中英文对照外文翻译文献
(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)
Corporate portal: a tool for knowledge management
synchronization
Abstract
As the basis of value creation and success of organizations increasingly depends on the leverage of knowledge available internally, knowledge management systems(KMS)are emerging as vital tools for competitive advantage. Among these KMS, corporate portals present the potential of providing organizations with a rich and complex shared information workspace for the generation, exchange, and use of knowledge. But developing corporate portals and building the critical mass of users required to make them successful is not an easy task. In this paper, drawing upon the
literature review and an analysis of early adopters of corporate portals, we address the strength of this tool which consists mainly in synchronizing and supporting knowledge processes, put the emphasis on factors inhibiting its adoption by companies and finally propose some perspectives for a successful implementation.
1.Introduction
The widespread adoption of networks and information technology has vastly increased our ability to store, transfer and generate knowledge, enabling and accelerating the emergence of an economic, organizational and technological landscape, that is knowledge-based(Schwartz, Eamonn,&Boyer,1999;Romano,Elia,&Passiante,2001).This perspective builds upon and extends the resource-based view(RBV)of the firm initially promoted by Penrose(1959)and expanded by others(Barney,1986;Chandler,1992;Prahalad&Hamel,1990;Teece,Pisano,&Shuen,1997).The premise of the RBV is that organizations employ a mix of acquisition and configuration of resources to change how their business is accomplished. Knowledge is often the basis for the effective utilization of many important resources. In this context, Information and Communication technologies may play an important role in effectuating the knowledge-based view of the firm by enhancing the firm’s capability to manage the knowledge it possesses. This awareness is one of the main reasons for the exponential growth of knowledge management systems(KMS).KMS are technologies that support knowledge management in organizations, specifically, knowledge generation, codification, and transfer(Ruggles,1997).In fact, a 2000 survey conducted by KPMG shows that the use of KMS is common in organizations worldwide and has numerous benefits(KPMG,2000).However, despite the potential benefits from KMS, the report also finds that companies were experiencing difficulties in effectively using these technologies. To address this issue, this paper focuses on a particular type of KMS, which is corporate portal, that presents the potential of providing organizations with a rich and complex shared information workspace for the generation, exchange, and use of knowledge. Building upon a large literature review, insights from eight case studies of early adopters and our
own experience in dealing with some aspects of the implementation phase of STMicroelectronics portal, we address the strengths of this tool which consistmainly in supporting knowledge development phases and focus on challenges and problems that organizations may face during its implementation.
The paper is organized as follows: Section 1 presents a review on knowledge, knowledge management processes and systems. The following section focuses on a particular tool of KMS, that is the corporate portal; we present a comprehensive view of definitions and characteristics of this tool based on a comparative analysis of eight case studies in order to identify the potential role of corporate portal features in the various stages of the knowledge management processes. We then focus on the major barriers limiting its adoption and use by organizations. In the final section, building on the factors identified, we provide some perspectives for a successful implementation.
2.Knowledge management processes and systems
Before focusing on portals as KMS, its necessary to define knowledge and knowledge management processes.
2.1.Knowledge definitions
Multiple definitions of knowledge have been proposed in the literature, and debates about this concept have been expressed from a variety of perspectives and positions. In fact, ever since the ancient Greek period ,the quest of philosophy has been to find what knowledge is. Early thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle were followed by Hobbes and Locke to name just a few of the more prominent western philosophers. It seems we have no choice but to return to the question that has kept philosophers occupied for thousands of years. However, we should not approach it from a philosophical perspective. As observed by Alavi and Leidner(2001),the knowledge-based theory of the firm was never built on a universal truth of what knowledge really is but on a pragmatic interest in being able to manage organisational knowledge. In recent years, we have witnessed a booming interest in knowledge also from other disciplines. Mainly two perspectives are dominant, an Information Technology view and a Strategic management view. While the IT view
makes the distinction between data, information and knowledge, and considers the ambiguity existing between these three concepts, the strategic management perspective views knowledge as a state of mind, a capability or a process. In fact, data is mainly considered as raw numbers that once processed becomes information, and
when
put
in
specific
context
this
information
becomes
knowledge(Vance,1997).Whereas, the perspective of knowledge as a state of mind posits that individuals expand their personal knowledge through the inputs received from their environment. Further, the view of knowledge as a capability to act suggests that it is not the specific actions of knowledge ‘‘per se’’, but the ability to interpret and use information and experience that influences decisions(Watson,1999). Finally knowledge as a process, focuses on applying expertise, i.e. simultaneously knowing and acting(Zack,1999).In this article, we emphasize the view of knowledge as a ‘‘capability to act effectively ’’.Knowledge is seen as a justified personal belief that increases an individual’s capacity to take effective action. Knowledge management in this view is best understood by considering knowledge management as the systemic and organizationally specified process of acquiring, organizing and communicating knowledge of employees so that other employees may make use of it to be more effective and productive in their work(Alavi&Leidner,1999).
2.2.Knowledge processes
We can describe knowledge management life cycle as an iterative sequence of activities (Nissen, 2000).Building upon this notion, we outlined from knowledge management frameworks, key elements of several life cycle models.
Several key points emerge from our review of the analyzed knowledge management frameworks:
(1)There is no single or commonly accepted definition of what constitutes a knowledge management framework.
(2)There are many concepts that are similar in the frameworks analyzed, but their ordering or structure varies.
For example, while the majority of the frameworks refer to the first phase as knowledge creation, Davenport and Prusak use the term generate knowledge,
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