Pursuing excellence in firm core knowledge through intelligent group decision support system
| Pages | 277-296 |
| Date | 21 March 2008 |
| Published date | 21 March 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570810858723 |
| Author | Chinho Lin,Andrea CP Liu,Ming‐Lung Hsu,Ju‐Chuan Wu |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Pursuing excellence in firm core
knowledge through intelligent
group decision support system
Chinho Lin
Department of Industrial and Information Management,
College of Management, Institute of Information Management,
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, People’s Republic of China
Andrea CP Liu
Department of Information Management,
TaTung Institute of Commerce and Technology,
Taiwan, People’s Republic of China
Ming-Lung Hsu
Department of Industrial and Information Management,
College of Management, National Cheng Kung University,
Taiwan, People’s Republic of China, and
Ju-Chuan Wu
College of Management, Institute of Information Management,
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, People’s Republic of China
Abstract
Purpose – The paper’s objective is to present a group decision support system (GDSS) for facilitating
the process of core knowledge selection.
Design/methodology/approach – The proposed GDSS is developed by taking advantage of the
characteristics of certain existing analytical and mathematical methods, including knowledge-based
SWOT analysis, knowledge audit instruments, gap analysis, synergy analysis, similarity measures,
multi-objective linear programming (MOLP), and fuzzy programming. A case study was performed to
identify whether or not the GDSS achieves its designed purpose.
Findings – The results show that GDSS can be applied effectively in identifying core knowledge that
should be developed.
Practical implications – The proposed GDSS provides a comprehensive procedure for top
managers, using a strategy-orientated perspective to determine suitable core knowledge to be
developed by appropriately analyzing internal synergy and external gap effects on core knowledge.
Top managers need not only be aware of the relationship between core knowledge and other factors
but must also consider decision-making problems related to this issue.
Originality/value – Fewprior studieshave provided a systematicapproach fordevelops organizational
core knowledge byusing analytical and mathematical methods. This paper particularly focuses on the
question of howfirms can actually identify coreknowledge and thus develop appropriate strategies.
Keywords Knowledge management, Fuzzy logic, Programming, Decision supportsystems
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
This work was supported by National Science Council, Taiwan, People’s Republic of China,
under Grand No. NSC 94-2416-H-006-011.
Pursuing
excellence in firm
core knowledge
277
Received 14 May 2007
Revised 1 August 2007
Accepted 10 October 2007
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 108 No. 3, 2008
pp. 277-296
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/02635570810858723
1. Introduction
Global competition, technological breakthroughs, changing customer expectations,
mass customization, environmental concerns, and others current trends are reshaping
the landscape of corporations worldwide (D’ Aveni, 1994). Environmental changes
have become increasingly more complex and novel. Contemporary firms are not only
undergoing accelerated changes, but are also experiencing a fundamental shift in the
rules of competition and the way in which the game of competition is played
(Eisenhardt and Sull, 2001). Some researchers have contributed significantly to the
theory and practice of adopting strategy-making to a rapidly changing environment
(Gottschalk and Solli-Sather, 2007; Eisenhardt and Bourgeois, 1998; Burgema, 1994;
Grant, 2003; Salmador and Burno, 2003; Gottschalk, 2007), such as activities which
enable firms to efficiently develop strategies or capabilities in response to the
increasing intensity of environmental changes. This implies that firms must develop
dynamic capabilities in order to adapt and, henceforth, core competencies can be
developed by adopting the best strategies (Teece et al., 1997; Prahalad and Hamel,
1990; Ethiraj et al., 2005), which may then generate their own individual and unique
knowledge through accumulated experience. Knowledge is the most important
resource for core competence/capability development (Lee and Chang, 2007; Lin et al.,
2007; Teswanich et al., 2006). Obviously, it is necessary for firms to cultivate valuable
knowledge, developing core organizational knowledge to achieve long-term
sustainable competitive advantage (Hsu et al., 2007). Organizational knowledge is a
recognized as a key resource and a variety of perspectives suggest that the ability to
marshal and deploy knowledge dispersed across the organization is an important
source of organizational advantage. In particular, long-term sustainable competitive
advantage originates from the firm’s ability to effectively apply existing knowledge to
create novel knowledge that is capable of forming the basis for achieving competitive
advantage from knowledge-based assets (Wickramasinghe, 2007; Wickramansinghe
and Sharma, 2005; El-Korany, 2007).
Although firms can engage in knowledge management (KM), through the
capabilities of acquiring, integrating, storing, and sharing, for the purpose of building
and sustaining competitive advantage, this does not mean that the firm is fully
utilizing its resources or managing the right knowledge in the right way (Feng and
Chen, 2007; Wickramasinghe, 2007). How can a firm determine which knowledge
should be managed and developed? The process of strategy making provides a
decision process that aligns the org anization’s internal capabilit ies with the
opportunities and threats it faces in its business environment (Barney and Hesterly,
2006). It is a stream of decisions and actions which lead to the development of an
effective strategy for achieving corporate objectives. From a knowledge perspective,
strategy making is a complex process of knowledge creation, where interactions are
based on four modes of knowledge conversion, modeled by the SECI spiral (Salmador
and Burno, 2003; Nonaka et al., 2006). It focuses on the role of formal analysis, planning
and strategic choice, highlighting the role of explicit and implicit knowledge within the
process. Each of these is essential activity that provides strategy-makers with data
vital to their tasks. In addition, experts have tried to develop and promote KM ideology
in order to maintain competitive advantage and improve the organizational use of IT
(Lin et al., 2007).
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