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Keywords
Knowledge-based systems, Information technology
Abstract
The borderless global economy has accentuated the importance of knowledge as the most critical source of competitive advantage. Thus, knowledge management (KM) has become a strategic mandate for most world-class organizations. A key enabler for implementing an effective KM system is advanced information technology (IT). Strategies for developing an enterprise-wide KM system infrastructure with embedded IT are discussed. In particular, this paper discusses the concept of a KM life cycle knowledge capture, knowledge development, knowledge sharing, and knowledge utilization, and how applications of new IT support each step of the KM practices within and between organizations is suggested.
Introduction
Today's organizations have to deal with complex, rapidly changing business environments in order to survive in the increasingly competitive global economy. Accordingly, the structure of economy has shifted from "products-based strategy" to "knowledge-focused business". Without adapting to new rules such as using flexible knowledge workers and advanced information technology (IT) for competitive advantage, organizations simply cannot exist for the long term in the global market. Of the Fortune 500 companies operating in 1956, only 29 firms are still operating their businesses today (National Research Council, 1997). After Nonaka's article, "The knowledge-creating company", was published in 1991, the strategic value of knowledge has been recognized by world-class organizations. In a later study, Drucker (1996) claims that:
... knowledge is the only meaningful economic resource.
Due to the importance of knowledge relative to competitive advantage and advances in IT which allow organizations to utilize such advantage, knowledge management (KM) has become part of today's new management terminology. In fact, many leading world-class organizations are implementing KM. According to research reported in Fortune, a survey of 200 firms by CAP Ventures in 1997 found that 63 per cent had employed a KM strategy (Dykeman, 1998).
According to Nonaka's (1991) definition, the essence of a "knowledge-creating" company is "endless innovation". From his perspective, previously defined innovative management tools, including total quality management (TQM), business process reengineering (BPR) or business process innovation, and learning organization (LO), are closely associated with the concept of KM. The Knowledge Research Institute (1998) views KM as the most recent and valuable management paradigm today and that the concept is based on TQM, BPR and LO. Numerous...