Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Knowledge Management ModelsAdvanced IT Management IV 30 July 2008

Chapter Objectives Understand the key tenets of the major knowledge management theoretical models in use today. Link the KM frameworks to key KM concepts and the major phases of the KM cycle. Explain the complex adaptive system model of KM and how it addresses the subjective and dynamic nature of content to be managed.Advanced IT Management 4

Introduction KM initiative success depends on a strong theoretical foundation. The major KM activities described in the KM cycle (chapter 2) require a conceptual framework to operate within; otherwise the activities will not be coordinated and will not produce the expected KM benefits.

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Introduction The following KM models are presented: Choo (1998), Weick (2001), Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), Wiig (1993), von Krogh and Roos (1995), Boisot (1998), Beer (1984), and Bennet and Bennet (2004).

All the models present different perspectives on the key conceptual elements that form the infrastructure of KM.Advanced IT Management 4

Introduction This chapter describes, compares, & contrasts each model so as to provide a sound understanding of the discipline of KM. All the KM models discussed here try to address KM from a holistic & comprehensive perspective. This holistic approach encompasses all types of content to be managed, from data to information to knowledge, from tacit to explicit & back to tacit-knowledge-type conversions.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models The following models were selected because they possess the following critical characteristics: 1. They represent a holistic approach to knowledge management (i.e., they are comprehensive and take into consideration people, process, organization, and technology dimensions).Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 2. They have been reviewed, critiqued, and discussed extensively in the KM literature, by practitioners, academics, and researchers alike. 3. The models have been implemented and field tested with respect to reliability and validity.


Major Theoretical KM Models 1. The von Krogh and Roos Model of Organizational Epistemology: Von Krogh and Roos adopt the connectionist approach. The connectionist approach provides a solid theoretical basis for a model of KM & is a component of the models discussed in this chapter.

In their org epistemology KM model, knowledge resides both in the individuals of an org &, at the social level, in the relations btwn the individuals.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Knowledge is said to be embodied; i.e., everything known is known by somebody Connectionism maintains that there can be no knowledge without a knower. This approach seems more appropriate for underpinning a theoretical model of KM, especially considering that the linkage between knowledge and those who absorb & make use of the knowledge is viewed as an unbreakable bond.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Note the Von Krogh and Roos model has a different perspective from the cognitive org epistemology which views org knowledge as a self-organizing system in which humans are transparent to the infor from the outside. i.e. we take in infor through our senses, & use this infor to build our mental models. Hence the orgs cognitive competence is formed by a linear summation of individuals as cognitive entities.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 2. The Nonaka and Takeuchi Knowledge Spiral Model: knowledge is largely group knowledge, easily converted and mobilized from tacit to explicit, (along the epistemological dimension) & easily transferred and shared along the individual to the group to the organization, in the ontological dimension.


Major Theoretical KM Models Nonaka and Takeuchi underline the necessity of integrating the two approaches, from the cultural, epistemological, & organizational points of view, in order to acquire new cultural & operational tools for better knowledgecreating organizations. Traditional (Japanese) being: Knowledge begins with the individual. Western: Organization is at the core of Knowledge.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Their construct of the hypertext organization formalizes the need for integrating the traditionally opposed concepts of Western and Japanese schools of thought. They believe in the four modes of knowledge conversion, as illustrated in Figure 3-1: 1. From tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge: the process of socialization.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 2. From tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge: the process of externalization. 3. From explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge: the process of combination. 4. From explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge: the process of internalization.


Major Theoretical KM Models


Major Theoretical KM Models Knowledge creation is not a sequential process. It depends on a continuous and dynamic interaction btwn tacit & explicit knowledge thruout the 4 quadrants. The knowledge spiral Figure 3-2 shows how organizations articulate, organize and systematize individual tacit knowledge.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Organizations produce & develop tools, structures, and models to accumulate & share knowledge. The knowledge spiral is a continuous activity of knowledge flow, sharing, & conversion by individuals, communities, & the organization itself.




Major Theoretical KM Models They describe the following Enabling Conditions for Organizational Knowledge Creation: 1. Intention: an organizations aspiration to its goals. 2. Autonomy: condition whereby individuals act autonomously, according to the minimum critical specification principle, and are involved in crossfunctional self-organized teams.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 3. Fluctuation and Creative Chaos: condition that stimulates the interaction btwn the org & the external environment &/or creates fluctuations & breakdowns by means of creative chaos or strategic equivocality. 4. Redundancy: existence of information that goes beyond the immediate operational requirements of org members; competing multiple teams on the same issue; & strategic rotation of personnel.


Major Theoretical KM Models 5. Requisite Variety: internal diversity to match the variety & complexity of the environment, & to provide everyone in the organization with the fastest access to the broadest variety of necessary information; flat & flexible org structure interlinked with effective information networks.


Major Theoretical KM Models 3. The Choo Sense-making KM Model: It focuses on how information elements are selected and subsequently fed into organizational actions.

Organizational action results from the concentration & absorption of information from the external environment into each successive cycle, as illustrated in Figure 3-3. Each phase, sense making, knowledge creation, & decision making, has an outside stimulus or trigger.Advanced IT Management 4



Major Theoretical KM Models Sense making: Meaning is socially constructed as info is filtered thru sense-making behaviour from experience base. Create new knowledge: transform individual knowledge into shareable knowledge and information. New meaning of external world. Decision making: the organization changes behaviour according to its goals, objectives & strategy. This leads to the next round of the cycle.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 4. The Wiig Model for Building and Using Knowledge: Its principle is that in order for knowledge to be useful and valuable, it must be organized through a form of semantic network that is connected, congruent, and complete, and that has perspective and purpose. Completeness: how much relevant knowledge is available from a given source.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Connectedness: the well-understood & defined relations btwn the different knowledge objects. Congruence: all the facts, concepts, perspectives, values, judgments, & associative & relational links btwn the knowledge objects are consistent. Perspective & purpose: the phenomenon through which we know something but often from a particular point of view or for a specific purpose.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models 5. The Boisot I-Space KM Model: The Boisot KM model is based on the key concept of an information good that differs from a physical asset. A knowledge good is one that also possesses a context within which it can be interpreted. Effective knowledge sharing requires that senders & receivers share the context as well as the coding scheme.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Boisot proposes the following two key points: 1. The more easily data can be structured & converted into information, the more diffusible it becomes. 2. The less data that has been so structured requires a shared context for its diffusion, the more diffusible it becomes. These two underpin a simple conceptual framework, the Information Space or I-Space KM model.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Data is structured & understood through the processes of codification & abstraction. Codification is the creation of content categoriesthe fewer the # of categories, the more abstract the codification scheme. It is assumed that a well-codified abstract content is much easier to understand & apply than a highly contextual content.Advanced IT Management 4



Major Theoretical KM Models 6. Intelligent Complex Adaptive System Models of KM: CAS: Orgs that are composed of a large # of selforganizing components, each of which seeks to maximize its own specific goals but also operates according to the rules & context of relationships with the other components & the external world.


Major Theoretical KM Models The Intelligent Complex Adaptive System (ICAS) model is made-up of living subsystems that combine, interact, & coevolve to provide the capabilities of an advanced, intelligent technological & sociological adaptive enterprise. In an ICAS, the intelligent components consist of people who are empowered to self-organize but who remain part of the overall corporate hierarchy.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models The challenge is to take advantage of the strengths of people while getting them to cooperate & collaborate to leverage knowledge & to maintain a sense of unity of purpose. Organizations take from the environment, transform those inputs into higher-value outputs, & provide them to customers & stakeholders.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models The key processes in the ICAS KM model can be summarized as: understanding, creating new ideas, solving problems, making decisions, & taking actions to achieve desired results. In this model for an org to survive & successfully compete it also needs 8 emergent characteristics: organizational intelligence, shared purpose, selectivity, optimum complexity, permeable boundaries, knowledge centricity, flow, & multidimensionality.Advanced IT Management 4



Major Theoretical KM Models Org intelligence: the capacity of the firm to innovate, acquire knowledge, & apply that knowledge to relevant situations. Shared purpose: the orgs ability to integrate & mobilize its resources thru a continuous, 2-way communication with its large # of relatively independent subsystems.


Major Theoretical KM Models Optimum complexity: the right balance btwn internal complexity (i.e., # of different relevant org states) to deal with the external environment without losing sight of the overall goal & notion of a firm that despite its size doesn't lose its common identity. Selectivity: the filtering of incoming information from the outside world.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Theoretical KM Models Good filtering requires broad knowledge of the org, specific knowledge of the customer, & a strong understanding of the firms strategic goals. Knowledge centricity: the aggregation of relevant information from self-organization, collaboration, & strategic alignment.


Major Theoretical KM Models Flow: enables knowledge centricity & facilitates the connections & continuity needed to maintain unity & give coherence to org intelligence. Permeable boundaries: are essential if ideas are to be exchanged & built upon. Multidimensionality: the org flexibility that ensures that knowledge workers have the competencies, perspectives, & cognitive ability to address issues & solve problems.Advanced IT Management 4

Strategic Implications of KM Models Models help us to put the different pieces of a puzzle together in a way that leads to a deeper understanding of both the pieces and the ensemble they make up.


Strategic Implications of KM Models Models: supplement the concept analysis approach outlined in chapter 1 in order to take our understanding to a deeper level. Are fairly new to the practice or business of KM, & they represent the way ahead. A coherent model of knowledge-driven processes is crucial to the KM initiatives ability to address strategic business goals, even if only partially.

KM is not a silver bullet, it will not solve all organizational problems.Advanced IT Management 4

Practical Implications of KM Models KM models ensure a certain level of completeness or depth in KM practice: a means of ensuring that all critical factors have been addressed. The 2nd practical benefit of a model-driven KM approach is that models not only enable a better description of what is happening but also help provide a better prescription for meeting org goals.Advanced IT Management 4

Practical Implications of KM Models KM models help to explain what is happening now, & they provide us with a valid blueprint or road map for getting organizations where they want to be with their knowledge management efforts.


Chapter Summary KM encompasses data, information, & knowledge (sometimes referred to collectively as content) & addresses both tacit & explicit forms of knowledge. The von Krogh & Roos KM model takes an organizational epistemology approach & emphasizes that knowledge resides both in the minds of individuals & in the relations they form with other individuals.Advanced IT Management 4

Chapter Summary The Nonaka & Takeuchi KM model focuses on knowledge spirals that explain the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge & then back again as the basis for individual, group, & org innovation & learning. Choo & Weick adopt a sense-making approach to model KM that focuses on how information elements are fed into organizational actions thru sense making, knowledge creating, & decision making.Advanced IT Management 4

Chapter Summary The Wiig KM model is based on the principle that in order for knowledge to be useful & valuable, it must be organized thru a form of semantic network that is connected, congruent, & complete, & that has perspective & purpose.


Chapter Summary CASs are well suited to model KM as they view the org much like a living entity concerned with independent existence & survival. Some use this approach to describe the cohesiveness, complexity, & selective pressures that operate on intelligent complex adaptive systems (ICAS).


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