Posted by Denham on September 24, 1999 at 08:13:33:

In Reply to: KM - evaluation of success posted by Wolfgang Ludwig on September 24, 1999 at 02:56:01:

Greetings Wolgang,

Articles: The best step by step guide I have found is this report from Harvard Computing Group "Knowledge Management - Return on Investment":

Harvard Computing Group Report

The California Management Review 40 (3) Spring 1998 has an article by Rashi Glaser : Measuring the Knower: Towards a theory of knowledge equity" pp175-194 that you may also find useful.

A number of books (search the Brint KM library) give ways to measure KM success, e.g. Edvinsson & Malone, 1997, Sveiby, 1997, Brooking, 1996. Bellingham, R and Friel T., 1998 Intellectual Capital Development, This is a real neat step by step guide with worksheets and plenty of examples. Get it from, Possibilities, Inc. 154 Alward Ave., Basking Ridge NJ 07920 or TeamTech
I would suggest you look for influences of KM in the following areas: reduced time to market, faster product development cycles, % of revenue derived from new products, improved learning, greater awareness of market and business environment, retention of top performers, quality improvements and participation (& use) in building a corporate memory. The trick is finding metrics that match and reflect your company KM strategy. Do not look for quick results, it takes from 2-4 years to see sustained differences from KM contributions to the bottomline. Start your quest in two areas: (1) gather quality baseline data by conducting a knowledge mapping exercise and an intellectual capital audit, (2) capture anedoctal evidence, i.e. collect stories that 'talk' to value gains. The place to watch closely is cultural change as you will have to see movements in the right direction here before you can be assured changes elsewhere are sustainable. I have found Schein's recent book "Corporate Culture: survival guide", 1999 to be the best source in this area.

KM success, I would venture to guess is a relative measure, it depends on your industry, your company culture, activities of your competitors, your strategic vision and the imnportance of knowledge in your company culture.

BTW best wishes and good luck, hope this helps in some small way.

• Culture change for the knowledge economy

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• Corrections Denham 08:17:55 9/24/99 (0)

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