Benchmarking Knowledge Management in Developing Countries: Case of Research Organizations in Nigeria, The Gambia, and India

Even though knowledge organizations, such as research institutes, have only a minor role in the economies of the developing countries, they nevertheless are becoming increasingly important for development. Appropriate knowledge management could contribute considerably to their effectiveness and efficiency. We examined the state of knowledge management in eight research organizations: three in Nigeria, three in The Gambia, and two in India. Each organization was visited for two weeks and several data gathering methods were used. One of these, the Knowledge Management Diagnostic, appeared not to be very suitable for use in developing countries. Therefore, it was modified for the Indian organizations, but comparability was maintained by supplementing it by interviews and observation. Here we present a summary of our findings in Nigeria and The Gambia and compare them with the preliminary results of the study in India. Our study shows that organizations in developing countries are also aware of the knowledge management issues but that there are variations in the capability of each organization in knowledge processes. In general, the tactical processes have more emphasis than the strategic processes. It also appears that, on the average, international organizations are paying more attention to knowledge management than the national organizations and therefore act as benchmarking partners.