Knowledge Management: Understanding Theory and Developing Strategy

Abstract

Knowledge management has become the latest strategy in increasing organizational competitiveness. Proponents are calling it the only solution for competitive advantage in the new century (Evans, 1997; Hedlund, 1994; Hibbard, 1997; Martinez, 1998; Trussler, 1998) and critics are calling it the worst in passing fads (Hibbard, 1997). Robert H. Buckman, CEO of Buckman Labs, says the purpose of the knowledge management and sharing system at his corporation is to “facilitate communication across all of the organization's boundaries, so that the entire company works together to help everyone to be the best they can be” (Buckman, 1998, p. 11). Buckman Labs has become the first name in knowledge management with its innovative and relatively long‐standing (since 1991) approach to harnessing employees' collective knowledge.

Strategic knowledge management, innovation and performance

“…Prior conceptual research state that KM can improve corporate performance and competitiveness (Civi, 2000;DeTienne & Jackson, 2001;Holsapple & Jones, 2004. KM programs are successful when corporate performance is improved.…”

“…A strategic attitude is necessary to achieve those competitive advantages and to improve performance (Bierly & Chakrabarti, 1996;Braganza, Edwards, & Lambe, 1999;DeTienne & Jackson, 2001;Jennex, Olfman, & Addo, 2003;Salojärvi et al, 2005). Nonetheless, the effect of each KM strategy (codification and personalisation) on performance may be different.…”

Knowledge management: Review of the Critical Success Factors and development of a conceptual classification model

“…Trust is also another important feature of an organizational knowledge culture [48,36,16,6]. The lack of trust may be increased skeptical employees' behavior about sharing knowledge and thus, people try to hold their knowledge.…”

Increasing the Productivity of Arab SMEs through Knowledge Management

“…Davidson and Griffin (2003) pointed out that SMEs have contributed many innovative ideas and technological breakthroughs to different societies. "KM has become the latest strategy in increasing organizational competitiveness" (DeTienne & Jackson, 2001). KM is seen as a vital factor in realizing and sustaining organizational success for improved productivity and innovation.…”