Knowledge management

Knowledge management is concerned with the processes of integrating, managing and sharing knowledge aiming to exploit existing knowledge assets and discover new opportunities. It is a conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right moment in order to enhance organizational performance through the exchange of information.

The importance of knowledge management lays in the fact that organizational intellectual capital (human capital) is recognized as a key strategic asset for organizational performance. Knowledge management, as the fundamental activity for obtaining, growing and sustaining intellectual capital becomes critical for the competitiveness of organizations. Through knowledge management, organizations use information in order to understand customer needs and behaviors to offer customer-specific products and services. This knowledge-enhancing process results in action-oriented use offering effective relationship management.

Knowledge management is increasingly adopted by modern organizations as an effective management tool to achieve organizational change. However, many knowledge management initiatives fail as a result of inappropriate relational information processes. To effectively apply knowledge management firms need to employ information reciprocity, information capture, information integration, information access and information use. Information reciprocity is the mutual exchange of information between the firm and the customers or clients it serves aiming to satisfy their needs. Through information capture and information integration, the firm obtains raw customer data used to provide insights and develop strategies to maintain and sustain customer relationships. Finally, through information access and information use, the firm provides access to integrated customer information to relevant employees to develop customer relationship management.

Effective employment of knowledge management requires primarily credible information sources such as interaction with customers of different levels of workforce. Moreover, it requires the development of a learning organizational culture, appropriate information processes and the provision of incentives for information sharing. For instance, a lower ranked employee may not recognize that a higher ranked employee does not have the same knowledge base and/or feel uncomfortable telling the higher-ranked employee about the implications. Interdisciplinary differences may also arise. An expert in one discipline may not know that an expert in another discipline does not understand implications of information that is considered basic in one discipline but not in another. Individuals may not realize that they have specialized knowledge or skills that allows them to understand the implications of information in unique ways and/or that others may not have the time to develop that understanding.