Knowledge Management as a Strategic Resource to gain Competitive Advantage

Abstract: Even though knowledge management has progressed from an embryonic to an increasingly recognized discipline over the course of the last decade, the bulk of studies in knowledge management have been descriptive and focused on definitions and integrating existing definitions. There have been relatively few studies (mostly surveys) that focus on knowledge management in relation to other organizational factors (Zack, McKeen & Singh, 2009), and work in the area of knowledge management and competitive advantage has been found to be theoretically and empirically immature and underdeveloped (Chuang, 2004).   Therefore, aim of this research was to fill in the identified gaps by utilizing the resource-based view of a company to conduct an exploratory qualitative study to provide empirical and practical evidence regarding the relationship between knowledge management and competitive advantage. This was done mainly through interviews with knowledge management academics and practitioners in an attempt to have multiple perspectives on the matter to gain deeper understanding.   From the interviews, a number of observations were made. First, knowledge management can be used strategically to gain competitive advantage but this can only be done by introducing a successful knowledge management initiative. This calls for an implementation approach based on focus and measurement as principles and that takes into account strategy, organizational learning, culture and systems and technology as pre-conditional dimensions for a successful knowledge management project. In addition, these principles and preconditions all have to take the people into consideration as the people play a centre role in this system, being the ones that actually establish, run and maintain these mechanisms.   These findings are then synthesized into a knowledge management implementation model that may serve as a starting point for further research in successful knowledge management implementation. Practitioners may also use these findings and model as a tool for successful knowledge management implementation.