Organizational Design for Knowledge Management

Conclusion

In the foregoing chapters, we have presented both our empirical analyses and our theoretical propositions. We have integrated the determining factors for a knowledge management (KM) policy, cited in the literature, across the five dimensions of organizational design drawn from Galbraith’s “star model” [GAL 73, GAL 02b] – namely strategy, incentive systems, people, technology (KMS) and structure.

Our analysis of KM in three contrasting organizational situations (before, during and after a merger) in regard to the same project teams exercising the same professional activities (bid preparation and solution development) has yielded results that are both convergent with and divergent from those described in the existing literature. Certain conditions for effective KM demonstrated in the literature were confirmed, others countered, some were absent and new conditions have emerged from the field.

In this regard, the main lessons which can be drawn from our theoretical and empirical study are as follows:

– In order to be implemented effectively, KM must constitute a strategic objective for the organization, supported by concrete initiatives on the part of the directors and the upper echelons of the hierarchy. This is a result shared by previous literature in the field and the study presented here.

– A policy of sustained, monitored and evaluated training is a crucially important factor for the successful implementation of a KM program. This condition confirms the results found ...