Global Knowledge Management (KM) Strategies and the Challenges Across Boundaries

This paper discusses the global KM strategies and the challenges faced in managing knowledge across boundaries. The strategies involving global KM will be discussed followed by the identification and analysis of the factors involved in the successful implementation of KM strategies globally. Lastly the challenges faced in the implementation of global KM strategies in teams and units that are geographically dispersed will be discussed. Global KM Strategies Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) identified four strategies for competing across borders- multinational-autonomous foreign subsidiaries, enabling local market adaptation, global-foreign subsidiaries are regulated by home office headquarter, enabling economic efficiency, international-parent knowledge exploitation through diffusion and adaptation, enabling rapid development and innovation, and transnational-utilizes global principles and practices them locally, enabling local flexibility and global benefit. Desouza, and Evaristo (2003) indicated that the main global KM strategies utilized could be classified based on the governance – headquarter commissioned and executed, headquarter commissioned and regionally executed, and regionally commissioned and locally executed. Global markets have introduced the KM of not only tangible resources but also intangible resources. Allee (1997) defined KM as a process of releasing the knowledge and letting it flow to where it is needed. The KM was redefined as knowledge partnering. Grant (1996) indicated the necessity of organizations to master the act of integration of knowledge that is spread out in order to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. This knowledge integration can be challenging especially in a globally dispersed team environment. In an attempt to conquer these challenges managers struggle to conceive new strategies for KM leading to intellectual property capitals and innovations (Desouza, &Evaristo, 2003). Although several KM strategies have been devised with the sole purpose of benefitting the organizations in achieving competitive advantage and innovation, there are factors that should be taken into consideration that can potentially impact the success of these strategies (Davenport, Jarvenpaa, & Beers, 1996). Challenges in knowledge management across geographical boundaries