---

Research on "Why Knowledge Management Systems Fail" Sets Another Benchmark

February 20, 2008: AACSB International, the premier accrediting agency for bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting, recently recommended that business schools demonstrate the impact of their faculty's fundamental research on real world practices. The 2008 AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force Report profiles Dr. Yogesh Malhotra's research on "why knowledge management systems fail" as an "exemplar" - among others such as Black and Scholes, Jensen and Meckling, and, Modigliani and Miller - of how basic research can have substantial impact on actual practice. Dr. Yogesh Malhotra is currently an Associate Professor of Accounting & Information Systems at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in Central New York. Recognizing the futility of extant information systems models evident in large-scale systems failures, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra's recent research has focused on developing understanding about organizational knowledge management systems that can withstand radical unpredictable change and related risk management, managerial control and user compliance issues. His biographical profile is included among the world's greatest achievers and leaders in Marquis Who's Who in America^®, Who's Who in the World^®, Who's Who in Finance and Industry^® and, Who's Who in Science & Engineering^®. He had founded BRINT Institute -- where BRINT stood for 'Business Research in Information and Technology' -- while conducting doctoral research in Information Systems, Controls, and Quantitative Methods for his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. The specific mission of BRINT Institute since its launch was to bridge the gaps between business and technology, data and knowledge, and, theory and practice as noted by a Fortune magazine article in the issue of June, 1998. Over the first decade of its existence, this social enterprise achieved its mission of developing and disseminating worldwide its vision of thinking and practicing about business and technology together in unison and not in isolation. Over this span, it held its status as the first and foremost resource top-ranked for its focus on developing research, knowledge, and practices relevant to two new business management disciplines, business technology management and knowledge management. With the global dissemination and adoption of the two disciplines and their integration in various business school curricula and organizational best practices a decade later, its mission was considered accomplished. Recently BRINT was indexed in the prestigious ISI Web of Knowledge (Thomson Scientific) by invitation.

Related Sources:

AACSB Impact of Research Resource Center
Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force (Final Report, February 2008)

AACSB Notes Information Systems Research as Exemplar of "Substantive Impact On Actual Practice"

October 31, 2007: AACSB recently released a report that evaluates the nature and purposes of business school research and recommends steps to increase its value to students, practicing managers, and society. The report, issued by the Impact of Research task force of AACSB International, was released as a draft to solicit comments and feedback from business schools, their faculties and others. On pages 14-15 of the report, the "basic" Information Systems research on Knowledge Management conducted and published by Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, professor on the Faculty of Management at the Syracuse University and founder of the BRINT Institute, was noted as an exemplar of "substantive impact on actual practice." The specific text of the report is listed below and links are provided to the full-text of the Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force as well as related coverage in Business Week and Economist.

“There are many examples illustrating that advances in basic research have had a substantial impact on practice. Exemplars of this phenomenon can be seen in finance through academic publications on the theories of portfolio selection,²⁰ irrelevance of capital structure,²¹ capital asset pricing,²² efficient markets,²³ option pricing,²⁴ and agency theory.²⁵ All are well-known for their substantial impact on both theory and practice. In accounting, while building on efficient market theory, the foundational research of William Beaver²⁶ demonstrated that the stock market reacts strongly to corporate earnings announcements. Applying agency theory, the work of Watts and Zimmerman²⁷ has been influential in creating a research stream that addresses how managers choose among accounting methods. In marketing, Keller²⁸ is well-known for his contributions to understanding the construction, measurement, and management of brands. Green and Rao²⁹ are credited with developing conjoint analysis approaches to consumer research based on seminal work by Luce and Tukey³⁰ in mathematical psychology. Today, conjoint analysis is widely used to test new product designs and assess the appeal of advertisements. In information systems, the research of Malhotra³¹ has helped companies to understand why knowledge management systems fail and Bass’s Diffusion Model has had practical applications for forecasting demand of new technologies³² In management, Hofstede³³ has conducted the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture and Vroom³⁴ made seminal contributions to understanding employee motivation. The point here is that while each of these business faculty members pursued scholarship that focused on very basic issues and published in academic journals, the product of that scholarship also has had considerable impact on actual practice.”

20 Markowitz,1952 21 Modigliani and Miller,1958 22 Sharpe,1964 23 Fama,1965 and 1970 24 For  example, Black and Scholes,1973

25 For example, Jensen and Meckling,1976 26 William Beaver,1968 27 Watts and Zimmerman,1978 28 For example,Keller,1993 29 Green and Rao,1971

30 Luce and Tukey,1971 31 Malhotra,2004 32 Bass,1969 33 Hofstede, for example,1983 34 Vroom,1964

Source:

Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force
AACSB Impact of Research Resource Center

Copy of Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force

Related articles in:

Business Week (pdf) , Economist (pdf) , Economist Background (pdf)

Strategies that India Inc Must Follow: What World's Leading Management Thinkers Say

January 2, 2007: "Is there a single change in strategy that will put Indian companies firmly on the road to success in the coming years? The Strategist asked some of the world's leading management thinkers to identify what they think is the most important change required in their areas of expertise." The New Year Strategist cover feature of Business Standard, the leading Indian daily business newspaper, asked the above question from world’s leading management thinkers including BRINT Institute's founder Dr. Yogesh Malhotra. The published excerpt from Dr. Malhotra's interview with Business Standard follows:

"Future strategic advantage and competitive performance will not derive from simply adoption and use of new information and communication technologies. Rather, they will be determined by smart minds using smart technologies, with greater emphasis being on smart minds."

"In the new knowledge management paradigm, smart minds hold the key to the success or failure of business systems based upon even the smartest technologies. Some studies have even found an inverse correlation between IT investments and business performance. Apparently, spending more on information technology in itself does not translate into productivity or performance."

"Hence, a key responsibility and challenge for corporate executives lies in cultivating and nurturing such smart minds that provide perhaps the only sustainable competitive edge."

"In a world characterised by continuous, radical and unpredictable change, there is hardly any competitive advantage or core competence that is sustainable. This applies as well to any competitive advantage based upon IT and information."

"Therefore, a viable competitive strategy seems to be one that is based upon making your own knowledge obsolete before it is obsolesced by the competition or the environment."

"As IT and information become more easily accessible and affordable global commodities, the real competitive advantage will rest with those who continuously devise and exploit knowledge-based advantages."

The complete New Year special issue story including the interviews of other leading management strategy thinkers from institutions such as Dartmouth, Kellogg, Harvard, Wharton, and Yale is accessible from the following link:

Strategies that India Inc must follow
Strategist Cover Story in Business Standard

Who's Who in Science and Engineering ^® Profiles BRINT Institute's Founder

July 13, 2006: The latest edition of the prestigious biographical reference Who's Who in Science and Engineering ^® has selected by invitation and profiled the contributions of Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, the founder of the BRINT Institute. Excerpt from the letter received from the editors of the world's most esteemed biographical references Marquis Who's Who is listed below.

"Congratulations! Because of the reference value of your outstanding achievements, the editors of Marquis Who’s Who have selected your biographical profile for inclusion in the forthcoming 2006-2007 Edition of Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. This unique compilation will chronicle the lives of the world’s most accomplished scientists and engineers. Who’s Who in Science and Engineering is found in the collection of many of the world’s leading libraries where it has become a universal reference tool for journalists, recruiters, researchers, business people, and students, to name but a few. This esteemed directory includes the most current biographical data available on internationally recognized science and engineering professionals."

Dr. Malhotra is already profiled in world's other prestigious biographical references including Who's Who in America^®, Who's Who in the World^®, and, Who's Who in Finance and Industry^®. Since 1899, when A.N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America^®, Marquis Who’s Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor – including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The 2006-2007 Edition of Who's Who in Science and Engineering ^® provides key biographical facts on men and women leading today’s scientific and technological revolution in all areas of pure and applied science and engineering including: Architecture, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Science, Life Sciences, Materials Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and, Systems Engineering. Information about world's other prestigious biographical references published by Marquis Who's Who wherein Dr. Yogesh Malhotra is profiled are available from their web site at www.marquiswhoswho.com.

Prestigious ISI Web of Knowledge℠ Features BRINT Network Web Sites

July 12, 2006: Excerpt from the letter dated Wed, 12 Jul 2006, received from Thomson Scientific, publishers of the ISI Web of Knowledge℠, considered by many as one of the most respected and prestigious repositories of scientific research are attached:

Greetings!

You are publishing important, high-quality material on the Web. For this reason, Thomson Scientific has selected your web site for inclusion in Current Web Contents(tm), a selection of scholarly web sites complementing the journal coverage in Current Contents Connect(r), the Web of Science(r), and other ISI Web of KnowledgeSM applications."

ISI Web of Knowledge is a dynamic, fully integrated research environment. It is a platform built on a foundation of quality that includes stringent and objective content selection standards, unmatched depth of backfiles, and true cited reference searching. The high-quality content available to researchers includes data from more than 22,000 journals, 23 million patents, 12,000 conference proceedings, 5,000 books, 2 million chemical structures, and 5,500 scholarly web sites.

Rigorous selection criteria and high standards for our data quality have made Thomson Scientific a leader in the information industry.

Thomson Scientific developed high selection standards (http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/selectionofmaterial/cwc-criteria /), specialized to the medium, for Current Web Contents, our ever-growing collection of high-quality, scholarly web sites. Thomson Scientific Web Content Editors have visited your site, reviewed it, developed a standardized descriptive record, written an abstract, and created a link from ISI Web of Knowledge to your site.

We welcome you to this prestigious database...

Sincerely,

Web Content Editors
Editorial Development
Thomson Scientific

Forecasting the Future of Knowledge Management... And Future of the World

May 17, 2006: More than ten years ago, BRINT Institute was founded with the singular focus on one mission: ‘Developing leading edge thinking and practice on contemporary business, technology, and knowledge management issues to facilitate organizational and individual performance, success, and fulfillment.’ A key cornerstone of that mission is in defining the next paradigm of Information Systems to replace its ‘legacy’ model developed for the industrial age. This issue deserves attention given increasing failures of large-scale systems despite growing sophistication of information and communication technologies.

During the last decade we have focused on this issue in terms of helping advance theoretical and applied understanding about managing change, uncertainty, and complexity. This focus has been pursued under our proprietary framework of Knowledge Management. It has withstood the test of time over the last decade as explained in a recent article in the Journal of Knowledge Management. It has also influenced the practices of world governments advancing their national economies; top commanders of Army, Navy, and Air Force of the United States and other developed nations; and several other corporate and non-profit organizations and institutions worldwide.

Over the past decade, many interesting events have occurred that have had significant impact on millions around the world. Some of these include: emergence of Internet and Web based companies; popularity of knowledge management ‘solutions’; the backlash against Web-based companies following the phase of ‘irrational exuberance;’ the first wave of collapse of some global corporations such as Enron treading grey areas in risk management; Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Biley, HIPAA, COPPA, and other related acts; proclamation of the 'death' of the IT-solution focus of Knowledge Management ; 'revival' of a more holistic people-process-technology focus on Knowledge Management; 9/11 and the global war against terrorism; outbreak of the most serious cyber-threats; the outbreak, spread, and containment of SARS; major disruption of the electrical grid and power supply powering major regions of North America; the most disastrous hurricane damages in recent history that almost wiped out the city of New Orleans among others; the re-emergence of the Web-based companies: Act 2; the real-estate and commodities ‘bubbles;’ the outbreak and spread of Avian flu; increased consolidation of the global financial exchanges; etc.

A common denominator highlighted by many such disparate events is the critical need for advancing our understanding about managing change, uncertainty, and complexity. Increasingly globalized information and communication networks played an important role in the aftermath of the devastation caused by many such crisis. Many of the above episodes demonstrate how extreme events may result from myriads of small, seemingly unimportant events. As the world gets more inter-connected digitally, the velocity of change and its consequential impacts, caused by such seemingly unconnected small and unimportant events is expected to escalate. Above observations suggest that the world of practice is grappling with existing theories, models, knowledge, and technologies of Information Systems, but finding them less than adequate. The above trends suggest increasing fragility of the model of Information Systems developed in the mid-1900s for the needs of the industrial era. The legacy model of Information Systems is based upon predicting the future based upon historical data. It is however important to maintain a dialectical balance in knowing what you know and in questioning what doesn’t appear to make sense in the current context. That, in simple terms, is what we think of as knowledge management - as a means for developing self-adaptive systems. Many technologies are often as good as their execution and their actual hands-on use. More importantly, effective execution and use are getting critically important with each succeeding generation of technology. That is an important insight derived from our research and practices over the last decade.

In the above context, BRINT Institute has unfolded the retrospective about its contributions over the last decade and how its explorations over the past decade portend even a more interesting future. Please see the updated version of the information about BRINT Institute, The Knowledge Creating Company^tm.

Queen's University Presentation: Advancing Beyond IT Management Failures to Knowledge Management

March 24, 2006: Queen's University School of Business hosted Dr. Yogesh Malhotra's presentation titled 'Advancing Beyond IT Management Failures to Knowledge Management' at the The Monieson Centre for Knowledge-Based Enterprises and Knowledge in Organizations. The focus of the invited presentation was on advancing beyond the failing paradigm of Information Technology Management to its next generation wherein Business Strategy and IT Management are addressed together and not in isolation. Drawing upon award-winning research, practices, and global thought leadership, he outlined how the failures of organizational and individual IT management and knowledge management systems result from confusing data with knowledge, and, confusing management with control. He clarified how the industrial, factory-based, model of IT management is obsoleted by increasingly radical and discontinuous changes in the globalized business environments. He also highlighted how the changing psyche of knowledge workers requires advancement of management theories and practices to pre-empt and prevent failures in the management of knowledge work and knowledge-based organizations.

Knowledge Management Common Body of Knowledge^™ (KM-CBK^™) Release 1.0

June 18, 2005: BRINT Institute has actively championed and nurtured advancement of research and practice on Knowledge Management (KM) for the last decade. Its collaborative effort in association with its global network of more than a hundred thousand self-registered professionals has demonstrated remarkable progress in this duration. Persistent focus on overall business performance concerns of our KM framework has motivated its voluntary adoption by worldwide governments, organizations, and corporations.

Developing upon its decade-long leadership in advancing worldwide KM practices, BRINT Institute today released the web site outlining the Knowledge Management Common Body of Knowledge^™. It will be referred to as KM-CBK^™. The intent of the web site is to provide a coherent understanding of KM for business and technology managers and executives. The KM-CBK^™ draws upon decade long collaborations and communications with thousands of professionals and hundreds of domain experts from among millions of our worldwide patrons and users.

The KM-CBK^™ is presented herein in the form of seminars prepared for teaching Executives and MBAs at various programs including those at Carnegie Mellon and Kellogg. The seminars are presented as slide shows roughly in the order in which they were taught. Most key aspects of KM from the business and technology perspectives are addressed. Key concepts are explained and illustrated with real world examples and applications. Pragmatic focus attempts to help in understanding the inter-relationships between key concepts. The focus is primarily on real world applied understanding with the aid of industry cases and examples. More in-depth understanding of underlying theory and research can be gained in published research articles available in www.KMBook.com. Many of the articles in that section are related to specific seminars and may be used in combination as readings for greater understanding.

Its goal is to further advance managerial understanding about creating adaptable, flexible, and sustainable knowledge-based enterprises, organizations, and societies. It integrates an in-depth understanding about the people, process, and technology issues with the intent of managing uncertainty and related risks. Many such recent challenges are difficult to address within prior data, IS, and IT focused models resulting in increasing failures of large scale systems. The CBK also attempts to address many questions posed by diverse audiences of executives about how to reconcile people, process, and technology aspects of KM. It is also unique in that it attempts to relate to concerns of most business functions including strategy, HR, operations, IT, marketing, and accounting. Hence, it needs to be understood in terms of a business performance focused perspective rather than as a specific functional view such as IT or HR. The KM-CBK^™ is accessible at:

All following hyperlinks lead to the new section of the KMNetwork:

Knowledge Management Common Body of Knowledge^™
KM-CBK^™
http://www.kmnetwork.com/CBK/

Knowledge Management: Rethinking Management for the New World of Uncertainty and Risk

April 2, 2005: How 'real' knowledge management can save not only the failing model of systems performance but also the failing model of management originally devised for the industrial economy. Widely recognized as a knowledge management pioneer, in this extensive interview with Emerald Publishing’s Alistair Craven read what Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, the Founder of BRINT Institute, has to say about knowledge, information, technology, and chasing success in this field.

Download: An interview with Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, ManagementFirst, Knowledge Management Feature of the Month, April 2005, Emerald Publishing. (HTML version)
Article Type: Interview
Related article: Download: Integrating Knowledge Management Technologies In Organizational Business Processes: Getting Real Time Enterprises To Deliver Real Business Performance , Journal of Knowledge Management, Volume 9 Number 1 2005, pp. 7 - 28. (PDF version)
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

BRINT Reveals the Real Secret of Successful Real Time Enterprise (RTE) Business Models

March 30, 2005: The first comprehensive analysis relating knowledge management and its integration into enterprise business processes for achieving agility and adaptability often associated with the "real time enterprise" business models. It constitutes critical knowledge for organizations that must depend on information and communication technologies for increasing strategic agility and adaptability. Tom Stewart once remarked in Fast Company magazine: "Technologists never evangelize without a disclaimer: "Technology is just an enabler." True enough -- and the disclaimer discloses part of the problem: Enabling what? One flaw in knowledge management is that it often neglects to ask what knowledge to manage and toward what end. Knowledge management activities are all over the map: Building databases, measuring intellectual capital, establishing corporate libraries, building intranets, sharing best practices, installing groupware, leading training programs, leading cultural change, fostering collaboration, creating virtual organizations -- all of these are knowledge management, and every functional and staff leader can lay claim to it. But no one claims the big question: Why?" The analysis in this article answers that big question:Why?

Download: Integrating Knowledge Management Technologies In Organizational Business Processes: Getting Real Time Enterprises To Deliver Real Business Performance , Journal of Knowledge Management, Volume 9 Number 1 2005, pp. 7 - 28. (PDF version)
Keywords: Knowledge Management; Real Time Scheduling; Business Performance; Return on Investment
Article Type: Research Paper
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

Why Management By Compliance Fails To Yield Knowledge Management Success

Download: A Multidimensional Commitment Model of Volitional Systems Adoption and Usage Behavior , Journal of MIS, Forthcoming (Summer, 2005). (PDF version)
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

January 13, 2005: Survey after survey of information systems, knowledge management, and CRM systems indicates that user commitment is one of the most critical factors behind success of such systems. However, design and execution of such systems based upon textbook definitions of management suited for the assembly line production and industrial management economy is unsuitable for knowledge professions and knowledge workers. For knowledge work and knowledge professions, management must not be interpreted as control and managerial compliance must be the last item on the list of managers’ socio-technical strategies for seeking system user commitment. This scientific research paper with high impact pragmatic implications offers managers and researchers a methodology to conceptualize and measure system user commitment and understand how to apply it to see if managerial strategies trying to seek user commitment are really succeeding.

Download: A Multidimensional Commitment Model of Volitional Systems Adoption and Usage Behavior , Journal of MIS, Forthcoming (Summer, 2005). (PDF version)

Why 'If IT Matters' Is An Irrelevant Question Without Considering System Users

Download: Building Systems That Users Want to Use, Communications of the ACM, Volume 47, Number 12 (December, 2004), Pages 88-94. (PDF version)
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

November 26, 2004: In just published article 'Building Systems That Users Want to Use' in the Communications of the ACM, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra counsels that it is time to move beyond the rhetoric on "Does IT Matter?" to a more pragmatic and precise understanding of how IT Usage affects business performance. He observes that: "Neither of these analyses can ignore the fact that usage behaviors finally determine if the systems are effectively used, misused, abused, or not used at all. Hence, it is time to move beyond the rhetoric on "Does IT Matter?" to a more pragmatic and precise understanding of how the business performance of IT systems depends upon their effective usage (for more articles on this topic, see www.ITUse.com). Given the current emphasis on doing more with less, managers should also recognize that a firm's direct investments in IT may not correlate with the business performance of IT." Reflecting upon change management practices that have occupied the BRINT Institute during the past decade, he notes that: "Insights from organizational change management practices can help bridge existing gaps in the IT performance equation." The full-text HTML and PDF versions of the article are now available to our global community from the following link and an abstract of the paper is attached below.

Building Systems That Users Want to Use, Communications of the ACM, Volume 47, Number 12 (December, 2004), Pages 88-94. (PDF version) (Communications of the ACM )
Abstract: The debate around Carr's controversial article "IT Doesn't Matter" [published in Harvard Business Review] reveals that the opposing arguments depend upon one critical shared premise. Neither of the opposing camps can ignore the fact the business performance of IT derives not from IT investments alone (that is, if IT matters) but depends on whether and how IT is used. The causal links between IT and productivity depicted in macro-economic, firm-level, and country-level research ultimately depend upon system-level use by motivated and committed users. Neither of these analyses can ignore the fact that usage behaviors finally determine if the systems are effectively used, misused, abused, or not used at all. Hence, it is time to move beyond the rhetoric on "Does IT Matter?" to a more pragmatic and precise understanding of how the business performance of IT systems depends upon their effective usage (for more articles on this topic, see www.ITUse.com). Given the current emphasis on doing more with less, managers should also recognize that a firm's direct investments in IT may not correlate with the business performance of IT.

Why Customer Relationship Management Focus On Maximizing Transaction Values Is Doomed

Download: Desperately Seeking Self-Determination: Key to the New Enterprise Logic of Customer Relationships, Customer Relationship Management Mini-track. Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2004), New York, New York, August, 2004, 1-8. (PDF version)
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

November 25, 2004: In a recent Big-3 international IS conference, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra presented BRINT Institute's research on the next generation Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems. Speaking at the Americas Conference on Information Systems in New York City, he shared why the current generation of CRM systems has failed to deliver. He also outlined the critical socio-technical and socio-psychological factors that in his view hold the key to the new enterprise logic of customer relationships. The ideas presented in this research are based upon a synthesis of two separate streams of reflection and practice, both spanning the last decade. BRINT Institute's focus is on the socio-technical and socio-psychological understanding about the new generation of knowledge workers and associated models of organizations, work, and systems. The socio-economic framework of the new capitalism and its support economy have been the focus of work by Dr. Shoshana Zuboff, a distinguished Harvard Business School Professor and her husband Dr. James Maxmin, an experienced former CEO. The full-text HTML and PDF versions of the article are now available to our global community from the following link and an abstract of the paper is attached below.

Desperately Seeking Self-Determination: Key to the New Enterprise Logic of Customer Relationships, Customer Relationship Management Mini-track. Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2004), New York, New York, August, 2004, 1-8. (PDF version)
(Proceedings of the 10th Americas Conference on Information Systems, New York, New York, August, 2004)
Abstract: A growing ‘chasm’ separates consumers and the adversarial buyer-seller practices of commerce. CRM systems focusing on maximizing transaction values are "ultimately doomed." In response, Zuboff and Maxmin (2002) have outlined the contours of the new enterprise logic based upon "relationship economics." Their paradigm recognizes the critical need for satisfying ‘new’ consumers’ needs for psychological self-determination while treating them as the origin of all value. This research develops theory-based empirical understanding of their core concept of "psychological self-determination" that is central to the new enterprise logic of customer relationships. By situating the proposed construct within technology acceptance research, we outline how future CRM implementation research can benefit from better understanding about consumers’ perceptions and behaviors. The theoretical construct and proposed measures are empirically validated in an organizational implementation of a communication, collaboration, and coordination system. Directions for extending this research to design and implementation of new CRM systems are offered.

In CIO Insight Interview Dr. Malhotra Cautions Executives About Expertise Management

Download: Expertise Management: New Myths and Old Realities, CIO Insight, July 1, 2004.
More articles at: www.KMBook.com

July 14, 2004: Observing new acronyms cropping up for information and communication technologies for data, information, and knowledge management, BRINT Institute issued a cautionary warning for all worldwide decision-makers and executives involved in the procurement of such technologies. This cautionary warning was issued as an interview in the CIO Insight special focus on the new acronym of Expertise Location Management (ELM).

Any keen follower of KM over the past decade would recognize most proclaimed business benefits of these "solutions" and underlying technologies as what they have seen in past 2-3 years. Some vendors and analysts selling the new generation of over-hyped technologies also proclaim that where KM technologies failed, their technologies would deliver. Please do not put too much faith in the 'new and fancy label' to determine what is new about these over-hyped technologies or what they can deliver in terms of business performance. All decision-makers and executives in governments, corporations, institutions, and organizations are cautioned to tread carefully in their judgment while considering exaggerated claims of such technologies about business functionality. The sell-side vendors and analysts would like to proclaim the death of the last fad created by them so that they can sell customers the same old stuff under a brand new label. Many of the over-hyped technologies rarely, if at all, offer anything substantively different in terms of business capabilities compared with previous over-hyped technologies. Having said that, this does not imply that these technologies are not of any use. Rather, the key point is, that most technologies are only as good as their implementation and execution in respective organizational and business contexts.

Here are other two additional observations based on our global interface with most countries across all digitized nations of the world. First, the news of the death of Knowledge Management (KM) is the creation of the same sell-by-hype breed of some analysts who swindled technology buyers by over-promising what prior technologies could deliver. Proclamations of the death of KM are either based upon turning a blind eye to national and world developments centered on knowledge economies or perhaps vested interests in the sell-by-hype formula. Countries, such as China and India and other late entrants in the KM play have started realizing unprecedented benefits in the new vision of the knowledge economies and knowledge societies. Second, based upon the communications we receive from across the world, it appears that interest in KM is thriving not only in Asia, Europe, Australia, South America, but also growing across many more countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa. In the U.S.A., some vendors and analysts who re-labeled every technology on sale under the label of KM caused the 'backlash' against KM. Not surprisingly, many corporate IT buyers in the USA have become wary about such hyperbolic claims of such IT vendors and analysts who tend to inform less and confuse more for obvious reasons.

BRINT Institute advises executives to be wary of all labels - old and new - stuck on all IT 'solutions.' It is important however to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Labels may not matter, however what underlying products and services "really deliver" matters. On the up side, KM is also doing well in the North American region with growing interest beyond the corporate IT sector. However, sell-by-hype breed of analysts and vendors need to awaken to the realities of the new world of business faced by business decision makers. Senior executives can save their companies, executives, managers, and IT executives from a lot of grief and squandered resources by treating their information- architectures as an integral part of their strategic vision. The central focus in this process is the understanding of KM as a framework for streamlining the links between IT, data, information, decisions, knowledge, and business performance. The KM framework is crucial for realizing 'How IT Matters.' This framework is also relevant for adapting managerial thinking to the business world of growing environmental complexity, uncertainty, and risk where survival depends upon agility and adaptability. It is therefore important to remember that the acquisition of most new technologies is only one piece in the IT business performance jigsaw puzzle. If that small but important piece helps a business enterprise survive or thrive would critically depend upon other important pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that are already in place.

Cautionary Warning Issued by the BRINT Institute:

Expertise Management: New Myths and Old Realities: The complete text of the executive advisory with details about the Knowledge Management framework for Business Performance and links to related articles.

Expertise Management: and Knowledge Management: New Myths and Old Realities: Abridged text of the edited interview of the BRINT Institute published in CIO Insight.

CIO Insight Cover Story on Expertise Management: Citing Dr. Yogesh Malhotra of the BRINT Institute and BRINT Institute Resources on Knowledge Sharing and Expertise Management.

BRINT Institute's Book on Knowledge Management: "The first book on knowledge-driven organizations and knowledge workers that can survive and thrive in the new world of uncertainty and risk...."

IBM Study Lists Dr. Yogesh Malhotra Among World's Most Cited Authors

May 12, 2004: A study published by Leonard J. Ponzi of IBM in a recent American Society for Information Science and Technology monograph observes: "Knowledge management was born in the mid-1990s and has been deemed a broad-based concept. A survey of the literature suggests that KM appears to be borrowing theories and practices from such disciplines as organizational science, management science, and management information systems. It also suggests that this amalgamation of literature is aimed at addressing today's need to leverage some mix of business processes, people, and technology to create a competitive advantage... While much has been published about the concept, only recently has a critical mass of work been published to enable the concept to be viewed from a bibliometric perspective. This perspective is needed because it provides an empirical structure that can be used to describe the emergence of and the contribution to KM. To this end, the objective of this fundamental research is to describe the KM concept using a "structural" interpretation of the 1991-2001 academic and industry literature..."

The author suggests that the study findings herald the "emergence of the discipline" of KM. Based upon an analysis of published research, the study listed BRINT's founding Chairman, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra among the "most cited authors" in Knowledge Management. He was included among other most influential authors known for their thought leadership on strategic and managerial business practices.

Dr. Malhotra suggests that the findings of the IBM study re-confirm the fact that the "news of the death of KM had been greatly exaggerated." Pondering about the 70% failure rate of "KM" system implementations, he contemplated that "those who had tried to re-hash failing data management technologies or failing business practices under the 'brand new label' of KM had met their destined fate." He shared that in the past years, BRINT had redefined its online business model to advance beyond 'directories' and 'search portals' type of services for business technology and knowledge management professionals: "Over the past 2-3 years, it has focused primarily on rendering unmatched value-added insights to its core global user base through its worldwide research, publication, thought leadership, and global community networking services. This has further differentiated it from the growing number of players in parallel content and community segments." Asked to comment about the current brouhaha regarding some popular search technologies, he remarked that generic 'one-size-fits-all' search has long been commoditized: "Reducing the search time by another few microseconds for 'commoditized data' hardly provides any additional value to the user. Real value lies in generating insights and ah..ha..'s that support creative sense making for business performance in the midst of the data smog. That is the sustained focus that has guided the evolution of BRINT over the past decade as well as its resulting outcomes as continuously re-affirmed by its users."

He further noted: "This is in stark contrast to the routine, commoditized data available aplenty through any of the hundreds of existing online or desktop technologies for searching, filtering, categorizing, and reporting results. Why spend millions to develop some such technologies from scratch... when you can get same business performance capabilities up and running within a fraction of time at very little expense with plug-and-play possibilities. The real competitive advantage lies in 'being in know' about the latest technology 'options' that can save time and money through simple solutions that adequately and expeditiously meet business performance needs... Not necessarily in investing millions in technical wizardry while remaining oblivious of the real business performance outcomes. It is painful to see enterprises reinvent the wheel of technology despite knowing that soon the new technology will be out of alignment with business needs or will be surpassed by another 'new and improved' technology." What should companies do when faced with the technology treadmill, he was asked. He responded: "They must continuously assess their business performance to ensure that strategic execution of business outcomes 'drives' technology execution. They also need to be aware of the latest technological capabilities that can achieve same or better business outcomes with greater simplicity while saving time, manpower, and money... Most importantly, it involves orchestrating the synergy of users and processes with technical capabilities for achieving targeted outcomes...That is the essence of KM!"

Reference: Ponzi, Leonard J. (IBM), Knowledge Management: Birth of a Discipline. In Michael E.D. Koenig & T. Kanti Srikantaiah (Eds.), Knowledge Management Lessons Learned: What Works and What Doesn't, (American Society for Information Science and Technology Monograph Series), 9-26, 2004.

United Nations Publishes the Invited Expert Paper by Dr. Yogesh Malhotra

May 6, 2004: At its inaugural meeting, the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration - the governing body of the Division on Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) - considered the topic of the capacity of the public sector to capture the benefits of the revolutions in knowledge, innovation and technology, as well as its ability to put in place policies and conditions that would create an enabling environment at the societal level. In its report, the Committee recognized that capturing and disseminating data and information - largely associated with e-government initiatives - was a first step toward this end but that in order to properly reap the rewards of the broader knowledge society, more had to be done.

This expanded mandate led to the creation of the Knowledge Management Branch in DPADM which, in addition to continuing United Nations' work on e-government, is tasked specifically with examining issues pertaining to the knowledge society and knowledge in the public sector. The 2003 Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on Knowledge Systems for Development represented the first activity on this subject of the newly constituted branch and what is deemed as the beginning of a broader program dedicated to these important issues. The meeting addressed the issues raised by the Committee of Experts for Public Administration, as well as those of knowledge governance and the impact of knowledge on governance, which were reinforced as important areas for future work.

The founder of the BRINT Institute, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, contributed the expert background paper for the section on Measuring Knowledge Assets of a Nation: Knowledge Systems for Development (p. 68-126). This research also formed the background of his Keynote Presentation at the United Nations. Complete citation of this paper and access to the complete report from the United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN): www.unpan.org are provided below:

Malhotra, Y., Measuring National Knowledge Assets of a Nation: Knowledge Systems for Development. (Expert Background Paper), Expanding Public Space for the Development of the Knowledge Society: Report of the Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on Knowledge Systems for Development, 4-5 September 2003, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Public Administration and Development Management, United Nations, New York, 2003, 68-126.

National Science Foundation Panel Concludes Evaluation of Multiple $500,000 SBIR Grants

May 4, 2004: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the U.S. Government whose mission is to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. Its Division of Design, Manufacture and Industrial Innovation (DMII) supports fundamental research in design, manufacturing and service, in addition to managing cross-cutting programs supporting small business and organizational innovation, and fostering academic collaboration with industry, that encompass all parts of NSF. This division supports research leading to the improvement of U.S. industrial productivity and the commercialization of new knowledge by the small business community through NSF´s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTR) programs. Nation's top scientists and technologists submit proposals that are assessed for technical feasibility in Phase I and subsequently for commercial feasibility in Phase II. While Phase I funding is provided on a very selective basis for $100,000 grants, Phase II funding for multiple $500,000 grants is more competitive and based upon multiple rigorous reviews for technical feasibility and potential impact.

This week the Division's national panel of invited experts concluded its deliberations about all Information Technology proposals for their potential for commercial impact. The panel consisting of nation's leading scientists, venture capitalists, and technology analysts was responsible for an extensive commercial review for evaluating and deciding upon multiple $500,000 Technology Commercialization Grants. Besides contributing to panel review of all proposals that qualified for Phase II review, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra played a key role as the Knowledge Management expert on the panel for proposals that focused on IT applications in Knowledge Management. This is the third time in the last 3 years that he served as invited expert panelist on NSF's national panel for assessment of SBIR / SBTR proposals related to Information Technology and Knowledge Management.

Dr. Yogesh Malhotra Among World's Seminal Contributors on Knowledge Management

January 18, 2004: There are several organizational 'popularity contests' in the field of Knowledge Management. There is, however, a scarcity of scientific studies that have analyzed who are the key individual experts who had the most impact on the field of Knowledge Management. A recent University of Minnesota research study is perhaps one of the first attempts to unravel the ‘intellectual structure’ of KM based upon hard evidence. This study analyzed all publications and research mentioning Knowledge Management published during the years 1990-2002 archived in the two most prestigious and popular research databases. Based upon that 'co-citation' analysis of most cited publications, the study lists the 58 key contributors who had the greatest impact on defining global knowledge management practice and research. The founder of BRINT Institute, Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, is listed as one of the 'seminal contributors' having the greatest impact on defining global knowledge management practices and research.

From: 'Examining the Intellectual Structure of Knowledge Management, 1990-2002: An Author Co-citation Analysis.' University of Minnesota Management Information Systems Research Center Study.

Seminal Contributors in Knowledge Management (PDF Table)

Reference: 'Examining the Intellectual Structure of Knowledge Management, 1990-2002: An Author Co-citation Analysis.' University of Minnesota Management Information Systems Research Center Study

What Business Week and Harvard Business Review Forgot to Tell You: And Your Company's Survival May Well Depend Upon It

October 26, 2003: BRINT Institute has set the track record of compiling and mapping the key business technology trends and disseminating worldwide knowledge of these trends over the past decade. While some IT analysts have been pitching the latest spin on 'IT solutions' under one label after another, BRINT Institute has been engaged in exposing those myths. In addition to exposing the myth about "RTE technologies," our forthcoming article in the special issue of Journal of Knowledge Management also uncovers the real story behind the controversial Harvard Business Review article 'IT Doesn't Matter.' You may have read the latest Business Week cover story 'What You Don't Know About Dell: The Management Secrets of the Best-Run Company in Technology'. Now read our latest research on 'What You Still Don't Know About Dell's Management Secrets' which covers the "real story" behind success of RTE business models such as Dell and Wal-Mart mentioned in that article.
>> Integrating Knowledge Management Technologies in Organizational Business Processes: Getting Real Time Enterprises to Deliver Real Business Performance (forthcoming in the Journal of Knowledge Management)

Is Knowledge the Real Competitive Advantage?

September 30, 2003: Is Knowledge the Real Competitive Advantage? This is the issue dissected in this exclusive interview of BRINT Institute with Business Management Asia. Dr. Yogesh Malhotra contends in this interview that mere possession of knowledge - just like mere possession of IT or information - cannot guarantee sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing upon insights from the worldwide knowledge management practices and award-winning research of the BRINT Institute, he answers questions that keep senior business and technology executives on pins and needles in corporations and governments around the world.
>> Is Knowledge the Real Competitive Advantage? (Business Management Asia, Sep. 2003, pp. 66-69)

Dr. Yogesh Malhotra Delivers Invited Keynote at the United Nations Headquarters

September 5, 2003: Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, the founder of the BRINT Institute, delivered a keynote presentation at the United Nations headquarters in the New York City and participated in an Expert Groups meeting with worldwide representation. Management and Measurement of National Knowledge Assets of Nations was the focus of Dr. Malhotra's invited keynote presentation delivered at the United Nations Headquarters in the New York City on September 4, 2003. In addition to delivering the keynote, Dr. Malhotra also participated as an expert advisory in the 2-day Experts Group Meeting with focus on National Knowledge Systems for Development. Based on his review of the existing state of theory and research as well as worldwide practices and policies related to knowledge economy, knowledge assets, and national growth, he recommended fundamental overhaul of the existing metrics and methods that have been designed for the industrial and agrarian economies. He noted that most existing metrics primarily emphasize investments in input resources and incorrectly assume these as valid proxies for performance outcomes such as socio-economic growth and development. He recommended developing a more in-depth understanding and development of measures of inputs-processes-outputs-outcomes to ensure that the suggested causal relationships between resource inputs and outcomes are indeed valid. Besides observing interesting parallels between the knowledge management trends evident in several studies related to the worldwide private and public sectors, he recommended that the public sector should continue to build upon the lessons learned - about social and human issues - from prior failures of KM and ICT implementations in the private sector. He further recommended development of a metrics guide for the UN to facilitate the public sector capacity for management and measurement of national knowledge assets by drawing upon the recommendations made in his research project sponsored by the United Nations. The findings from the UN sponsored project are available in this document: Measuring National Knowledge Assets of a Nation: Knowledge Systems for Development.

United Nations Project Defines Management and Measurement for the Knowledge Society

August 16, 2003: Dr. Yogesh Malhotra was invited by the Director of the Division for Public Administration and Management Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations "to become one of the main resource persons" for the Experts Group Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters. This Experts Group Meeting is an activity mandated by the General Assembly of the UN and the expectation is that the results from the inaugural meeting would enrich the department's ability to better serve the Member States of the United Nations in the area of knowledge management and would help guide the work of the newly established Knowledge Management Branch. The 'disconnects' between IT, information, and knowledge resources and country-level national performance motivated this research project directed by Dr. Malhotra and sponsored by the United Nations. With a focus on national and institutional policy development, this research project aims to advance the understanding of national governments, policymakers, and policy analysts about national knowledge assets and intellectual capital as well as related evaluation, assessment, and measurement issues. The project developed the first known broad-based comprehensive review of existing theory, research, practices, and policies on management and measurement of national knowledge assets. Based upon this review, the research project developed a knowledge management framework for holistic development with focus on socio-economic growth as well as human and cultural development. The framework was then used for defining a methodology for building public sector capacity for managing and measuring knowledge assets. Directions for future progress of theory, research, and policy on these issues were also outlined. The research paper resulting from this study is available online: Measuring National Knowledge Assets of a Nation: Knowledge Systems for Development.

Prior 'What is New @BRINT' (1998-2003)