KM Most-Cited
Reading Packet 10-12
By
Manny Martinez & Yi-Hsuan Lee
Agenda
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The Firm As A Distributed Knowledge
System: A Constructionist Approach
Organizational Memory: Review of
Concepts and Recommendations for
Management
Exploring Internal Stickiness:
Impediments to the Transfer of Best
Practice within the Firm
The Firm As A Distributed Knowledge
System: A Constructionist Approach
Author: Haridimos Tsoukas, 1996
Agenda:
 Introduction
 Recent Developments
 Structure of Social Practices
 Industry Recipes
 Conclusion
Introduction
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Two key questions regarding traditional
management research
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1. In what direction should the firm channel its
activities?
2. How should a firm be organized?
Assumptions underlying these questions
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rationality
propositional reasoning
sufficient knowledge
Introduction
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The traditional approach does not account
for particular circumstances of time and
space
Full knowledge and access to that
knowledge is assumed, but this is clearly
not the case
“A firm’s knowledge cannot be surveyed
as a whole; it is not self contained…”(p13)
Recent Developments
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The author argues that firms draw upon
existing knowledge and it’s ‘collective
knowledge’ - just as Stein (19) argued
Instead of employees as cogs reacting to
given scenarios, individuals interact with their
past experiences and create their
surroundings
Those following this idea either: create
taxonomies or create analogies between the
mind and the organization
Recent Developments
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Taxonomists create types of organizational
knowledge and draw out their implications
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tacit vs. explicit
Opposition to Nonaka and Takeuchi relating to the
inter-connectivity between tacit and explicit
Analogies between the organization and the
mind
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the necessary knowledge is distributed
the collective mind is created as individuals
interact
Recent Developments
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Human understanding is based on a unique
and unarticulated background, thus rendering
the ‘rationalist’ view lacking
This background is then applied by an
individual to a target, thus resulting in
understanding the target
The background is a result of socialization
Structure of Social Practices
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Three dimensions of social practices
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1. Normative expectations are associated with a
particular role
2. An individual brings past socializations to
particular situations
3. Interactive-situational dimension-the context of
an activity activates expectations
The absence of predictable rationality results
in a dispersed environment
Structure of Social Practices
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“Human agency is ‘always and at every
moment confronted with specific conditions
and choices…’” (p19)
The human decision is always grounded in
local, socialized, and personal experiences
The infinite number of resulting possibilities is
managed through institutional context
Industry Recipes
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“Through a process of socialization,
managers internalize industry-specific
distinctions” (p20)
A recipe “consists of a set of background
distinctions tied to a particular field of
experiences” (p20)
Recipes represent tacit knowledge
Conclusion
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Resources are not given or discovered but
created…..through human interaction
Firms rely on knowledge that is dispersed
throughout the individuals
Thus the firm is a distributed knowledge
system
The firm’s knowledge is in a broad context
Normative and actual situations are in tension,
resulting from the localness of individuals
Conclusion
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Management is therefore not a rule-making
endeavor, but should be the process of
allowing individuals to interact
This interaction allows employees to create
knowledge
Assumptions not stated by the author
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requires experts, education, and motivation
Compare the role of managers to that given
by Drucker
Organizational Memory: Review of
Concepts and Recommendations for
Management
Author: Eric Stein, 1995
Agenda:
 Introduction
 Defining Organizational Memory
 Processes of Organizational Memory
 Recommendations
Introduction
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Working definition: Organizational memory is
the means by which knowledge from the past
is brought to bear on present activities, thus
resulting in higher or lower levels of
organizational effectiveness (p22)
Involves the coding of information via
suitable representations, which later have an
effect on the organization in light of current
conditions
Introduction
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Organizational memory as a capability
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means to transmit information from past to
future members
Three types of organizational memory
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metaphor allowing insight into
organizational life
embedded in management theory
relevant to management practice
Introduction
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Organizational memory as a metaphor
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Three types of information can be stored
as a memory to “steer” an organization
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1. Outside information
2. Information from the past
3. Information about the organization itself
What is the importance here?
Introduction
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Organizational memory as related to
management theory
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learning vs. unlearning
flexibility vs. stability
human resources vs. information resources
Necessary for planning and decision
making in organizations
Introduction
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Organizational memory as related to
management practice
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Capturing the lessons of experts and other
personnel to reduce loss of knowledge
during turnover
Capturing knowledge over time will result
in a competitive advantage
Defining Organizational Memory
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How to use organizational memory to
enhance effectiveness - provides a
useful framework
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Guarding against inflexibility and lowered
effectiveness
Look at types of memories
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encoded but not sent immediately
time in transmission is critical
extended duration following transmission
Recommendations
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Recommendations
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1. Identify the types of memories
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What is the usefulness?
2. Look at coupling between senders and
receivers
3. Consider the role of short/long term
memories
4. Inventory and classify memory
Recommendations
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Recommendation 4 is the most useful and
doable
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1. Knowledge-base in crucial for effectiveness
2. Knowledge supports effective strategic decision
making, resulting in a strategic advantage:
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suggestive
predictive
decisive
systemic
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Consist of acquisition, retention, maintenance,
retrieval
Provide the means by which knowledge from
the past is brought to bear on present activities
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Acquiring organizational memories
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Mostly focuses on learning
The receipt of a sensory signal is the most basic form
of learning
Individual learning cycles are completed when new
knowledge is accepted and encoded into individual
minds
Organizational learning is not complete until individual
learning is embedded in the organization
Organizational memory is essential to organizational
learning, while learning is a necessary condition for
memory
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Acquiring organizational memories
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Organizational memories may also produce
barriers to learning, especially double-loop
learning
Double-loop learning occurs when members detect
conflicting requirements and try to resolve those
conflicts by changing prevailing norms and values
Since individuals must change their shared
theories-in-use and images of organization,
unlearning might take place
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Retaining organizational memories
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Retention is the most important and widely recognized
feature of organizational memory
Three categories to retain organizational information
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Schemas:
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Scripts:
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A schema is an individual cognitive structure that helps people
organize and process information efficiently
Scripts describe the appropriate sequencing of events in
conventional or familiar situations
Systems:
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Memories may be retained in the social fabric of organizations, in
their physical structures, and in explicitly designed information
systems
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Three major categories of means to retain
organizational memories
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Maintenance and loss of organizational
memories
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Departing members leave 'holes' in existing
knowledge networks
The average experience of those who leave may
be more important than the absolute number of
those who leave
Firms that fail to reinforce social structures may
experience a loss of knowledge as relationships
atrophy
Organizational memories also can be maintained
through recurrent patterns of interaction
Processes of Organizational Memory
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Retrieving organizational memories
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Organizational memories can be recalled to support
decision making and problem solving
An inquirer is motivated to retrieve information if:
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the inquirer values what has been done in previous contexts
the desired information exists and the inquirer is aware of
the information
the inquirer has the ability to search, locate, and decode the
desired information
the cost to locate the information is less than re-computing
the solution from scratch
An organization that maintains but does not use its
knowledge-base is dysfunctional
Recommendations
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Recommendations
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5. Explore the impact of both individual and
organizational learning
6. Examine the retentive capacities of personal and
shared schema
7. Examine the retentive capacities of personal and
organizational scripts
8. Examine the retentive capacities of the social and
physical structures associated with organizations
9. Leverage advanced information technologies to
support the processes and products of organizational
memory
Recommendations
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Recommendations
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10. Assess the loss of knowledge experienced by
organizations due to turnover and organizational
restructuring
11. Assess the means by which organizations maintain
different types of knowledge through communication
processes, repetition, sanctification, and validation
12. Examine the degree to which organizations
support the retrieval of knowledge from the past and
the impact of that knowledge on organizational
effectiveness
Conclusion
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An improved organization memory can
benefit the organization in several ways:
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Helps managers maintain strategic direction over
time
Helps the organization avoid the nightmare of
cycling through old solutions to new problems
Gives new meaning to the work of individuals if
such efforts are retained
Facilitate organizational learning
Strengthen the identity of the organization
Provide newcomers with access to the expertise
Discussion
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Does this article really provide
management tools?
Can managers actually identify the
memories?
Exploring Internal Stickiness:
Impediments to the Transfer of Best
Practice within the Firm
Author: Gabriel Szulanski, 1996
Agenda:
 Stages in the Transfer Process
 Origins of Internal Stickiness
 Research Results and Suggestions
Stages in the Transfer Process
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Initiation
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This stage comprises all events that lead to the
decision to transfer
A transfer begins when both a need and the
knowledge to meet that need coexist within the
organization
Implementation
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During this stage, resources flow between the
recipient and the source
Related activities cease or diminish after the
recipient begins using the transferred knowledge
Stages in the Transfer Process
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Ramp-up
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The recipient use the new knowledge
ineffectively at first, but gradually improves
performance, ramping up toward a satisfactory
level
Integration
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Use of the transferred knowledge gradually
becomes routinized in every recurring pattern
A shared history of jointly utilizing the
transferred knowledge is built up in the
recipient
Origins of Internal Stickiness
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Four sets of factors are likely to
influence the difficulty of knowledge
transfer:
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Characteristics
Characteristics
Characteristics
Characteristics
of
of
of
of
the
the
the
the
source of knowledge
recipient of knowledge
context
knowledge transferred
Origins of Internal Stickiness
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Characteristics of the source of knowledge
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Lack of motivation
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A knowledge source may be reluctant to share
knowledge for fear of losing ownership or a position
of privilege
Not perceived as reliable
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When a source unit is not perceived as reliable,
initiating a transfer from that source will be more
difficult
Origins of Internal Stickiness
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Characteristics of the recipient of knowledge
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Lack of motivation
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Lack of absorptive capacity
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Some recipients may be reluctant to accept knowledge
from the outside
Recipients might be unable to take advantage of outside
source of knowledge
Lack of retentive capacity
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The ability of a recipient to institutionalize the utilization of
new knowledge reflects the retentive capacity
Without such ability, initial difficulties may become an
excuse for discontinuing its use and reverting to the
previous status
Origins of Internal Stickiness
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Characteristics of the context
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Barren organizational context
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Intrafirm exchanges of knowledge are embedded in
a organizational context
A context that stops the gestation and evolution of
transfers is said to be barren
Arduous relationship
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A transfer of knowledge may require numerous
individual exchanges
An arduous (i.e., distant) relationship might create
additional difficulties in the transfer
Origins of Internal Stickiness
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Characteristics of the knowledge transferred
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Causal ambiguity
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When the precise reasons for success or failure cannot
be determined, causal ambiguity is present
Unprovenness
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A proven record of past usefulness helps in the process
of selecting knowledge for transfer
Which factor will mostly affect the
difficulty of knowledge transfer?
Research Results and Suggestions
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The correlation between the two sets of
constructs is very high
The three most important barriers are:
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The lack of absorptive capacity of the
recipient
Causal ambiguity
The arduous relationship between the source
and the recipient
Research Results and Suggestions
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These results contrast to conventional
wisdom
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Conventional wisdom attributes stickiness
almost exclusively to motivational factors
Knowledge-related barriers dominate
rather than motivation-related barriers
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Why organizations do not know what they
know?
It may be less because organizations do not
want to learn but rather because they do not
know how to
Research Results and Suggestions
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Using only incentive systems to mitigate
internal stickiness is inadequate or misled
It might be profitable to devote scarce
resources and managerial attention to:
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Develop the learning capacities of
organizational units
Foster closer relationships between
organizational units
Systematically understand and communicate
practices
Discussion
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Are there any other barriers to the
transfer?
Are these results suitable to the
companies from other countries?
Appendix
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Research samples are from 8 companies:
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2 sets of constructs:
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AMP, AT&T Paradyne, British Petroleum, Burmah
Castrol, Chevron Corporation, EDS, Kaiser
Permanente, Rank Xerox
Dependent variables: stickiness in stages in the
transfer process
Independent variables: Origins of Internal
Stickiness
The data set
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271 observations of 122 best-practice transfers in
8 companies