1. Globally distributed knowledge Frans van den Heuvel Niek Den Teuling Esther Verhoef

2. Overview Problem statement Multinational corporation Knowledge management strategies Outline Issues & questions Discussion 1 Discussion 2

3. Problem statement What type of knowledge management strategy is best used for a multinational company?

4. Multinational corporation Advantages – Sell far more than other types of companies – Avoid transport costs – Take advantage of different wage levels in different countries – Economies of scale – Less chance of going bankrupt – More research and development

5. Multinational corporation Disadvantages – Trade restrictions at government-level – Import taxes – Import quota – Managing a large, global organization Managing knowledge

6. Knowledge management strategies How to manage knowledge? – Codification strategy – Tacitness strategy – Focused and unfocused knowledge management strategies

7. Codification strategy Intranets Shared databases Expert systems E-mail

8. Codification strategy Advantages – Facilitation of flows – Fast and reliable access – Tend to be more efficient and appropriate than earlier forms of codification – Better able to quickly identify and exploit new business opportunities

9. Codified strategy Disadvantages – Information overload – Large directories, unread e-mail, junk mail – Costs may be too high (when underlying knowledge becomes old, system maintenance)

10. Tacitness strategy Advantages – Keeping knowledge in a ‘fluid state’ – Creativity and original forms of response and coordination – Not easy for competitors to imitate (unlike codified knowledge)

11. Tacitness strategy Disadvantages – Problem when key personnel leaves (solution: Cross-specification and team building) – Immobility of organizational knowledge

12. Focused and unfocused KM strategies Focused KM – Specializes on specific forms of codification for each type of knowledge. Unfocused KM – The way knowledge is codified is not the result of a deliberate decision, but a by-product of other decisions.

13. Focused and unfocused KM strategies

14. Outline Why multinational corporations – Advantages / disadvantages – Issues regarding knowledge management Knowledge management strategies – For each strategy: Advantages / disadvantages Real-life examples Formulating a strategy guideline Conclusion

15. Issues & questions

16. Discussion 1 Subunits with high levels of codification of knowledge experience stronger performance than subunits with low level of codification

17. Discussion 2 Subunits with high levels of tacitness of knowledge experience stronger performance than subunits with low levels of tacitness