An empirical model of four processes for sharing organisational knowledge
| Date | 25 February 2014 |
| Published date | 25 February 2014 |
| Pages | 305-320 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-03-2013-0059 |
| Author | August Tsai |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval |
An empirical model of four
processes for sharing
organisational knowledge
August Tsai
Department of Industrial Management, Chien Hsin University,
Zhongli City, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to introduce an empirical model which incorporates newsgroups,
knowledge forums, knowledge assets and knowledge application processes to share organisational
knowledge. Therefore it seeks to illustrate an application for integrating knowledge management (KM)
into the business process.
Design/methodology/approach – The Taiwanese contingent of an international certification body
– also a council member of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) – was selected for
a case study. A hybrid technology infrastructure was designed and employed to implement the
proposed model. Based on knowledge value added validation, the proposed KM model provides a set
of new operating systems for sharing knowledge within an organisation.
Findings – Although many theories regarding implementation of KM in organisations have been
proposed and studied, an application model for practical integration of various modern principles to
share organisational knowledge is strategically important. Therefore a model that integrates principal
KM applications into the business process, and the measurement of the resulting benefits, has been
developed.
Originality/value – Knowledge is a valuable asset for an individual in today’s economy;
nevertheless the acquisition of such an asset relies heavily on knowledge sharing within an
organisation. The author has proposed an exclusive hybrid platform with an empirical process model
to address innovative approaches and practical values of KM within an organisation.
Keywords Knowledge application process, Knowledgeasset, Knowledge forum,
Knowledge valueadded, Newsgroup, Organizationalknowledge
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
To improve business performance and create new mechanisms for knowledge sharing,
knowledge management (KM) approaches have been adopted by organisations (Ng
and Jee, 2012). Indeed knowledge is an important resource in both personal and
organisational environments in the context of the knowledge economy, and the
acquisition of such a resource depends on continuous management and education
regarding categorised and synthesised knowledge. Despite various theories regarding
KM (Hou and Li, 2011; Mason, 2005; Soon et al., 2010), only a few practical research
studies have focused on the application and implementation of an empirical model
(Dixon, 2000; Housel and Bell, 2001). Thus an entire industry may lack comprehensive
guidance for implementing knowledge sharing within an organisation.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
The research work in this paper is sponsored by the National Science Council in Taiwan under
NSC Grants 96-2622-E-231-002-CC3.
Sharing
organisational
knowledge
305
Received 28 March 2013
Second revision approved
17 July 2013
Online Information Review
Vol. 38 No. 2, 2014
pp. 305-320
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-03-2013-0059
The ultimate goal of KM is to transfer knowledge among members in an
organisation; some recent concepts such as “knowledge community” and “knowled ge
map” have been effective (Bautista-Frias et al., 2012; Krishnaveni and Sujatha, 2012).
However the overall benefits of KM can never be achieved if practical aspects are not
integrated in an application model; furthermore there are limited studies on how
different types of KM applications fit the business context. Therefore it is imperative
that researchers investigate an application model to integrate KM with business
strategies. Thus this study’s research questions are: How are principa l KM
applications integrated with the business process? Furthermore how are benefits
resulting from KM processes measured?
For this research the company selected for the case study is associated with an
international certification body in Taiwan; its business model is both
knowledge-intensive and process-oriented. Four types of internal organisational
knowledge to be shared in a business were identified by Andreu and Sieber (2005), wh o
established an empirical model incorporating four electronic platforms for sharing
knowledge within organisations: newsgroups, knowledge forums, knowledge asset
management systems, and knowledge application processes.
This paper is organised as follows. In the next section the discussion of reviewed
literature is provided. The following section is devoted to the research design for
developing and validating the proposed empirical KM model, then some resulting KM
applications and validation data are discussed. Finally the last section presents
conclusions and suggestions.
Literature review
Skyrme and Amidon (1999) identified systematic organisational knowledge processes
as one of seven critical success factors for successful KM implementation; a critical
issue in implementing KM is preparing an organisation to accept, adopt, and utilise
new KM processes (Alsadhan et al., 2008). Mas-Machuca and Costa (2012) identified
critical success factors of KM projects that are underway in consulting firms, and they
measured the strategic, technological, and cultural factors in relation to the success of
each project. The findings of their research show that technology is a primary factor
for success of a KM project, and integrating KM with business objectives and choosing
a proper technological infrastructure play important roles. Thus KM activities that
include knowledge maps (Hussein et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2009), knowledge communities
of practice (Gammelgaard, 2010; Shen et al., 2010), and e-knowledge (Kankanhalli et al.,
2005; Warkentin et al., 2001), have been linked to business processes. However clarity
regarding what these KM processes look like within the organisational context is
needed. Therefore we provide relevant illustrations in this study.
Different categories of knowledge provide benefits that vary according to task unit
(Haas and Hansen, 2007). For instance Tsai et al. (2011) surveyed 600 large firms in
Taiwan and found that the moderating effect of KM strengthens the relationship
between ERP data maintenance and business performance. Ng and Jee (2012) surveyed
200 Malaysian firms and found that, in general, KM has a positive and significant
influence on manufacturing performance. Thus it is evident that KM strategies within
organisations should not be neglected. Dixon (2000) proposed five categories of
organisational knowledge in a KM approach: expert knowledge, strategic knowledge,
serial knowledge, near knowledge, and far knowledge. Andreu and Sieber (2005)
OIR
38,2
306
To continue reading
Request your trial