Using benefits management to link knowledge management to business objectives

Abstract

PurposeIdentifying and tracking how knowledge management (KM) impacts on organizational performance represents a gap in the research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the applicability of adopting a benefits management (BM) approach in order to identify KM benefits and elicit their contribution to the achievement of business objectives.Design/methodology/approachA case study was carried out in a systems and information technology firm in Portugal. The data were collected using interviews and documental analysis. The data were subjected to content analysis.FindingsBM can strengthen KM, not only by identifying the benefits, but also by aiding the process of organizational change required to achieve those benefits, considering the investment objectives, the necessary transformations and the allocation of responsibilities, among other aspects.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was based on a single case study. The findings cannot be generalized.Practical implicationsBecause it can be used to identify the role of KM in the achievement of the business objectives, the BM approach may be of use to managers who need to identify and explain the benefits of KM.Originality/valueThe originality of this research is that it uses the benefits management approach to link knowledge management to business objectives.

The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM) practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance framework

“…Despite an early call to implement BM (Thorp, 1998;Ward et al, 1996), little empirical evidence has been brought to show how much light benefits management sheds on the prevalent ways in which projects become successful. Most of the research conducted on benefits management either explores it at the level of implementation (Bennington and Baccarini, 2004;Coombs, 2015;Lin and Pervan, 2003) or implements and develops the benefits management approach in case studies (Baccarini and Bateup, 2008;Doherty et al, 2011;Fukami and Mccubbrey, 2011;Pina et al, 2013). Nevertheless, a few papers have used generalizable evidence to test the success or level of effectiveness of benefits management (Badewi, 2015;Serra and Kunc, 2015).…”

Positioning organisational culture in knowledge management research

“…Its second goal is to put forward the idea that there is a relationship between the creation, sharing, and application of knowledge and organisational performance. Both the business and academic spheres argue that, by implementing knowledge management, an organisation can maintain its long-term competitive advantages Liu and Lai, 2011), sustain high performance (Pina, Romao and Oliveira, 2013;Theriou and Chatzoglou, 2009), and become more innovative (GonzalezPadron et al, 2010;He and Abdous, 2013), especially in the current business environment which is conceived of as a knowledge driven economy (Zhou and Fink, 2003). Thus, managing knowledge becomes a requirement for organisations wishing to survive in competitive marketplaces (Matusik and Hill, 1998).…”

A conceptual breakdown structure for knowledge management benefits using meta-synthesis method

“…Most definitions are, however, similar on one point: they take a very practical approach to knowledge, that is, how knowledge can contribute to organizational effectiveness (Edvardsson, 2009). Also, it is defined as "the collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination and leveraging of knowledge to fulfill organizational objectives" (Pina et al, 2013). In some KM implementation frameworks, this connection between KM and organizational objectives is explicit (Jarrar and Zairi, 2002;Soliman and Spooner, 2000).…”

“…Among these strategies are the alignment of KM with the business objectives and the definition of the benefits of KM. However, the authors do not provide guidance on how to define those benefits (Pina et al, 2013). KM maturity models also mention the need to align KM with business goals (Khatibian et al, 2010;Kruger and Snyman, 2007;Mehta et al, 2007), and some research also consider the issue of defining the benefits of KM (Kruger and Snyman, 2007;Mehta et al, 2007).…”