Knowledge and Process Management Volume 12 Number 3 pp 203–216 (2005)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/kpm.231

& Research Article

Mechanisms for Knowledge

Management Systems Effectiveness:
An Exploratory Analysis
Hind Benbya* and Nassim Aissa Belbaly
e-Business Management School, University of Lecce–ISUFI, Lecce, Italy

Knowledge management systems (KMS) have been implemented in many organizations, yet
little research exists to guide their successful development and implementation in practice. In
fact, while some firms achieve successful outcomes with regard to their IT endeavours, others
continue to fall victim to the technology productivity paradox. Further, little is known about
the diversity of both systems and organizations that have successfully implemented them.
This article, through an analysis of successful case studies of knowledge management systems,
explores the underlying mechanisms under which knowledge management systems effective-
ness is most likely to occur. The findings imply that three categories of mechanisms constitute
important preconditions for knowledge management systems effectiveness; they range from
cultural to structural and managerial mechanisms. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION manage the knowledge it possesses. This aware-

It has become largely agreed today that organiza-
tional knowledge such as operational routines,
skills or know-how are the most valuable organiza-
tional resources of a firm. This perspective builds
upon and extends the resource-based view (RBV)
of the firm initially promoted by Penrose (1959)
and expanded by others (Barney, 1991; Prahalad
and Hamel, 1990; Teece et al., 1997). The premise
of the RBV is that organizations employ a mix of
acquisition and configuration of resources to
change how their business is accomplished. Knowl-
edge is often the basis for the effective utilization of
many important resources. In this context, informa-
tion and communication technologies may play an
important role in effectuating the knowledge-based
view of the firm by enhancing a firm’s capability to
*Correspondence to: Hind Benbya, e-Business Management
School, University of Lecce–ISUFI, Via per Monteroni sn 73100
Lecce, Italy.
E-mail: Hind.Benbya@ebms.unile.it
ness is one of the main reasons for the exponential
growth of knowledge management systems (KMS).
KMS are enabling technologies that support knowl-
edge management in organizations (Ruggles, 1997).
There are a number of perspectives on KMS,
and different typologies concerning such systems
have been developed in the literature. In fact, while
Hansen et al. (1999) distinguish them under the
personalization/codification perspective, Ruggles
(1997) classifies them according to the knowledge
management process they support. While this
growing literature is a good indication of the
importance of such systems for both theory and
practice, little research exists to guide their success-
ful development and implementation in practice
(Alavi and Leidner, 1999). In fact, while some firms
achieve successful outcomes with regard to their IT
endeavours, others continue to fall victim to the
technology productivity paradox. Further, little is
known about the diversity of both systems and
organizations that have successfully implemented
KMS. To address these issues, the current study

Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

RESEARCH ARTICLE
reports the result from a multiple case study of
KMS. In particular, this article has two main objec-
tives. The first is to show through examples the role
and practical applications of KMS. The second is to
analyse how some companies succeeded in deploy-
ing KMS, in particular with regard to the mechan-
isms they deployed to achieve success. The paper is
organized as follows. The first section presents a
short overview of previous literature concerning
KMS. In the second section the research methodol-
ogy will be explained, while the third section dis-
cusses our main findings concerning KMS types
in practice and mechanisms for success. Finally
we present the conclusions and indicate future
research issues.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
KMS origins and definitions
Traditionally, most research in strategic IT has
focused on the ability of IT to add economic
value to a firm either by reducing a firm’s costs
or by differentiating its products and services. A
principal argument in this line of reasoning is
that the competitive use of IT has the potential to
provide sustainability and competitive advantage
(Kettinger et al., 1994; Clemons, 1991). As knowl-
edge is often the basis for the effective use of a
firm’s resources, a new line of IT-based systems
to support organizational knowledge management
has emerged called knowledge management sys-
tems. KMS have been defined as a line of systems
which target professional and managerial activities
by focusing on creating, gathering, organizing and
disseminating an organization’s ‘knowledge’ as
opposed to ‘information’ or ‘data’ (Becerra-
Fernandez, 2000). The development of KMS
demands that knowledge be obtained, produced,
shared, regulated and leveraged by a steady con-
glomeration of individuals, processes and IT but
still to be effective KMS should fit the overall orga-
nizational culture and structure. The first and early
adopters of KMS have been large consulting com-
panies; today, such systems are used in a variety
of areas such as medicine, engineering, product
design and construction (Hendriks and Vriens,
1999; Davenport and Prusak, 2000; Tiwana and
Ramesh, 2000).
KMS design finds its origins in knowledge-based
systems and information systems which are mainly
used in intranet development and business process
re-engineering. These techniques rely heavily on
business process modelling, which allows the cap-
ture of the significant flows, events, inputs,
204
Knowledge and Process Management
resources and outputs associated with business
processes. Taking into account that the goal of pro-
cess modelling is to reach a common understand-
ing about how activities should be carried out
(e.g. in which order) and what it produces, it has
become largely agreed that knowledge manage-
ment activities should be integrated within day-
to-day business processes to ensure continual
process improvement and facilitate learning and
the gradual development of organizational
memory. The main approaches that have tried to
develop a systematic method to integrate knowl-
edge management into business processes are the
common KADS methodology (see Schreiber et al.,
1999), the knowledge value chain approach
(Weggeman, 1998), model-based knowledge
management (Allweyer and Loos, 1998) and the
model-based design of knowledge-oriented pro-
cesses. Furthermore, research indicates that compa-
nies focus on specific business processes to
implement knowledge management (Mertins et al.,
2001). In particular, organizations try to sustain
their core processes which represent the core com-
petence and most important capability of the firm
(e.g. aerospace organizations start their initiatives
focusing on the design and R&D process). Nissen
et al. (2000) suggest that the first stage of knowledge
system design involves process analysis; in fact,
until one understands the process, with its various
opportunities and required knowledge, it makes
little sense to begin designing systems. Therefore,
business processes determine the underlying KMS
because they use all the flows necessary to repro-
duce the real working of the business processes
(Figure 1).
KMS taxonomy
There are a number of perspectives on KMS, and
different typologies concerning such systems have
been developed in the literature. In fact, a first
approach to providing a taxonomy of KMS is to
distinguish them by where knowledge resides
and the extent to which knowledge is structured
(Hahn and Subramani, 2002). Becerra-Fernandez
(2000) also provides a classification of KMS in
terms of knowledge dimensions (tacit/explicit)
and the extent of codifiability they require. These
two classifications are an extension of the taxon-
omy proposed by Hansen et al. (1999), which distin-
guish mainly between two strategies: codification
versus personalization strategy. While the codifica-
tion strategy relies extensively on codifying and
storing knowledge in databases, the personaliza-
tion strategy focuses on the tacit dimension of
knowledge and invests in networks to facilitate
H. Benbya and N. A. Belbaly
Knowledge and Process Management RESEARCH ARTICLE

Information systems Knowledge-based systems

Knowledge management systems

Core processes

Value Creation

Figure 1 Knowledge management systems foundations

knowledge exchange via person-to-person con- the tacit dimension of knowledge. This category
tacts. Another taxonomy of KMS differentiates includes:
them according to the knowledge management
 expertise location or what’s called ‘yellow pages’
process they mainly support (creation, storage,
or ‘people finder’ that capture and inventory the
transfer and application) (Alavi and Leidner,
knowledge, experience and backgrounds of the
2001; Ruggles, 1997; Tiwana and Ramesh, 2000.
firm’s experts and act as connectors between
However, the main important distinction between
knowledge and expertise seekers and holders;
the various KMS that exist remains the one that dis-
 communities of practice that provide a social for-
tinguishes between the tacit versus explicit dimen-
um to groups of people who share a concern, a
sion of knowledge. Accordingly, following this
set of problems and who deepen their knowl-
articulation of knowledge in tacit versus explicit
edge and expertise in this area by interacting
dimensions, KMS can be classified into three cate-
on an ongoing basis (Wenger et al., 2002).
gories: dynamic systems, process-oriented systems
and integrative systems (Figure 2).
Process-oriented knowledge management systems
Dynamic knowledge management systems Organizations with significant intellectual capital
Dynamic KMS support mainly interactive commu- require eliciting and capturing knowledge for
nications between experts or team-based manage- reuse in new problems as well as recurring old pro-
ment and are consequently more concerned about blems. They focus mainly on the technical side of

Class Objective Example

Locate knowledge
carriers and seekers
- Expert networks
- communities of practice
- Create a social forum
- Access to experts - Yellow pages

Dynamic systems - Support cross functional

teams
- provide cross- skills set
for projects

- Best practices
KMS Process oriented systems - Capture knowledge for reuse
in solving recurring problems - Process descriptions
- Improve processes databases
- Knowledge repositories

- Integrate knowledge - Corporate portal

Source and provide a - Extranet portals
Integrated systems Single point of access
- Intranet portals

Figure 2 Knowledge management systems classification and examples

Knowledge Management Systems Effectiveness 205

RESEARCH ARTICLE
knowledge and can be an important support for
new product development (e.g. a system to store
marketing-oriented documents or more focused
on R&D). These systems include lessons learned
systems, processes description databases, knowl-
edge repositories and best practices databases.
Integrative knowledge management systems
While the preceding KMS categories focused
mainly on one dimension of knowledge over the
other—either tacit knowledge in the case of expert
networks and communities of practice or more
explicit knowledge focused in the case of codifica-
tion systems in databases—today, most contem-
porary approaches to KMS design rely on an
integrative perspective on managing both explicit
and tacit knowledge dimensions because it offers
unrestricted possibilities for uniformly accessing
knowledge across a variety of sources. This is the
case for the corporate portal which integrates dif-
ferent applications from collaboration tools to a
database supporting knowledge embedded within
business processes (Benbya et al., 2004).
KMS effectiveness
The benefits of using KMS are high because they
include the ability of organizations to be flexible
and to respond more quickly to changing market
conditions, and the ability to be more innovative
as well as improve decision making and productiv-
ity (Harris, 1996). Some authors provided empirical
evidence based on qualitative cases with regard to
the performance implications of KMS (Hansen et al.,
1999; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000; Szulanski,
2000). In particular, KMS are expected to contribute
to the competitive advantage of companies by sup-
porting and enhancing organizational knowledge.
For example, KMS foster the systematic identifica-
tion of central knowledge and expertise, encourage
converting knowledge into manifest forms (e.g.
explicit knowledge) and make information accessi-
ble to others in the firm for local use in terms of
knowledge reuse and as input for knowledge
development. Thus, KMS may ease the integration
of dispersed knowledge (Grant, 1996), speed up the
replication of best practices across time and place
(Nelson and Winter, 1982), avoid double invention,
facilitate leveraging across uses and users (Quinn,
1992; Quinn et al., 1996) and reduce costs of search-
ing and transforming available knowledge for local
use (Hedlund, 1994). While potential benefits of
KMS have been addressed theoretically in the lit-
erature, less is known about how these can be rea-
lized in practice. Significant failure rates persist
206
Knowledge and Process Management
despite tremendous improvements in sophistica-
tion of technologies and major gains in related
price–performance ratios. These conflicting results
may be attributable to: (1) incomplete or inap-
propriate measures of success; (2) lack of theoreti-
cal grounding of the causal mechanisms of KMS
success; or (3) myopic focus on financial perfor-
mance indicators.
In light of the above motivations, in this section
we will review the literature related to these issues,
with a particular focus on the measures used to
assess the effectiveness of KMS.
Several perspectives deal with the assessment of
KMS (Lindsey, 2002; Jennex and Olfman, 2004).
One approach is whether these systems perform
knowledge management processes effectively,
and consequently if each step of the knowledge
process is performed well the system reaches its
objectives. Other authors also take into considera-
tion the organizational context as they recognize
that knowledge management is an organizational
change process and that its success could not be
separate from organizational change success.
This is the case for Lindsey, who defines knowl-
edge management effectiveness/success in terms
of two main constructs: knowledge infrastructure
capability and knowledge process capability.
Knowledge infrastructure capability represents
social capital; the relationships between knowledge
sources and users; and is operationalized by tech-
nology (the network itself), structure (the relation-
ship) and culture (the context in which the
knowledge is created and used). Knowledge pro-
cess capability represents the integration of KM
processes into the organization, and is operationa-
lized by acquisition (the capturing of knowledge),
conversion (making captured knowledge avail-
able), application (degree to which knowledge is
useful) and protection (security of knowledge).
Jennex and Olfman (2004) propose a model for
KMS success based on the Delone and Mclean IS
success model. The proposed model on KMS suc-
cess evaluates as an improvement in organizational
effectiveness based on the use of and impacts from
the KMS. The model uses the following dimensions
to measure KMS success:
 System quality. Defines how well the KMS per-
forms the functions of knowledge management
(creation, transfer, storage . . . ).
 Knowledge/information quality. Ensures that the
right knowledge with sufficient context is cap-
tured and available for the right use at the right
time.
 Use/user satisfaction. Reflects actual levels of KMS
use as well as the satisfaction of KMS users.
H. Benbya and N. A. Belbaly
Knowledge and Process Management
Table 1 Example of mechanisms studied that affect KMS effectiveness
Source Cultural mechanisms
studied
Bartol and Srivastava (2002) — —
Janz and Prasarnphanich (2003) Organizational culture
Argote et al. (2003) Social relations person–
organization fit
McEvily et al. (2003) Level of trust
Gold et al. (2001) Organizational culture
Mofett et al. (2002) Organizational climate
Connelly and Kelloway Social interaction culture
(2003)
Mason (2003) Organizational culture
 Perceived benefits. Measure perceptions of the ben-
efits and impacts of the KMS by users and is
based on the perceived benefit model.
 Net impact. An individual’s use of a KMS will
produce an impact on that person’s performance
in the workplace.
KMS and IT in general can only add value to an
organization when they are used, and that value to
individuals arises when use of the knowledge in
the KMS enables them to perform their work in
ways that are more efficient, more effective and/
or more satisfying. In this article we define the
effectiveness of KMS as a value judgment made
by its users and which allows organizations to
accomplish more efficiently what it could not any
other way. We distinguish between the context in
which the system is used and its related outcomes.
We refer to the factors acting on KMS effectiveness
as mechanisms.
The study of published reports on KMS has iden-
tified a number of mechanisms for KMS effective-
ness. The results of the studies summarized in
Table 1 show that they can be clustered into three
groups: structural, cultural and managerial. First is
the emphasis by so many on the importance of
structural mechanisms that incorporate all the
functional elements of the company that support
and facilitate knowledge management, such as a
dedicated structure, rules and routines. Second is
the frequent mention that an organizational culture
of knowledge sharing is a correlate of success.
Third is the prevalent, though not universal, use
of incentives to change behaviour and encourage
system usage.
RESEARCH DESIGN
This research was undertaken through a multiple
case study (Yin, 1994). In gathering the data,
Knowledge Management Systems Effectiveness
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Structural mechanisms Managerial mechanisms
studied studied
Reward systems
— —
Organizational boundaries Rewards and incentives
Rules and routines
— —
Structure Management support
Knowledge roles —
— Perception of management’s
support
— —
standard techniques for conducting qualitative
case study research were followed (Yin, 1994). In
the first stage, qualitative research was carried
out with the objective of gaining an in-depth
understanding on knowledge management sys-
tems and the mechanisms identified from previous
research. The mechanisms identified from the lit-
erature and classified as structural, cultural or man-
agerial, on the one hand, and the classification of
KMS as dynamic, process-oriented and integrative
on the other, were also found significant in the
substantial number of surveys about knowledge
management (KM) reported in the literature (e.g.
APQC, 1996; KPMG, 1998; Heisig et al., 2002).
These surveys, together with an abundance of
case studies, give an initial overview of the state
of practice of KM and in particular addresses
KMS types adopted by some organizations and
the conditions that were conducive to success. To
further our exploration on KMS types, main bene-
fits and mechanisms, we studied the 20 multina-
tional organizations that were selected for the
2003 ‘MAKE’ (Most Admired Knowledge Enter-
prises) study as best practices.
These organizations are, according to MAKE,
‘leaders in effectively transforming enterprise
knowledge into wealth creating ideas, products
and solutions. They are building portfolios of intel-
lectual capital and intangible assets which will
enable them to out-perform their competitors in
the future.’ The classification of these best practices
is based on a Delphi methodology, where a panel
of experts on KM validated the results.
Table 2 summaries the industry sectors repre-
sented and the types of systems that these organi-
zations deployed.
Thematic analysis of the research findings of the
first phase, together with the analysis of published
documentation and the information provided by
these companies on their initiatives, served to
207
RESEARCH ARTICLE Knowledge and Process Management

Table 2 Knowledge management initiatives deployed by best practices organizations

Organizations Industry KMS type

Accenture Consulting Integrative solution (best practices, experts . . . )

Amazon.com Shopping site Integrative solution ( best books, experts . . . )
BP Oil and gas Knowledge repositories
Buckman Laboratories Chemicals Interactive networks (forums, case history . . . )
Canon Networking and imaging technology Extranet portal ( CRM, SCM system)
Ernest & Young Professional services Integrative solution (best practices, experts . . . )
General Electric Diversified Knowledge repositories
Hewlett Packard High technology Corporate portal
Infosys Technologies Software consulting and IT services Interactive networks
IBM Computers and office equipment Corporate portal
McKinsey & Company Consulting Intranet knowledge portal
Microsoft Computer software Communities of practice
Nokia Mobile communications Knowledge repositories
Price waterhouse Coopers Consulting Integrative solution (best practices, experts . . . )
Royal Dutch/Shell Energy company (oil, gas, solar) Distributed teams and communities
Siemens Diversified Integrated solution (sales documents, forums)
3M Analogue devices Knowledge repositories
Toyota Motor Automobile Best practices database
World Bank Bank Communities of practice
Xerox Computer and office equipment Best practices database (technical tips)

confirm the taxonomy of KMS proposed in the arti-  What, according to them, are the main mechan-
cle and to confirm the classification of mechanisms isms (cultural, structural and managerial) that
that these organizations deployed in three groups contributed to achieving the foremost benefits?
(cultural, structural and managerial).  What measurement systems are they using to
The second phase consisted of an in-depth analy- assess these benefits?
sis of four organizations from the above for further
The major method of data collection was based
investigation; these were Siemens, Buckman
on semi-structured interviews; in fact, the themes
Laboratories, Xerox and Shell. These organizations
above were explored with a series of key informant
have been selected consecutively by the MAKE
interviews involved in the different initiatives.
study as best practices for 3 years; they belong to
In addition to the interview data, researchers
different industries and have adopted different
have collected and analysed a variety of company
types of KMS. Another selection criterion related
documentation, which included: conference pre-
to the effectiveness of the KMS deployed in these
sentations and papers developed by their own
organizations that are, according to their managers,
employees and with other researchers, and describ-
not only fully used within their organizations but
ing their main KM initiatives; internally circulated
also allow their users to accomplish better what
manuals for KMS users; reports and statistics on
they could not otherwise.
their use and participation levels.
This analysis fulfils a dual function in assessing
From the data collected on KMS under investiga-
the mechanisms that constitute preconditions of
tion in this study, many comparisons and contrasts
KMS effectiveness in organizations, as well as
can be made. They are detailed in terms of KMS
forming the basis for the development of a concep-
types and characteristics (Table 2) and in terms of
tual model of ‘Mechanisms for KMS effectiveness’
mechanisms (cultural, structural and managerial)
to be tested empirically in the third phase of the
used to achieve success and benefits date (Table 3).
project.
Within this context, the qualitative analysis of the
cases is aimed at answering the following research
DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS
questions:
KMS types
 What were the main functionalities of the used
KMS? The majority of the cases studied were concerned
 What were the main benefits they achieved from with, bridging the gap between explicit versus tacit
their KMS? knowledge. Personalized knowledge, bound to the

208 H. Benbya and N. A. Belbaly

 Table 3 Summary results of the best practices analyzed
Siemens case study

ShareNet Description of the system

ShareNet is a global knowledge database that links the salespeople of Siemens Information and Communication
Networks (ICN) worldwide, making each salesperson’s accumulated learning experiences accessible to the entire sales force.
Main functionalities
 Customer solutions with their accompanying sales arguments, descriptions of successful projects, presentations, relevant
business plan
 Contact persons for technical issues and financial concepts
 Chat rooms, community news, discussion groups on special issues and urgent requests
 Sections: market knowledge, competitor knowledge, technology knowledge, complementor knowledge,
customer knowledge

Structural mechanisms Cultural mechanisms Managerial mechanisms Benefits

 New organizational positions and  Promoters of ShareNet worked Leadership  The savings of costs. e.g. by reusing
Knowledge and Process Management

roles were appointed to support
the initiative
 ShareNet Committee: highest
decision body for the future
development of ShareNet including
hard to spread messages
encouraging knowledge sharing
and reuse and to create a culture
conductive to knowledge sharing
 Another concern was to develop
 Management support along
the initiative through signals to
channel organizational resources
and individual commitment
towards this element was
knowledge on how to simplify
processes
 Increased revenues, e.g. by increasing
the quality of tenders by reusing
knowledge of the success factors of

Knowledge Management Systems Effectiveness

the CEO, which act as facilitators
and trainers ensuring the roll-out
 Global editors: they act as
mechanisms for making knowledge
richer, more general and reusable
 ShareNet managers: support
contributors in capturing the
project experiences and marketing
know-how; drive the development
of reusable knowledge
empowerment instead of strong
hierarchy that naturally directed
responsibility towards the top
important in making global tenders, or by simply being faster than
knowledge sharing happen the competition by reusing documents
 Management helped to  The alignment with customer needs, by
communicate the idea of ShareNet recognizing important trends and
across organizational levels and developments worldwide
functional departments to ensure
its added value was understood and
appreciated
Reward system
 Contributing and reusing knowledge
is rewarded by ShareNet ‘shares’.
Depending on the number of shares
accumulated during a year, employees
are rewarded with several incentives,
such as conference participation or
telecommunications equipment
 The number of shares given to the
contributor depends on the reuse
feedback of the taker of knowledge,
thus rewarding the usefulness of the
transferred knowledge
 The feedback mechanism is an
important part of the quality
assurance system too

209
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Continues

210
Buckman Laboratories case study
K’Netix
Structural mechanisms
 New organizational positions
and roles were appointed to
support the initiative
 Knowledge transfer department
which aims at planning,
organizing and managing
information system applications
and associated resources
to respond to the information
and knowledge needs of
Buckman Laboratories worldwide
 Systems operators (Sysops) were
appointed to monitor the
discussions in the forums, track
requests and make sure they
were answered
 Sysops would try to get answers
in 24 hours; if not they would
contact people directly and ask
them to respond. Additionally
they were to give positive
feedback to those who did respond
 Content experts, two industry
experts or section leaders in each
forum were assigned to provide a
measure of quality assurance
regarding the advice given by
others
H. Benbya and N. A. Belbaly
Table 3 Continued
Description of the system
K’Netix is the Buckman knowledge network for help answering very specific questions. The heart of the system was its forums.
The majority of them aim at improving customer productivity and are organized by business area
Main functionalities
 Customer information centre: Buckman’s customers, internal memos, documents and sales orders
 Tech forums, each with its own message board, a conference room to facilitate debate and a library section where the
RESEARCH ARTICLE
communication threads and other pertinent knowledge would be stored
 Case history, product data sheet, technical library
Cultural mechanisms Managerial mechanisms Benefits
 A code of ethics was created to Leadership  Increase of sales from new products
act as a glue to hold the company  Management support for the  Increase the speed of response to
together and provide the basis initiative by triggering personnel customers’ needs
for the respect and trust necessary through messages and enticements  Increase customer intimacy and meet
in a knowledge-sharing environment was clear: ‘Those of you who have customer requirements
 Another concern was to develop something intelligent to say now  Increase customer satisfaction
empowerment instead of strong have a forum in which to say it.
hierarchy that naturally directed Those of you who will not or cannot
responsibility towards the top contribute also become obvious.
If you are not willing to contribute or
participate, you should understand that
the many opportunities offered to you in
the past will no longer be available’
Motivation and incentives
 Employees were encouraged to use the
system in a relaxed atmosphere, such as
from their homes
 When the marketing department reviewed
and accepted a ‘case history’ submission,
the submitting sales associate received
$100, which was raised later to $200
 Selection of ‘the 150’ best knowledge
sharers were invited to a fashionable
resort
Knowledge and Process Management
 Shell case study

Wells global network Description of the system

Wells global network includes technical networks and communities centred around commercial practice, procurement,
benchmarking, competitive intelligence and knowledge sharing
Main functionalities
 Expertise directory, global consultants, global networks, centres of excellence
 Standards procedures, policies, best practices, discussions with peers and colleagues

Structural mechanisms Cultural mechanisms Managerial mechanisms Benefits

 New organizational positions
and roles were appointed to
support the initiative
 Global coordinator (community
builder, energizer, ambassador,
 Promotion of a spirit built on
friendship and a genuine desire
to help each other, sharing a
sense of pride in work and
having fun
Reward system
 Curiosity and gaining recognition
from peers are the main motivators
for participation
 ‘Appearing in the Expertise
Facilitates the sharing of lessons learned,
and helps avoid repeating the same
mistakes or reinventing the wheel
Cost savings
Be able to provide timely cost-effective
Knowledge and Process Management

chaser)
 Facilitator (experienced in
kicking off new networks)
 The organizational performance
and learning team helped
 Trusted relationships and
confidence that comes from a
community with common values
and a common story about their
history, however short
Directory, is the confirmation of advice which proved to be of particular
an individual’s credentials to benefit during the development of various
perform the service which has been front-end philosophy documents
brokered by a more personal contact’ Allows more optimal allocation of
 Interest in solving specific problems, share resources without physical relocation

Knowledge Management Systems Effectiveness

restructure, reinvigorate and feedback and experience Provides access to expertise beyond
expand the computer-based current establishment
global networks  Gain quick, informative responses and
clear practical advice and experience

Xerox case study

Eureka Description of the system

Eureka is a community-based knowledge-sharing solution for customer service engineers through tips and best practices
contributed by the service technicians themselves and available to customer service technicians worldwide
Main functionalities
 Submission of a tip (context of the problem and the solution that was developed)
 Evaluation and validation within 14 days
 Database maintenance was everyone’s responsibility through votes and feedback

Structural mechanisms Cultural mechanisms Managerial mechanisms Benefits

 New organizational positions
and roles were appointed to
support the initiative
 Appointment of someone in
the strategy office to the position
of Director of Corporate strategy
and knowledge Initiatives
 Sharing is voluntary; however,
the organization focused on the
opportunities to create growth
and the proactive sharing of best
practices through empowering
people
Leadership
 Management support is key for the
success of any a initiative: ‘In some
locations the managers took the time to work
with the teams and developed and showed 
them video testimonials from
 Improvement of employees’ satisfaction as
it made engineers’ job easier and quicker
and allowed Xerox to create intellectual
capital and social capital at the same time
Improving service to customers and
financial performance of the business
through:

211
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Continues
RESEARCH ARTICLE Knowledge and Process Management

individual mind, is difficult to articulate and can-

 Number of available solutions in the

— reduction in the length of repair time
— savings costs in engineer’s time (5%) not be transferred easily. Knowledge codified in

— increased customer satisfaction and

 Number of problems solved via

databases, manuals and project debriefings, how-

 Time it takes to validate tips

 Number of created field tips
ever, can be transferred with relative ease. Yet
both are needed to make true knowledge sharing
happen. Tacit knowledge is usually transferred by
people exchanging knowledge through social inter-
action, e.g. during meetings, videoconferences or in
discussion groups. Transferring codified knowl-
edge by means of a codification strategy is realized
Measurement

database

by capturing and storing knowledge in documents

Eureka
retention

and transferring it via databases or similar means.

(5%)
Benefits

In fact, in their preliminary stage, organizations

used knowledge repositories where knowledge is
codified without contextual information. Specialists
were assigned to remove the context of the source
expert is what gives participants credit
was good deployment and high usage of

 Being recognized as the subject matter

material to make them more generally applicable;

engineers just installed the software on
other individuals. In these teams there

successful because the managers did

in doing this, knowledge loses its meaning.

not make Eureka a priority and the
Eureka. In other places it was less

their laptop but did not use it the

Furthermore, people often did not find answers to

and status in their community’

their questions in these repositories. Therefore, we

believe that contextual information should be
included in a knowledge repository and both types
Managerial mechanisms

Motivation and incentives

of knowledge have to be transferred to make true

knowledge sharing happen. In the case of Siemens
Continued

bridging this gap was even considered as a dilem-

ma since an overemphasis on codified knowledge
same way

can miss out on important tacit elements that con-

stitute an integral component of the added value
that solution selling provides. Consequently, Sie-
Table 3

mens based its approach on an interactive solution

that starts with informal discussions through ques-
of KM initiatives across national

tions and answers that, once mature enough,

 Cultural barriers in the transfer

become documented as a ‘case history’; this is the

approach used also by Buckman Laboratories to
update knowledge within the system. Shell, on
boundaries still exist

the other hand started with a codification strategy.

Cultural mechanisms

The organization spent millions building databases

of detailed technical documents; the problem, how-
ever, was that nobody searched them and they
were quickly out of date. Consequently, Shell aban-
doned this approach and now focuses on e-learn-
ing packages that deliver a mix of standards and
a connection to a global network.
checking duplicates and outdated
 Validators were responsible for
 Involving research laboratories
 A community of champions

KMS mechanisms for success

supporting KM initiatives

Cultural mechanisms
Structural mechanisms

Organizational cultures are central to knowledge

creation, sharing and use and they are increasingly
recognized as a major barrier to leveraging intellec-
tual assets (De Long and Fahey, 2000; Gordon and
Di Tomaso, 1992). Several scholars and consultants
(Davenport and Prusak, 1998) have argued that
tips

creating a culture that values creativity, continuous

improvement and the sharing of ideas is necessary

212 H. Benbya and N. A. Belbaly

Knowledge and Process Management
for knowledge management initiatives to succeed.
However, despite increased research interest and
industry discussion on organizational culture and
its criticality for knowledge management, there is
no consensus about what exactly the term means.
Considerable agreement and overlap do exist, how-
ever, regarding the key elements and dimensions of
organizational culture; they include shared mean-
ings, norms, values and beliefs (Denison, 1996).
Organizations do not possess values apart from
the values of their members. Thus, an organiza-
tional value system (or culture) is said to exist
when (1) individuals know that group support for
a given belief exists, (2) a majority of active mem-
bers are in agreement, and (3) the core values of
an organization are intensely held throughout the
organization (Chatman, 1991). Furthermore, cul-
ture has turned out to be a subtle and often diffi-
cult-to-manage phenomenon because of its
dynamic interaction with basic organizational pro-
cesses such as communications, decision making,
change and power and therefore its potential to
facilitate and/or inhibit the adoption of new tech-
nologies (Schein, 1985). In the case of Shell, we
have seen how the promotion of a spirit built on
friendship and a genuine desire to help each other
and sharing a sense of pride supported effective
knowledge sharing in general and communities in
particular. Trusted relationships and the confi-
dence that comes from a community with common
values and a common story was the glue that con-
nected teams from dispersed geographical loca-
tions in solving specific problems, sharing
feedback and experience. Organizational culture
is hard to change, however, as outlined by
Davenport and Prusak (1998); a culturally led
change programme must be embraced for KM suc-
cess. In the case of Buckman Laboratories the CEO
embarked on a process to shift the company to a
culture of openness and knowledge sharing that
focused not on products but on problem solving
for customers. Although this company continues
to develop new emphases and projects, establish-
ing a knowledge-sharing culture remains both a
lodestone and a challenge.
Structural mechanisms
Despite their structural differences, the cases ana-
lysed deployed similar mechanisms to support
the initiative. In fact, new organizational positions
and roles were assigned and ranged from appoint-
ing a steering committee to the implementation of a
separate organizational unit responsible for knowl-
edge management, such as the ‘Knowledge transfer
department’ in Buckman Laboratories. In other
Knowledge Management Systems Effectiveness
RESEARCH ARTICLE
cases, e.g. Shell, the overall initiative was the
responsibility of an existing unit, ‘the organiza-
tional performance and learning team’, which
helped restructure, reinvigorate and expand com-
puter-based global networks. The steering commit-
tee, in some cases supported by the CEO, was
responsible for:
 design and implementation of an initiative
aligned with organizational objectives;
 management of supported resources and
enabling factors such as motivation and enabling
culture.
Another structural mechanism which played a
crucial role in the success of the overall initiative
was the establishment of a key position named
‘Systems operators’ in the case of Siemens and
Buckman, who were responsible for the coordina-
tion of knowledge sharing and acquisition within
the business units. They act as change agents for
the organization as they track requests and make
sure that they are answered. If necessary, they con-
tact people directly and ask them to respond. Addi-
tionally, they act as cheerleaders, giving positive
feedback to those who do respond. Finally, content
experts or editors were responsible for the quality
and update of knowledge within the systems. In
the case of communities of practice, new roles
were assigned to support communities, such as
the global coordinator, who is responsible for the
community, provides budgets and support for
time, travel and technologies, or the community
facilitator, who encourages and moderates
discussions.
Managerial mechanisms
Management support to the overall initiative is
critical for its success. If management spends a
significant amount of resources on either purchas-
ing or developing and implementing such techno-
logy, employees could interpret this as a signal
of management’s support for this ideal and act
accordingly. However, as Martinsons (1993)
acknowledges, if employees perceive that manage-
ment is not very committed to implementing this
new technology, then the initiative to promote a
strong knowledge-sharing culture is not likely to
be successful. This has been clearly seen in Xerox,
where the system has been successful in some loca-
tions while in others the same technology has not
been successful: ‘In some locations the managers
took the time to work with the teams and devel-
oped and showed them video testimonials from
other individuals. In these teams there was good
213
RESEARCH ARTICLE
deployment and high usage of Eureka. In other
places it was less successful because the managers
did not make Eureka a priority and the engineers
just installed the software on their laptop but did
not use it the same way.’
The CEO at Buckman Laboratories champions
the cause for KM within the organization and per-
sonally reviews submissions to its knowledge
bank. When he notices that a particular employee
has not had been active within the system, he sends
a message that reads: ‘Dear associate, you haven’t
been sharing your knowledge. How can I help
you? All the best, Bob.’ Rewards varied from one
organization to another and depended mainly on
the cultural norms in an organization or group.
At Buckman, best knowledge sharers held presen-
tations at fashionable resorts, with attention and
recognition from peers offered as inducements for
the winning teams. In the case of Siemens, contri-
butors were rewarded by ShareNet ‘shares’.
Depending on the number of shares accumulated
during a year, employees were rewarded with
several incentives, such as conference partici-
pation or telecommunication equipment. In other
cases, the motivation of employees to the knowl-
edge base was mainly based on gaining recogni-
tion from peers, as in the case of Shell or Xerox.
The participation in this case is mainly driven by
their own interest and enjoyment to extend and
exercise one’s capabilities. In the case of Xerox,
‘Being recognized as the subject matter expert is what
gives to the participants credit and status in their
community.’
Wenger et al. (2002) observe that rewarding
‘voluntary’ behaviour poses a dilemma: ‘How do
we encourage behaviour through extrinsic means
when the intrinsic motivation for such behaviour
is considered a matter of pride and identity?’ For
similar contexts, they observe that: (1) a recognition
by peers, not financial rewards, is the primary
motivator for community participation; and (2)
people who contribute regularly to a community
often want their contributions to be recognized by
the organization.
We believe that finding the right balance
between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards is key in
motivating employees to participate in the knowl-
edge base.
CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
Knowledge management systems (KMS) have been
the subject of considerable interest by academics
and practitioners over the past decade, yet little
214
Knowledge and Process Management
cumulative research has been conducted to estab-
lish the mechanisms under which KMS effective-
ness is most likely to occur. In this research, we
attempt to classify the mechanisms used by some
organizations to reach success through KMS. In
particular, three categories of mechanisms were
identified: structural, cultural and managerial. Sev-
eral possibilities for future research emerge from
the results of the current study. First, the current
study was exploratory in nature and focused on a
limited number of cases. We hope in further
research to develop an integrative framework of
these mechanisms which will allow us to measure
their relative influence on firm performance. In fact,
the implications for value creation through KMS
remains largely claimed rather than empirically
corroborated; future research should therefore con-
sider this issue.
Future research should also consider motiva-
tional factors; professionals and managers are
increasingly recognizing that motivation is a criti-
cal success factor for the implementation of enter-
prise knowledge management systems. However,
managers are still struggling to find the right incen-
tives or the right mix of incentives to support
knowledge sharing. Preliminary results suggest,
however, that these motivational factors are context
dependent and, consequently, organizational cli-
mate plays a critical role. Therefore, despite exten-
sive literature on knowledge management in recent
years, there are still critical research gaps that have
significant implications for research and practice in
knowledge management.
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