Knowledge Management Approaches Among KIBS Companies and Their Determinants: Case Study Analysis

This paper aims to present knowledge management (KM) approaches manifested by knowledge intensive business service (KIBS) companies together with their potential determinants (company size, type of services offered, and organizational structure). In particular, two types of approaches have been selected and examined, i.e. emergent KM approach and deliberate KM approach. Indeed, although KM approaches have been abundantly investigated in the literature, there are still not many studies comparing emergent KM approach with a deliberate one, especially with regard to the determinants of the two. Hence, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the differences between these two approaches and their influencing factors. The list of their potential determinants was established on the basis of literature review. Further on, ten case studies (from companies of various sizes and offering various services) have been examined to verify the factors determining the selection of KM approach. Although it is not possible to generalize, and such an assignment cannot be taken as a golden rule, the paper advocates that emergent KM approach is determined more by being a small company, while deliberate KM approach is determined to more extent by being a medium-sized one. As the analysis shows, the emergent/deliberate approach can also be determined by the type of service offered - if the service is not somehow regulated, then emergent approach is more common (e.g. IT services); while if the service has to conform some legal regulations and laws (e.g. legal/accounting services), then deliberate approach is more probable to be detected. Finally, in many cases being a hierarchical organization determines choosing deliberate KM approach, while having a flat structure choosing emergent KM approach. The findings of both literature review and case study analysis indicate that there is a need to further analyse emergent and deliberate KM approaches with regard to their determinants. In addition, from the practical point of view, the paper shows that the two different approaches towards KM can be chosen by managers depending on the characteristics of the company (e.g. its size, offered services and organizational structure).