Critical Enablers of Knowledge Management Implementation

Organizational Knowledge Management (KM) is essential not only for upholding performance adeptness and competitive advantage, but it is also significant as most senior and knowledgeable employees are likely to retire or move to other organizations where they may get higher salaries and benefits. Management education sector which has been combating various challenges pertaining to the value it creates through quality education and employability imparted to its students, must develop strategies for constant sharing, creating/acquiring, transferring and applying mission-critical knowledge in order to prepare and produce industry-ready management graduates.

Knowledge Management Processes and Practices (KMPP) can assist an institution to identify what is known and what must be known and also manage its knowledge creation, organization, sharing and use. A KM based organization is a learning organization where the entire firm continuously learns while it works and is able to quickly adapt to the market dynamics and the environmental changes. The Governance and Leadership of such organizations must strategically support knowledge orientation of the organization and suitably invest in required IT Infrastructure and Systems. The author has tried to empirically establish that ’Effective implementation of Knowledge Management Processes and Practices (KMPPs) like Knowledge Acquisition and Creation, Knowledge Codification and Organization, Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Dissemination and Use; is ascertained by certain Key Strategic Enablers (KSEs) like supportive Governance and Leadership, conducive Work Culture, Information Technology Infrastructure and Systems, Integrated Performance Evaluation and Rewards System; and Key Individual Enablers (KIEs) like Individual Perception and Individual Attitude’. The current status of KM implementation in academics has also been studied.

This book is based on a research that is to study the role of the key strategic and individual level enablers (KSEs and KIEs) on effective implementation of KMPPs in Management Education with special reference to the privately-run mid-tier B-Schools in eastern India. This research work has investigated the role of Organizational Governance and Leadership, Work Culture, IT Infrastructure and Systems, Integrated Performance Evaluation and Rewards System, peoples’ Perception and Attitude and Operational Autonomy in effective implementation of KM in management education.

The findings of the research have led the author to extract the central themes that answer the research questions. The interpretations have helped to derive the conclusive theory that establishes the relation among the various constructs of the study and the theoretical propositions. Thus the findings of the study comprises of the central themes extracted through data analysis and interpretation to answer the research questions, the resultant conclusive theory that establishes the propositions of the study, and the strategic KM implementation process model and the logical KMS framework for B-schools/higher education institutions. The theoretical contributions of the research findings establish that roles of the KSEs, KIEs and operational autonomy at every level are imperative for the effective implementation of KM in management academics/higher education institutions.

The findings and conclusions are based on purely qualitative case research method, and analysis of the interview responses. The insights gained from this doctoral research while contributing plausible explanations for the gaps identified, domains underexplored, and inconclusive extant empirical studies, also urge for more research with focus on KM adoption.