Meeting Organizational Performance with Shared Knowledge Management Processes

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to knowledge management theory and to provide a practical approach for managing information technology repositories. This study investigates how knowledge is stored and retrieved in a professional setting and contributes to define a comprehensive framework on the use of knowledge, technology, and managerial systems to improve organizational performance. Qualitative research methods are used to collect data from an American company through individual semi-structured interviews, on-site observations, and document analysis. The qualitative software package Atlas.ti® is used to analyze data. Findings highlight the importance of individual knowledge, managerial capabilities, and shared organizational technologies in the management of organizational processes and reveal factors influencing the processes of knowledge retention and retrieval. This study points out the role of shared organizational memory systems and suggests strategies to improve the effectiveness of information technology repositories. Implications for theory and practice, limitations connected to empirical generalization, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.