Abstract
Organizational culture has long been recognized as the underlying set of values systems that determines how firms perceive and react to their environments. While there is widespread agreement over the relevance of culture and its impact on organizations, many believe that culture exists as a concept than can be neither measured nor controlled. This chapter considers an alternate view in characterizing culture as an important knowledge resource that facilitates the management of a firm’s intellectual (knowledge) assets. We first present a brief overview of organizational culture and then examine culture as an organizational resource that facilitates four key knowledge management activities. As part of this analysis, a series of research hypotheses is offered to provide a link between certain cultural sub-types and effective knowledge management practice in each of four areas: knowledge creation, storage, transfer, and application. A key implication of this chapter is that firms must increasingly view their culture as a competitive resource that must be managed in order to become a learning organization. As part of this management process, senior executives must be able to manage the various sub-cultures found within their organizations and to foster those sub-cultures consistent with knowledge management objectives. The chapter concludes by considering knowledge management initiatives as an opportunity to change corporate cultures.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abrahamson, E. and C. Fombrun, “Macrocultures: Determinants and Consequences,” Academy of Management Review, 19, 4, 1994, 728 - 755.
Alavi, M. and D. Leidner, “Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundation and An Agenda for Research,” MIS Quarterly, March 2001, 107 - 136.
Barney, J., “Firm Resources And Sustained Competitive Advantage,” Journal of Management, 17, 1, 1991, 99 - 120.
Bloor, G. and P. Dawson, “Understanding Professional Culture in Organizational Context,” Organization Studies, 15, 2, 1994, 275 - 295.
Brown, S.J. and P. Duguid, “Balancing Act: How To Capture Knowledge Without Killing It,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 2000, 73 - 80.
Burack, E., “Changing the Company Culture–the Role of Human Resource Development,” Long Range Planning, 24, 1, 1991, 88 - 95.
Chatman, J. and K. Jehn, “Assessing the Relationship Between Industry Characteristics and Organizational Culture: How Different Can You Be?” Academy of Management Journal, 37, 3, 1994, 522 - 553.
Cole, R.E., “Introduction,” California Management Review, 45, 3, 1998, 15 - 21.
Daft, R.L. and K.E. Weick, “Toward A Model of Organizations as Interpretation Systems,” Academy of Management Review, 9, 1984, 284 - 295.
Davenport, T.H. and P. Klahr, “Managing Customer Support Knowledge,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 195 - 208.
Davenport, T. H., D.W. De Long, and M.C. Beers, “Successful Knowledge Management,” Sloan Management Review, 39, 2, 1998, 43 - 57.
DeLong, D.W. and L. Fahey, “Diagnosing Cultural Barriers To Knowledge Management, Academy of Management Executive, 14, 4, 2000, 113 - 127.
Denison, D.R. and A.K. Mishra, “Organizational Culture and Effectiveness,” Organization Science, 6, 2, 1995, 204 - 223.
Drucker, P. Managing In A Time of Great Change, New York: Dutton/Plume, 1998.
Duncan, W.J., “Organizational Culture: “Getting A Fix On An Elusive Concept,” Academy of Management Executive, 3, 3, 1989, 229 - 236.
Fahey, L. and L. Prusak, “The Eleven Deadliest Sins Of Knowledge Management,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 265 - 276.
Feldman, M., Order Without Design: Information Production and Policy Making, Stanford: CA, Stanford University Press, 1989.
Gioia, D.A. and P.P. Poole, “Scripts In Organizational Behavior,” Academy of Management Review, 9, 1984, 449 - 459.
Greengard, S., “Storing, Shaping And Sharing Collective Wisdom,” Workforce, 77, 10, 1998, 82 - 88.
Gupta, A.K. and V. Govindarajan, “Knowledge Management’s Social Dimension: Lessons From Nucor Steel,” Sloan Management Review, 42, 1, 2000, 71 - 80.
Hansen, M.T., N. Nohria, and T. Tierney, “What’s Your Strategy For Managing Knowledge?” Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1999, 106 - 115.
Hansen, M.T. and B.V. Oetinger, “Introducing T-Shaped Managers: Knowledge Management’s Next Generation,” Harvard Business Review, March 2001, 107 - 116.
Hargadon, A.B., “Firms As Knowledge Brokers: Lessons In Pursuing Continuous Innovation,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 209 - 227.
Hasan, H. and E. Gould, “Support for the Sense-Making Activity of Managers,” Decision Support Systems, 31, 1, 2001, 71 - 86.
Hawkins, P., “Organizational Culture: Sailing between Evangelism and Complexity,” Human Relations, 50, 4, 1997, 417 - 440.
Hofstede, G., Culture’s Consequences: International Differences In Work-Related Values, Beverly Hills: CA, Sage Publications, 1980.
Hofstede, G., Cultures and Organizations: Software of The Mind, London: UK, McGraw Hill, 1991.
Hofstede, G., “Identifying Organizational Subcultures: An Empirical Approach,” Journal of Management Studies, 35, 1, 1998, 1 - 12.
Hofstede, G., B. Neuijen, D.D. Ohayv, and G. Sanders, “Measuring Organizational Cultures: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study Across Twenty Cases,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 1990, 286 - 316.
Holsapple. C. and K.D. Joshi, “Organizational Knowledge Resources,” Decision Support Systems, 31, 1, 2001, 39 - 54.
Huber, G., “Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures,” Organization Science, 2, 1, 1991, 88 - 115.
Johnson, G., “Managing Strategic Change–Strategy, Culture and Action,” Long Range Planning, 25, 1, 1992, 28 - 36.
KPMG Management Consulting, Knowledge Management: Research Report, 1998. Leidner, D. E., “Understanding Information Culture: Integrating Knowledge Man- agement Systems into Organizations,” in Galliers, R.; Leidner, D. and Baker, B. (eds.) Strategic Information Management. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 1999, 523 - 550.
Leonard, D. and S. Sensiper, “The Role Of Tacit Knowledge In Group Innovation,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 112 - 132.
Leonard, D. Wellsprings of Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1995.
Marshall, C., L. Prusak, and D. Shpilberg, “Financial Risk and the Need For Superior Knowledge,” California Management Review, 38, 3, 1996, 77 - 101.
Nelson, R. and S. Winter, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, Cambridge: MA, The Bellhop Press of Harvard University Press, 1982.
Newman, M., “Managerial Access To Information: Strategies For Prevention and Promotion,” Journal of Management Studies, 22, 1985, 193 - 212.
Nonaka, I., “A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation,” Organization Science, 5, 1, Feb. 1994, 14 - 37.
O’Dell, C. and C.J. Grayson, “If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification And Transfer Of Best Practices,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 154 - 174.
Pan, S and D. Leidner, “Bridging Communities of Practice: The Pursuit of Global Knowledge Sharing,” working paper, National University of Singapore, 2001.
Pentland, B. T., “Information Systems and Organizational Learning: The Social Epistemology of Organizational Knowledge Systems,” Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 5, 1, 1995, 1 - 21.
Pettigrew, A. M., “On Studying Organizational Cultures,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 1979, 570 - 581.
Quinn, R.E., and J. Rohrbaugh,, “A Spatial Model Of Effectiveness Criteria: Towards A Competing Values Approach To Organizational Analysis,” Management Science, 29, 3, 1983, 363 - 377.
Ruggles, R., “The State Of The Notion: Knowledge Management In Practice,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 80 - 89.
Schein, E.H., Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass, 1985.
Schultze. U. and R. Boland, “Knowledge Management Technology And The Reproduction Of Knowledge Work Practices,” Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 9, 2-3, 2000, p. 193 - 213.
Skyrme, D. J. and D.M. Amidon, “New Measures Of Success,” Journal of Business Strategy, 19, 1, 1998, 20 - 24.
Tan, S., H. Teo, B.C.Y. Tan, and K. Wi, “Developing a Preliminary Framework for Knowledge Management in Organizations,” Proceedings of the Americas Conference of Information Systems (AIS), Baltimore, Maryland, 1999, 629 - 631.
Tracey, J.B., S.I. Tannenbaum, and M.J. Kavanagh,, “Applying Trained Skills on the Job: The Importance of the Work Environment,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 20, 3, 1995, 239 - 252.
Von Krogh, G., “Care in Knowledge Creation,” California Management Review, 40, 3, 1998, 133 - 153.
Verespej, M., “Knowledge Management: System Or Culture?” Industry Week, 284, 15, August 16, 1999, 20.
Watson, S., “Getting To ‘Aha!’ Companies Use Intranets To Turn Information And Experience Into Knowledge–And Gain A Competitive Edge, Computer-World, January 26, 1998.
Wenger, E.C. and W.M. Snyder, “Communities Of Practice: The Organizational Frontier,” Harvard Business Review, January-February 2000, 139 - 145.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kayworth, T., Leidner, D. (2004). Organizational Culture as a Knowledge Resource. In: Holsapple, C.W. (eds) Handbook on Knowledge Management 1. International Handbooks on Information Systems, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24746-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24746-3_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-20005-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-24746-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive