Discussion Paper Series Knowledge Management in the KIBS-Client Environment: A Case Study Approach

An exploratory case study investigated the delivery of a pan-European electronic mail service, by two international KIBS, for a financial institution. The investigation considered the dynamics of knowledge management processes, in essence how different categories of knowledge are managed and transferred across the KIBS-Client boundary; the nature of knowledge management practices (KMPs) involved; and how they interact with each other. The conceptual framework exploited the knowledge categorization suggested by Blumentritt and Johnson (1999), Faulkner’s (1994) knowledge topology, and Nonaka and Takeuchi’s (1995) modes of knowledge conversion. Frameworks were developed to describe “service package” delivery stages and knowledge management practices. The knowledge management model utilised Pan and Scarborough’s (1999) three-layer conception of knowledge management in combination with a “semi-permeable membrane” (Doz, Hamel and Prahalad, 1986). The study highlights the level of co-definition involved in “service package” delivery and the sophisticated nature of the knowledge management practices deployed by international T-KIBS. The clients lack of knowledge management and innovation processes associated with “service package” delivery raised doubts over KIBS potential to influence their client’s technological trajectory.