Knowledge and Expertise Management

Kelly, S. & Jones, M. (2001) Groupware and the Social Infrastructure of Communication: Communication technologies can supplement, but never supplant the value of social bonds and trusting relationships. Communications of the ACM. 44(12) 77-79.

This reading was based on BlueCorp, a large consulting firm. It outlines the difference between success and failure in terms of groupware adaptation within the different offices.

The problem was not the production of knowledge, it was that this knowledge was not being captured in the best possible way.

The Washington case was an exemplar of success. The head of this practice was a great leader in terms of reassuring, addressing fears, and sharing information. He recognized the importance of social interaction, trust, and power outside of the software. He cultivated the social environment to facilitate new forms of cooperative interaction among the staff.

One key passage highlights how important face-to-face interaction is as one employee explains how he wouldn't put everything into the repository, but just enough so that it would make people come to him for his services. This helps build rapport and respect based on their personal interactions.

Rottman, J. (2008) Successful knowledge transfer within offshore supplier networks: a case study exploring social capital in strategic alliances. Journal of Information Technology, 23, 31–43.

This article explores social capital, which is the idea that knowledge and resources are exchanged, work gets done, and value is created through social relationships.

Dimensions of social capital analysed:

1. Structural 
2. Cognitive
3. Relational

Network types:

1. Intracorporate networks - a group of organizations operating under a unified corporate identity, with the headquarters of the network having controlling ownership interest in its subsidiaries.
2. Industrial districts - independent firms sharing similar goals and geographic areas who utilize similar producers, pull from the same labor pool and target similar markets.
3. Strategic alliances - formed by firms located in different positions or in the same position in the value chain.

The article outlines the efforts of the Software Center of Excellence (SCE) within a US manufacturing firm and its interactions with its network suppliers.

The company outsourced key work to multiple suppliers. Issues of Intellectual knowledge are addressed by drawing boundaries. This is done by breaking up suppliers so that each one has knowledge only on one particular part of the business operations. There are no boundaries in terms of knowledge sharing, they instead are investing in engagement by outsourcing to so many and building specialist knowledge.

There are added transaction costs and management overheads associated with this sort of outsourcing model, but it creates a community of knowledge that goes beyond the boundaries of the firm. So much so that the firm was unaware of the implicit tacit knowledge that had built up over time with their suppliers. This was actually a big reason for the initial failure. This issue was addressed by investing in social capital e.g. visiting its supplier sites.