Determinants of Knowledge Management Assimilation: An Empirical Investigation

Knowledge management (KM) and its effective assimilation as an interrelated innovation are critical to the success of contemporary organizations, and have recently attracted increasing interest. The sources of influence on successful KM assimilation were explored via a study of Korean firms. A synthesis of previous studies that had utilized various theories to investigate KM variables yields six critical factors (i.e., knowledge worker, technical knowledge infrastructure, external knowledge linkage, knowledge strategy, internal knowledge climate, and knowledge management process), which facilitate KM assimilation. We then evaluated the effects of these critical factors on the level of KM assimilation, using responses from 187 Korean organizations that had already implemented enterprise-wide KM systems. Our findings show that four of the six variables were significantly related to KM assimilation. Interestingly, the KM process was found to be the most critical factor in the proliferation of KM activities across an organization, and knowledge strategy and external knowledge linkage were identified as insignificant ones for KM assimilation. The findings of this paper are expected not only to serve as early groundwork for researchers hoping to understand KM and its effective assimilation in organizations, but also to provide practitioners with guidelines as to how they can enhance their KM assimilation level, thus improving their organizational performance.

[1]  Fawzy Soliman,et al.  Strategies for implementing knowledge management: role of human resources management , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[2]  Y. Jarrar.  Knowledge management: learning for organisational experience , 2002 .

[3]  T. C. Powell,et al.  Information technology as competitive advantage: the role of human , 1997 .

[4]  Daniel Z. Levin,et al.  The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[5]  Andrew N. K. Chen,et al.  Assessing Value in Organizational Knowledge Creation: Considerations for Knowledge Workers , 2005, MIS Q..

[6]  R. Ruggles.  The State of the Notion: Knowledge Management in Practice , 1998 .

[7]  E. Wenger,et al.  cultivating communities of practice , 2002 .

[8]  D. Mowery,et al.  Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer , 1996 .

[9]  M. Sarvary.  Knowledge Management and Competition in the Consulting Industry , 1999 .

[10]  Mariano Corso,et al.  Technological and Organizational Tools for Knowledge Management: In Search of Configurations , 2003 .

[11]  Omar El Sawy,et al.  Absorptive Capacity Configurations in Supply Chains: Gearing for Partner-Enabled Market Knowledge Creation , 2005, MIS Q..

[12]  Liam Fahey,et al.  Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management , 2000 .

[13]  Joseph L. Badaracco,et al.  The knowledge link , 1990 .

[14]  Scott Shane,et al.  The Halo Effect and Technology Licensing: The Influence of Institutional Prestige on the Licensing of University Inventions , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[15]  C. Oliver.  SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: COMBINING INSTITUTIONAL AND RESOURCE- BASED VIEWS , 1997 .

[16]  Earl R. Babbie,et al.  Survey Research Methods , 1984 .

[17]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  Critical Factors for Assimilation of Object-Oriented Programming Languages , 2002, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[18]  T. Grandon Gill,et al.  High-tech hidebound: Case studies of information technologies that inhibited organizational learning , 1995 .

[19]  Scott L. Newbert.  Empirical research on the resource‐based view of the firm: an assessment and suggestions for future research , 2007 .

[20]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  Behavioral Intention Formation in Knowledge Sharing: Examining the Roles of Extrinsic Motivators, Social-Psychological Factors, and Organizational Climate , 2005, MIS Q..

[21]  R. Sohi,et al.  IT competency and firm performance: is organizational learning a missing link? , 2003 .

[22]  Martin Whitehill,et al.  Knowledge-based strategy to deliver sustained competitive advantage , 1997 .

[23]  Israel Spiegler,et al.  Technology and knowledge: bridging a "generating" gap , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[24]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  Into the black box: the knowledge transformation cycle , 2003, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[25]  Soumen Ghosh,et al.  The Effects of Knowledge Management on Team Members' Ratings of Project Success and Impact , 2003, Decis. Sci..

[26]  Salleh Yahya,et al.  Managing human resources toward achieving knowledge management , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[27]  Paul Almeida,et al.  Knowledge sourcing by foreign multinationals: Patent citation analysis in the U.S. semiconductor industry , 1996 .

[28]  J. Ettlie,et al.  Organization Strategy and Structural Differences for Radical Versus Incremental Innovation , 1984 .

[29]  Michael H. Kutner.  Applied Linear Statistical Models , 1974 .

[30]  E. Schein.  Three Cultures of Management: The Key to Organizational Learning , 1996 .

[31]  Robin S. Poston,et al.  Effective Use of Knowledge Management Systems: A Process Model of Content Ratings and Credibility Indicators , 2005, MIS Q..

[32]  Isabel M. Prieto,et al.  Dynamic Capabilities and Knowledge Management: An Integrative Role for Learning? , 2008 .

[33]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[34]  Gregory G. Dess,et al.  Industry Effects and Strategic Management Research , 1990 .

[35]  J. Barney,et al.  IS THE RESOURCE-BASED " VIEW " A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH ? , 2001 .

[36]  J. Spender.  Making knowledge the basis of a dynamic theory of the firm , 1996 .

[37]  Howard B. Lee,et al.  Foundations of Behavioral Research , 1973 .

[38]  J. Barney.  Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage , 1991 .

[39]  J. S. Long,et al.  Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables , 1997 .

[40]  J. Brown,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation , 1991 .

[41]  Carla O'Dell,et al.  If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice , 1998 .

[42]  Mark S. Demarest.  Understanding knowledge management , 1997 .

[43]  Kevin C. Desouza,et al.  Strategic contributions of game rooms to knowledge management: some prelimenary insights , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[44]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues , 2001, MIS Q..

[45]  K. Wiig.  Integrating intellectual capital and knowledge management , 1997 .

[46]  W. Powell.  Learning from Collaboration: Knowledge and Networks in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries , 1998 .

[47]  Tanya Menon,et al.  Tainted Knowledge vs. Tempting Knowledge: People Avoid Knowledge from Internal Rivals and Seek Knowledge from External Rivals , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[48]  H. Tsoukas.  The firm as a distributed knowledge system : A constructionist approach , 1996 .

[49]  M. Schulz.  THE UNCERTAIN RELEVANCE OF NEWNESS: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE FLOWS , 2001 .

[50]  Michael H. Zack,et al.  Developing a Knowledge Strategy , 1999 .

[51]  A. Meyer,et al.  Organizational Assimilation of Innovations: A Multi-Level Contextual Analysis , 1988 .

[52]  W. Bogner,et al.  Knowledge Management as the Basis of Sustained High Performance , 2007 .

[53]  Vijay Gurbaxani,et al.  Diffusion in computing networks: the case of BITNET , 1990, Commun. ACM.

[54]  Albert H. Segars,et al.  Knowledge Management: An Organizational Capabilities Perspective , 2001, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[55]  Scott Cd,et al.  Managing the human side of change. , 1994 .

[56]  G. Hedlund.  A model of knowledge management and the N‐form corporation , 2007 .

[57]  Amit Das,et al.  Knowledge and Productivity in Technical Support Work , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[58]  P. Drucker.  The new society of organizations. , 1992, Harvard business review.

[59]  E. Rogers,et al.  Diffusion of innovations , 1964, Encyclopedia of Sport Management.

[60]  D. Hosmer,et al.  Applied Logistic Regression , 1991 .

[61]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  Knowledge Management Using Information Technology: Determinants of Short-Term Impact on Firm Value , 2005, Decis. Sci..

[62]  V. Sambamurthy,et al.  Information Technology Assimilation in Firms: The Influence of Senior Leadership and IT Infrastructures , 1999, Inf. Syst. Res..

[63]  Hüseyin Tanriverdi,et al.  Information Technology Relatedness, Knowledge Management Capability, and Performance of Multibusiness Firms , 2005, MIS Q..

[64]  Jonathon N. Cummings.  Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[65]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  An Empirical Study of the Effect of Knowledge Management Processes at Individual, Group, and Organizational Levels , 2003, Decis. Sci..

[66]  Kyle J. Mayer,et al.  Antecedents and Performance Implications of Contracting for Knowledge Workers: Evidence from Information Technology Services , 2005, Organ. Sci..

[67]  William L. Fuerst,et al.  Information technology and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based analysis , 1995 .

[68]  Heeseok Lee,et al.  Knowledge Management Enablers, Processes, and Organizational Performance: An Integrative View and Empirical Examination , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[69]  P. Schoemaker,et al.  Strategic assets and organizational rent , 1993 .

[70]  Pattarawan Prasarnphanich,et al.  Understanding the Antecedents of Effective Knowledge Management: The Importance of a Knowledge-Centered Culture , 2003, Decis. Sci..

[71]  Peter J. Sher,et al.  Information Technology as a Facilitator of Enhancing Dynamic Capability through Knowledge Management , 2020 .

[72]  Carsten Sørensen,et al.  Exploring Knowledge Emergence: From Chaos to Organizational Knowledge , 2002 .

[73]  David P. Lepak,et al.  The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital Allocation and Development , 1999 .

[74]  P. Bierly,et al.  Generic knowledge strategies in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry , 1996 .

[75]  Atreyi Kankanhalli,et al.  The role of IT in successful knowledge management initiatives , 2003, CACM.

[76]  Atreyi Kankanhalli,et al.  Contributing Knowledge to Electronic Knowledge Repositories: An Empirical Investigation , 2005, MIS Q..

[77]  F. Damanpour.  Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis Of Effects Of Determinants and Moderators , 1991 .

[78]  P. H. Friesen,et al.  Innovation in Conservative and Entrepreneurial Firms: Two Models of Strategic Momentum , 1982 .

[79]  Kenneth L. Kraemer,et al.  The Process of Innovation Assimilation by Firms in Different Countries: A Technology Diffusion Perspective on E-Business , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[80]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[81]  Lynne P. Cooper,et al.  Knowledge Reuse for Innovation , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[82]  Karl-Erik Sveiby,et al.  Collaborative climate and effectiveness of knowledge work - an empirical study , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[83]  Jagdip Singh,et al.  Measurement Issues in Cross-National Research , 1995 .

[84]  Julian Birkinshaw,et al.  External Sources of Knowledge, Governance Mode, and R&D Performance , 2005 .

[85]  Brian Uzzi,et al.  Relational Embeddedness and Learning: The Case of Bank Loan Managers and Their Clients , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[86]  Chris F. Kemerer,et al.  The assimilation of software process innovations: an organizational learning perspective , 1997 .

[87]  Eric H. Kessler,et al.  Internal Vs. External Learning In New Product Development: Effects On Speed, Costs And Competitive Advantage , 2000 .

[88]  R. Zmud,et al.  Information technology implementation research: a technological diffusion approach , 1990 .

[89]  Rolph E. Anderson,et al.  Multivariate data analysis (4th ed.): with readings , 1995 .

[90]  Wallace E. Carroll,et al.  The Diffusion and Assimilation of Information Technology Innovations , 2001 .

[91]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[92]  Maurizio Zollo,et al.  Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities , 2002 .

[93]  Balaji R. Koka,et al.  Strategic alliances as social capital: a multidimensional view , 2002 .

[94]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Knowledge Creating Company , 2008 .

[95]  Sudhir Man Joshii.  Information Technology (IT) and Sustained Competitive Advantage , 2007 .

[96]  D. Teece,et al.  DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1997 .

[97]  R. M. Hall,et al.  A framework linking intangible resources and capabilities to sustainable competitive advantage , 1993 .

[98]  Remo Pareschi,et al.  Information Technology for Knowledge Management , 1998, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[99]  Hock-Hai Teo,et al.  Organizational learning capacity and attitude toward complex technological innovations: An empirical study , 2006, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[100]  Michael J. Gallivan,et al.  Organizational adoption and assimilation of complex technological innovations: development and application of a new framework , 2001, DATB.

[101]  A. Tiwana.  Do bridging ties complement strong ties? An empirical examination of alliance ambidexterity , 2008 .

[102]  D. Dillman.  The Design and Administration of Mail Surveys , 1991 .

[103]  Russell L. Purvis,et al.  The Assimilation of Knowledge Platforms in Organizations: An Empirical Investigation , 2001 .

[104]  Karel Cool,et al.  Asset stock accumulation and sustainability of competitive advantage , 1989 .

[105]  Bipin Junnarkar,et al.  Leveraging collective intellect by building organizational capabilities , 1997 .

[106]  J MataFrancisco,et al.  Information technology and sustained competitive advantage , 1995 .

[107]  Thomas H. Davenport,et al.  Book review:Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak. Harvard Business School Press, 1998. $29.95US. ISBN 0‐87584‐655‐6 , 1998 .

[108]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[109]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Central problems in the management of innovation , 1986 .

[110]  Gilbert A. Churchill.  A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs , 1979 .

[111]  Shanthi Gopalakrishnan,et al.  The impact of firm size and age on knowledge strategies during product development: a study of the drug delivery industry , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[112]  David L. Deeds,et al.  The impact of stocks and flows of organizational knowledge on firm performance: an empirical investigation of the biotechnology industry , 1999 .