Analysis of Interrelations Between Business Models and Knowledge Management Strategies in Consulting Firms

Knowledge is an important matter for consulting firms - as a resource, as a product or service, and as a trigger for internal value creation processes. Therefore, a strategy for management and utilisation of knowledge in its different state is needed. It is sensible to assume, that this strategy is strongly influenced by a respective consulting firm’s business model. This paper provides an analysis of the interrelation between business model and Knowledge Management strategy. Four determinants are defined to allow a detailed description of different Knowledge Management strategies. Methods and techniques of Knowledge Management are subsumed under these determinants. The use of these methods determine, whether a Knowledge Management strategy is dominated by central or de-central elements. This article describes different types of business models and derives recommendations for corresponding Knowledge Management strategies. Case studies of four Grolik,Kalmring,Lehner,Frigerio KM Strategies in Consulting Firms international consulting firms with different business models and different Knowledge Management strategies are used to validate these recommendations

Editorial : towards an enhancement of knowledge generation in marketing by contributions from non-western contexts

This editorial paper highlights the significance of scholarly contributions from non-western contexts to business and management studies in general and marketing in particular. It calls for constructive, ethical, and committed collaborations between authors and reviewers of academic articles in order to collectively enhance knowledge generation in a global era. Using Iranian Journal of Management Studies as a case, it argues that whilst the increasingly epidemic west-centric journal rankings determine research quality perceptions globally, high quality research outputs from local non-western contexts can help draw the attention of researchers across the world to the value of work undertaken in non-western contexts. On this basis, it presents some hands-on suggestions for enhancing the quality of research outputs from non-western contexts, particularly in relation to new or emerging journals such as Iranian Journal of Management Studies

Human Resource Management Challenges in a Slovenian Social Enterprise: A Case Study

There is a growing number of studies exploring social enterprise in order to increase the understanding of business sustainability and resilience in the social economy. However, little is known about how social enterprises or social entrepreneurs emerging from not-for-profit sectors have faced human resource management (HRM) challenges in practice. In this study, we focus on a hospitality social enterprise founded by social workers in Slovenia as a single case study. Through a series of combined interview and observation methods, we investigate the HRM challenges this social entrepreneur faced when pursuing sustainable social business. We uncovered four strategic and HRM challenges that contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the social enterprise literature. This study paves the way for future studies to focus on HRM in social enterprise

12 steps to successful knowledge management implementation

Knowledge management initiatives often fail to live up to expectations and many result in failure. Unfortunately, many knowledge management initiatives fail because they have been introduced, simply because knowledge management has been recognised by senior management as a “good thing” and something their competitors are undertaking. This can lead to a knowledge manager being appointed without any clear direction and knowledge management initiatives being undertaken without any clear purpose or measurable target criteria. To overcome these problems, a twelve step methodology for knowledge management implementation is presented, illustrated with a series of small case studies. Starting from a problem audit, subsequent steps ensure a baseline measure for improvement is identified, and a comprehensive, costed solution to a recognised problem is designed which is capable of gaining buy-in from both management and the system users. The system is designed with user involvement and must consider the operation of the proposed system as well as the implementation. Subsequent to the implementation, a review process involving the identification of measurable cost-benefits can become the basis for future expansion and roll-out of knowledge management and can become the first steps in the building of a comprehensive knowledge environment. The case studies illustrate the value of each step in the methodology with examples of good and bad practice drawn from the author’s previously published experiences. This paper brings the lessons from these case studies together to form the twelve step methodology which ensures knowledge management is implemented using sound business principles of cost-benefit analysis and return on investment, and established engineering principles of breaking larger projects into smaller projects carried out incrementally with testing carried out at each stage. It is recommended that companies follow these principles and the proposed twelve step methodology in order to achieve successful knowledge management implementation in their own environment

A Critique of the Use of the Balanced Scorecard in Multi-Enterprise Family Farm Businesses

Business strategy is very important to small and medium family businesses as many are both fragile and vulnerable; strategy provides a solid foundation for survival. Various studies have identified that businesses that engage in strategic management outperform those that do not. Despite this knowledge the uptake of many aspects of strategic management by farm businesses has been slow. Although the development of business plans is now common there is often a disconnect between monitoring and strategy. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was applied to case study farms during both the planning process and as they implemented and controlled their strategic choices to determine areas of difference that restrict or enhance it as a management tool for both family and farming businesses. The BSC was immediately applicable in the strategic management process for those businesses with current business plans. It could be used to test the degree of balance between the goals already identified in their plans. It was able to be used to critique the control measures they had in place and to determine how well they could be used to derive the causal chain from the operational level to family goals. In some instances either outcome or driver measures were recognized as being missing, in others the wiring within the balanced scorecard revealed some strategic measures without linkages.Farm Management,