KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIESAND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

摘要

The importance of knowledge management has intensified as globalization has become more prevalent in the business world.Globalization has lead to a dispersion of general knowledge, clusters of specific knowledge, and numerous cultural differencesin organizations. Organizations that implement effective knowledge management systems have the ability to leverage knowledge-basedassets that can lead to increased organizational performance. Cultural differences are central to knowledge managementbecause an organization’s culture shapes the assumptions about what knowledge is, what knowledge is worth managing, and howknowledge is created, legitimized, and distributed. However, much of the conceptualization of knowledge management is stillWestern centered.This paper posits that by understanding the best fit of organizational culture to knowledge management methods, organizationswill have a greater opportunity to implement effective knowledge management systems. Specifically, we introduce severalpropositions relating cultural fit, as understood by Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions, to knowledge management strategies,as outlined in Earl’s Knowledge Management Taxonomy (2001). Several organizations are identified that exhibit variousknowledge management strategies and several countries are identified for each cultural dimension to show how thesecategorizations relate to the real business world.If organizational success is important to managers in this age of globalization, they must recognize how culture affects the waypeople share knowledge. Using our framework, executives and managers can encourage the development of knowledgemanagement systems that take cultural dimensions into consideration and promote a higher degree of knowledge sharing. Thepropositions presented in this paper also help to illustrate how each cultural dimension is not limited to a best fit with only oneknowledge management school but can fit well with several of the schools. This allows for more flexibility in creating knowledgemanagement systems in diverse cultural settings. Different mixes of approaches may be needed for organizations that span acrosscountries with significantly different culturesFuture research is needed to test our propositions in organizational settings. Since the Earl Knowledge Management Taxonomyis based on observations of current organizations, these organizations would be a natural setting for ongoing research. Studyinginternational organizations would also be beneficial, since they would allow the comparison of common company strategiesoperating under different cultural dimensions. Lastly, longitudinal qualitative studies would be valuable since they could leadto a greater understanding of how the best fit between various cultures and knowledge management schools can contribute toa sustained competitive advantage.