Combining Strategic Management with Knowledge Management: Trends and International Perspectives

Knowledge management has emerged as a key lever for improving performance, boosting productivity and creativity and facilitating innovation in organizational settings.  Knowledge Management is a modern multidisciplinary process of exploiting knowledge and information of an organization in order to achieve organizational objectives. The particular nature of knowledge management is proving to be a very useful tool in the field of strategic management providing valuable knowledge and information enforcing strategic planning. The aim of this paper is to analyze the interdependency between strategic management and knowledge management. By outlining the main strategic management perspectives in contemporary business literature and combining them with current knowledge management perspectives, an indication of the evolution of research pertaining to strategic knowledge management emerges. The article focuses on the synergies of knowledge-related capabilities in explaining the formation of strategic aspects. Keywords: Strategic Management, Knowledge Management, Global Environment JEL Classifications:  D8, L1, M1, M16 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.962

Knowledge management maturity from a strategic/managerial perspective

The shift in the strategic role that knowledge plays in business is forcing business managers to actively participate in, if not lead, knowledge management for decision making. Unfortunately there are not enough generic models or even guidelines for incorporating the management of knowledge into business and especially business strategy formulation. This leads to business managers considering knowledge management as being separate from business, leading to an inability to align knowledge management goals with corporate goals. The goal of the study was therefore to investigate the interdependency between knowledge, knowledge management and business from a managerial/strategic perspective rather than from a technological perspective. This was done to supply practitioners and managers with guidelines for successful institutionalization and management of knowledge. In order to achieve this goal, research focused on the following objectives: Heightening awareness of the critical role knowledge plays as a strategic corporate resource. Determining the issues/models/methods and perspectives available, to guide strategists in the quest to efficiently and effectively manage knowledge, within a strategic/managerial perspective. The progression of knowledge management maturity from a strategic/managerial perspective. Knowledge management’s performance in relation to the objectives and measures that determine the overall efficiency and effectiveness of an organization. Formulation of guidelines (a knowledge management maturity questionnaire) to aid practitioners and strategists to successfully assess knowledge management maturity. Finally, to expand the research beyond purely theoretical and/or academic value, i.e. to validate all propositions made in the scholarly review as being valid and applicable in a real world scenario, the knowledge management maturity questionnaire was tested in South African industry. Although not directly supportive of the aim, the knowledge gained from conducting research in industry supply knowledge management practitioners with a baseline of data to benchmark knowledge management maturity upon. The thesis therefore concludes with a summary of the main findings of the knowledge management maturity in 86 South African-based organizations. In focusing on the evolution of strategy, it was determined that knowledge has played an enabling role in the formulation of strategies. It was proposed that the evolution of strategy will continue not by replacing previous notions, but rather by building knowledgeably upon previous thought. The proposition was made that in order to set the stage for the successful institutionalization of knowledge management, organizations should decide upon issues that are proven to lead to the implementation of a knowledge management culture. In order to ensure uniformity in the institutionalizing of these issues, it was proposed that not only should issues be encapsulated within policy, but also that the strategic management process be used to determine the priority of issues. In placing knowledge management issues, policies and strategies in a chronological order, a new maturity model was formulated to reflect the progression of knowledge management endeavours from within a strategic/managerial perspective. Differences in opinion with regard to innovation’s role as measurement criteria for knowledge management were also critically reviewed. It was found that although numerous authors support a link between knowledge management and innovation, empirical evidence is not supportive. It was argued that the link between knowledge management and innovation is blurred, primarily due to the interdependency between knowledge, strategy and knowledge management. Owing to the complex nature of managing knowledge as a strategic enabler, the argument was proposed that the sum of the input will not equal the output. It was therefore proposed that knowledge management enables strategists to formulate winning strategies. The key to determining the value of knowledge management therefore lies in the extent knowledgeable reasoning leads to organisational growth, profitability and sustainability and not purely within the amount of innovation it sparks. As mentioned earlier, building on the inductive reasoning followed in the literature review, a questionnaire of six sections, constituting 101 descriptive questions, was developed and used to empirically test the knowledge management maturity of 86 South African-based organizations. With regard to the level of knowledge management maturity reached it was found that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Information Management (IM) are fairly well institutionalised within South African industry. A large number of South African organizations still consider ICT, and especially, IM to be knowledge management. Most organizations understand the concepts and issues surrounding knowledge management. Organizations agree on the benefits of knowledge management. Findings also indicated that there are differences between the scores forwarded for small, medium, large and extra-large organizations. Also, it was found that there are significant differences between the score by the different managerial levels present within organizations. Organizations in general struggle with the successful institutionalization of formal knowledge management endeavours beyond their borders. Not only is there a strong indication that middle management (supported by senior management) hold the key to successful implementation and diffusion of knowledge management, but knowledge management maturity achievements seem to be more dependent on a deliberate, conscious and calculated managerial effort, than on factors such as organizational size, the industry competing within, number of managerial levels present and resources available such as ICT. The study not only commented on the knowledge management maturity of the 86 South African-based organizations, but also identifies the extent of maturity in South African organizations and industry groupings. It was found those organizations in the construction, building materials and mining sectors, banks and insurance, consulting, auditing, and service delivery and consumer goods and utilities were the leaders regarding knowledge management maturity. Score differences between groupings could mainly be attributed to the consistency of achievement over maturity. It was noted that sector leaders achieved higher than average scores in maturity sections, and in particular regarding the management of ICT and information, the formulation of knowledge management issues, plus policy and strategy.Thesis (PhD(IT))--University of Pretoria, 2008.Informaticsunrestricte

How The Impact Of Integration Of Marketing And R&D Differs Depending On A Firm?s Resources And Its Strategic Scope

Increasing the integration of marketing and R&D is widely recognized as an approach to improve the new product performance (NPP) of companies. However, empirical evidence for the positive effect of integration on NPP, especially at the corporate level, is mixed. This study provides a comprehensive theoretical underpinning of the conditions that influence the benefits that can be obtained from more integration. A model of the effect of integration on NPP, in conjunction with a company?s resources and strategic scope, is developed and tested with data from a worldwide sample of companies in the pharmaceutical industry (n = 148). Our results show that the effect of integration is indeed dependent on the situation. In particular it depends on the company?s underlying resources (i.e., specialized knowledge and assets): integration multiplies the positive effect of resources on NPP. The strength of the multiplication effect is in turn dependent on strategic scope. It is strong if the strategic scope is narrow, i.e., for companies with selective products in a few market segments. Our results imply that, when trying to improve NPP, management should not invariably think of increasing integration. Instead, they should evaluate the company?s resource (dis)advantages, its strategic scope, and the level of integration. If the company scores low on resources, increasing integration should not be a high priority. Additionally, integration is most important for companies with a narrow strategic scope where the interdependency between marketing and R&D is relatively strong

A study of subsidiaries views of information systems strategic planning in multinational organisations

This research examines information systems strategic planning (ISSP) in multinationals from the perspective of the subsidiaries. The research was carried out through interviews with the IT and business managers in subsidiaries of nine large American, European, and Japanese multinationals. The evidence from this study reveals that, in the majority of these organisations, IS planning is either centralised or moving towards centralisation. The main focus of IS planning, in many of these organisations, is to control cost and achieve scale economies. As centralisation increases IT tends to control the planning process and, as a result, IS planning becomes more tactical than strategic and is dominated by IT infrastructure planning. Project implementation was the main criterion used to measure IS planning success. However, due to the dominant role of IT, the subsidiary business managers are often less satisfied with the IS planning approach compared with the subsidiary IT managers. The level of involvement of business managers and their satisfaction with ISSP was related to the degree of decentralisation of responsibility for IS planning

The Strategic Real Estate Framework: Processes, Linkages, Decisions

The intention of this work is to provide a contemporary perspective for understanding the real estate markets that can guide the involvement and decisions for all sectors of society's direct and indirect involvements with the real estate process, resources and market participants. Comprehension of the multifaceted, multidimensional, substantial segment of the economy known as real estate is best accomplished through a strategic framework. Because the real estate discipline lacks coherence and concurrence about what is the essence of real estate and what are the operative paradigms for comprehending and making order of the discipline, there is need for a strategic framework that is simultaneously synthesizing, integrating and comprehensive. The concept of the real estate strategy framework both provides the basis for gaining insights into the real estate discipline and also presents a means to connect a strategic approach to real estate with the act of real estate decision-making. By understanding the real estate process, those strategic influences on transactions that follow from the real estate process can be identified. This framework can enhance the quality, reliability and prudence of real estate decisions. By understanding these interdependencies and linkages, more effective decisionmaking concerning real estate interests and the objectives of participants in the real estate markets can be achieved.

From Business model to Business model portfolio in the european biopharmaceutical industry

At the crossroad of firm's core competencies and of the anticipations of consumers' needs, the business model approach complements corporate and business strategy approaches. Firms combine several business models simultaneously to deliver value to different markets, building a portfolio of business model. For managers, business model and business model portfolio are particularly useful to address customer's needs and organisational capabilities of the firm. They also emphasise how the initial core competency of the firm can be extended or redeployed to increase the rent. Business model portfolio describes the firm's strategy to balance time-to-market, revenue stream, risk and interdependencies. It conceptualises firm diversification within the same industry to generate and capture rents. They finally describe two generic dimensions: core competence extension to enlarge the market and to address additional customers and core competence redeployment to serve similar market with the same core competence.Biopharmaceutical; portfolio; corporate strategy; business strategy; core competence; coherence; value chain

Management Control Systems and Contextual Variables in the Hospitality Industry

Purpose – The paper examined management control systems (MCS) in Indonesian hospitality sector. This study examines the impact of six contextual factors at one time to determine the importance of each factor on the design of MCS. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based upon data collected through a survey sent to “star” hotels in Central Java, Indonesia. Using Chenhall (2003) design, a regression equation is run to examine the relationship between MCS and the contextual variables of environment, technology, structure, size, strategy and culture. Findings – The paper finds that higher levels of the contextual variables of technology, structure, and culture are related to more sophisticated MCS while size is related to more traditional MCS. Research limitations/implications –These findings are related to the hospitality industry in Indonesia. Future research could examine different settings (i.e. country, industry, etc) and investigate the effect of each contextual variable on the relationships between MCS and firm performance. Originality/value – The present study extends the scope of MCS system in accounting literature by testing Chenhall (2003) works on the relationship between contextual variables and MCS. It attempts to fill the gap in contingency-based studies that have previously focused on one aspect of contingency by considering six contextual factors. Furthermore, this paper also contributes to a fuller understanding of MCS practices in Indonesia and the hospitality industry and helps management in determining its most effective design. Keywords Hospitality management, Management Control Systems, Indonesia, Contextual Variable

Transparency dilemmas, information technology and alliances in agriculture and food industry

alliance, agriculture, food industry

A Learning Perspective on Groupware Implementation

We propose to look at the implementation of groupware from a learning perspective. In this paper we motivate this view and outline our research model. Research questions of the project are: What are the influential characteristics of learning for the implementation of groupware? And: how can this implementation process be improved