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

Tiit Elenurm
development visions. Conclusions on <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> knowledge management prerequisites in training
programmes and practical knowledge management development initiatives are presented.
2. Knowledge management prerequisites as a departure point for knowledge
management development efforts
Identifying knowledge management best practices and factors that influence <strong>the</strong> success <strong>of</strong>
knowledge management projects has been a research task for many knowledge management
researchers and consultancies during <strong>the</strong> recent decade (Darroch 2003, Lucas and Ogilvie 2006,
KMPG 2003, Zheng et al. 2010). Cryywagen et al. (2008) have pointed out that “one size does not fit
all” and advocated <strong>the</strong> “best fit” approach that addresses <strong>the</strong> contextual differences <strong>of</strong> organisations.
Studying knowledge management prerequisites in organisations supports <strong>the</strong> best fit approach by
clarifying <strong>the</strong> situation that serves as a departure point for a new knowledge management
development initiative. Knowledge management does not start from creating <strong>the</strong> job <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> chief
knowledge management <strong>of</strong>ficer or launching an initiative labelled as “knowledge management
development project”. It is important to understand how members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organisation interpret existing
practices and tools that can be related to <strong>the</strong> knowledge management field even if <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong>
knowledge management has not been <strong>of</strong>ficially introduced. The analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> classical story <strong>of</strong>
Xerox photocopier repairmen by Cox (2007) demonstrates that while some interpretations <strong>of</strong> this story
stress <strong>the</strong> community <strong>of</strong> practice that emerged in <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> voluntary face-to-face communication
between repairmen at lunchtime or around a water cooler, o<strong>the</strong>r interpretations stress <strong>the</strong>
management initiative to create a computer system for sharing knowledge in a global corporation.
Comparing different interpretations <strong>of</strong> knowledge management prerequisites can be useful for
deconstructing stories about successful or unsuccessful knowledge management initiatives. In this
article we treat knowledge management prerequisites as principles and main tools that people
involved in knowledge creation and application practices consider crucial for successful knowledge
management.
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) have developed <strong>the</strong> model <strong>of</strong> four modes <strong>of</strong> knowledge conversion,
which explains conversions between tacit and explicit knowledge domains. This classical knowledge
spiral model allows one to assess whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> organisational environment should become more
supportive <strong>of</strong> socialization, knowledge externalization and a combination, or knowledge internalization
processes. Socialization and internalization are directly linked to personal trust, whereas knowledge
externalization is more connected to ei<strong>the</strong>r paper documents or electronic tools.
Nie et al. (2008) point out diversified interpretations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> knowledge management field. They use
200 most important keywords from knowledge management journals as an input for <strong>the</strong> domain
analysis and present <strong>the</strong> typology that differentiates such domains as external and internal changes,
s<strong>of</strong>t and hard technologies, different targets and applications. The differentiation between strategyoriented,
process-oriented, human-oriented and information-oriented functions and entities is most
relevant to <strong>the</strong> study <strong>of</strong> perceptions <strong>of</strong> knowledge management prerequisites. Information-centred and
knowledge-centred approaches have been competing for many decades in <strong>the</strong> field <strong>of</strong> developing
knowledge-based assets (Sveiby 1997). Face-to-face communication is <strong>the</strong> traditional tool <strong>of</strong>
socialization. At <strong>the</strong> same time, web technology facilities are used to implement many knowledge
management solutions, including virtual project teams and communities <strong>of</strong> practice supported by
virtual tools <strong>of</strong> socialization. Information technology is a key enabler <strong>of</strong> knowledge management
assuming that <strong>the</strong> balance between data ga<strong>the</strong>ring, information processing and knowledge sharing is
retained in knowledge management practices (Tiago et al. 2009). Hall et al. (2008) stress learning to
differentiate between hard and s<strong>of</strong>t knowledge. However, <strong>the</strong> harmonisation <strong>of</strong> codification and
socialization in knowledge management also assumes <strong>the</strong> integration between applications <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
information technology for <strong>the</strong> knowledge content creation, storage and reuse in computer-based
organisational memories and helping people to communicate knowledge, ra<strong>the</strong>r than storing it
(Apostolou et al. 2007).
The focus <strong>of</strong> knowledge management development efforts depends on <strong>the</strong> knowledge-intensity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
competition and business strategies followed by competitors. Griffiths and Remenyi (2008) have
demonstrated how <strong>the</strong> framework for aligning knowledge management with a competitive strategy can
be applied for positioning consulting companies that have developed technology-based networking
versus companies that focus more on <strong>the</strong> personal networking <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir staff. The priority given to one
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se approaches can be revealed by discussing <strong>the</strong> prerequisites <strong>of</strong> knowledge management.
276