Organisational knowledge management capability: a multi case study

Literature concerning knowledge management (KM) and its effectiveness or capability does various attempts and discussion on concepts namely, explicit and tacit knowledge, knowledge work, knowledge worker, knowledge assets and knowledge infrastructure, etc., but none of the extant studies could elaborate the applicability of these components in an organisation to achieve a knowledge management capability from a real time perspective. So this research gap asks some important research question viz., 1 What are the components of a KM capability in an organisation? 2 What are the characteristics of these components? 3 Which is the most important component of an organisational KM capability? These issues necessitate a multi-case study to explore the components and characteristics that influence the achievement of KM capability in a knowledge intensive firm. The results confirm the proposed model and suggest that KM capability is mandated in knowledge intensive firm, and its consequences can be classified in to two major types of outcome, such as ‘immediate benefits’ and ‘final outcome’. Study implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.