Critical issues for knowledge management implementation at a national level
| Pages | 52-66 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720610667372 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Author | Peyman Akhavan,Mostafa Jafari |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
ARTICLES
Critical issues for knowledge
management implementation at a
national level
Peyman Akhavan and Mostafa Jafari
Department of Industrial Engineering,
Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Purpose – To date, critical success factors for designing and implementing a knowledge
management system at national level for countries have not been systematically investigated.
Existing studies have derived their critical success factors from companies’ perspectives and have not
considered the needs of a larger scale such as a country and at a national level. This paper aims to
bridge this gap.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study technique has been used in this paper
for data collection to gain insights into the topic being investigated. For that, “grounded theory”
research approach has been selected, by which the collected data from real case studies (European
countries) are categorized and analyzed through specific stages. The extracted concepts can
demonstrate critical success factors of a knowledge management master plan at a national level.
Findings – The overall results from the real case studies were positive, thus reflecting the
appropriateness of the proposed critical success factors. Also 20 concepts and one semantic network
are the other findings of this research that clarify how to design and implement a knowledge
management system at a national level. The semantic network shows the most important factors
(concepts), their effects on one another, and their relations.
Practical implications – The set of critical success factors can act as a list of items for countries to
address when adopting knowledge management (KM). This helps to ensure that the essential issues
and factors are covered during the design and implementation phase. For academics, it provides a
common language for them to discuss and study the factors crucial for the success of a knowledge
management master plan at a national level.
Originality/value – This study is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of critical
success factors for implementing KM level in countries. It gives valuable information and guidelines
that hopefully will help governments to accomplish knowledge management through their countries.
Keywords Knowledge management, Critical successfactors, Europe, Qualitative research
Paper type General review
Introduction
In a world of dynamic and discontinuous change, organizations are constantly seeking
ways to adapt themselves to new conditions so that they are prepared to survive and
flourish in a competitive marketplace (Albert, 1997). The proliferation of the knowledge
economy (Castells, 1996), emphasizing the value of information as an enabler of
competitive advantage, is naturally driving many companies to re-examine the ways
they have treated their knowledge assets in the past and to identify ways in which they
can exploit them more effectively in the future.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
VINE
36,1
52
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 36 No. 1, 2006
pp. 52-66
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055720610667372
To continue reading
Request your trial