When and how to facilitate the introduction of new knowledge processes in organisations
| Pages | 210-227 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/VINE-02-2014-0006 |
| Published date | 06 May 2014 |
| Date | 06 May 2014 |
| Author | John Frederick Rose,Igor Hawryszkiewycz,Kyeong Kang |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems |
When and how to facilitate the
introduction of new knowledge
processes in organisations
John Frederick Rose, Igor Hawryszkiewycz and Kyeong Kang
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present two case studies hosted between 2012 and 2013 by
Woolworths Limited with recommendations to address the question of why has implementing new
processes into well-established organisations proved to be problematical.
Design/methodology/approach – The research framework used is a novel synthesis of actor–network
theory (ANT) with Miller’s living systems theory (LST). Systems at each LST level are actors in an
actor-network. Higher LST-level actors punctualise lower-level actor-networks, enabling the ne-grained
study of dynamic associations within the LST structure. Qualitative measures assess the collaboration’s
progress.
Findings – Gaps were found between teams’ capabilities to implement new processes and that
required to meet expectations. There were three contributors to the gap: rst, knowledge ow was
inhibited by social network structural holes; second, a reliance on tacit knowledge made identifying
training needs difcult; and third, high utilisation of experts reduced their effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications – The nature of logistics means that ndings need careful
validation before application to other business contexts. Larger studies will benet from computer
mediation for parsing and characterising associations, and computational modelling will be required for
validating scenarios that cannot be performed or repeated with human actors.
Practical implications – Recommendations for early identication of new ideas that require
facilitation will help organisations enhance their adaptability and maintain their competitive advantage
in a changing marketplace.
Originality/value – The synthesis of ANT with LST provides collaboration researchers with an
adaptable framework that combines a focus on dynamic associations within the context of complex
social interactions.
Keywords Organisational knowledge processes, Collaborations in organisations, Facilitations
Paper type Research Paper
Introduction
The researcher’s consulting experience prompted the question: why has implementing
new processes into well-established organisations proven to be problematical? A review
to explore this question showed much work has been published on process improvement
(Paulk, 2009), and new processes and methodologies, particularly in software
development (Dingsøyr et al., 2012;Drury et al., 2012;Strode et al., 2012) have been
introduced. However, little information was found on post-adoptive process experiences
(Senapathi and Srinivasan, 2011) or experiences in introducing new ideas into existing
optimised business structures. Our question was bought into sharp focus when we
experienced this problematical aspect in our rst case study conducted in 2012 for
Woolworths Limited (Woolworths). The 2012 study’s research design was based on the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
VINE
44,2
210
Received 2 February 2014
Revised 2 February 2014
Accepted 17 February 2014
VINE: The journal of information
and knowledge management systems
Vol. 44 No. 2, 2014
pp. 210-227
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/VINE-02-2014-0006
model of an external consultant engaged for the purpose of devising cost extraction
ideas and quantifying potential savings to business case standards for implementation
in Woolworths’ logistics business unit. Participants were drawn from managerial
positions in distribution centres, transport, logistics, operations’ support and
information systems. Additional subject experts were called in for clarication and
joined the collaboration on a needs basis. The study was carried out through knowledge
creation collaboration workshops based on concepts from organisational knowledge
creation (OKC) theory (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Despite the depth of experience and
expertise available to the study, only 4 of 20 cost extraction ideas could be quantied in
terms of costs and benets to Woolworths’ business case requirements within the time
frame of the study. At the presentation of ndings in July 2012, the difculties
associated with quantifying the costs and benets of ideas were discussed with
participants and stakeholders. Support was given to a new study to not only nd out
why implementing new processes was difcult but also recommend when and how to
facilitate the introduction of new processes into Woolworths. The new study was carried
out between February and July 2013 and is discussed in this paper.
The tension created between exploiting existing processes to return short-term, low
risk benets versus exploring new ideas that return long-term benets, but with higher
risks, has to be balanced for an organisation to survive (March, 1991). Choosing an
optimal strategy to balance exploration versus exploitation is a complex problem
(Debenham and Wilkinson, 2006) that has been characterised as a wicked problem by
Camillus (2008). It is possible to frame partial, provisional strategies to address wicked
problems, but each wicked problem is in some way unique, and strategies must be suited
to its particular circumstances (Head and Alford, 2013). Camillus (2008, p. 100) asserts
that “it’s the social complexity of wicked problems as much as their technical difculties
that make them tough to manage”, and, indeed, he opined that the task of tackling
wicked problems is itself a wicked problem (2008). A problem’s wickedness not only
places greater emphasis on collaborations in bringing together a diverse range of
knowledge disciplines to meet the escalating challenge of devising solution strategies
but also adds complexity to the task of managing the collaboration through the need to
recognise and adapt to social conict. We adopted learning by doing approach (Batie,
2008) to design and validate facilitation strategies.
Design thinking (Martin, 2009) provided guidance for studying four selected process
implementations in Woolworths. In his book, Martin (2009, p. 8), depicts the renement
process as a funnel. Ideas at the top of the funnel move from a mystery (excites our
curiosity and requires expert investigation), to heuristic (a process that needs expert
intervention to succeed) and nally to an algorithm (that delivers repetitive, reliable
outcomes) (Figure 1). The highly scalable algorithm is performed without expert
intervention. An organisation, such as Woolworths, by focusing on algorithmic
processes, renes all aspects of their organisation, infrastructure and related processes
to minimise operational costs and ensure reliable, repeatable and predictable outcomes.
We found that this renement process created a capability gap between what is required
to perform the algorithmic processes and that required to move new ideas through
Martin’s funnel. This gap was studied in the context of the four selected processes to
understand how it forms and devise facilitation processes to mitigate its impact.
The investigation and ndings outlined in the following sections provide an
adaptable process for deciding when and how to facilitate the introduction of new ideas.
211
Knowledge
processes in
organisations
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