A Study of the Linkage of Critical Success Factors and Knowledge Management Systems at Olivado Kenya (Epz) Ltd

Abstract

Knowledge management is a key differentiator in the highly competitive business world of today. Organizations have knowledge distributed across people, technologies, and organizational practices. They need to manage effectively the knowledge they have and also acquire new knowledge that will enable them to stay competitive in the market place. Little wonder then, knowledge management (KM) is fast emerging as a core strategy that organizations worldwide are adopting to manage and leverage organizational knowledge for sustainable business advantage. However, the implementation of KM initiatives cannot be easily accomplished in an organization and the high risk of failure is well documented. The effective implementation of KM is controlled by certain critical success factors. Many studies have focused on identifying KM critical success factors which are too general and do not address the preliminary factors needed to implement KM. In addition, while the success factors are well grounded theoretically, very few attempts have been made to assess their level of implementation. This study was carried out to assess the readiness of Olivado Kenya (EPZ) Ltd in KM implementation by examining the extent to which each of the five selected critical success factors had been implemented and their linkage to organizational performance. Four of the selected critical success factors were found to have a positive link to the implementation of knowledge management system which subsequently improved the firm’s position.