Integrating knowledge management technologies in organizational business processes: getting real time enterprises to deliver real business performance

Abstract

Purpose: To provide executives and scholars with pragmatic understanding about integrating knowledge management strategy and technologies in business processes for successful performance. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive review of theory, research, and practices on knowledge management develops a framework that contrasts existing technology‐push models with proposed strategy‐pull models. The framework explains how the “critical gaps” between technology inputs, related knowledge processes, and business performance outcomes can be bridged for the two types of models. Illustrative case studies of real‐time enterprise (RTE) business model designs for both successful and unsuccessful companies are used to provide real world understanding of the proposed framework. Findings: Suggests superiority of strategy‐pull models made feasible by new “plug‐and‐play” information and communication technologies over the traditional technology‐push models. Critical importance of strategic execution in guiding the design of enterprise knowledge processes as well as selection and implementation of related technologies is explained. Research limitations/implications: Given the limited number of cases, the framework is based on real world evidence about companies most popularized for real time technologies by some technology analysts. This limited sample helps understand the caveats in analysts' advice by highlighting the critical importance of strategic execution over selection of specific technologies. However, the framework needs to be tested with multiple enterprises to determine the contingencies that may be relevant to its application. Originality/value: The first comprehensive analysis relating knowledge management and its integration into enterprise business processes for achieving agility and adaptability often associated with the “real time enterprise” business models. It constitutes critical knowledge for organizations that must depend on information and communication technologies for increasing strategic agility and adaptability.