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Knowledge Management Strategy in Software Services Organisations

Volume 17, Number 3 Article by Sourav Mukherji September, 2005

Knowledge Management Strategy in Software Services Organisations: Straddling Codification and Personalisation :

In a dynamic field like software services, knowledge management (KM) has come to assume great significance over the past decade. In a seminal paper published in 1999, Hansen et al identified two types of KM strategies followed by organisations operating in knowledge intensive industries `codification', which follows a people-to-document approach, and `personalisation', which follows a people-to-people approach. They argued that organisations need to choose between the two codification being more appropriate for organisations that follow an assemble-to-order product or service strategy, and personalisation for those pursuing a product innovation or highly customised service offering. Straddling both strategies, they held, was a recipe for failure.

In the context of this theory, Sourav Mukherji describes the challenges faced by one of India's largest software solutions and service organisations, in establishing an enterprise-wide KM system. The case study describes the structures and processes that have been put in place to capture knowledge, and reveals how XYZ Corp seems to have embraced codification as its dominant KM strategy. However, the dynamic nature of the IT industry and the diversity in XYZ's business portfolio call for constant learning, integrating and creating new service offerings. In such an environment, it is often more economical to have person-to-person exchange. Thus XYZ would be better off following both strategies. The results of this research may substantially inform other software services organisations grappling with KM related issues, and convince them that it is time to move beyond the debate of `personalisation versus codification' and instead view these as complementary strategies that can help leverage KM for strategic advantage.

Reprint No 05302