Knowledge development and acquisition in organisations The social constructionist approach to knowledge creation in organisations views organisations’ employees as social beings who construct their understanding of the world from social interaction with other employees

The collection and analysis of financial data, referred to as financial intelligence, is gaining recognition as a key tool in the war on crime in general and terrorism in particular, and there is a burgeoning industry providing sophisticated computer technology and complex mathematical models to mine financial data and single out unusual patterns of transactions. The process to develop financial intelligence has quantitative roots, yet it gives rise to critical cognitive issues. By treating financial intelligence development as a communication process, the paper examines the role of signs, affordances and norms in determining the emerging profile. The discussion highlights the growing role of " management of meaning " as organisations strive to comply with regulatory requirements. Important insights emerge regarding the social and pragmatic aspects of financial intelligence development, and how technology affects both the content of the profiles that can be developed and the variety of crimes that can be monitored at any stage. Knowledge development and acquisition in organisations The social constructionist approach to knowledge creation in organisations views organisations' employees as social beings who construct their understanding of the world from social interaction with other employees (Gherardi and Nicolini 2000) within specific socio-cultural and material settings (Edmondson 1999). The individual members of the organisation contribute to the organisations' knowledge structures by communicating their knowledge to other members of the organisation. In turn, the actions and the knowledge structure of the members of the organisation are also influenced by the organisation's culture (Akgun, Lynn et al. 2003). Organisational knowledge is a combination of cognitive and social processes, and emerges as a result of the interaction of, among other factors, identities, rules, language, interests and artefacts (Easterby-Smith, Crossan et al. 2000). One particular aspect of the organisational context that has the potential to frame knowledge is technology. Technology may play a supporting role in organisations by assisting in the collection, administration and communication of information available technology may provide information about the relationship between different tasks Canhoto and Backhouse 2006 The role of personal and organisational circumstances in knowledge development and acquisition Page 3 and pieces of data, this way creating information where it did not exist before (Zuboff 1988; Griffith, Sawyer et al. 2003). Research regarding the role of technology in knowledge creation and/or management, however, has mostly focused on technical aspects such as database design and data warehousing, with insufficient consideration being given, in the organisational learning …