An empirical study of factors affecting successful implementation of knowledge management

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is a formalized, integrated approach to identifying and managing an organization's knowledge assets. The impact of KM implementation in terms of performance improvement and related benefits are still elusive. This ambiguity comes largely from the absence of empirically-based assessment of KM implementation. The main purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the critical factors affecting the successful implementation of knowledge management. To achieve this objective, the study developed and tested a variety of variables. A cross-sectional field survey was used as research methodology. Multiple research methods were utilized to provide a broad basis for interpreting and validating the data. From the results of statistical analysis, important generalizations were suggested. First of all, many responding organizations were aware of the importance of KM in terms of their organization's current and future performance. Most organizations view their business as knowledge intensive. Also, information technology was the most commonly implemented area of KM. However, most organizations did not believe strongly that a KM specialist such as a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) or an external consultant is needed for effective management of knowledge. Secondly, the study found that top management leadership/commitment and fewer organizational constraints were critical to KM success in terms of the degree of importance. Regarding the degree of implementation, information systems infrastructure was considered as critical to KM success. Finally, KM factors based on the degree of importance were not affected by type of organization, annual revenue, number of employees, and investment time on KM. On the other hand, KM factors based on the degree of implementation were significantly affected by different types of organizations and investment time on KM. However, annual revenue and number of employees did not affect KM factors significantly.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 98 citations exist upstream.