Knowledge Asset Management Beyond the Process-centred and Product-centred Approaches

A new economy is emerging. An economy that is transforming the fundamental rules of business. An economy based on exploiting knowledge and innovation. An economy where knowledge is the main source of wealth for regions, nations, enter­ prises and people. This new economy is based on economic values far removed from those of the industrial economy. Value has shifted towards intangibles and in particular towards increasing value by incorporating knowledge into services and products. The advent of this new economy is rapidly changing the role and structure of global business. Winning enterprises are those best able to harness the benefits and opportunities of information and communication technology, capitalize on their knowledge base and move at the speed of the market. Knowledge management lies at the heart of the European Community's competi­ tiveness strategy. The European Commission facilitates and supports applied research in knowledge management through its Information Society Technologies (1ST) programme, a major theme of research and technological development within the European Union's Research and Technology Development Framework Programme. Specifically, the New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce action of the 1ST programme supports long-term applied research in areas combin­ ing technological innovation with new work practices and advanced business and work models.

1 Process and Product Approaches in Knowledge Management.- 1.1 Knowledge and Knowledge Management.- 1.2 The Process and Product Approaches in KM.- 1.3 The Process and Product Approaches in KM Software.- 1.4 The Process and Product Approaches in KM Methods and Services.- 1.5 The Process and Product Approaches in KM Projects.- 1.6 The Need to Integrate the Two Approaches.- 2 The Know-Net Approach and Framework.- 2.1 A Strategic Perspective to Knowledge Assets.- 2.2 Conceptual Foundation of Know-Net.- 2.3 Overview of the Know-Net Framework.- 2.4 Knowledge Assets.- 2.5 Knowledge Networking Levels.- 2.6 KM Infrastructure.- 2.7 Using the Framework in an Integrated Manner.- 3 The Know-Net Method.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Strategic Planning for KM (Stage I: Plan).- 3.3 Developing the Knowledge Organization (Stage II: Develop).- 3.4 Operating the Knowledge Organization (Stage III: Operate).- 3.5 Measurement of Knowledge Assets.- 4 The Know-Net Tool.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Design Goals of the Know-Net Tool.- 4.3 Fundamental Elements of the Know-Net Tool.- 4.4 The Knowledge Server.- 4.5 The KM Applications.- 4.6 The Strategic Knowledge Navigator.- 4.7 The Knowledge Worker Navigator.- 4.8 The Knowledge Systems Administrator Navigator.- 4.9 The Advanced Search Interface.- 4.10 Summary and Related Work.- 5 Case Studies of the Know-Net Solution.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Case Summaries of the Know-Net Application in IT Service Companies.- 6 The Case of Planet S.A..- 6.1 Context of the Case Study and the Company.- 6.2 KM Business Case: Applying Stage I of the Know-Net Method.- 6.3 Developing a Knowledge Organization: Application of Stage II.- 6.4 Measuring the KM Initiative.- 7 Knowledge Asset Management: Know-Net and Beyond.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Knowledge Assets as a Key Link for Holistic KM.- 7.3 Knowledge Assets as a Concept for Future Research.- 7.4 Leveraging Knowledge Assets for k-Business.- Appendix A Knowledge Orientation Matrix.- A.1 Overview.- A.2 Questionnaire for Developing the Matrix.- A.3 Evaluating the Knowledge Orientation Matrix.- Appendix B Analyze and Leverage Knowledge in Business Processes.- B.l Module 1: Analyze Business Processes.- B.2 Module 2: Leverage Knowledge in Business Processes.- Appendix C Analyze and Leverage Knowledge Networks.- C.l Module 3: Analyze Knowledge Networks.- C.2 Module 4: Leverage Knowledge Networks.- Appendix D Develop the Knowledge Asset Schema.- D.l Purpose of Module.- D.2 Knowledge Object Store and Knowledge Ontology.- D.3 Development of the Knowledge Object Store.- D.4 Development of the Knowledge Ontology.- References and Further Reading.