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Books by Charles Despres

From the Forward: "...The thinking observer will conclude that the actor and his/her knowledge ha... more From the Forward: "...The thinking observer will conclude that the actor and his/her knowledge have always been at the center of work, management and organization in contemporary social science. That fundamental constructs began to change in the mid-20th Century is clear; how they have been refined and focused by KM is less clear. We are now some 40 years forward from Bell’s clarion call (The Coming of Post-Industrial Society, 1968), and 25 years out from Zuboff’s map of the intellectual landscape (In the Age of the Smart Machine, 1984). The deeper currents of Modernity and Postmodernity have underlain these and related works from the 1950’s onward. From this perspective the general observation is that KM surfaced in academic arenas circa 1990 as the offspring of endogenous developments in kindred areas (ICT, economics, sociology, organization theory, communication, management …), and its twenty years of interdisciplinary discussion is little more than a blip on the academic clock. Is it unreasonable to expect more from a young and applied field of study?

Perhaps, but there are encouraging signs on the horizon ..."

From the publisher: "Knowledge Horizons charts the feasible future for knowledge management. This... more From the publisher: "Knowledge Horizons charts the feasible future for knowledge management. This practical and provocative resource presents the work of many of the leading voices in knowledge management and related disciplines, who explore the current trends and offer pragmatic and authoritative thinking on applied knowledge management from a variety of positions."

Also available in electronic format from SciDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780750672474

Reviews: 'Leveraged Innovation, with lots of concrete examples and clear conceptual frameworks, p... more Reviews: 'Leveraged Innovation, with lots of concrete examples and clear conceptual frameworks, provides us with rich insights on how to link ESI to stable competitive advantages...(it) serves... as timely guide book for practitioners.' - Professor Fujimoto, Tokyo University, Faculty of Economics 'This book captures well the current state of ESI, including its strategic and operational issues, key success factors and likely developments in the future...I believe this book - with its grounding in current best practice and a systematic approach to operations - will provide readers with strategic insights for starting or improving ESI activity.' - Kazunobu Yamamoto, Managing Director, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd 'The authors succeed in presenting the interrelation between theory and practice, case studies and trends in a very convincing way. The Management Concept 'ESI' is explained transparently and with a clear reference to practice.' - Pierre-Alain De Smedt, Chief Executive Officer, Seat Cars, Spain 'A worthy and accessible introduction to early supplier involvement within product development processes...will appeal to readers from a broad management spectrum.' - Supply Management

Papers by Charles Despres

Leveraged Innovation, 1998

Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologi... more Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologies.
The company was initially structured as a distributor of new information technologies to the French and European
market, which secondarily provided training in the use of its products. Valtech now positions itself as a pure
knowledge-transfer firm that instructs clients in the strategic use and development of cutting-edge electronic
technologies. Valtech organized itself according to KM principles in 1993, but only became aware of KM as a
formal organizing framework in 1998. While the adoption of KM is often “pushed” onto companies by the
academic or consulting communities, Valtech pulled itself toward KM organizing logics by the New Age of
business it defined for itself. It is in this way an excellent example of strategic commitment and organizational
design from a KM perspective. It is also relatively unique in that most of the literature records KM adoption from a
“push” rather than a “pull” perspective.

A JAM is a discrete event in the life of an organization … typically a 3-day event that occurs in... more A JAM is a discrete event in the life of an organization … typically a 3-day event that occurs in parallel with ongoing activities. Its essence is to (i) invite (not require) employees to (ii) participate in an online discussion concerning (iii) a predetermined set of issues, in order to (iv) develop solutions which are (v) delivered to top management. Subsequently, top management may or may not implement the solutions thus produced. The Jam methodology combines a mix of real-time text analysis and data mining to highlight emerging trends and distil actionable results as the Jam is underway. This information is fed into the Jam process to enrich thinking and discussion. It combines a mix of socio-technical elements such that (a) the subjective evaluations of the online discussion, led by hosts, facilitators and subject matter experts, is combined with (b) real-time feedback from text mining and semantic analysis of the online discussion. This produces an interaction effect that results in an evolving representation of both the taxonomies AND the folksonomies at work in the organization - i.e., the way the organization is formally managing people (its organization chart and processes) versus the management / organizing structure that emerges as a function of the discussion.

Our purpose in this chapter is to clarify the design options for measures and metrics in the know... more Our purpose in this chapter is to clarify the design options for measures and metrics in the knowledge economy. We address ourselves to practicing managers who wish to lead their organisations into this fast-moving future. The overall discussion is situated at the level of strategic management and begins by coming to terms with the knotty question of what propels this economic tsunami forward ... the idea of knowledge.

If you step into a dark room and try to see a faint object in the corner you’ll be unable to do so by looking at it directly. The physiology of the eye is such that the Cone cells concentrated at its centre are not particularly adapted to the dark (they’re responsive to colour) and instead, you need to look approximately 18o off to the side in order to access the eye’s Rod cells, which are designed for viewing objects in faint light conditions.

Basically, you look away from the object in order to see it.

This is largely the case with knowledge: it is quite simply unobservable but its presence or absence is made evident through indirect means. This “fact” is immediately complicated by ...

History bears witness to the fact that new technologies are capable of transforming business and ... more History bears witness to the fact that new technologies are capable of transforming business and management by fundamentally reshaping information channels, power dynamics, knowledge dynamics and (ultimately) organizational designs. The most recent socio-technical transformations in this vein are redefining business in the Knowledge Economy: new paradigms for innovation and organisational design are emerging that keep pace with, but also fuel, the increased complexity and connectedness facing managers today. This chapter introduces a weak signal of this genre that is emerging as we write: the application of Open Innovation (OI) principles and practices to the design and management of the organization itself.

The models and classification systems reviewed in this chapter are, in part or in whole, aiming a... more The models and classification systems reviewed in this chapter are, in part or in whole, aiming at a broader concept of organizing and the modern firm. They do so from different orientations and objectives, even while authors build their arguments on some or all of the seven devices outlined above. Knowledge Management becomes complex once the surface is scratched, providing opportunities to address the multifarious complexity that every company is. The 72 works cited in Appendix 1 are all trying to concretize an abstraction but the majority, in our opinion, succeed only in completing only a piece of the emerging, multidimensional mosaic

This article reviews developments in the field of applied knowledge management dating from 1990 a... more This article reviews developments in the field of applied knowledge management dating from 1990 and argues that a fragmented mosaic of programs and problematics currently exists, at various levels of incompatibility. Using a software product, we map the information space around applied Knowledge Management as an illustration of this basic fact. We then describe a research program that extends this logic and develop a model on four dimensions that appears to order the various programs, practices and processes in this divergent field. Implications for managers of knowledge management initiatives are discussed, and avenues for future research suggested.

Four footings of the consulting act are derived from a typification of the social constructionist... more Four footings of the consulting act are derived from a typification of the social constructionist perspective, and it is argued that consultants and consultees enact the social performances of (1) Facilitation, (2) Tyranny, (3) Discourse or (4) Despair. Consultancies are criticised for too often being tyrannical productions where the consultant (1) arrives with solution(s) in hand, (2) manipulates the consultee to generate suitable problems, (3) applies pre-patterned solutions to the problems so derived, and (4) abandons the scene after being paid. Reflections on this situation and preferred courses of action are discussed.

I recently completed a study of cultural understandings related to the introduction of a comprehe... more I recently completed a study of cultural understandings related to the introduction of a comprehensive and computerized information system in a US company. My assumptions were constructivist in nature: that thought and language are produced in and productive of culture, that information is contextual, that meaning is context-dependent. My conceptual focus embraced people, culture and information. My method was that of the ethnographer who aims for an interpretive text. The conclusions: that information systems carry and communicate a world view packed with assumptions; that as with all other organizational actions and artifacts they are marked by the interests and ideologies that conceive them; that they are, in this regard, simply carriers of human intention. As I trod this path it became clear that the champions of information technology typically adopt a systems-rational perspective that allows little understanding of the sociocultural dynamics in play. Sociocultural dynamics, in turn, are largely ignored and there is precious little in this vein that my cohort (management academicians) can count as its own.

But I uncovered a socio-cultural / infotechnological juggernaut in my research ...

Among the tools that knowledge management (KM) now deploys to assess its state of development are... more Among the tools that knowledge management (KM) now deploys to assess its state of development are those surveys which determine current practice, establish benchmarks and offer a quantitative/qualitative description of what occurs ``in reality’’. The premise of this paper is that a competent analysis of survey research in any domain opens a window on the thinking that the field has on itself. Reports a research program which identified surveys that have been conducted in KM between 1997-2001, analyzes these surveys for the themes that form their conceptual foundations, and determines through thematic deconstruction the topics that appear to be major and minor preoccupations in KM. This developed a framework of six bipolar dimensions that account for all the organizing logics employed in the group of surveys.
Presses this framework against previous research in which Despres and Chauvel identified the structuring devices used in conceptual models of KM. Concludes by making projections for future thinking in KM given the view it appears to be taking on itself.

Migliore & Martin's recent contribution to this journal (Use of a corporate culture index for str... more Migliore & Martin's recent contribution to this journal (Use of a corporate culture index for strategic planning. 1994. JSC, 3: 95-105) caused something to rumble deep in the foundation of my beliefs when it became clear that survey methodology was once again being fused with the culture concept, "...an attempt to measure culture" (Migliore & Martin, 1994: 101). In this essay I will make the case that, like others of its genre, their corporate culture index is a throwback to 1970's survey-feedback programs and a misguided attempt to reveal indigenous webs of significance with a positive methodology—an unfounded quest if ever there was one. My thesis is simple: just as it is impossible to discover one's own voice by parroting that of another, it is impossible to discover the meaning in others by asking them to respond to preconstituted categories of thought ... 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

Knowledge Management” and “Strategic Alliances” are two complex concepts that are of increasing i... more Knowledge Management” and “Strategic Alliances” are two complex concepts that are of increasing interest for academics and managers alike. Knowledge Management is being presented as a keystone for the New Age of business and a synonym with competitiveness and success. Strategic alliances provide the opportunity to leverage strengths and redress shortcomings through the cooperation of partners, and are increasingly viewed as learning opportunities for firms that know how to collaborate effectively. By approaching the two fields of study and practice, we have focused our work on an intersection between knowledge and alliance where the keyword is “knowledge transfer” Our goal is to investigate alliances where the main (and publically stated) motivation is the acquisition of a partner’s knowledge, and to outline the conditions in which such a transfer may successfully occur. The theoretical development proposed in this paper, based on archival research, is preparatory to an empirical research project whose objective is to identify the processes and best practices of knowledge transfer in alliance arrangements.

Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologi... more Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologies. The company was initially structured as a distributor of new information technologies to the French and European market which secondarily provided training in the use of its products. Valtech now positions itself as a pure knowledge-transfer firm which instructs clients in the strategic use and development of cutting-edge electronic technologies. Valtech organized itself according to KM principles in 1993, but only became aware of KM as a formal organizing framework in 1998. While the adoption of KM is often “pushed” onto companies by the academic or consulting communities, Valtech pulled itself toward KM organizing logics by the New Age of business it defined for itself. The following introduces Valtech and traces its development over 9 years.

Knowledge Management has apparently come of age. This concept now has a role in MBA and even PhD ... more Knowledge Management has apparently come of age. This concept now has a role in MBA and even PhD curricula, is a keyword in bibliographic databases, forms the conceptual nucleus of a developing literature, is sought after by leading firms and just as readily prescribed by all the major consultants. Professionals and academics apparently agree that Knowledge Management is a sensible approach to the New Age of business and an increasing number are working to develop its potential.

Just what they are working on enjoys less agreement. In a previous work (Despres & Chauvel, 1999) we reported that the meanings associated with ―Knowledge Management‖ are multiple rather than singular, that the field has a set of intellectual roots which are neither incongruous, not consistent, but certainly different in their understanding of the matter. Today, it is still the case that a scan for definitions of Knowledge Management in books, articles and websites reveals that most rely heavily on the distinction of data, information and knowledge. One commonly encounters the metaphor of a hierarchy in this regard, with stimuli and data at the bottom, information in the middle and meaningful knowledge at the upper levels. The objective is to act on high value-adding knowledge rather than the comparatively less useful data and stimuli that surround our activities, and the prescribed ways of doing so differ from one knowledge architect to another.

This article explores the notion that knowledge is now a real and controlling resource in contemp... more This article explores the notion that knowledge is now a real and controlling resource in contemporary business organizations. Various strands of theory, research and practice are drawn together to examine a number of issues relevant to knowledge workers and knowledge-intensive firms. Archival sources of data are used to explore certain cross-national, macro-economic implications of knowledge work. The difficulties of making the transition to postindustrial, knowledge-intensive organizational forms are evident and a topic of considerable discussion. Certain of these are examined together with the implications for management.

Perhaps, but there are encouraging signs on the horizon ..."

Also available in electronic format from SciDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780750672474

Leveraged Innovation, 1998

Basically, you look away from the object in order to see it.

This is largely the case with knowledge: it is quite simply unobservable but its presence or absence is made evident through indirect means. This “fact” is immediately complicated by ...

But I uncovered a socio-cultural / infotechnological juggernaut in my research ...

Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologi... more Valtech is a Paris-based consulting firm established in 1993 and devoted to e-business technologies. The company was initially structured as a distributor of new information technologies to the French and European market which secondarily provided training in the use of its products. Valtech now positions itself as a pure knowledge-transfer firm which instructs clients in the strategic use and development of cutting-edge electronic technologies. Valtech organized itself according to KM principles in 1993, but only became aware of KM as a formal organizing framework in 1998. While the adoption of KM is often “pushed” onto companies by the academic or consulting communities, Valtech pulled itself toward KM organizing logics by the New Age of business it defined for itself. The following introduces Valtech and traces its development over 9 years.

There appears to be no ecumenical way to adopt Knowledge Management; those presented with the tas... more There appears to be no ecumenical way to adopt Knowledge Management; those presented with the task are, instead, faced with a mosaic of options. If 21st Century management is on a knowledge-intensive journey, those on the path are taking very different routes. Thus does the modern manager fall into the pandemonium that Knowledge Management has become in just three short years. And the situation is fairly alarming. Business and academic journals recorded a 100% per year rise in new Knowledge Management articlesover the last decade, according to our research in the ABI/INFORM database. There are currently more than 1,800 different software products that carry the Knowledge Management label according to John Blackwell, IBM’s new head of its KM practice for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. ECommerce
has even entered the scene: managers can now visit knowledgeshop.com to browse for their favorite idea mill, search engine, document management system, guru, speaker, consultant or conference ... “And the
buzzword mills are working overtime,” ...

Rapidement ! en 25 mots ou moins, définissez le Management de la Connaissance. Pouvez vous le fai... more Rapidement ! en 25 mots ou moins, définissez le Management de la Connaissance. Pouvez vous le faire? Non? Vous n'etes pas le seul !

C'était un défi que lançait en 1995 un éditeur d'un magazine d'affaires et elle poursuivait assurant que malgré sa nature insaisissable, le Management de la Connaissance allait connaître un futur prometteur dans les cinq années à venir. Cette prédiction n'est elle pas en train de s'accomplir? Un coup d'oeil à une base de données référentielle dans le monde académique et managérial, ABI Inform révèle que le nombre d'articles publiés sur le sujet a plus que doublé chaque année dans la dernière décade. Si cette
croissance exponentielle depuis 1995 continue, nous n'aurons bientôt que ce titre sur les étagères des bibliothèques du management.

Modern management thinkers increasingly emphasize the link between innovation, learning and partn... more Modern management thinkers increasingly emphasize the link between innovation, learning and partnership. All three are becoming progressively more complex and entwined. On one hand, companies are pressured to innovate through new products and processes in order to stay competitive. On the other, they find themselves forced to mobilize the resources and competencies of several partners “to learn” in order to innovate. Are the three legs of this triad compatible and consistent? They are not if executives approach innovation and partnership in traditional ways. They can be, however, if the underlying concepts are reformed to create learning partnerships that leverage innovation.