Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Jan Pawlowski and Markus Bick
This category is related to different combinations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r components. In case that success
models are used, this is modeled in structural equations, in o<strong>the</strong>r cases <strong>the</strong> relations are implicitly
described in publications.
For global settings, <strong>the</strong>se metrics are applied in a similar way than traditional KM assessment (cf.
Cummings, 2004) in which mainly <strong>the</strong> influence factors are analyzed. However, <strong>the</strong>re are very few
dedicated publications on measuring <strong>the</strong> specific global effects <strong>of</strong> knowledge management – most
publications address specific aspects such as <strong>the</strong> communication and team work in global settings.
Finding appropriate, explanatory, comprehensive metrics for knowledge management in global
settings beyond performance and effectiveness is still a challenge.
This section has shown <strong>the</strong> variety <strong>of</strong> potential components, attributes and instantiations <strong>of</strong> our
GKMF. It serves as an initial set or solution space. Describing <strong>the</strong> above mentioned categories and
elements enables us to compare both research works as well as implementations. Thus, <strong>the</strong>
framework serves as a basis for comparing current and future research with a focus on <strong>the</strong> global
context.
6. Application scenarios: Results and discussion
In <strong>the</strong> following, we describe how <strong>the</strong> framework is applied in a short scenario: How to guide a design
process based on <strong>the</strong> identified influence factors.
Validating a framework or reference model mainly takes into account how <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>the</strong>oretical foundation
as well as <strong>the</strong>ir practical relevance and applicability in practice is (cf. Fettke & Loos, 2003a). We will
not discuss <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical foundation as this is an inherent part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> model. We focused on <strong>the</strong>
aspects <strong>of</strong> usefulness, adaptability, understanding, comparative value and contribution to <strong>the</strong>orybuilding.
Based on <strong>the</strong>se criteria, we discuss how KM implementations can be guided by using <strong>the</strong>
framework.
6.1 Guiding <strong>the</strong> KM design process
Our framework has been applied in a typical scenario: Designing KM support for an international
project. The project OpenScout is a <strong>European</strong> project aiming at creating new opportunities for <strong>the</strong> use
<strong>of</strong> digital resources for education in international groups (Niemann et al., 2010, Kalz et al., 2010). In
<strong>the</strong> project, it is a key aspect to create and facilitate globally distributing groups to work toge<strong>the</strong>r on
re-using, re-purposing and enhancing / improving educational resources. This is a typical process for
knowledge management in culturally diverse groups with a task which is not clearly defined in
advance. Knowledge sharing is a crucial process for such a project as <strong>the</strong> adaptation <strong>of</strong> educational
resources is highly context- and culture-dependent. For <strong>the</strong> adaptation and implementation <strong>the</strong>
following steps were chosen:
Creating access to multi-lingual open educational resources through a portal solution
Creating a social network to for communication and collaboration purposes
Creating multi-national groups to share and improve educational resources
Facilitating <strong>the</strong> internationalization process
Facilitating knowledge exchange and feedback on <strong>the</strong> adapted resources
These processes need a clear planning <strong>of</strong> knowledge management activities as those are crucial for
success in inter-organizational, internationally distributed processes. Thus, <strong>the</strong> following steps were
taken:
Identifying barriers <strong>of</strong> stakeholders (e.g. teachers, technology providers): In an initial study,
stakeholders across different project for international education were asked about barriers
towards using and providing resources. The framework was used to identify potential cultural
barriers towards knowledge sharing. The questionnaire was based on <strong>the</strong> GKMF and thus
provided a guideline for <strong>the</strong> requirement analysis.
Providing knowledge sharing processes: Based on <strong>the</strong> knowledge process component, a set
<strong>of</strong> processes and activities for knowledge sharing as well as cultural preparation was modeled
and implemented, taking guidance on process embedding into account (in particular for teachers,
additional activities need to be embedded into <strong>the</strong>ir everyday routine). Thus, <strong>the</strong> knowledge
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