Enabling organizations to capture, share, and apply collective experience and know-how of folks is emerging as important to competing in the data economy. There is a growing recognition in the business community about the importance of knowledge management. As a result, there keeps growing eagerness and activity centered on knowledge management. Some organizations have taken initiatives to comprehend and take care of this critical learning resource. But, regardless of these initiatives, several organizations specially the Small and Medium Enterprises still have not approached knowledge management activity formally or deliberately. The cause for this sluggishness towards knowledge management could be that most organizations are still struggling to comprehend the data management concept. The reason behind this distress may be related to a gap between the emerging concept of knowledge management and having less understanding about any of it. To bridge the gap, the fundamental problem of discovering salient characteristics of knowledge management phenomena must be addressed. The key thesis is the fact enablers of the data management paradigm often unravel inhibitors in adapting and developing knowledge management systems for business environments that are characterized by high uncertainty and radical discontinuous change. This newspaper thus, explores by presenting a hierarchical model the enablers, inhibitors and identifies critical success factors necessary for a successful knowledge management effort. The paper uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) solution to ascertain the comparative importance of the influential factors towards an effective Knowledge Management execution.
Keywords: Knowledge Management Systems, Critical Success Factors, Analytic Hierarchy Process
1. Introduction
The information time has caused businesses to understand the move from resource economy of managing land, machines, factories, raw materials, and labor causes to the data economy of creating business value through usage of intangible knowledge. This has induced "knowledge management" to be of crucial importance and they have grabbed people's attention and made significant discussions both in the academia and industry.
The true creation of business value today mainly originates from knowledge and its own management. Knowledge is critical in obtaining competitive benefit within an venture (Sang and Hong, 2002), businesses should consider the ability to be always a critical learning resource and leverage it judiciously (Gupta et al. , 2000; Liebowitz, 2003).
To facilitate the knowledge accumulation process, businesses must encourage employees to talk about their experience and knowledge with others on the other hand accumulating their knowledge as an organizational advantage. Therefore, the actions of knowledge management should permit the creation, communication, and request of knowledge; and they should drive the capability of fabricating and retaining a greater value onto the primary business competencies (Tiwana, 2001). However, there are concerns about enablers and inhibitors to putting into action knowledge management for enterprises.
In the process of carrying out knowledge management, organizations face varying conditions of commercial culture, workflow procedures, and integration of all employees' knowledge. They also need strong support from top management, because it is possible that during the process they will encounter amount of resistance from employees. Organizations also have to increase the utilization of it to be able to help the situation regarding the stream of information.
Wong, (2005) suggest the need for a more systematic and deliberate research on the critical success factors (CSFs) for utilizing knowledge management is essential. Organizations need to be cognizant and alert to the factors that will effect the success of an understanding management effort. Ignorance and oversight of the necessary important factors will probably prevent an organization's effort to understand its full gain. Wong, (2005) also show that prior studies of critical success factors (CSFs) for knowledge management implementation have been greatly centered on large companies. This is because most of the early adopters and superior performers of knowledge management were in truth large and multinational corporations. Consequently, existing factors are mainly large companies focused, in so doing reflecting their situations and needs. Immediately applying these factors into the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) environment might not exactly be sufficient without an understanding of their particular and specific conditions. Prior studies flunk of studying and discovering the CSFs from the SMEs perspective. They have got not considered the features, characteristics and situations of smaller firms. Nor have they explored other factors, that could potentially become more important for SMEs when achieving knowledge management.
This newspaper evolves a model for critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in small medium businesses (SMEs) predicated on a questionnaire survey. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) platform has been developed for finding the importance of the influential factors. AHP is an effective quantitative tool that really helps to prioritize problems, issues or factors based on relevant standards and alternatives. The applicability and usefulness of the AHP approach as a multi-criteria decision-making tool is well acknowledged in the management literature. The present work has used this tool for segregating a few critical areas of knowledge management implementation from the inconsequential many, so that organizations could focus only on those proportions that are necessary because of their success rather than spending a large level of time, work and resources in mindlessly focusing on peripheral issues.
Hence the goals of this newspaper are two-fold:
To identify the conditions for the AHP model regarding issues associated with critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in SMEs
To present an AHP framework for absolute dimension of priorities in order to critically measure the issues relating to critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in SMEs.
2. Review of Literature
2. 1 Enablers to Knowledge Management
As organizations embark into handling their knowledge they have to be clear of the factors that affect knowledge management, that happen to be known as knowledge management enablers. Enablers are the driving drive in carrying out knowledge management, they certainly not simply generate knowledge in the business by rousing the creation of knowledge, but they also encourage the employees to talk about their knowledge and encounters with one another, allowing organizational knowledge to expand concurrently and systematically (Ichijo et al. , 1998; Stonehouse and Pemberton, 1999).
Knowledge management enablers will be the mechanism for the business to build up its knowledge and also promote an environment within the business for the creation and coverage of knowledge. Also, they are the necessary blocks in the improvement of the potency of activities for knowledge management (Ichijo et al. , 1998; Stonehouse and Pemberton, 1999). Knowledge management enablers include the ways of knowledge management, organizational structure, corporate culture, information technology, people, and strategies, etc. (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999; Zack, 1999; Davenport, 1997; Long, 1997).
A study by Yu et al. (2007) recognized a couple of critical enablers such as knowledge management team activity, learning orientation, knowledge management system quality, and knowledge management incentive for expanding organizational capabilities of knowledge management. These critical enablers have a substantial, positive impact on knowledge management performance.
Research done by Yeh et al. (2006) concludes that strategy and control, corporate culture, people, and it are four of the enablers in knowledge management. They found that for the strategy and management enabler the main part is to obtain the support of the top managers. For the corporate culture enabler, the top part is the formation of a culture of posting but needs to be supplemented by information technology. For people enabler, apart from the training courses, the programs of learning and the incentive program for the employees are also key factors. As for the information technology enabler, the fast search of knowledge for its re-use is now increasingly more important. Used they uncovered that the "establishment of your dedicated product" is also an integral enabler, and this enabler mainly plays the role of furthering knowledge management, taking communication, and coordinating with other departments as its work.
2. 2 Inhibitors to Knowledge Management
The biggest inhibitor to knowledge management execution arises from unwillingness of men and women to systematically organize their knowledge. Since, this cannot be fixed with technology, different sorts of work are needed. Examples include the advertising of knowledge management amongst people, or requiring top management to give their people pressure to use knowledge management (Yeh et al. , 2006).
Chatzoglou and Diamantidis (2009) conducted research that focused on the IT effect on firm's non-financial IT risk. Their results reveal that IT risk factors influence mainly coordination and partly information ability however, not productivity. Furthermore, the most significant risk factors impacting on business performance are management potential, information integrity, controllability and exclusivity.
Lin et al. (2005) suggest inhibitors in applying the data management occur out of proper, conception, planning and implementation issues. The results of these research reveal that:
From the tactical aspect, the top management should dwelling address the enterprise's strength, weakness, opportunities, and dangers, and then formulate the right knowledge management strategy. Furthermore, they must be equipped with information about the activities and performance throughout the organization.
From the perception aspect, the critical activity of the most notable managers is to identify the central knowledge required to maintain competitive advantage. Employees and top professionals interact for a standard goal; thus, staff efforts can promise a successful execution of the knowledge management. Therefore, a business should provide ideal training and resources to the employees, and use it to provide a friendly repository to standardize and store knowledge. The business should also create an atmosphere emphasizing knowledge posting and innovation and motivating employees to form such a culture through an incentive system.
From the planning aspect, the action plan will include schedule, people included and resources required, although it is difficult to copy the necessary knowledge to the knowledge management plan scheduled to non-standardization. Employees' orientation toward knowledge management, including the awareness of the value and advantages of knowledge management and IT skills for knowledge management process, should be completely dealt with. Knowledge-oriented employee assessments can also fail if they are not linked strongly to existing incentive systems. The company should take steps to develop the trust of the data owner's by associating knowledge sharing to pay and bonuses.
From the implementation aspect, a robust set of metrics that evaluates the worthiness of the knowledge management after execution should be developed. It is essential that the very best professionals instill in the employees the value and advantages of knowledge management. Employees often dread that if they spread their knowledge to others, they will endanger their own position, specialist, even electricity in the organization. Training and communication are crucial to relax employees' worries of change, as well as perhaps to help them to take pleasure from new means of dealing with their colleagues. Thus, firms need to set-up the right scenario around the organization, generally in the regions of knowledge management activities and culture.
Jennex and Zakharova (2005) suggest a all natural way that addresses critical elements such as - an efficient technological infrastructure; integrating the technology infrastructure into everyday functions; having an enterprise-wide knowledge structure or taxonomy; a knowledge management strategy; knowledge management metrics of success and identification of inhibitors of knowledge utilization.
Lang (2001) determined several inhibitors to knowledge creation and utilization in organizations. First, there may be inadequate care of these organizational associations that promote knowledge creation. Second, there may be insufficient linkage between knowledge management and corporate and business strategy. Thirdly, inaccurate valuation of the contribution that knowledge makes to organization's gains renders the value of knowledge management ambiguous. Fourthly, there could be a pervasive lack of holism in knowledge management work. Finally - not something ordinarily considered a difficulty for managers to deal with -poor verbal skills may prevent the actual techniques of knowledge creation.
Plessis, (2007) feel that the management of the inhibitors to knowledge management would have to be a mixture of ethnical, organizational, process, management and technology initiatives. The challenge is to choose and combine the techniques and techniques available, and funnel them to address the organization's business needs.
2. 3 Critical Success Factors for Knowledge Management
Generic critical success factors exist for knowledge management; however, each organizational environment and culture is exclusive and presents unique critical success factors. Co-creation with all relevant stakeholders is extremely important on this street to understand the organizational culture and idiosyncrasies prior to embarking on an understanding management journey, so far as possible. Critical success factors specific to a host are, however, often only discovered once the voyage has started, which is thus very important to a knowledge management strategy to be flexible to consider these factors into consideration. The end point out changes than the original strategy and roadmap for an organizational knowledge management execution due to these unique critical success factors. Adaptability and flexibility to take unique critical success factors into consideration will therefore be a critical success factor in itself (Plessis, 2007).
As asserted by Frey (2001), although large organizations have led the way in launching and applying knowledge management, it is progressively important for small companies to control their collective intellect. Okunoye and Karsten (2002) stated that knowledge management has indeed become the underlying resources for successful organizations irrespective of their size and geographical locations. Therefore, an improved understanding of the CSFs for implementing it in SMEs is necessary in order to ensure the success with their efforts.
Wong, (2005) has grouped the critical success factors into lots of general factors such as management authority and support, culture, technology, strategy, measurement, roles and obligations, etc. These are common in knowledge management work and therefore, they are also thought to be appropriate to SMEs. He shows that one should also consider the needs and situations of SMEs when growing CSFs for the kids. Wong, (2005) proposes a thorough model for employing knowledge management in SMEs. They are simply: management management and support; culture; IT; strategy and purpose; measurement; organizational infrastructure; processes and activities; motivational helps; resources; training and education; and HRM.
Recently (He and Wei, 2009) discussed that Knowledge Management System users' values are contextually differentiated, and a variation between knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking habits and an adequate focus on their variance in terms of user perception is necessary. Yang et al. (2009) discovered crucial knowledge management enablers and analyzed their impacts on organizational performance.
Chen et al. (2009) suggested a strategy of measuring a technology university's knowledge management performance from competitive perspective. Their approach combines analytical network process with well balanced scorecard that contains four perspectives, including customer perspective, internal business perspective, creativity and learning perspective, and financial perspective. Chang et al. (2009) investigates the main element factors for knowledge management in the nationwide federal of Taiwan. Their analysis relied on two distinctive measurements: core Kilometres functions (organizational missions and principles, IT applications, paperwork, process management, and human being source of information) and KM performance (knowledge record and transformation, business performance, and knowledge sharing and value addition). Wen (2009) developed an AHP model for the way of measuring of the effectiveness of Knowledge Management in Taiwanese high-tech companies.
Thus, what emerges from the overview of literature is the following:
There are both enablers and inhibitors to knowledge management implementations in SMEs.
Both enablers and inhibitors may be labeled essentially into three wide categories - specialized, human, and financial.
Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for knowledge management implementations will vary for SMEs from that of large organizations.
Critical Success Factors (CSFs) also depend on the management of the enablers and the inhibitors.
Thus, it is beneficial for the SME to build a framework that might be used to prioritize the enablers and inhibitors towards a successful knowledge management effort. For this reason we propose the AHP framework to prioritize important factors adding to a SME's initiative towards the implementation of knowledge management.
3. Framework for Knowledge Management implementation
Any successful managerial execution requires management of enablers and the inhibitors. Likewise, in case there is knowledge management it is important to have the information about the important factors (enablers and inhibitors) for the successful implementation of knowledge management. Not absolutely all of the important factors are equally important for the successful knowledge management. For this reason we have used the AHP framework for finding the value of the important factors. AHP has been trusted as an analytical tool for decisions related to knowledge management. Recent work by Wen (2009) in showing an effectiveness dimension model for knowledge management using AHP is a contribution in this direction.
In AHP the sophisticated decision is organised into a hierarchy descending from a standard objective to various influential 'factors', 'sub-factors', and so forth, until the most affordable level. The objective or the entire goal of your choice is represented at the top degree of the hierarchy. The factors and sub-factors adding to your choice are symbolized at the intermediate levels. Finally, the decision alternatives or selection choices are laid down at the last level of the hierarchy. Relating to Saaty (2000), a hierarchy can be designed by creative thinking, recollection, and using people's perspectives. It ought to be noted that there is no set steps for producing the levels to be contained in the hierarchy. The structure of the hierarchy is dependent upon the type or kind of managerial decisions. Also, the number of the levels in a hierarchy depends upon the complexity of the situation being analyzed and the degree of depth of the condition that an analyst requires to solve. Consequently, the hierarchy representation of a system may vary from one person to another.
In today's study the important factors are established via wide-spread investigations and consultations with various experts, and owner/managers of SMEs. Synthesizing the literature review from (Chang et al. , 2009; Chatzoglou, and Diamantidis, 2009; Chen et al. 2009; He and Wei, 2009; Lai et al. , 2009; Wen, 2009; Yang et al. , 2009), the ideas of the experts and owner/managers are employed to obtain the two main factors: enablers and inhibitors. From these factors, 6 influential sub-factors for the successful implementation of knowledge management are quickly described as follows (refer to Amount 1 for complete hierarchical composition):
Enablers (C1): This factor includes three sub-factors, C11: complex; C12: human; C13: financial.
Inhibitors (C2): This factor includes three sub-factors, C21: technical; C22: man; C23: financial.
According to the AHP strategy, weights (priorities) can be motivated utilizing a pair-wise evaluation within each pair of factors. To determine the relative weights, owner/professionals can be asked to make pair-wise comparisons utilizing a 1-9 preference size (Saaty, 2000). However, in today's study for the pair-wise assessment, we've relied on actual data, that is, the data extracted from the questionnaire study. The advantage of using genuine data (quantitative data) over preference level for pair-wise evaluation eliminates the need for consistency investigations (Saaty, 2000).
Technical
Human
Financial
Enablers
Inhibitors
Successful Knowledge Management
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Figure 1: Construction for Successful Knowledge Management Implementation
4. Methodology
Data Source: The study used both secondary and major data. An extensive literature review was carried out, which helped in framing the questionnaire for the principal data collection. The emphasis of the analysis was on key data.
Research methodology: The survey method was used for the analysis. Our key data has been obtained using questionnaire technique. Our target populace is all small companies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (India) with turnover which range from Rs. 50 million to Rs. 250 million and employment levels between 15 and 50 employees. Specifically, we are targeting the owners or top professionals at these organizations.
For the purposes of this research, we used a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included 60 questions in two portions such as:
[A] Enablers to Knowledge Management
[B] Inhibitors to Knowledge Management
Contact Method: The questionnaires were sent via email and were telephonically followed up.
Sample Size: Amongst the 4263 companies (according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Overall economy Prowess repository) that belonged to the standards in the entire country, 1039 such companies were positioned in the Country wide Capital Region of Delhi, including New Delhi, Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and NOIDA. Due health care has been taken to include only those companies that made the test more representative thus, e-mail questionnaires were delivered to 500 amongst these 1039 companies. 119 responses were received that shaped the sample for the study. That is a 23. 8% response rate, which is appropriate.
Data Evaluation: The data so accumulated were examined with the AHP techniques to arrive at weights (priorities).
The following procedure has been implemented on the accumulated questionnaire review data for pair-wise comparability of AHP. Firstly, we calculated the common value of 119 replies (preferences based on 5- point Likert range) obtained for each question. These average values were calculated to spell it out the central location of an entire distribution of reactions. Then for each said category we computed the Composite Preference Value (out of 5) using the following relation:
Composite Desire Value (CPF) = (Corrected Value - Maximum Value) x 5
where,
Calculated value = total of the common prices for the questions considered in a category.
Maximum value = sum of the highest possible values a respondent can decide for the questions considered in a category.
5. Research Findings
The pair-wise comparability matrices showing the measure of each factor's relative importance with respect to the overall aim of successful knowledge management is summarized in Stand 1. For the pair-wise comparability of the factors and sub factors, we relied on inputs obtained from the survey.
We consider two critical factors very important to successful knowledge management: enablers and inhibitors. From pair wise comparison the picture emerges that for successful knowledge management, enablers (50. 86%) are marginally important over inhibitors (49. 14%). The difference of comparative importance being marginal suggests that enablers are essential and inhibitors cannot be ignored. Thus it's important to harness the enablers about knowledge management and its own associated benefits amongst owner/managers without loosing perception about the inhibitors for an effective knowledge management.
Based on investigations and consultations with various experts and owner/professionals of SMEs these critical factors (enablers and inhibitors) were further decomposed into three sub factors, particularly, technical, human and financial for capturing reality (see Figure 1 for complete hierarchical composition). On pair-wise contrast of technical, human and financial sub factors matching to enablers; technological (37. 07%) dominates the other sub factors, i. e. real human (36. 26%) and financial (26. 67%). It implies that owner/professionals of SMEs consider investments in technology as the ultimate solution to all or any problems. It may be noted that when the same complex, human and financial sub factors are compared pair-wise corresponding to inhibitors, financial sub factor (38. 36%) dominates the other sub factors, technical (31. 64%) and individuals (30. 01%). The effect shows that financial considerations are predominant inhibitor towards embarking into knowledge management implementations.
In here are some next, we use the bottom up method of have the global relevance of specialized, human and financial aspects towards successful knowledge management. Towards this we multiply the neighborhood relevance of technological, human being and financial sub factors corresponding to their father or mother factors with the local relevance of the mother or father factors related to overall goal, i. e. successful knowledge management. Finally, the obtained relevance's of complex, human and financial aspects related to the critical factors, i. e. enablers and inhibitors are added to have the global relevance. The results obtained for the global relevance of complex, individual and financial aspects including relevance of the critical factors, i. e. enablers and inhibitors; specialized (34. 40%) is most significant followed by individual (33. 19%) and financial (32. 41%).
Owner/professionals of SMEs need to prioritize their work towards successful knowledge management in terms of technical, individuals and financial aspects necessarily in that order:
The owner/mangers of SMEs should work out approaches for successful knowledge management by optimizing the enabler's aspect of complex sub factor while mitigating the inhibitors rising from the same sub factor. The owner/managers may give attention to process improvement, system improvement, and business intellect development on important basis. Simultaneously they ought to keep a wrist watch on harm to knowledge infrastructure, copyright/patent infringement and data pilferage and theft.
In conditions of real human sub factor the owner/managers should make necessary efforts to enhance employee competencies, satisfaction, and retention. At the same time they should endeavor to reduce worker turnover, corporate espionage and drawback of efforts on the part of the employees.
Regarding financial sub factor the owner/managers should try their finest to enhance return on purchases on building knowledge infrastructure and promoting knowledge management techniques while keeping functional costs under control.
6. Conclusion
We are suffering from a hierarchical model for the execution of successful knowledge management. In the proposed model, first we discovered the influencing factors and sub factors for the execution of successful knowledge management. For this we relied on critical books review and judgment of experts, and owner/managers of SMEs. Review has been conducted so you can get reactions of owner/managers towards the influential factors and sub-factors with a view to efficiently execute knowledge management. Finally, these reactions have been collated to find the composite desire value (CPF) used as weights for the pair-wise contrast of the factors and sub-factors in AHP.
Based on the AHP results, we conclude the following for successful knowledge management in SMEs:
Managing enablers and inhibitors are critical success factors for knowledge management in SMEs.
Owner/professionals need to funnel the enablers however, not be complacent towards inhibitors.
Owner/managers consider technology implementation as a major enabler towards successful knowledge management.
Owner/managers consider financial considerations as a major inhibitor towards successful knowledge management.
Owner/professionals need to prioritize their efforts towards successful knowledge management in terms of technical, individual and financial aspects automatically for the reason that order
The key thesis is that enablers of the data management paradigm often unravel inhibitors in adapting and innovating knowledge management systems for business surroundings that are seen as a high uncertainty and radical discontinuous change.
Specifically, the study determined the critical success factors as: process improvement, system improvement, and business brains, enhancing worker competencies, satisfaction, and retention, return on assets on building knowledge infrastructure.
The study also discovered that success cannot be achieved unless damage to knowledge infrastructure is avoided, copyright/patent infringement and data pilferage and robbery is stopped, worker turnover, commercial espionage and withdrawal of efforts on the part of employees is reduced, and functional costs are in order.
In today's study the model considered influential factors such as enablers and inhibitors. The main topic of knowledge management being huge, a great many other factors may impact knowledge management aside from the ones considered in the present research. Future research may be directed towards identifying several other important factors with a view to discovering a comprehensive set of critical success factors for knowledge management. Also the present work has considered only the very best down strategy. Clear id of influencing factors would need to consider a lower part up approach as well.
