KM strategy and instruments alignment: helping SMEs to choose

The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between Knowledge Management (KM) strategy and business strategy so that organisations could obtain higher performance. After reviewing the main KM instruments and orientations, as well as literature about strategy at business level, a preliminary theoretical framework is empirically analysed through case study research. Evidence from 4 Spanish SMEs shows that there are factors, such as firm size, age, and industry, that moderate the link between KM-business strategic alignment and corporate performance. Thus, SMEs should consider these factors in order to take profit of their KM

[1]  V. Ambrosini,et al.  Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization , 2001 .

[2]  E. Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier , 2000 .

[3]  Amrit Tiwana,et al.  The Knowledge Management Toolkit: Orchestrating IT, Strategy, and Knowledge Platforms , 2002 .

[4]  Martin Schulz,et al.  Codification and tacitness as knowledge management strategies: an empirical exploration , 2001 .

[5]  H. D. Thomas,et al.  SUCCESSFUL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS , 1998 .

[6]  Shih-Wei Chou.  Computer systems to facilitating organizational learning: IT and organizational context , 2003, Expert Syst. Appl..

[7]  J. Jordan,et al.  Assessing your company's knowledge management style , 1997 .

[8]  V. Govindarajan.  A Contingency Approach to Strategy Implementation at the Business-Unit Level: Integrating Administrative Mechanisms with Strategy , 1988 .

[9]  I. Nonaka,et al.  Making the Most of Your Company's Knowledge: A Strategic Framework , 2001 .

[10]  Michael J. Earl,et al.  Knowledge Management Strategies: Toward a Taxonomy , 2001, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[11]  E. Segev.  A systematic comparative analysis and synthesis of two business-level strategic typologies , 1989 .

[12]  Steven Atkins,et al.  The Role of Induction and Training in Team Effectiveness , 2003 .

[13]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[14]  John H. Heinrichs,et al.  Integrating web-based data mining tools with business models for knowledge management , 2003, Decis. Support Syst..

[15]  Peter H. Gray,et al.  A problem-solving perspective on knowledge management practices , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

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

[17]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[18]  Alan R. Dennis,et al.  Stimulating Thinking: Cultivating Better Decisions with Groupware Through Categorization , 2000, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[19]  Gregory G. Dess,et al.  Porter's (1980) Generic Strategies as Determinants of Strategic Group Membership and Organizational Performance , 1984 .

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

[21]  Elizabeth Barnett,et al.  Knowledge management initiatives: learning from failure , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[22]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  What's your strategy for managing knowledge? , 1999, Harvard business review.

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

[24]  Alan D. Marwick,et al.  Knowledge management technology , 2001, IBM Syst. J..

[25]  Amrit Tiwana,et al.  Knowledge integration in virtual teams: The potential role of KMS , 2002, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[26]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  DIFFERENT KNOWLEDGE, DIFFERENT BENEFITS: TOWARD APRODUCTIVITY PERSPECTIVE ON KNOWLEDGE SHARING INORGANIZATIONS. , 2001 .

[27]  Val Singh,et al.  Informal Mentoring as an Organisational Resource , 2002 .

[28]  Bhatt L. Vadlamani,et al.  Assessing generic strategies: an empirical investigation of two competing typologies in discrete manufacturing industries , 1995 .

[29]  Heeseok Lee,et al.  An empirical investigation of KM styles and their effect on corporate performance , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[30]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Knowledge management systems: emerging views and practices from the field , 1999, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences. 1999. HICSS-32. Abstracts and CD-ROM of Full Papers.

[31]  J. Rowley.  Using case studies in research , 2002 .

[32]  R. Grant.  Chapter 8 – Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration , 1999 .

[33]  K Shams,et al.  Data warehousing: toward knowledge management. , 2001, Topics in health information management.

[34]  Sue Newell,et al.  Limits of IT-driven knowledge management initiatives for interactive innovation processes: towards a community-based approach , 2000, Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[35]  Leon Mann,et al.  The Innovation Imperative , 2001 .

[36]  Philip Powell,et al.  SMEs, co-opetition and knowledge sharing: the role of information systems , 2003, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[37]  Anne Morris,et al.  Knowledge Management Toolkit , 2001 .

[38]  Rodrigo Baroni de Carvalho,et al.  Using information technology to support knowledge conversion processes , 2001, Inf. Res..

[39]  Johanna Gunnlaugsdottir,et al.  Seek and you will find, share and you will benefit: organising knowledge using groupware systems , 2003, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[40]  Eric L. Lesser,et al.  Communities of practice and organizational performance , 2001, IBM Syst. J..

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

[42]  R E Miles,et al.  Organizational strategy, structure, and process. , 1978, Academy of management review. Academy of Management.

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

[44]  Richard J. Boland,et al.  Knowledge management technology and the reproduction of knowledge work practices , 2000, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[45]  Laurence Prusak,et al.  Where did knowledge management come from? , 2001, IBM Syst. J..

[46]  Yolande E. Chan,et al.  Integrating Knowledge Management Practices Through a Problem Solving Framework , 2000, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[47]  David J. Skyrme,et al.  Knowledge management solutions - the IT contribution , 1998, SIGG.

[48]  J. Katzenbach,et al.  The discipline of teams. , 1993, Harvard business review.

[49]  Roger E. Bohn,et al.  Chapter 17 – Measuring and Managing Technological Knowledge , 1998 .