An IC?based Conceptual Framework for Developing Organizational Decision Making Capability

摘要

Organizations need to be able to access, coordinate and integrate knowledge more efficiently thanever before to make sense of the complex and unpredictable forces shaping business conditions. Oftenknowledge is sourced from diverse yet interconnected networks of individual experts and organisations. In thisenvironment, it is hard to ensure that decisions are based on the best available knowledge and do not workagainst one another. More alliances and inter-organizational partnerships and various contractual relationshipswith individuals broaden the range of perspectives and values to be considered, which makes it even harder todetermine what a “good” decision looks like. The proposition underpinning this research is that intellectual capitalinvestments can help turn organizational decision making into the dynamic capability required to handle achanging world. The aim is to present a conceptual framework that can be used to target these investments moreeffectively. A focused literature review of current decision making research to identify the relevant knowledge andknowledge management perspectives identified five factors that map to the IC framework: human capital factorsinvolve accessing and developing experts, as well as supporting reflective practice; structural capital factorsinvolve using technology to structure, integrate and provide access to explicit knowledge resources, as well asdesigning an effective decision review process; and finally a relational capital factor based on adopting anintegrated approach to internal and external collaboration. IC investments in these five areas could enhancedecision making in different contexts. Most importantly, the organizational capacity to recognise and respond todifferent situations with the most appropriate approach to decision making would improve over time. We are notsuggesting this is a complete set of factors, but it is a coherent approach to investments in five areas that cancontribute to better organizational decision making capability. Further research is recommended to confirm this.