Studies and Analyses

Bogdanovska Gj., Andrijana

Recommended Reference: Bogdanovska Gj., A. (2013).Knowledge Management as a Competitive Advantage of Companies. Proceedings of the 10th Conference on intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning - ICICKM 2013, George Washington University, USA

ABSTRACT:

By merging existing theory, discussion and research in the areas of strategic and knowledge management, the paper argues in favor of the basic assumption of all schools on strategy – competitive advantage results into a superior performance of contemporary companies. Causation, however, can only be justified when knowledge management is introduced as a moderator in the equation. Although recognized as an important resource as early as 1950s, knowledge did not gain in strategic value until the emergence of the Resource Based View on Strategy in the 1990s. Realizing that knowledge is a dynamic capability and that today’s knowledge although protected, is not a guarantee of tomorrow’s success, contemporary organizations approached knowledge management as a system comprised of four knowledge management processes: creation, organization, dissemination (transfer and sharing) and use (applicability), open to the influence of the wider external and internal environment considered through the social and technological context of organizations. By focusing on the internal context, the paper presents an empirical model which can be tested in different environments. The internal context reflects the influence of three predominant KM platforms: structure, culture and technology. In the process, technology is recognized as a main enabler for capturing, storing and distributing codified knowledge, while organizational structure that fosters KM processes as flexible, lean, team based and customer oriented. In regards to organizational culture, adaptive and flexible cultures are recognized as supportive to knowledge generation; while stable and hierarchical cultures supportive to knowledge storage in organizational routines. At the end, the effectiveness of KM as a competitive advantage is approached through identifying superior financial and non-financial performance.