Aligning Knowledge Management with Competitive Strategy: A Framework

This paper presents a hybrid approach to understanding the knowledge management requirements for a knowledge intensive service organization. It proposes a strategy-knowledge management alignment framework grounded in literature. The framework was constructed by studying four published case-studies that tackle knowledge management at world class management consulting firms. The paper then applies the framework to two cases in the knowledge intensive services sector. The first case studies a young management consulting firm needing to formalize its knowledge management policies and processes. The second case studies the creation of an IT Outsourcing Services Division by a traditional telecommunications company that needs to expand its product offering to increase its opportunities for growth in a small market. The two case studies support the proposed framework and show that it can be used to obtain practical solutions in a business environment. One of the case studies also contributes to developing the case method in research by using the Socratic Dialogue as a means to collecting and analyzing evidence.