Affiliations: College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Mail #
TMH 343, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403-2005, USA. Tel.: +1 651 962
4350; Fax: +1 651 962 4710; E-mail: skumar@stthomas.edu
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: Knowledge Management (KM) is a newly emerging, interdisciplinary
business model that has knowledge within the framework of trading partners as
its focus. It is rooted in many disciplines, including business, economics,
psychology and information management. Knowledge management involves people,
process and technology in overlapping parts. It helps in building a competitive
advantage for today's firm. Examples of two companies that successfully
implemented knowledge management are presented. A precursor to organization decision-making includes – the creation
of a knowledge representation process; the knowledge acquisition process; and
the organization of a knowledge facilitating creation of an enterprise
knowledge base as described in this paper. The progression over time of a
business organization through three stages to become a knowledge organization
is outlined. In order to gain and sustain a strategic advantage in a global
economy, it is becoming increasingly critical for organizations to share
knowledge with their customers, trading partners, suppliers, and to competitors
as well. One of the key factors that acts as a barrier to successful knowledge
management is lack of knowledge sharing or trust. Knowledge sharing scenarios
are also outlined to illustrate the impact on the payoffs to trading partners
based on the intents of partners involved.
Keywords: Knowledge management, knowledge management systems, organization learning, game theory, information management, business intelligence, knowledge sharing, knowledge bases, supply chain, federated identity
