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Knowledge Management Strategy 313

better ways of thinking and doing. In addition, there will be a number of important
knowledge by-products that should be recognized and inventoried as knowledge assets
of the organization. These will typically include familiar, tangible items such as patents
as well as “ softer ” or more intangible assets such as core competencies.
Sveiby (2001) developed a framework for categorizing the different types of KM
initiatives. He uses three categories:
• External structure initiatives (e.g., gain knowledge from customers, offer customers
additional knowledge)
• Internal structure initiatives (e.g., build a knowledge-sharing culture, create new
revenues from existing knowledge, capture individual ’ s tacit knowledge, store it,
spread it and reuse it, and measure knowledge creating processes and intangible assets
produced)
• Competence initiatives (e.g., create careers based on KM, create microenvironments
for knowledge transfer and learn from simulations and pilot projects)
Lev (2001) uses different labels for the three main nexuses of sources of
intangibles:
• Discovery (innovation)
• Organizational practices
• Human resources
The sources of innovation and knowledge reuse consist of either internal or
external discoveries, or stem from business practices or from knowledge workers ’
competencies. More often, improvements will result from some combination of
these types of sources, as is illustrated in the discussion about the World Bank
(box 9.1).
A knowledge management strategy should target one or more of these objectives,
but the strategy must go further than high-level goals. Robertson (2004) points out
that a good KM strategy should identify the key needs and issues within the organiza-
tion, and provide a framework for addressing these. A number of different types of
business needs may trigger the need for KM. The most commonly encountered busi-
ness drivers include:
• Imminent retirement of key personnel
• Need for innovation to compete in dynamic, challenging business environment
• Need for internal effi ciencies in order to reduce cost and effort (e.g., time to market
a new product)