Abstract
Purpose - In a progressively knowledge dependent economy, businesses need to learn to harness the knowledge that resides within the organizations. However, organizations often find it challenging to manage this most important asset that people possess. Researchers assert that it is mostly the organizational factors that pose a challenge to the management of knowledge. This paper aims to examine the role of knowledge infrastructure capability in Knowledge Management (KM) practices within the organization. Design/methodology/approach - This paper employs a single case study strategy to explore the aforementioned objective at hand. An Indian medium-sized global IT solutions company headquartered in Bengaluru, India, MindTree Ltd. was chosen, as this company is globally admired for its KM initiatives and has also featured in the list of Globally Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) list in the year 2010. Research methods included in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants as well as a non – obtrusive participant observation.Findings - Findings of the study shows the relevance of knowledge infrastructure capability in KM excellence. Case highlights the role of knowledge-sharing culture throughout management systems and routines. Findings also suggests that organization structure plays a facilitating and steering role in developing the culture of knowledge.Research limitations/implications - The issues identified are explored in a single case-study setting. Future research could look at the relevance of the findings to other similar settings and in multi – site settings to bring about wider theoretical generalization. Practical implications - This study will help the managers to understand the role of knowledge infrastructure capabilities in knowledge management success and will help them to device further studies to realize the full potential of KM initiatives. Originality/value - This paper adds empirical insight from Indian ITES industry on existing literature about KM.
Purpose - In a progressively knowledge dependent economy, businesses need to learn to harness the knowledge that resides within the organizations. However, organizations often find it challenging to manage this most important asset that people possess. Researchers assert that it is mostly the organizational factors that pose a challenge to the management of knowledge. This paper aims to examine the role of knowledge infrastructure capability in Knowledge Management (KM) practices within the organization. Design/methodology/approach - This paper employs a single case study strategy to explore the aforementioned objective at hand. An Indian medium-sized global IT solutions company headquartered in Bengaluru, India, MindTree Ltd. was chosen, as this company is globally admired for its KM initiatives and has also featured in the list of Globally Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) list in the year 2010. Research methods included in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants as well as a non – obtrusive participant observation.Findings - Findings of the study shows the relevance of knowledge infrastructure capability in KM excellence. Case highlights the role of knowledge-sharing culture throughout management systems and routines. Findings also suggests that organization structure plays a facilitating and steering role in developing the culture of knowledge.Research limitations/implications - The issues identified are explored in a single case-study setting. Future research could look at the relevance of the findings to other similar settings and in multi – site settings to bring about wider theoretical generalization. Practical implications - This study will help the managers to understand the role of knowledge infrastructure capabilities in knowledge management success and will help them to device further studies to realize the full potential of KM initiatives. Originality/value - This paper adds empirical insight from Indian ITES industry on existing literature about KM.