Knowledge management enablers: An interpretive structural Modeling approach)

Knowledge management (KM) is an integrated systematic approach for identifying, managing, and sharing all the information assets of the organizations, including databases, documents, policies and procedures as well as previously unarticulated expertise and experience held by individual, group and departments. The success of KM depends upon enablers, which provide major contribution and support to it. The main objective of this paper is to identify those enablers which support driving enablers and those which are most influenced by dependent enablers and also to understand mutual influences of these enablers. There are many enablers of KM. In this paper, based on a review of the literatures, eleven enablers, namely Electronic mail, Internet, Intranet, Extranet, Groupware, Decision support system, Data warehousing, Knowledge repositories, Customer management systems, Chief knowledge officer and Cross-functional teaming have been selected for the success of KM. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology has been used to evolve mutual relationships among these enablers. It is observed that three enablers, namely, Internet, Electronic-mail, and Intranet have strong driving power and weak dependence power among selected enablers. Therefore, these enablers deserve serious attention by the top management of organizations. The enablers, Decision support system, Customer management system, Chief knowledge officer, and Cross-functional teaming are at the highest level in the ISM-based model due to their strong dependence power and weak driving power. Selected KM enablers have been classified, based on their driving power and dependence power into four categories, namely autonomous enablers, dependent enablers, linkage enablers and independent enablers. The objective behind this classification of enablers is to analyze the driving power and dependence power of the enablers. This study concludes with a discussions, conclusion and managerial implications.