An Empirical Study of the Effect of Knowledge Management Processes at Individual,Group, and Organizational Levels*

To enhance our understanding of knowledge management, this paper focuses on a specific question: How do knowledge management processes influence perceived knowledge management effectiveness? Prior literature is used to develop the research model, including hypotheses about the effects of four knowledge management processes (internalization, externalization, socialization, and combination) on perceived individual‐level, group‐level, and organizational‐level knowledge management effectiveness. The study was conducted at the John F. Kennedy Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration using a survey of 159 individuals and two rounds of personal interviews. Structural equation modeling was performed to test measurement and structural models using the survey data. The emergent model suggests that internalization and externalization impact perceived effectiveness of individual‐level knowledge management. Socialization and combination influence perceived effectiveness of knowledge management at group and organizational levels, respectively. The results also support the expected upward impact in perceived effectiveness of knowledge management, from individual to group level, as well as from group level to organizational level. The study's limitations and implications for practice and future research are described.     

How Software Project Risk Affects Project Performance: An Investigation of the Dimensions of Risk and an Exploratory Model*

To reduce the high failure rate of software projects, managers need better tools to assess and manage software project risk. In order to create such tools, however, information systems researchers must first develop a better understanding of the dimensions of software project risk and how they can affect project performance. Progress in this area has been hindered by: (1) a lack of validated instruments for measuring software project risk that tap into the dimensions of risk that are seen as important by software project managers, and (2) a lack of theory to explain the linkages between various dimensions of software project risk and project performance. In this study, six dimensions of software project risk were identified and reliable and valid measures were developed for each. Guided by sociotechnical systems theory, an exploratory model was developed and tested. The results show that social subsystem risk influences technical subsystem risk, which, in turn, influences the level of project management risk, and ultimately, project performance. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.     

The Role of Culture as Driver of Quality Management and Performance: Infrastructure Versus Core Quality Practices*

Increasingly, scholars and practitioners recognize the importance of understanding organizational culture when implementing operations management practices. This study investigates the relationships among organizational culture, infrastructure and core quality management practices, and manufacturing performance using two alternative models. Understanding these relationships is important because culture can provide insight into the context dependence of quality management practices and shed light on the mixed results of past studies concerning the link between quality management and performance. Analysis of manufacturing plants from six countries indicates that organizational culture has a stronger influence on infrastructure quality management practices than on core quality management practices, regardless of whether the plants are located in Eastern or Western countries. In addition, infrastructure quality management practices have a significant effect on manufacturing performance. These results contribute to the quality management literature by emphasizing the importance of accounting for culture when making decisions to implement quality management practices to achieve a performance advantage. Finally, we also contribute to the literature on the culture–performance linkage by finding support for a direct link between culture and manufacturing performance.     

Understanding the Antecedents of Effective Knowledge Management: The Importance of a Knowledge‐Centered Culture*

Within the context of knowledge management, little research has been conducted that identifies the antecedents of a knowledge‐centered culture—those organizational qualities that encourage knowledge creation and dissemination. In this study, the existing literature on organizational climate, job characteristics, and organizational learning (in the form of cooperative learning theory) are linked with the current thinking and research findings related to knowledge management to develop a theoretical model explaining the relationships among organizational climate, the level of cooperative learning that takes place between knowledge workers, and the resulting level of knowledge created and disseminated as measured by team performance and individual satisfaction levels. The study goes on to empirically test the proposed research model by investigating the climate of organizations, and seeks to understand the linkage between a set of organizational and individual characteristics and knowledge‐related activities found in cooperative learning groups and the resulting work outcomes. The hypothesized research model is tested using LISREL with data collected from 203 information systems (IS) professionals engaged in systems development activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications the results have for future research and managerial practice.     

Relationship between Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management: An Empirical Investigation

Two important streams of the literature have examined intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM). Surprisingly, they have developed in parallel, without any empirical research on the relationship between them. This article empirically examines how IC and KM affect each other, and also investigates their consequences, viewing three intermediate consequences (dynamic capabilities, efficiency, and innovativeness) to mediate their effects on firm performance. In addition, this article examines the effects of the organization's culture on IC and KM. To address these issues, a comprehensive model is developed and tested using a combination of survey and secondary data of 533 companies in Taiwan. The results support the theoretical model. Major findings include the following: IC affects KM and dynamic capabilities; KM facilitates innovation but not dynamic capabilities or IC; a learning culture facilitates IC and innovation but not KM; firm performance depends on efficiency and innovation, but not directly on dynamic capabilities; and efficiency does not depend on any of the other constructs in the study. The article's implications for research and practice are examined.     

Examining the Antecedents and Consequences of CIO Strategic Decision‐Making Authority: An Empirical Study*

Despite the strategic importance of information technology (IT) to contemporary firms, chief information officers (CIO) often still have varying degrees of strategic decision‐making authority. In this study, we apply the theory of managerial discretion to define CIO strategic decision‐making authority and argue that the CIO's level of strategic decision‐making authority directly influences IT's contribution to organization performance. We also draw on the power and politics perspective in the strategic decision‐making literature to identify the direct antecedents to the CIO's strategic decision‐making authority. A theoretical model is presented and empirically tested using survey data collected from a cross‐industry sample of 174 matched pairs of CIOs and top business executives through structural equation modeling. The results suggest that organizational climate, organizational support for IT, the CIO's structural power, the CIO's level of strategic effectiveness, and a strong partnership between the CIO and top management team directly influence the CIO's level of strategic decision‐making authority within the organization. The results also suggest that the CIO's strategic decision‐making authority in the organization directly influences the contribution of IT to firm performance and that effective CIOs have a greater influence on IT's contribution when provided with strategic decision‐making authority.     

Information Technology and Process Performance: An Empirical Investigation of the Interaction Between IT and Non‐IT Resources*

Drawing on the resource‐based view, we propose a configurational perspective of how information technology (IT) assets and capabilities affect firm performance. Our premise is that IT assets and IT managerial capabilities are components in organizational design, and as such, their impact can only be understood by taking into consideration the interactions between those IT assets and capabilities and other non‐IT components. We develop and test a model that assesses the impact of explicit and tacit IT resources by examining their interactions with two non‐IT resources (open communication and business work practices). Our analysis of data collected from a sample of firms in the third‐party logistics industry supports the proposed configurational perspective, showing that IT resources can either enhance (complement) or suppress (by substituting for) the effects of non‐IT resources on process performance. More specifically, we find evidence of complementarities between shared business–IT knowledge and business work practice and between the scope of IT applications and an open communication culture in affecting the performance of the customer‐service process; but there is evidence of substitutability between shared knowledge and open communications. For decision making, our results reinforce the need to account for all dimensions of possible interaction between IT and non‐IT resources when evaluating IT investments.