Knowledge Management in Organizational Settings: The Effect of Normative Influence and Technological Support on Knowledge Creation and Transfer

摘要

One of the emerging themes in recent organization theory and strategic management research has been the central role that knowledge plays in organizational performance. Grant (2001), for example, looks at the advantages of a knowledge-based perspective in organization theory, focusing on knowledge as the critical resource in the production of goods and services. Similarly, Teece (2001:125), notes an "increasing recognition that the competitive advantage of firms depends on their ability to create, transfer, utilize and protect difficult to imitate knowledge assets." Nonaka, Toyama, and Konno (2001) claim that continuously creating knowledge is the reason for a firm's existence, noting the widespread acceptance of the view that the ability to create and utilize knowledge is the most important source of a firm's sustainable competitive advantage. Related to this emphasis on knowledge as a central organizational resource is the growing interest in knowledge management and knowledge management systems - information systems designed to support creation and transfer of knowledge in organizations. In their review of knowledge management and knowledge management systems, Alavi and Leidner (2001) develop a framework for analyzing knowledge management processes and the role that information technology may play in supporting them. The framework provides a foundation for exploring successful deployment of information technology in support of knowledge creation and transfer.