A Simulation-Based Exploration into The Effectiveness of IT-Enabled Knowledge Management Initiatives

Organizations are increasingly adopting Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) to effectively manage knowledge within the organization and realize firm and operational level benefits. However, many KMS implementations fail to yield desired outcomes due to the lack of understanding of the antecedent of successful knowledge management. Prior studies have established that organizational cultural values are one of the key enablers of knowledge management. We develop a computational model of organizational knowledge processes and employ simulations to examine the impact of KMS in different organizational cultural settings. We find that cultural values that govern the employees' predisposition towards seeking knowledge from others have a greater influence on KMS effectiveness than those that govern the employees' attitudes towards sharing their knowledge with others. We also find that organizations with cultures that foster high levels knowledge sharing behaviors can expect performance gains if KMS implementations incorporate knowledge seeking activities into the employees' work processes.