Knowledge has been identified as a crucial source of attaining competitive advantage and the creation of value (King and Zeithaml, 2003), and a fundamental component for growth and important criteria for organizations with global interest. Knowledge management is a method of collecting, organizing, and sharing worker intellectual capital all through the organization to guarantee the firm's effectiveness. Kelleher and Levene (2001) sharing knowledge all through the organization to promote current firm's business processes, brings about effective business process and eliminates unnecessary process.
The resource based view has advanced to become an important theory in the field of strategy from the 1980's (Wernerfelt, 1984 ; Barney 1991 ; Grant 1991). The resource based view moves concentration of researchers in the field of strategy from external resource to organization's internal resources. It sets up the different types of resources different from other organizations as a crucial sources of advantage amongst rivals (Peteraf, 1993; Barney 1991) and determines different factors that assist organizations to keep up with their superior resource position and competitive advantage (Dierickx and Cool, 1989; Barney 1991; Ghemawat,1986).
The necessity for developing competitive advantage over rivals is of top most discussion in strategic management subjects (Rahimli, 2012). Competitive advantage of an organization is said to exist when the resource of an organization is exceptional among other rivalry industries (Kotler and Keller, 2012).
This essay will examine more literature in knowledge and knowledge management, the resource based view and competitive advantage and the contribution of knowledge management to attaining competitive advantage.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Knowledge and Knowledge Management
3. The Resource-based view
4. Competitive Advantage
5. Importance and Contribution of Knowledge management to organizational resources for competitive advantages
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores the critical role of knowledge management as a foundational element within the resource-based view of the firm. It examines how the creation, sharing, and utilization of intellectual capital serve as primary drivers for establishing and maintaining sustainable competitive advantage in a volatile global business environment.
- The conceptual intersection of knowledge management and strategic theory.
- Analysis of the resource-based view and internal organizational capabilities.
- The dynamics of tacit and explicit knowledge in enhancing operational performance.
- Strategic frameworks for leveraging intellectual capital against industry rivals.
Excerpt from the Book
Knowledge and Knowledge Management
Awad and Ghaziri (2004), describes knowledge as an advance level of abstraction that exists in an individual's mind. This consist of ideas, training, abilities and intelligence. Endres et al (2007) describes knowledge from an organizational perspective. It is explained as a very important resource and a possible source of ability for creativity. Skill set, technology and information are component of knowledge (Endres et al, 2007). Knowledge is the understanding or concepts that an organization has or creates which are used to make decisions in reaching organizational goals (Yeh, 2005). Tacit and Explicit knowledge are two types of knowledge that exist and they are also ways in which knowledge is created (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka, 1994). Tacit knowledge are those knowledge that dwells in the mind of people and it is usually difficult to communicate (King, 2009). According to Nonaka (1994), explicit knowledge that are knowledges that are archived, captured on databases, captured in the libraries and can be retrieved in a sequential order. King (2009) explained explicit knowledge as knowledges that exist as records, sentences, arranged data and computer programs. In the work of Kim, Lim, and Mitchell (2008), Knowledge management is described as an well ordered method to administering a firm's knowledge and processes which consists of creating, organizing, sharing, retrieving and assessing an organization's knowledge asset. It is basically an approach to sharing and making use of knowledge (Gurteen, 1999). Singh (2008) explains knowledge management as a process that aids the sharing of knowledge and organizes continuous learning in the firm. According to AIAI (1999), knowledge asset are those knowledge’s that concerns commodity, technology, merchandise and the firms, and assists business processes to contribute value and make profit. Knowledge management involves the establishment, collection, consolidation, distribution and the use of knowledge to enhance operational capability and competitive advantage of a firm (Albers and Brewer, 2003).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter establishes the importance of knowledge as a vital source of value creation and outlines the fundamental theories linking organizational strategy to competitive advantage.
Knowledge and Knowledge Management: This section defines the concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge and details the methodologies involved in collecting and sharing intellectual capital to improve firm effectiveness.
The Resource-based view: This chapter discusses how firms leverage their internal, unique, and often intangible resources to distinguish themselves from rivals and build long-term success.
Competitive Advantage: This part explores the definition of competitive advantage as the capacity to outperform industry rivals through unique value-creating procedures and superior resource management.
Importance and Contribution of Knowledge management to organizational resources for competitive advantages: This chapter analyzes how knowledge management systems serve as the infrastructure for turning intellectual assets into sustained, difficult-to-imitate competitive edges.
Conclusion: This final chapter synthesizes the findings, reiterating that in modern fast-changing terrains, knowledge is the fundamental economic asset that determines an organization's ultimate market performance.
Keywords
Knowledge Management, Resource-based View, Competitive Advantage, Intellectual Capital, Tacit Knowledge, Explicit Knowledge, Strategic Management, Organizational Capabilities, Sustainable Advantage, Innovation, Knowledge Sharing, Value Creation, Firm Performance, Competitive Strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines the extent to which the creation, sharing, and utilization of knowledge are central to the resource-based view of competitive advantage within modern organizations.
What are the central themes discussed?
The main themes include knowledge management processes, internal organizational resources, strategic management theories, and the mechanism through which these elements lead to sustainable competitive superiority.
What is the primary objective of the work?
The objective is to demonstrate that effective knowledge management is a crucial strategic tool for firms to build unique capabilities that are difficult for competitors to imitate.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The work utilizes a literature-based analytical approach, reviewing academic theories and strategic management frameworks to synthesize existing evidence on knowledge and firm competitiveness.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body defines knowledge and knowledge management, details the resource-based view of the firm, analyzes the nature of competitive advantage, and explores the practical contribution of knowledge systems to organizational success.
How would you characterize this work through keywords?
The work is best characterized by terms such as Knowledge Management, Resource-based View, Competitive Advantage, Intellectual Capital, and Strategic Management.
What distinguishes tacit from explicit knowledge according to the author?
Tacit knowledge resides within the human mind and is difficult to communicate, whereas explicit knowledge is archived in records, databases, or libraries and can be easily retrieved.
Why does the author argue that IT systems alone are insufficient for competitive advantage?
The author notes that unless IT systems are paired with knowledgeable workers who are willing and able to utilize them, they fail to provide unique value or rarity, thus not contributing to a sustainable advantage.
- Quote paper
- Adebusoye Sanni (Author), 2017, Knowledge and knowledge management. The resource based view and competitive advantage. The contribution of knowledge management to attaining competitive advantage, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/388171
