What Cost Knowledge Management? The Example of Infosys

Kimble, Chris What Cost Knowledge Management? The Example of Infosys. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 2013, vol. 32, n. 3, pp. 6-14. [Journal article (Paginated)]

[thumbnail of Kimble_2013-GBOE-Final.pdf]
Preview
Text
Kimble_2013-GBOE-Final.pdf - Submitted version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (158kB) | Preview

English abstract

The term knowledge management (KM) first came to prominence in the late 1990s. Although initially dismissed as a fad, KM continues to be featured in articles concerning business productivity and innovation. And yet, clear-cut examples that demonstrate the success of KM are few and far between. A brief examination of the history of KM explores the reasons for this and looks at some of the assumptions about what KM can achieve. A subsequent analysis of the experiences of Infosys with KM shows that for KM to be successful, organizational leaders need to engage in a continuous process of modification and maintenance. Although KM initiatives can be made to yield worthwhile returns over an extended period, there are often substantial ongoing costs associated with them.

Item type: Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords: knowledge management, first generation KM, second generation KM, case study
Subjects: F. Management. > FZ. None of these, but in this section.
I. Information treatment for information services > ID. Knowledge representation.
I. Information treatment for information services > IE. Data and metadata structures.
Depositing user: Chris Kimble
Date deposited: 13 Oct 2013 09:57
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:28
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/20340

References

Bettiol, M., Maria, E. D., & Grandinetti, R. (2012). Codification and creativity: Knowledge management strategies in KIBS. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16, 550–562.

Bobrow, D., & Whalen, J. (2002). Community knowledge sharing in practice: The Eureka story. Reflections, 4(2), 47–59.

Bowker, G. C. (1997). Lest we remember: Organizational forgetting and the production of knowledge. Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 7(3), 113–138.

Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (1991). Organizational learning and communities of practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation. Organization Science, 2(1), 40–57.

Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (2000). Balancing act: How to capture knowledge without killing it. Harvard Business Review, 78(3), 73–80.

Cohendet, P., & Steinmueller, E. W. (2000). The codification of knowledge: A conceptual and empirical exploration. Industrial and Corporate Change, 9, 195–209.

Cowan, R., David, P. A., & Foray., D. (2000). The explicit economics of knowledge codification and tacitness. Industrial and Corporate Change, 9, 211–253.

Dave, B., & Koskela, L. (2009). Collaborative knowledge management - A construction case study. Automation in Construction, 18, 894–902.

Davenport, T. H., DeLong, D. W., & Beers, M. C. (1998). Successful knowledge management projects. Sloan Management Review, 39(2), 43–57.

Duguid, P. (2005). The art of knowing: Social and tacit dimensions of knowledge and the limits of the community of practice. The Information Society: An International Journal, 21(2), 109–118.

Garud, R., & Kumaraswamy, A. (2005). Vicious and virtuous circles in the management of knowledge: The case of Infosys Technologies. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 9–33.

Garud, R., Kumaraswamy, A., & Sambamurthy, V. (2006a). Emergent by design: Performance and transformation at Infosys Technologies. Organization Science, 17, 277–286.

Garud, R., Kumaraswamy, A., & Sambamurthy, V. (2006b). Harnessing knowledge resources for increasing returns: Scalable structuration at Infosys Technologies. In E. D. Hess & R. K. Kazanjian (Eds.), The search for organic growth (pp. 211–243). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Grant, R. M. (1996). Prospering in dynamically competitive environments: Organizational capability as knowledge integration. Organization Science, 7, 375–387.

Gupta, J. N. D., Sharma, S. K., & Hsu, J. (2008). An overview of knowledge management. In M. E. Jennex (Ed.), Knowledge management: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (Vol. 1, pp. 1–22). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Hall, M. (2006). Knowledge management and the limits of knowledge codification. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(3), 117–126.

Harris, R. G. (2001). The knowledge-based economy: Intellectual origins and new economic perspectives. International Journal of Management Reviews, 3(1), 21–40.

Kimble, C. (2011). Building effective virtual teams: How to overcome the problems of trust and identity in virtual teams. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 30(2), 6–15.

Kimble, C., Grenier, C., & Goglio-Primard, K. (2010). Innovation and knowledge sharing across professional boundaries: Political interplay between boundary objects and brokers. International Journal of Information Management, 30, 437–444.

Kurhekar, M., & Ghosal, J. (2009). Knowledge management for virtual teams. Infosys Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.infosys.com/infosys-labs/publications/infosyslabs-briefings/Pages/knowledge-management-virtual-teams.aspx

Liebeskind, J. P. (1996). Knowledge, strategy, and the theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 93–107.

McDermott, R. (1999). Why information technology inspired but cannot deliver knowledge management. California Management Review, 41(4), 103–117.

McElroy, M. W. (2002). The new knowledge management: Complexity, learning, and sustainable innovation. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann/KMCI.

Mishra, B. R., & Chandran, P. (2011). History revisited: The initial years at Infosys. Retrieved from http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/history-revisitedinitial-years-at-infosys/436090/

Murphy, J., & Hackbush, J. (2007). The knowledge management spending report, 2007–2008: Stamford, CT: AMR Research.

Nonaka, I. (1991). The knowledge-creating company. Harvard Business Review, 69(6), 96–104.

Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.

O'Dell, C., & Grayson, C. J. (1998). If only we knew what we know: Identification and transfer of internal best practices. California Management Review, 40(3), 154–174.

O'Leary, D. E. (1998). Knowledge-management systems: Converting and connecting. IEEE Intelligent Systems & Their Applications, 13(3), 30–33.

Pentland, B. T. (1995). Information systems and organizational learning: The social epistemology of organizational knowledge systems. Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 5(1), 1–21.

Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press.

Stein, E. W., & Zwass, V. (1995). Actualizing organizational memory with information systems. Information Systems Research, 6(2), 85–117.

Stewart, T. A., Moffat, S., Hofheinz, P., Richman, L. S., Norton, R., Knowlton, C.,... Hector, G. (1991). The most fascinating ideas for 1991. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune archive/1991/01/14/74564/index.htm

Teece, D. J. (1998). Capturing value from knowledge assets: The new economy, markets for know-how, and intangible assets. California Management Review, 40(3), 55–79.

Tsui, E., Garner, B. J., & Staab, S. (2000). The role of artificial intelligence in knowledge management. KnowledgeBased Systems, 13, 235–239.

von Hippel, E. (1994). "Sticky information" and the locus of problem solving: Implications for innovation. Management Science, 40, 429–439.

Walsham, G. (2001). Knowledge management: The benefits and limitations of computer systems. European Management Journal, 19, 599–608.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Zack, M. H. (1999). Managing codified knowledge. Sloan Management Review, 40(4), 45–58.

Zander, U., & Kogut, B. (1996). What firms do? Coordination, identity, and learning. Organization Science, 7, 502– 518.


Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item