Theories, Hong Kong Baptist University, December.
(2000) 'Communication and context: managing knowledge creation in Japan and the west', 3rd Global Change Conference, Manchester, December, pp. 26.
(2000) 'Managing Anglo-Japanese knowledge-creation', Knowledge Management: Concepts and Controversies, Warwick, February.
(1992) 'Pushing the state back out? Public intervention in Australian industry development', States, Firms, and Fundamental Values: an exploration of the shift of power from states to firms and its consequences, International Co..
(1998) 'Non-linear and Dysfunctional Development Path of Information and Communication Technology: cultural conflicts', Open University Business School Working Paper, issue 98/07.
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