KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Knowledge Management

Abstract

Managers are increasingly aware of how knowledge can affect their company's competitive position and are attempting to use knowledge to sustain organizational performance and gain market share. Unfortunately, knowledge management research is fragmented across a variety of disciplines. It is also fragmented conceptually, particularly with respect to the concepts that researchers and organizations identify as significant. We constructed an integrated framework for measuring the various aspects of knowledge management strategy, knowledge management enablers, and knowledge management process capability to assess their effectiveness in improving knowledge management performance. Studying a sample of firms from the United States software industry, we found support for the importance of knowledge management strategy and knowledge management enablers in improving knowledge management performance, and mixed results for the importance of knowledge management process capability in improving knowledge management performance.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Introduction4

Knowledge5

Taxonomies of Knowledge6

Knowledge Management7

Knowledge Management Strategy8

Knowledge Management Enablers11

Technology11

Organizational Culture13

Knowledge Management Process Capability14

Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition15

Knowledge Upgrade Capability15

Knowledge Protection Capability16

Knowledge Conversion Capability16

Knowledge Application Capability17

Sample Selection18

Methodology18

Results19

Hypothesis 1: Strategy Improves Performance19

Hypothesis 2: The Use of Enablers Improves Performance19

Hypothesis 3: Increased Process Capability Improves Performance20

Conclusions21

Limitations and Future Research22

References23

Appendices28

Knowledge Management

Introduction

Successful managers recognize that "the competitive advantage of firms in today's global economy stems not from market position but from the ownership, employment, or both, of difficult to replicate knowledge assets and the manner in which they are in fact deployed" (Teece, 2009, p. 194). This focus on knowledge as a core capability of the firm echoes Drucker's (1995) observation that "knowledge has become the key economic resource and the dominant and perhaps even the only source of comparative advantage" (p. 287). Shortly after making that statement, Drucker (2000) predicted that by the year 2005, more than one third of the U.S. labor force would be made up of knowledge workers.

Suggesting that building a knowledge -based theory of the firm would be a valuable tool for researchers, Grant (1996) proposed a model that recognized organizational capability, organizational design, decision-making mechanisms, and the boundaries of the firm. However, this formulation omits what is perhaps the most critical element of knowledge management, the ability to transfer that knowledge between and among members of the organization.

Unfortunately, knowledge management research is fragmented across a variety of disciplines as well as by the concepts viewed as significant by researchers and firms. For example, various scholars view knowledge management strategy, knowledge management enablers, or knowledge management process capability as the key determinant of knowledge management performance. We propose an integrated framework for measuring the various aspects of knowledge management and assessing their effectiveness in improving overall organizational performance.

Managers are increasingly aware of how knowledge can affect their company's competitive position and are attempting to use knowledge to sustain organizational performance and gain market share. Unfortunately, knowledge management research is fragmented across a variety of disciplines. It is also fragmented conceptually, particularly with respect to the concepts that researchers and organizations identify as significant. We constructed an integrated framework for measuring the various aspects of knowledge management strategy, knowledge management enablers, ...