Knowledge Management as a Source of Competitive Advantage – A Conceptual Study (original) (raw)

The study of knowledge is as old as human history, it has only been recognized in the last decade as a crucial element of the industrial development of firms.The ability to store, capture, and disseminate knowledge within and across organizational boundaries has challenged managers for many years. However, as product lifecycles have reduced and environmental volatility has increased, the need to manage knowledge is intensifying, particularly across the value chain. Firms view knowledge and knowledge management as part of their strategic orientation. The concept of knowledge Management (KM) as a powerful competitive tool has been strongly emphasized in many strategic management literatures, yet the sustainability of the competitive advantage provided by KM capability is not well-explained. Knowledge represents a vast potential for gaining sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge Management (KM) is a process of capturing, development, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information and expertise within an organization to support and improve its business performance. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach in achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. Success in today's global, interconnected economy springs from the fast and efficient exchange of information. Sustainable competitive advantage is no longer rooted in physical assets and financial capital, but in effective channelling of intellectual capital Organisations believe in managing their intellectual resources and capabilities in order to become and remain competitive. To this end, knowledge management (KM) has become a fundamental concept for those interested in the ever-changing events of the business world. Organizations invest heavily in building KM systems. They must strategically assess their knowledge resources and capabilities, and need to establish their knowledge strategy to sustain competitive advantages. By creating a nurturing and " learning-by-doing " kind of environment, an organization can sustain its competitive advantages. In this backdrop the present study is an endeavour to examine the importance of knowledge Management (KM) in creating the competitive advantage and to add fresh insights into the existing arena of Knowledge Management "In post-capitalism, power comes from transmitting information to make it productive, not from hiding it."(Drucker,1995)