Social relationship and its role in knowledge management systems usage

The KMS has been widely implemented in organizations. However, its availability does not guarantee that employees have been willing to spend time and effort using it. We explored the use of KMS with emphasis on social relationship. Specifically, social capital theory was employed to establish the social relationship construct and its three dimensions: tie strength, shared norms, and trust. By studying a company that had implemented a KMS, we explored the dimensions of social relationship and its importance in the use of a KMS by employees. A theoretical framework was used to depict the antecedents of employee's usage behavior. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed, especially for companies expecting to exploit knowledge sharing in the Chinese business environment.     

Development of a Composite Knowledge Manipulation Tool: K-Expert

A goal of this study is to develop a Composite Knowledge Manipulation Tool (CKMT). Some of traditional medical activities are rely heavily on the oral transfer of knowledge, with the risk of losing important knowledge. Moreover, the activities differ according to the regions, traditions, experts’ experiences, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an integrated and consistent knowledge manipulation tool. By using the tool, it will be possible to extract the tacit knowledge consistently, transform different types of knowledge into a composite knowledge base (KB), integrate disseminated and complex knowledge, and complement the lack of knowledge. For the reason above, I have developed the CKMT called as K-Expert and it has four advanced functionalities as follows. Firstly, it can extract/import logical rules from data mining (DM) with the minimum of effort. I expect that the function can complement the oral transfer of traditional knowledge. Secondly, it transforms the various types of logical rules into database (DB) tables after the syntax checking and/or transformation. In this situation, knowledge managers can refine, evaluate, and manage the huge-sized composite KB consistently with the support of the DB management systems (DBMS). Thirdly, it visualizes the transformed knowledge in the shape of decision tree (DT). With the function, the knowledge workers can evaluate the completeness of the KB and complement the lack of knowledge. Finally, it gives SQL-based backward chaining function to the knowledge users. It could reduce the inference time effectively since it is based on SQL query and searching not the sentence-by-sentence translation used in the traditional inference systems. The function will give the young researchers and their fellows in the field of knowledge management (KM) and expert systems (ES) more opportunities to follow up and validate their knowledge. Finally, I expect that the approach can present the advantages of mitigating knowledge loss and the burdens of knowledge transformation and complementation.     

Overcoming organizational challenges to secure knowledge management

Incident management systems have the potential to improve security dramatically but often experience problems stemming from organizational, interpersonal and social constraints that limit their effectiveness. These limits may cause underreporting of incidents, leading to erroneous perceptions of the actual safety and security situation of the organization. The true security situation may be better understood and underreporting may be reduced if underlying systemic issues surrounding security incident management are taken into account. A dynamic simulation, based on the parallel experience of industrial incident management systems, illustrates the cumulative effects of rewards, learning, and retributions on the fate of a hypothetical knowledge management system designed to collect information about events and incidents. Simulation studies are part of an ongoing research project to develop sustainable knowledge and knowledge transfer tools that support the development of a security culture.

Process-centered knowledge model and enterprise ontology for the development of knowledge management system

Among many enterprise assets, knowledge is treated as a critical driving force for attaining enterprise performance goals. This is because knowledge facilitates the better business decision makings in a timely fashion. However, since knowledge is created and utilized during the execution of business processes, if knowledge is separated from the business process context, it does not lead to the ability to take the right action for target performance.This paper proposes the framework for process-centered knowledge model and enterprise ontology for the context-rich and networked knowledge storage and retrieval required during task execution. The enterprise knowledge object for a process-centered knowledge model is classified into two types: process knowledge and task support knowledge. In the proposed enterprise ontology, which represents major enterprise concepts, and the relationships between them, all domain concepts are related to the “process” concept, both directly and indirectly. As a result, networked and sophisticated knowledge, rather than single-level knowledge, is provided to the participant of unit activity.In order to show the applicability of the proposed framework, a process-centered KMS (knowledge management system) was also developed, which is classified into 3 parts: (1) project management sub-system based on process knowledge. (2) Knowledge management sub-system for maintaining task support knowledge. (3) Infrastructure sub-system which supports the above two sub-systems.     

OpenClinical.net: A platform for creating and sharing knowledge and promoting best practice in healthcare

It is well known that medical knowledge is growing so rapidly that it is difficult or impossible for healthcare professionals to keep up. More and more techniques for diagnosing and treating diseases are becoming available, yet new research findings and clinical practices are slow to spread. Information technology and the internet are providing important new ways of disseminating knowledge in healthcare as in many other domains. Knowledge engineering techniques for supporting decision-making and process management are also becoming available, and can be used to support busy clinicians, helping to ensure that their decisions are consistent with current knowledge and clinical procedures are carried out in a timely, efficient and safe way. The OpenClinical.net project is building on these techniques to demonstrate a new paradigm for disseminating knowledge and promoting best practice. The key idea is that much professional expertise can be modelled as computer-interpretable knowledge and used to assist decision-making, workflow management, communication and coordination of care and many other professional tasks. The central goal of OpenClinical.net is to demonstrate how this might be done at scale, through a form of “crowd sourcing”, in order to create and maintain a sharable knowledge base that is available in an open access and open source repository. This paper provides an overview of the project and a summary of progress to date.     

A Delphi study of knowledge management systems: Scope and requirements

We empirically explored the roles and scope of knowledge management systems in organizations. Building on a knowledge-based view of the firm, we hypothesized and empirically tested our belief that more integration is needed between technologies intended to support knowledge and those supporting business operations. Findings from a Delphi study and in-depth interviews illustrated this and led us to suggest a revised approach to developing organizational knowledge management systems.     

Exploring barriers to knowledge flow at different knowledge management maturity stages

A significant amount of work has been done to better understand the barriers to knowledge flow and develop models of KM maturity; this was intended to help in assessing the progress of KM initiatives in the firm. However, to date there has been no comprehensive research that considers both these issues at the same time, and thus it is still necessary to explore the evolution of barriers to knowledge flow when the level of KM maturity is changing. We reviewed the progress of KM initiatives in recent years, categorized the barriers to knowledge flow according to the cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), and used one of the existing models of KM maturity (the Knowledge Navigator Model—KNM), to address gaps in the current literature. As part of our exploratory study, a longitudinal survey, involving constant observation, development and use of questionnaires and qualitative interviews with managers of seven firms were conducted. We selected the firms so they covered a wide range of KM maturity levels; triangulation was adopted to enhance the quality of the process. The major findings indicated that: (1) barriers to knowledge flow were inherently different at different KM maturity levels; and (2) various changes in the barriers to knowledge flow were associated with the maturity of the KM.     

Towards an evaluation framework for knowledge management systems

In this paper we develop an evaluation framework for Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). The framework builds on the theoretical foundations underlying organizational Knowledge Management (KM) to identify key KM activities and the KMS capabilities required to support each activity. These capabilities are then used to form a benchmark for evaluating KMS. Organizations selecting KMS can use the framework to identify gaps and overlaps in the extent to which the capabilities provided and utilized by their current KMS portfolio meet the KM needs of the organization. Other applications of the framework are also discussed.

Knowledge management adoption and assessment for SMEs by a novel MCDM approach

This paper aims to clarify the misunderstanding of high expenditure on knowledge management systems adoption, and provides a novel approach for the most emergent knowledge management components to catch up to the pace of their rivals for the late adopters of knowledge management systems. This paper adopts MCDM (Multiple Criteria Decision Making) approaches to solve this KM adoption problem, and ranks the gaps of the KM aspects in control items to achieve the aspired level of performance. The findings demonstrate that the knowledge management gaps within the service industry are higher than the gaps within the IC (Integrated Circuit) and banking industries. After normalization and computation, the knowledge management gap of the service industry is 0.4399(1), the knowledge management gap of the IC (Integrated Circuit) industry is 0.3651(2), and the knowledge management gap of the banking industry is 0.2820(3). The findings also show that the criteria for weighting in different industry sectors are quite different; and the adoption strategies for different industry sectors should be considered separately according to the SME industry sectors.     

一个面向软件过程的知识挖掘与管理系统

软件过程的知识密集性特征要求组织人员的密切协作、交流,并能够有效地重用组织的实践经验。数据挖掘技术能够从大规模数据中发现有意义的知识,能够为知识管理提供有益的支持,从而得到更好的知识共享和重用效果。在对软件过程进行分析的基础上,提出了协同知识管理模型。介绍了一个集成的面向软件过程的知识挖掘与管理系统iKnow。对iKnow的知识表示、知识挖掘、知识服务和个性化知识检索进行了论述。系统使软件组织的实践经验成为可视、可控和可重用的知识资源。     

A synthetic method for knowledge management performance evaluation based on triangular fuzzy number and group support systems

The purpose of this paper is to propose a systematic method to solve knowledge management performance evaluation (KMPE) problems. This method includes an integrated evaluation process starting from the measurement to the output of KMPE and combines subjective and objective indicators together. Firstly, we established an index system, involving the process of knowledge management, the organizational knowledge structure, economic benefits and efficiency. And based on this index system, a synthetic evaluation method is presented, using triangular fuzzy number to measure indexes and facilitating the KMPE with a group support system (GSS). To know better of the proposed method, we have an example to illustrate. Finally, the empirical study conducted in this paper indicates that the evaluation method has strong practicability and operability. Besides, the evaluation is enabled by using a group support system: the more objective scoring can be achieved due to synchronic/asynchronous and anonymous participation; Decision-makers improve their efficiency by the clear demonstration analysis results. The systematic method of KMPE based on the index system is able to improve organizations’ efficiency in performance evaluation process.     

Knowledge management of product design: A requirements-oriented knowledge management framework based on Kansei engineering and knowledge map

For the knowledge management of product design, knowledge innovation is the foundation and motivation for the independent innovation and enhancing the core competitiveness. Most of the product knowledge exists in the brain of designers. How to obtain the required knowledge accurately in massive knowledge database becomes the key to knowledge innovation. However, the design knowledge based on consumer’s requirement has not been extensively studied. There is no consensus on the reasonable and effective implementation of the knowledge management framework to select the optimum design knowledge based on the consumer’s requirements. In this study, to efficiently realize the knowledge acquisition and knowledge selection, a requirements-oriented knowledge management model is established, with the advantage of Kansei engineering in knowledge acquisition and multi-objective decision-making in knowledge selection. Finally, the outdoor leisure chairs design is used as a case study to explain the implementation of the knowledge management framework. To reveal the advantages of the framework, it was compared with other frameworks. The results show that the proposed knowledge management framework is more efficient and provided a method of designers to acquire design knowledge based on the consumer’s requirements.     

The role of decision support systems in an indeterminate world

Decision making involves processing or applying information and knowledge, and the appropriate information/knowledge mix depends on the characteristics of the decision making context. Information (or its absence) is central to decision making situations involving uncertainty and complexity, while knowledge (or its absence) is associated with problems of ambiguity and equivocality. This paper proposes that computer-based decision support technologies are appropriate to supporting decision making under conditions of uncertainty and complexity, while human-centric approaches may be more appropriate under conditions of ambiguity or equivocality. Both approaches, however, must be tightly integrated for organizational learning to occur. The framework is illustrated with a case study of the implementation of a decision support system used for price quoting in a leasing company.     

Paving the way for CRM success: The mediating role of knowledge management and organizational commitment

Customer relationship management (CRM) has become one of the most influential technologies in the world, and companies are increasingly implementing it to create value. However, despite significant investment in CRM technology infrastructure, empirical research offers inconsistent support for its positive impact on performance. This study develops and tests a research model analyzing the process through which CRM technology infrastructure translates into organizational performance, drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm. Based on an international sample of 125 hotels, the results suggest that organizational commitment and knowledge management fully mediate this process.     

知识管理系统和CIMS系统的构建与设计

分析了典型的企业CIMS在知识管理下的缺陷,进而提出了一种基于知识的企业CIMS系统框架的设计思想及框架结构,并提出实现工作流管理与知识管理的集成技术又是其中的关键技术之一;实证了此系统的具体应用情况和可能产生的经济效益。     

Understanding knowledge management system usage antecedents: An integration of social cognitive theory and task technology fit

The factors influencing KMS usage are of major concern to the MIS community. Among the diverse theories employed to help understand this is task technology fit (TTF), which considers the needed technological characteristics of the task as a major factor determining usage. This theory, however, ignores the personal cognition dimension, which has been found to affect the use of an IS. By integrating TTF and social cognitive theory (SCT), we attempted to determine the key factors affecting KMS usage in IT, the organizational task, and personal cognition. Through a survey of 192 KMS users, task interdependence, perceived task technology fit, KMS self-efficacy, and personal outcome expectations were found to have substantial influences on KMS usage. Among the key factors, KMS self-efficacy was found to be especially important as it was substantially and positively correlated to perceived task technology fit, personal and performance-related outcome expectations, and KMS usage.     

Examining the impacts of organizational culture and top management support of knowledge sharing on the success of software process improvement

Although numerous studies have discussed the importance of the relationship between knowledge management and software process improvement (SPI), a research gap still exists in relation to how the specific role of knowledge sharing influences successful SPI implementation. This study advances our knowledge by developing an innovative model for exploring the impact of knowledge sharing on SPI success, the impact of knowledge sharing in specific organizational cultures, and how the support of top management specifically influences the path to SPI success. To empirically test the model, this study adopts the statistical technique of partial least squares (PLS) to analyze 118 samples collected from SPI-certified Taiwanese organizations. The results suggest that clan-type organizational culture has a stronger association with knowledge sharing than hierarchy-type in the context of SPI success. SPI knowledge sharing is found to be a mediator of both clan culture and top management support in the context of SPI success. The findings also include the implication to improve our knowledge about how organizational culture and top management support drive effective knowledge sharing on the way to SPI success.     

Integrating scientific modeling and supporting dynamic hazard management with a GeoAgent-based representation of human–environment interactions: A drought example in Central Pennsylvania, USA

Recent natural disasters indicate that modern technologies for environmental monitoring, modeling, and forecasting are not well integrated with cross-level social responses in many hazard-management systems. This research addresses this problem through a Java-based multi-agent prototype system, GeoAgent-based Knowledge System (GeoAgentKS). This system allows: (1) computer representation of institutional regulations and behavioral rules used by multiple social institutions and individuals in cross-level human–environment interactions, (2) integration of this representation with scientific modeling of dynamic hazard development, and (3) application of automated reasoning that suggests to users the appropriate actions for supporting cooperative social responses. This paper demonstrates the software architecture of GeoAgentKS and presents such an integrated approach by modeling the drought management processes in Central Pennsylvania, USA. The results show that it is possible to use GeoAgentKS to represent multilevel human–environment interactions and to use those interactions as input to decision making in hazard management.     

A stage model of organizational knowledge management: a latent content analysis

This study develops an integrated management framework for building organizational capabilities of knowledge management. The framework consists of four major components of management: organizational knowledge, knowledge workers, knowledge management processes, and information technology. Based on the framework, this study proposes a stage model of organizational knowledge management encompassing the initiation, propagation, integration, and networking stages. Each of the four stages is differentiated in terms of its management goals, activities, and characteristics of the management components. To validate the proposed stage model, we conducted a latent content analysis of 21 knowledge management case reports. While the results do not validate the time sequence of each stage, they do reveal meaningful clustering of distinct case organizations in different knowledge management implementation stages.