Utilising Knowledge Resources: An Activity Perspective of Knowledge Management

BIS ’99 ◽  
1999 ◽  
pp. 86-102
Author(s):  
Henry Linger
2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Ling-hsing Chang ◽  
Tung-Ching Lin

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to focus on the enhancement of knowledge management (KM) performance and the relationship between organizational culture and KM process intention of individuals because of the diversity of organizational cultures (which include results-oriented, tightly controlled, job-oriented, closed system and professional-oriented cultures). Knowledge is a primary resource in organizations. If firms are able to effectively manage their knowledge resources, then a wide range of benefits can be reaped such as improved corporate efficiency, effectiveness, innovation and customer service. Design/methodology/approach – The survey methodology, which has the ability to enhance generalization of results (Dooley, 2001), was used to collect the data utilized in the testing of the research hypotheses. Findings – Results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects on employee intention in the KM process (creation, storage, transfer and application), whereas a tightly controlled culture has negative effects. Research limitations/implications – However, it would have been better to use a longitudinal study to collect useful long-term data to understand how the KM process would be influenced when organizational culture dimensions are changed through/by management. This is the first limitation of this study. According to Mason and Pauleen (2003), KM culture is a powerful predictor of individual knowledge-sharing behavior, which is not included in this study. Thus, this is the second limitation of this paper. Moreover, national culture could be an important issue in the KM process (Jacks et al., 2012), which is the third limitation of this paper for not comprising it. Practical implications – In researchers’ point of view, results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects, whereas a tightly controlled culture has a negative effect on the KM process intention of the individual. These findings provide evidences that challenge the perspective of Kayworth and Leidner (2003) on this issue. As for practitioners, management has a direction to modify their organizational culture to improve the performance of KM process. Social implications – Both behavioral and value perspectives of the organizational cultural dimensions (results-oriented, tightly control, job-oriented, sociability, solidarity, need for achievement and democracy) should be examined to ascertain their effects firstly on KM culture and then on the KM process intention of the individual. It is hoped that the current study will spawn future investigations that lead to the development of an integrated model which includes organizational culture, KM culture and the KM process intention of the individual. Originality/value – The results-oriented, loosely controlled and job-oriented cultures will improve the effectiveness of the KM process and will also increase employees’ satisfaction and willingness to stay with the organization.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guodong Ni ◽  
Ziyao Zhang ◽  
Zhenmin Yuan ◽  
Haitao Huang ◽  
Na Xu ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to figure out the paths about transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, i.e. tacit knowledge explicating (TKE) in real estate companies, and determine the influencing factors of TKE in Chinese real estate companies to enable enterprises make better use of their knowledge resources.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted an exploratory design method using thematic analysis and grounded theory, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. The interviewees consisted of employees in different positions, who come from Chinese real estate companies with different ranking ranges and different knowledge management levels. Data collection was divided into two rounds for the identification of transformation paths and influencing factors.FindingsThis study has shown that 11 paths about TKE divided into solidified organization process and construction of organizational infrastructure go into effect within the real estate companies. Factors influencing TKE in real estate companies concern three main categories: organizational distal factors, contextual proximal factors and individual factors, including 21 subordinates in total. Furthermore, correlation between TKE paths and influencing factors is established.Research limitations/implicationsResearch results may lack generalizability due to the method adopted. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to verify the outcomes of this research.Practical implicationsThis research provides a new idea and solutions for the tacit knowledge management in real estate companies.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically identify paths and the influencing factors of TKE in real estate companies, contribute to the incipient but growing understanding of achievement of “tacit to explicit” and enrich the corporate tacit knowledge management literature.


2005 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Janev ◽  
Sanja Vraneš

Knowledge technologies are a subject of permanent interest for software engineers at research organisations, as well as for market analysts in commercial organisations. In this paper, which aims to clarify the role of knowledge management solutions in an enterprise business, we survey the market of commercial knowledge management solutions and analyse their functionalities in domains such as document management, information retrieval, collaboration, decision support, e-learning, business automation and enterprise integration. The survey is based on a thorough study of web resources of knowledge management solution providers. Regarding the role of knowledge solutions in the business process, the present study will show that on an operational level they serve for better utilisation of the enterprise knowledge resources and, on a strategic level, they synthesise new knowledge needed for better management of customers, suppliers and partners. This paper gives an insight into the knowledge management market that can help strategic planners to easily begin a knowledge management initiative.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Sung-kwan Kim ◽  
Joe Felan ◽  
Moo Hong Kang

Modeling approaches are gaining popularity in knowledge management (KM), especially in specifying knowledge contents. This paper addresses the enterprise knowledge modeling. An enterprise knowledge model provides users with an integrated, holistic view of organizational knowledge resources. Employing a reliable methodology is critical to building successful enterprise knowledge models. A good methodology provides an effective and efficient mechanism for developing a model. This paper first reviews the enterprise knowledge modeling (EKM) and its methodologies. An ontology-based EKM (OBEKM) methodology is proposed. Its products, procedures, and modeling language are described. The methodology is then applied to the construction of a shipping company’s knowledge model for demonstration.


Author(s):  
Javier E. De la Hoz Freyle ◽  
Elberto Carrillo Rincón ◽  
Luis Carlos Gómez Flórez

ABSTRACTNowadays the most valued asset of the organizations is their knowledge, who is embodiedinto routines, products, services and employees. Knowledge Management arises as a set of strategiessupported by Information Technologies (IT) that tries to leverage the knowledge resources at themaximumlevelto obtaincompetitiveadvantagesthrough newservicesand productscreation,as wellas improving the existing, optimizing the customers relationships, streamlining the time of routinesand serving information and knowledge to the employees on time. The Cloud Computing paradigmdefined by Gartner as: "a computing style where the IT capacities, scalable and elastic, are providedby a service to customers using internet technologies" offers a set of technological advantages to theorganizations that wants to incorporate it in their IT projects. Companies that start knowledge management initiatives, can leverage the Cloud Computing features to maximize the scope of their projects, and in that way obtain advantages among competition. In this paper will be exposed several waysabout how the organizations can upgrade their knowledge management strategies through Cloud Computing features.RESUMENActualmente el activo más preciado de las organizaciones es su conocimiento, el cual se encuentra dentro de las rutinas, productos, servicios y empleados. La Gestión del Conocimiento surge como una serie de estrategias soportadas por Tecnologías de Información (TI) que buscan aprovechar al máximo los recursos de conocimiento para obtener ventajas competitivas por medio de la creación de nuevos servicios y productos, así como la mejora de los existentes, optimización de las relaciones con los clientes, agilización del tiempo de las rutinas y entrega de Información y conocimientos a los empleados en el momento requerido. El paradigma Cloud Computing definido por Gartner como: “un estilo de computación donde las capacidades TI, escalables y elásticas, son proveídas como un servicio a clientes usando tecnologías de internet” ofrece una serie de ventajas tecnológicas para las organizaciones que decidan a hacer uso de este en sus proyectos de TI. Las entidades que emprendan iniciativas de gestión del conocimiento, pueden aprovecharse de las características de Cloud Computing para maximizar el alcance de las mismas y así obtener ventajas con respecto a sus competidores en el mercado. En esta ponencia se expondrán varias maneras de como las organizaciones pueden poten-ciar sus estrategias de gestión del conocimiento a través de las ventajas y características que ofrece Cloud Computing.


Author(s):  
Lisa J. Burnell ◽  
John W. Priest ◽  
John R. Durrett

An effective knowledge-based organization is one that correctly captures, shares, applies and maintains its knowledge resources to achieve its goals. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) enable such resources and business processes to be automated and are especially important for environments with dynamic and complex domains. This chapter discusses the appropriate tools, methods, architectural issues and development processes for KMS, including the application of Organizational Theory, knowledge-representation methods and agent architectures. Details for systems development of KMS are provided and illustrated with a case study from the domain of university advising.


2011 ◽  
pp. 2646-2659
Author(s):  
Gabriel Cepeda-Carrion

Knowledge management has been proposed as a fundamental strategic process and the only sustainable competitive advantage for firms (Grant, 1996; Davenport, 1998). A key to understanding the success and failure of knowledge management efforts within organizations is the ability to identify the relevant knowledge to manage and to extract value out of this knowledge. In the last decade past research has focused heavily on defining what knowledge is and on using different typologies (e.g., tacit vs. explicit knowledge, individual vs. collective) to characterize the different types of knowledge available to firms (e.g., Polanyi, 1967; Spender, 1996). In addition, researchers have described the processes through which knowledge is created, developed, retained, and transferred in firms (e.g., Argote, 1999; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), and the role played by leadership (Bryant, 2003; Vera & Crossan, 2004) and decision-making styles (Kalling, 2003) in influencing these processes. Unfortunately, despite the growing interest in knowledge management, little specific has been said about the mechanisms firms use to identify key knowledge areas and to gain competitive advantage out of knowledge management investments. The recognition of the important knowledge resources for a firm is critical, because the effectiveness of knowledge and learning can only be assessed on the basis of its utility in guiding behavior relative to the firm’s relevant domain (Crossan, Lane, & White, 1999; Cepeda, Galán, & Leal, 2004; Zack, 1999). Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not useful to firms.


2011 ◽  
pp. 571-592
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Burnell ◽  
John W. Priest ◽  
John R. Durrett

An effective knowledge-based organization is one that correctly captures, shares, applies and maintains its knowledge resources to achieve its goals. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) enable such resources and business processes to be automated and are especially important for environments with dynamic and complex domains. This chapter discusses the appropriate tools, methods, architectural issues and development processes for KMS, including the application of Organizational Theory, knowledge-representation methods and agent architectures. Details for systems development of KMS are provided and illustrated with a case study from the domain of university advising.


Author(s):  
Trevor A. Smith ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Paul Dion

The effective management of knowledge resources is a key imperative for firms that want to leverage their knowledge assets for competitive advantage and improved performance. However, most firms do not attain the required performance levels even when programs are in place for managing knowledge resources. Research suggests this shortcoming can be addressed by linking knowledge management to business strategy. This study examines a model that links business strategy to knowledge management capabilities and organizational effectiveness. Using data collected from 189 managers, the results suggest that business strategy is a key driver of knowledge capabilities, and that both business strategy and knowledge capabilities impact organizational effectiveness. Additionally, the authors’ findings indicate that knowledge infrastructure capability is a key imperative for effective knowledge process capability. Managerial implications, limitations and opportunities for future research are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Maria do Rosário Cabrita ◽  
Virgílio Cruz-Machado ◽  
Florinda Matos

The ability of an organization to effectively nurture, capture, leverage, and share its knowledge resources become the key that provides an enterprise with its strategic power advantage in the world. When an organization develops its ability to build, access and leverage its knowledge resources it is creating its knowledge advantage. In an era of knowledge economics, Knowledge Management (KM) and Intellectual Capital (IC) have emerged as major issues that managers must deal with, if the organizations want maintain their competitive advantage. The accumulation of IC and KM is closely related. The successful management of IC is linked to the efficiency of KM processes, which, in turn, implies that the successful implementation of KM ensures the growth and renewal of IC in an organization. There are relatively few discussions on the relationship between KM and IC, and even fewer studies on such relationship in the banking industry. For the banking sector, as one of the most knowledge-intensive industries, it is imperative to understand how to use techniques in KM to accumulate IC to cope with an increasingly changing environment. Based on previous studies, this article seeks to explore the links between IC and KM in Portuguese banks, by identifying the IC resources of importance and leveraging these resources through KM capability.


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