MasterThesis

H.M.vandenBrom

EnrichingITgovernancewithknowledgegovernance
principles

February13,2010

UtrechtUniversity
KPMGITAdvisory

ThesisINFSCR0936

Wordofappreciation
ThisthesisistheresultofmanymonthsofhardworkwhichIcouldnothavedonewithoutthe
supportofmanypeople.ThereforeIwouldliketousethisfirstpagetothankseveralpeoplefortheir
efforts.
Firstofall,fromKPMG,IwouldliketothankDanilWolfs.Beingmyfirstsupervisor,hehasputa
tremendouseffortinthisresearchbygivingnew,freshideas,improvingmywork,givingfeedback
andencouragingme.TheresultwasthatmyresearchimprovedsignificantlythankstoDanil.
ChristiaanPiekalsodeservesmygratitudebecauseofaskingtherightquestionsontheright
momentsandsupportingmethroughoutthewholeprocess.
FromUtrechtUniversity,IwouldliketothankRemkoHelmsforhelpingmeimprovethebasic
elementsofmyresearch,criticalcomments,suggestionsforimprovementsandsupport.Especially
inthelastmonths,theinputwasimportantforthequalityofthiswork.Iwouldalsoliketothank
JohanVersendaalforhisfeedbackandsuggestions.
Thevalidationofthisresearchhasbeenalargeamountofworkaswell.Ithereforewouldliketo
thankallwhohaveassistedmewithinterviews,feedbackandsendingdocumentation.
Lastbutcertainlynotleast,onecantwriteathesisfromideas,feedbackandsupportfroma
professionalarea.ThereforeIwouldalsoliketosincerelythankmyparents,brothers,friendsanall
whohavesupportedmeintheprocess.Youhaveallsupportedmeinyourownwaywhichisdeeply
appreciated!
IknowthislooksratherstandardbutIreallyappreciateeverythingthateveryonehasbeendoneto
supportmywork.

Nijkerk,February13,2009
MarkvandenBrom

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ExecutiveSummary
Inthisresearch,agovernanceframeworkispresentedtoalignITandknowledgegovernancewithin
anorganization.Bypresentingarelationbetweenaorganizationalstructure,ITgovernance
structureandknowledgeusage,ithasbecomepossibletointegratetheseelementsintoone
framwork.Theresultisasetoftwosituationalextremes:(1)asituationinwhichtheorganization
hasacentralizeddecisionstructureandfocusesonexplicitknowledge(2)asituationinwhichthe
organizationhasadecentralizeddecisionstructureandfocusesontacitknowledge.
TherelationbetweentheseelementsmakesitpossibletomergethestrategiesfrombothITaswell
astheknowledgeareatogether.Inacentralizedorganization,theITlandscapewillbestandardized
whereitwillbemorelocalizedanddispersedinadecentralizedorganization(Weill&Ross,2005).
Theknowledgeusagewillfocusonthequicktransferringandcodificationwhenthefocusison
explicitknowledge(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001;Hansen,Nohria&Tierney,1999)andonHRM
processeswithapersonalizationstrategyfortacitknowledge(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001;Hansen
etal.,1999).
Todeterminetheimpactofthismergethroughouttheorganization,existingITandknowledge
governanceliteraturehasbeenresearchedandpresentedaccordingtofourgovernanceelements:
theorganizationalstructure,decisionareas,resourcesandcontrolmechanisms.Theresultisthat
theorganizationalstructurecanbedescribedbythecentralized/explicitanddecentralized/tacit
situations.Topresentthedifferentmechanisms,sixdecisionareashavebeenderivedfromexisting
research.Bydeterminingtheimpactofamechanism,itcouldbeallocatedtoadecisionareaand
thecorrespondingsituation.Thisway,acompletegovernanceframeworkwasderivedfrom
literature.
Area
Planningand
organization

Knowledgesupporting
technology
Peopleandculture

Decentralized/Tacit

Centralized/Explicit

FocusonHRMprocesses

Knowledgeretentionand
personalizationstrategy

Focusofgrowthorinnovation

ITispositionedtocreateknowledge
networksbetweentheemployees

Supportaknowledgesharingculture

Focusonintrinsicmotivation

Expertisedevelopment

Focusontechnology

Knowledgecodificationandtransportation
strategy

Focusonefficiency,productivityandprofit

Monitoringandcontrol Supervisionandmonitoringwillbe
Businessneeds
Prioritizationand
investments

ITispositionedtocodifyandtransfer
knowledge
Standardizethejobdesign

Focusonextrinsicmotivation

Generalistsdevelopment

Supervisionandmonitoringwillbecentrally
coordinated

Standardized(enterprisewide)ITwillsupport
organizationwidedemands.

Investinknowledgemanagementsystems

allocatedtothebusinessunits

CustomizedITwillbeusedtosupport
individualdemands

InvestinHRM

Preventofemployeedeparture
Figure1:SimplifiedknowledgeenrichedITgovernanceframework

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InFigure1,asimplifiedversionoftheknowledgeenrichedITgovernanceframeworkispresented.A
simplifiedversionispresentedtofocusonthemainelementsandmechanismsofthisframework
whicharerepresentedaccordingtothetwosituationsandthesixdifferentdecisionareas.Inthe
differentareas,mechanismsarepresentedtoalignandoptimizetheITandknowledgeusagefor
thatsituation.Theactualframeworkconsistsofmoremechanismsbutthestructureandfocus
remainthesame.Wherethedecentralizedorganizationfocusesontacitknowledge,thecreationof
knowledgenetworksandHRMpractices,thecentralizedorganizationusesexplicitknowledge,
knowledgetransferringandneedsITtobestandardizedfortheusageofknowledgemanagement
systems.
Thevalidationofthemaincomponents,throughthreeexpertinterviews,validatedthesesituations
aswellasthefocusontechnologyorHRM.FortheITgovernanceelement,therewasmoreexisting
literatureresearchandthusonlythelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandthestructureof
theITgovernanceorganizationhadtobevalidated.
Thenextstepweresixcasestudiesatdifferentorganizations.Theseorganizationswerestudied
accordingtosixpropositionswhichrepresentthevariousdecisionareasintheframework.The
resultisthattherelationbetweentheorganizationalstructure,knowledgeusage,knowledge
strategyfocusandknowledgetransferhasbeenvalidated.TheITgovernancestructure,IT
architectureandknowledgeretentionpropositionsarenotvalidatedcompletelyyet.Thetendency
clearlyisinfavorofthisresearchbuttheresultsalsoshowotherfactorswhichmighthavean
influenceonthepropositions.
Theconclusionofthisresearchisthatthereisastrongrelationbetweenanorganizationsusageof
knowledge,thestructureoftheorganizationandtheITgovernancestructure.Whenaligningthese
areas,itmayresultinanincreasingorganizationalperformancefrombothITandknowledge.Thisin
turncanresultinacompetitiveadvantageinrelationtothemarketthatanorganizationisoperating
in.Furthermore,knowledgemayberetainedbetterwithintheorganizationduetonewinsightsand
betterusageoftechnologicalresourcesaswellasbetterpositionedemployeesandthusalarger

gainfromknowledgeandIT.

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Tableofcontents
Wordofappreciation....................................................................................................................................2
ExecutiveSummary.......................................................................................................................................3
1.

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................7
1.1.

Researchdescription...................................................................................................................7 |5

1.2.

Researchquestion.......................................................................................................................8

1.2.1.
1.3.

Researchdesign...........................................................................................................................8

1.3.1.
1.4.
2.

Scientificandsocialrelevance....................................................................................................9

Governanceingeneral................................................................................................................10

2.1.1.
2.2.

Governanceelements.........................................................................................................10

ITgovernance..............................................................................................................................12

2.2.1.

ITgovernanceinanutshell.................................................................................................12

2.2.2.

ThegovernanceinITgovernance.......................................................................................14

2.2.3.

ITGovernancemodels........................................................................................................15

2.3.

Knowledgegovernance...............................................................................................................27

2.3.1.

Introducingknowledgegovernance...................................................................................27

2.3.2.

Thegovernanceinknowledgegovernance........................................................................28

2.3.3.

Knowledgegovernancemechanisms..................................................................................31

2.4.

4.

Researchtype......................................................................................................................8

Governance.........................................................................................................................................10
2.1.

3.

Researchquestions.............................................................................................................8

Answeringresearchquestions....................................................................................................33

2.4.1.

Existingmodels...................................................................................................................34

2.4.2.

Themainprinciples.............................................................................................................34

2.4.3.

Thedifferencesandsimilarities..........................................................................................35

Mergingtheresearchareas................................................................................................................37
3.1.

Overview.....................................................................................................................................37

3.2.

Situationalfactors.......................................................................................................................37

3.2.1.

Organizationalstructure.....................................................................................................37

3.2.2.

Knowledgeusage................................................................................................................39

3.3.

Linkingthesituationalfactors.....................................................................................................39

3.4.

Mergingthestrategies................................................................................................................42

3.5.

Aligningtheknowledgeusage....................................................................................................44

Creatingaframework.........................................................................................................................46

5.

4.1.

Frameworkpresentation............................................................................................................46

4.2.

Elaborationoftheframework.....................................................................................................49

4.3.

Answeringresearchquestions....................................................................................................50

Validation............................................................................................................................................51
5.1.

Expertinterviews........................................................................................................................51

5.1.1.

Expertselectionandinterviewtechnique..........................................................................51

5.1.2.

KMexpertJanKingma........................................................................................................51

5.1.3.

KMexpertLennardvanderPoel........................................................................................53

5.1.4.

ITgovernanceexpertChristiaanPiek..................................................................................54

5.1.5.

Expertinterviewresults......................................................................................................55

5.2.

Casestudies................................................................................................................................55

5.2.1.

Determiningtheorganizationalstructure..........................................................................56

5.2.2.

Measuringknowledgeusage..............................................................................................56

5.2.3.

Casestudydesign................................................................................................................57

5.2.4.

Casestudy:KPMGAdvisory................................................................................................60

5.2.5.

Casestudy:KPMGAudit.....................................................................................................63

5.2.6.

Casestudy:CiscoSystems...................................................................................................66

5.2.7.

Casestudy:MANRegionWest............................................................................................69

5.2.8.

Casestudy:GetronicsInformationandCommunicationSolutions....................................72

5.2.9.

Casestudy:GetronicsConsulting........................................................................................74

5.3.

Validationconclusions................................................................................................................76

6.

Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................79

7.

Discussion............................................................................................................................................81
7.1.

Limitations...................................................................................................................................81

7.2.

Furtherresearch.........................................................................................................................82

References..................................................................................................................................................83
AppendixA:Measurementoforganizationalstructure.............................................................................87
AppendixB:Measurementofknowledgeusage........................................................................................88

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1. Introduction
Thisinitialchapterwillpresentthefoundationofthisresearchbydescribingtheinitialviewofthe
differentresearchelements,thefocusintheresearchandhowtheresearchwillbeconducted.By
elaboratingontheresearchquestionsanddesign,agoodoverviewwillbegivenofwhatwill
presentedinthisthesis.

1.1.

Researchdescription

ITgovernanceresearchhasmaturedstronglyintherecentyears.Manypracticalandscientific
publications,followedbydifferentviews,modelsandframeworkshaveemerged.ITgovernanceis
aimedatachievingdesirablebehaviorinthemanagementandusageofIT(Weil&Ross,2004).Butis
themanagementofinformationenoughtocreateacompetitiveadvantage?Anotherresourcewhich
iscloselyrelatedtoITisknowledge.Knowledgemanagementisadifferentresearchdisciplinebut
hasasimilargoalasthemanagementofIT,beingthecreationofanoptimalgainfromaresourcein
relationtotheprimarybusinessprocess.
ThepositionofITwithintheorganizationhasbeenatopicofinterestforoveradecadewith
prominentworksavailablelikeHendersonandVenkatramansBITAframework(Henderson&
Venkantraman,1993)ortheITgovernanceframeworkbyWeill&Ross(2004a).Theknowledge
relatedresearchhasgainedacademicacceptanceaswell.Thisincludesthenotionoftheknowledge
basedviewofthefirmbyGrant(1997)whopositionsknowledgeastheoverwhelminglyimportant
productiveresourceintermsofaddingvaluetoanorganization.
Knowledgeisknowntobeacomplexanddifficultresourcetocontrolinanorganization.Tocontrol
thecreation,transferandusageofknowledge,effectiveknowledgemanagementprocessescanbe
broughtinplace.ResearchbyFoss(2007)andGrandori(2001)hasshownthatthecontrolofthe
knowledgemanagementitself,theknowledgegovernanceapproach,hasinterestingelementsas
well.Thisresearchpromotesagovernanceelementtocontroltheknowledgemanagement
processesandthusenablesittorespondonachangingenvironmentandassuresaclearlongterm
strategy,focusandvisionforknowledgemanagement.LikeITgovernance,knowledgegovernance
triestocontrolandassignaccountabilityto(groupsof)people,butintheareaofknowledge
management.Thismakesthefocusofbothgovernanceareassimilar,beingtheallocationof
accountabilityinrespecttoanorganizationalresource.
ITandknowledgemanagementaretwoconceptsthathavebeenintertwinedheavilyinboth
literatureandpractice.Somescholarsareevenstatingthatknowledgemanagementcannotexist
withoutIT(Alavi&Leidner,2001;Holsapple,2005).SobesidesintegratingITandknowledge
management,anextstepwouldbetointegratetheprinciplesofbothknowledgegovernanceandIT
governancewitheachother.TheusageandimplementationofITgovernancethereforeshouldtake
theusageofknowledgeintoaccountandviceversa.Thisintegrationshouldresultinangovernance
frameworkwhichiscreatedwithbothITandknowledgegovernanceprinciples.Byanalyzingthe
underlyingelementsofboth,theITandknowledgegovernance,links,similaritiesandadditionsto
eachothercanbedefined.Inshort,thepossibilitiesofbothgovernancetypestoenrichor
supplementeachother.Thisexplorativeresearchshouldleadtoacombinedframeworkinwhich
boththeITandknowledgegovernancefoundationsareincorporated.

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Butinanorganizationalcontext,ITandknowledgegovernancecanbeimplementedinvariousways
invariouscircumstances.Thisorganizationalcontextisobservedasasituationalfactor,influencing
theimplementationofbothITandknowledgegovernance.Thesecondaimofthisresearch
thereforeistodeterminethemainsituationalfactorswhichcaninfluencetheimplementation.This
shouldresultinamoreapplicableframeworkinrespecttoactualorganizationalsituations.

1.2.

Researchquestion

Inthisresearchthefollowingresearchquestionwillbetheprimaryinterest:
HowcanITgovernancebeenhancedbyknowledgegovernanceprinciplesandhowisthisinfluenced
byorganizationspecificsituationalfactors?
TheaimofthisresearchistocreateatheoreticalframeworkwhichcombinestheprinciplesofIT
governance,knowledgegovernanceandtodeterminehowthisframeworkcanbeusedinan
organizationbytakingsituationalfactorsintoaccount.Theresearchinterestwillbetodefinethe
basicconceptsofbothITgovernanceaswellasknowledgegovernance.Withtheseconcepts,
alignmentimprovementsfortheknowledgeandITusageinrespecttotheorganizationalcontext
canbedetermined.
1.2.1. Researchquestions
Fromthemainresearchquestion,anumberofresearchtopicscanbederived.Toanswerthe
researchquestion,sixdifferentsubquestionshavebeencreated.Byansweringthesesubquestions,
properresearchcanbedonewhichwillmakeitpossibletoanswerthemainresearchquestion.
DifferentexistingITandknowledgegovernanceliteraturewillbeusedtodeterminewhichmodels,
structuresandprocessesarerelevantandusefulinthecontextofthisresearch.Theseresulting
elementsneedtobecomparedandmergedintooneframework.Todeterminethematchofthe
elementsfromtheITandknowledgegovernanceresearch,thefollowingquestionsneedtobe
answeredtobeabletocreateaninsight.
1. WhichITandknowledgegovernancemodelsexist?
2. WhatarethemainprinciplesofITgovernanceandknowledgegovernance?
3. WhatarethedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenthemainprinciplesofITgovernanceand
knowledgegovernance?
4. HowcanprinciplesofITandknowledgegovernancebecombinedinoneframework?
5. WhataretheprerequisitesofanorganizationtogainfromITandknowledgegovernance?
6. Howistheresultingframeworkinfluencedbyorganizationspecificsituationalfactors?

1.3.

Researchdesign

Tocreateaninsightinthedesignofthisresearch,theresearchmethods,questionsandsub
questionswillbeelaboratedinthischapter.
1.3.1. Researchtype
Theresearchwillprimarilybeexecutedasqualitativeandexplorativeresearch.Thegoaltherefore
willbetoexploretheresearchareaandunderstandtheconnectionsbetweentheresearch
elements.Theinformationwillbegainedbycollectingscientificliteratureandexpertinterviews.This
willbedoneforallthetopicswithinthescopeofthedefinedresearchquestion.

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ThedevelopmentoftheframeworkwillbedoneaccordingtotheDesignScienceResearch(DSR)
approach,awidelyacceptedmethodinthefieldofInformationSystemsresearch.Thephilosophy
behindthisapproachisthatnewscientificknowledgecanbegeneratedbymeansofconstructingan
artifact(Laurel,2003;Hevner,March,Park&Ram,2004).Thesourcesforthisdesignwillbe
scientificliteratureandexpertinterviews.
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Thevalidationoftheframeworkfundamentswillbedoneusingexpertinterviews.Inthesucceeding
casestudies,thedifferentelementsthattheframeworkconsistsof,willbeobservedinan
organizationalsetting.ThesecasestudieswillbedonebyapplyingthetheorybyYin(2008)tosix
differentorganizations,whichwilldifferinrespecttotheknowledgethatisusedfortheprimary
businessprocess(tacitexplicit)andtheorganizationalstructure(centralizeddecentralized).
Theliteratureresearch,expertinterviewsandcasestudiesshouldresultinacompleteandvalidated
ITknowledgegovernanceframework.Theresultsfromthecasestudiescanalsobeusedtomake
adjustmentsandrecommendationsfortheframeworkwhenfinalizingthemodel.Aroundupofthe
differentstagesoftheresearchisgivenbelow.
Typeofresearch
Literaturestudy
Expertinterviews
Casestudies

Explorativeorvalidating
Explorative
Explorativeandvalidating
Validating

Finalizingmodel

Explorativeandvalidating

1.4.

Sources
Literature
LennardvanderPoel,JanKingma,ChristiaanPiek
KPMGAudit,KPMGAdvisory,MANRegionWest,
CiscoSystems,GetronicsICS,GetronicsConsulting
Literatureandfeedback

Scientificandsocialrelevance

Therelevanceofthisresearchistwofold.Itisbothrelevantonascientificaswellasonasocial
perspective.
Scientificrelevance:
CurrentlytherearenomodelsorframeworksthatcombinetheknowledgegovernanceandIT
governanceelements.Thisresearchthereforecancreateavaluableadditiontotheresearchinthis
area.Furthermore,alogicalnextstep,beingtheimplicationsoforganizationspecificsituational
factorswillincludedonaswell.Thecreationofthisframeworkmaybeinputforfurtherresearch.
Thisresearchthereforewilladdacontributiontotheareaofinformationsciences.
Socialrelevance:
Fororganizations,itiseminenttooptimallyusetheirresources.Thisresearchproposesanewset
frameworktoimprovethealignmentofITandknowledgerelatedresources.Whenaligningthese
areas,itmayresultinanincreasingorganizationalperformancefrombothITandknowledge.Thisin
turncanresultinacompetitiveadvantageinrelationtothemarketthatanorganizationisoperating
in.Furthermore,knowledgemayberetainedbetterwithintheorganizationduetonewinsightsand
betterusageoftechnologicalresourcesaswellasbetterpositionedemployeesandthusalarger
gainfromknowledgeandIT.
Thisallmayresultinasignificantadvantageovercompetitorswhichisgoodforboththe
organization,itsemployeesandintheendthecustomersduetolowerproductprices.

2. Governance
Governancehasmanydifferentdefinitionsandinterpretations(Kooiman,1999).Asimpledefinition
isthatgovernanceisthewaythatorganizationsarecontrolledanddirected(Hilmer,1993).But
governancecanbeobservedwithdifferentfoci.Thischapterwillpresentgovernanceingeneral
afterwhichthefocuswillswitchtothespecificsofbothITgovernanceandknowledgegovernance.

2.1.Governanceingeneral
Beforetakingonthespecificgovernancefoci,theconceptofgovernancewillpresentedfirst.
Williamson(2005)takesongovernanceasaconceptbydefiningitasThescience,theoryorstudy
ofgoodorderandworkablearrangementswhichfocusesoninstitutionsasthegovernedelement.
Inhisperspective,aninstitutionisthehumanlydevisedconstraintsthatstructurepolitical,
economicandsocialinteractions.Governanceisaimedatcontrollingthesetransactions,inthis
research,withintheorganization.Controllingtransactionsresolvesarounddecisionmakingandthe
allocationoftheauthority.Byhavingaclearoverviewoftheconstraintsregardingthecontrols,an
organizationcanfunctionmoreeffectively.
Therearedifferenttypesofgovernance.Thebestknownisthecorporategovernancewhichdeals
withthefinancialaccountabilityofanorganization.Corporategovernancedealswiththewaysin
whichcorporationsassurethemselvesofgettingareturnoninvestment(Shleifer&Vishney,1997)
bymakingsurethatnoresourcesdisappearandresourcesarenotinvestedinthewrongprojects.To
achievethis,accountabilitystructuresaredefinedanddecisionmakingauthoritiesaredetermined.
Thisallismanagedwiththecorporategovernancemechanisms.
2.1.1. Governanceelements
Theinitialassumptionofthisresearchisthatgovernancecanbeperceivedasthecombinationofthe
organizationalstructure,decisionareas,resourcesandcontrolmechanisms.Thisdivisionmakesit
possibletofocusonthedifferentelementswhenresearchingthegovernanceapproachesinthe
followingchaptersandmakeacomparisonpossible.Thisdivisionisusedbecausethedifferent
governanceapproachesalloperateondifferentorganizationallevels.Toincludethedifferent
approaches,acomparisonisneededandthereforeaseparationoftheapproachesincomparable
areas.Byassumingthattheorganizationsstructureimpactstheallocationofaccountabilityandthe
mechanismsimpactthedaytodayworkprocess,notallelementsarecovered.Therearestill
differentdecisionareaswithinanorganizationthatareimpactedbyanITgovernanceapproachand
oftheusageofresourceswhichshouldnotbeneglectedeither.First,thedifferentelementswillbe
elaboratedfurtherincludingdefinitionstocreateaproperscopefortheseelements.
Thefirstelementwhichdescribesanorganizationisthestructureoftheorganization.The
organizationalstructurecanbeperceivedinvariousways.Aperspectivewhichisoftenusedis
Mintzbergsperceptionoftheorganization.Mintzbergpromotesfiveorganizationaltypologies.The
maindifferencebetweenthesetypologiesliesinthecoordinatingmechanism(Mintzberg,1980),
whichcanbeobservedastheallocationofaccountabilityandauthority,thehierarchy.Thestructure
ofanorganizationisnotasgiven,butshouldbederivedfromtheorganizationalelements,likethe
market(Williamson,2005).Bydescribingtheorganizationaccordingtotheorganizationalstructure,
itispossibletocreateaquickandclearrepresentationoftheorganizationathand.

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Becauseoftheintensiveusageoftheorganizationalstructurethroughoutthisresearch,its
descriptors(theallocationofaccountabilityandauthority)willneedtobedefinedproperly.The
accountabilitywillbeperceivedas:Theacknowledgmentandassumptionofresponsibilityfor
actions,products,decisions,andpoliciesincludingtheadministration,governance,and
implementationwithinthescopeoftheroleoremploymentpositionandencompassingthe
obligationtoreport,explainandbeanswerableforresultingconsequences.Thisdefinition
promotestheimportanceofresponsibilitybyapersonorgroupfortheactionsthataretaken.The
authorityisacloselyrelatedsubjectandwillbeperceivedasTheownershipofanasset,whichgives
theownertherighttomakedecisionsconcerningtheuseofthisasset(Aghion&Tirole,1997).
Allocationoftheaccountabilityandauthorityshouldbesimilartopeopleareaccountablefortheir
authority.Properallocationoftheseelementsisanincentiveforrightdecisionmakingbecausetheir
companiesinterestsbecometheirowninterests(Merchant&VanderStede,2007).Theallocationof
thesetwoelementsareperceivedasandescriptorforthestructureoftheorganization(Hage&
Aiken,1967).Tobeabletocontrolanorganization,ithastobeclearhowtheorganizationis
structured.
Thenextstepistodefinewhatisgoverned.Anorganizationhasresourceswhichitwantstouse
optimallytocreateacompetitiveadvantage.ThisresearchhasaclearfocusonbothITaswellason
knowledge,whichcanbothbeobservedasaorganizationalresource.Thedifferentgovernance
researchareasfocusontheirownspecificresourcetogovern.Thiscanbetheorganizationsfinancial
assets,IT,knowledge,orotherorganizationalresources.Theresourceisanimportantelement
becausethatdeterminestheglobalviewofthegovernance.Nexttotheseresources,therearemore
generalresourceswhichmaybeneededforthegovernanceprocessorimplementationofnew
mechanisms.Thisresearchwilltrytofocusontheusageoftheseresourcesandwilltrytodetermine
theresourceneedsfromtheorganizationinrelationtothegovernanceprocesses.
Tofocusthegovernanceefforts,itisimportanttohaveaclearscopeofthedifferentareasthatcan
beimpactedbythegovernancestructure.Themechanismsthatareexistingorbeingimplemented
inanorganizationallhaveaspecificaim,inacertainareaoftheorganization.Whenallocating
accountabilityandauthority,ithastobeclearwhoisresponsibleforwhatareaforthegovernance
structuretobeeffective.Thisresultsinasetofdifferentdecisionareasinwhichthepeopleand
effortscanbeallocated.Theseareasinturnwillhavespecificmechanismsthatcanimpactthatarea
ormultipleareas.
Thelastelementthatwillbepresentedbythisresearcharethemechanismsthatcanbe
implementedtoachievethedesiredlevelofcontrolorachangeintheorganization.These
mechanismsareinterventionsaimedatalteringtheorganization.Fromrewardingschemesto
standardizingapartoftheprimaryprocess.Thesemechanismswillbepositionedprominentlyinthis
researchbecausetheseresultintheactualchanges.Thesemechanismsarepresentedinthe
literatureonthegovernanceareasextensivelysothesewillgiveagoodoverviewofthepossibilities
ofgovernanceaswell.

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Figure2:Governanceoverview

Bypresentinggovernanceasthecombinationoftheorganizationalstructure,thedecisionareas,the
resourcesandthemechanisms,acompleteoverviewiscreated.Wheretheorganizationalstructure
presentstheoverallallocationofdecisionrights,thedecisionareasconsistofthevarious
mechanisms,usingpredefinedresources.

2.2.ITgovernance
ThefirstfocusareaforgovernancewillconcernITgovernance.ITgovernancebecameanintensively
researchedareainthelastdecadeandinthischapteranoverviewoftheITgovernanceresearchwill
bepresentedaccordingtothepreviouslydefinedgovernanceelements.
2.2.1. ITgovernanceinanutshell
ITcanbeobservedfromvariousperspectives.SomescholarsobserveITasastrategicassetinthe
organizationwhereothersstatethatITdoesntmatter(Carr,2004).ButitisclearthatIThasbecome
aprominentelementinthemodernorganizationandincertainareasIThasevenbecomean
essentialelement.ThegeneralissueofITnowadaysisthatthemanagementlooksattheITasbeing
ablackboxandlackstheoversightoftheITrelatedactivities(Nolan&McFarlan,2005).To
overcomethisissue,ITgovernancecanbebroughtintoplacetoassurethatdecisionsaremadeby
therightpeoplebasedontherightinformation.TogovernITproperly,ithastobeclearwhocan
decideonwhichITrelatedarea,whoisresponsible,whatresourcesareavailableandwhichactions
(mechanisms)canbetaken.
TheconceptofITgovernanceitselfemergedintheendofthe90sandbecameanimportantissue
fororganizations(DeHaes&VanGrembergen,2004).ThetermITgovernancewasfirstusedby
Loh&Venkatraman(1992)andbyHenderson&Venkatraman(1993).Afterwards,theworksof
Brown&Grant(2005),SambamurthyandZmud(1999),Weill&Ross(2004)positionedIT
governanceasaconceptofdefiningITauthorityandaccountability.


Definition
Thedecisionsrightsandaccountabilityframeworktoencourage
desirablebehaviorintheuseofIT
ITgovernanceistheresponsibilityoftheboardofdirectorsand
executivemanagement.ITgovernanceisanintegralpartofenterprise
governanceandconsistsoftheleadershipandorganizational
structuresandprocessesthatensurethattheorganizationsIT
sustainsandextendstheorganizationsstrategyandobjectives
ITgovernanceistheorganizationalcapacityexercisedbytheboard,
executivemanagementandITmanagementtocontrolthe
formulationandimplementationofITstrategyandinthiswayensure
thefusionofbusinessandIT
ITgovernanceisthestrategicalignmentofITwiththebusinesssuch
thatmaximumbusinessvalueisachievedthroughthedevelopment
andmaintenanceofeffectiveITcontrolandaccountability,
performancemanagementandriskmanagement

Authors
Weil&Ross(2004)
DeHaes&VanGrembergen
(2004)
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DeHaes&VanGrembergen
(2004)

Webb,Pollard&Ridley
(2006)

Figure3:DefinitionsforITgovernance

Differentscholars,presentdifferentdefinitionsforITgovernanceascanbeseeninFigure3.These
definitionsfocusonanumberofsimilaraspects,beingthelinkbetweenthebusinessandtheIT
responsibilitiesoftheboard.Theaimofthedefinitionsissimilarbutthescope,detailsand
emphasizedelementsdiffer.TheresearchbyWebb,Pollard&Ridley(2006)givesagoodoverviewof
thesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthedifferentITgovernanceapproachesthatotherscholars
present.
Forthisresearch,itisassumedthatgovernancecomprisesoftheorganizationalstructure,the
resources,decisionareasandthemechanismssoitwouldbealogicalfirststeptocreateadefinition
ofITgovernancewhichhasasimilarviewofITgovernance.Wheninterpretingthepresented
definitions,Weill&Ross(2004)onlyfocusonthestructurewherethisresearchalsoconsidersthe
otherelementsrelevantelementsofgovernance.ThedefinitionbyDeHaes&VanGrembergen
(2004)focusesonthelocationofauthoritybutalsoontheimplementationandthemaintenance
(themechanismsandprocesses)tokeeptheITgovernancestructureintact.FromtheworkofDe
Haes&VanGrembergen,thedecisionareasmaybederivedaswellsothisviewlargelyfitsthescope
ofthisresearch.Thereforetheirdefinitionwillbeusedforthisresearchbutadaptedtofullycover
thescopeofthisresearch.TheresultingdefinitionthereforewillbeITgovernanceisthe
responsibilityoftheboardofdirectorsandexecutivemanagement.ITgovernanceisanintegralpart
ofenterprisegovernanceandconsistsoftheallocationofauthorityandaccountabilityaccordingto
theorganizationalstructures,resourcemanagementandtheimplementationofmechanismsin
variousdecisionareastoensurethattheorganizationsITsustainsandextendstheorganizations
strategyandobjectives.

Structures

Tactics

ITexecutivesand
accountants
Committeesand
councils
Rolesand
responsibilities
ITorganization
structure
CIOonboard
ITstrategy
committee
ITsteering
committee(s)

Processes

Relationalmechanisms

StrategicITdecision
Stakeholder
Strategicdialog
making
participation
Sharedlearning
StrategicIT
Business/IT
monitoring
partnerships
Mechanisms
Strategic
Activeparticipation
Shared
informationsystems
byprincipal
understandingof
planning
stakeholders
business/IT
Balances(IT)
Collaboration
objectives
scorecards
betweenprincipal
Activeconflict
Information
stakeholders
resolution(no
economics
Partnershiprewards
avoidance)
Servicelevel
andincentives
Crossfunctional
agreements
Business/IT
business/ITtraining
COBITandITIL
collocation
Crossfunctional
ITalignment/
business/ITjob
governance
rotation
maturitymodels
Figure4:Structures,processesandrelationalmechanismsforITgovernance(DeHaes&VanGrembergen,2004)

Inlinewiththedefinition,DeHaesandVanGrembergenpresentedthemodelwhichcanbe
observedinFigure4.Theytakeontheseparationofthestructuresandtheareasofprocessesand
relationalmechanismsveryclearlyaswellasthedifferentmechanismsthatshouldfitintothat
category.ITinthiscaseclearlyistheresourcewhichwillhavetomanagedandgoverned.Althougha
newdefinitionhasbeencreated,itisstillderivedfromDeHaes&VanGrembergen.Thisstillmakes
itpossibletousetheirviewinthisresearch.
2.2.2. ThegovernanceinITgovernance
Governancehasbeenpresentedasthecombinationoftheorganizationalstructure,resources,
decisionareasandmechanisms.Tocontinuethisview,thesefourelementsandtheirpositionwithin
theITgovernanceresearchwillbepresentedinthischapter.
WhenITbecomesacriticalpartofanorganization,welldefinedITgovernancebecomesevenmore
important(ITGI,2003).AnimportantreasonforhavinganITgovernancestructureandthusIT
specificauthorityandaccountabilityisthatcorporatemanagementisnotobligedtohaveknowledge
onITrelatedcasesbecausetheyoftenrequireatechnicalinsight.ByinstallinganITspecific
governancestructure,thisproblemcanbeavoidedandwilldecreasetheriskofbaddecisionmaking
(ITGI,2003).Therearevariousviewsonhowtoallocatethis,whichisrepresentedbythemodelsin
thenextchapter.
ThedeliveryofITsolutions,usingIToptimallyandleveragingITtoincreaseefficiencyand
productivityareissueswhichcannotbetakenonbycorporatemanagementandthusshouldbethe
delegatedaccordingtoanITgovernancestructure(ITGI,2003).Inlinewithknowingwhois
accountable,ithastobeclearwhohastheauthorityonspecificissues.Aclearsetofdecisionareas
thereforeisimportant.
AstraightforwardviewistoobserveITashardwareandsoftware,butITisacomplexsystemwhich
hasmanymoreelementswhichneedproperITmanagement.ITdecisionareasareclearly
representedinvariousmodelsandframeworksaredescribedinITgovernanceliterature.An
examplecanbefoundinFigure4whereDeHaes&VanGrembergen(2004)clearlyseparatethe
relationalmechanisms,processesandthestructure.Theseareasdemandtheirownmechanismsand
approachtobegovernedandthusmanagedoptimally.

|14


AnimportantresourceforanorganizationinrelationtothisresearchistheITitself.TouseIT
optimally,otherresourcesneedtobeaddressedaswell,likehumanorfinancialresources.Theseare
theresourcesthathavetobecontrolledtomakeITeffective.WhenobservingthepositionofITin
theorganization,fromadataprocessingtool,managementinformationsystemorasastrategic
informationsystem,theresourcedemandschangesfromtheorganizationaswell(Ward&Peppard,
2002).ItthereforeisimportanttoknowhowtheITorganizationisstructured,whocandecideon
whatareasandthenextsteparetheresourcesthatareavailableinaspecificsituation.
Tocreateormaintainasustainablesituation,mechanismsorprocessesareneeded.Theseare
observedasgovernancemechanismsinthisresearch.Manyofthesemechanismsarepresentedin
thevariousframeworkswhichwillbetakenoninthefollowingchapter.DuetothefactthattheIT
governanceresearchhasmatured,itispossibletocapturethesituationinanorganizationand
presentthisinthevariousavailableframeworksandmodels.Alltheseframeworksandmodelshave
theirownmechanismswhichwillcontroltheITinanorganizationspecificsituation.
Thenextchapterwilltakeonthedifferentmodelswhichhavebeendevelopedtomeasure,assessor
assistinthedevelopmentormeasurementofITgovernancewithinanorganization.Thiswillbe
doneaccordingtothesefourgovernanceelementstomakeacomparisonpossibleinalaterstageof
thisresearch.
2.2.3. ITGovernancemodels
TogovernalltheITrelatedissueswithinanorganization,variousscholarshaveproposeddifferent
modelsandframeworks.DeHaes&VanGrembergen(2004)andSimonsson&Johnson(2005)have
triedtomergeallthedifferentITgovernancemodelsandframeworkstogetherbutnonehave
completelysucceededtomakeonegeneralmodelorframework.Thisissuealsooccuredwiththe
definitionofITgovernance.Whenscholarsallusedifferentscopesanddefinitions,itwillnotbe
possibletomakeonegeneralmodel,frameworkorotherapplicabletool.Thereareavastamountof
similaritiesbetweenthemodelsandframeworksbutdifferenceswillremainpresentaswell.
Togiveanoverviewofthepossibleviews,inthischapterthreedifferentITgovernancemodelswill
bepresented,beingtheITGIapproach,theCOBITframeworkandtheITgovernanceframeworkby
Weill&Ross(2004).Thesethreemodelshavebeenchosenduetotheirdifferentfociinrelationto
thisresearch,asdepictedinFigure5.Furthermore,theresearchbyWeillandRossisoftencitedand
hasaverystrategicfocus(theorganizationalstructure)whereCOBITismainlyfocusedonthe
mechanismsthatcanbeimplementedtocontroltheITorganization.Tocreateacomprehensive
overviewoftheITgovernanceliterature,thesethreeapproacheswillbepresentedinthefollowing
chapters.
Authors
WeillandRoss
ITGI
COBIT

Focusarea
Allocationofdecisionmakingauthoritybycombiningthe
organizationalstructurewithdecisionareas
ImplementationofITgovernancewiththedecisionareasand
severalmechanisms
ControloftheITorganizationwithmechanismsinafixedsetof
decisionareas
Figure5:DifferentITgovernancemethods/frameworksthataretakenon

|15


TherearemanyotherITgovernanceframeworksandmethodsbesidesthese,whichareshownin
Figure6.Thedistinctioninthisfigureisgivenbasedonthescopeoftheframeworksandthe
processesthattheycover.Someframeworksaretakingonthedecisionmaking,likeWeillandRoss,
whereotherstakeonastrictcontrolonthesupportprocesseslikeSOx.WhereWeillandRosslook
atthewholebusinesssystem,itisalsopossibletotakeonaspecificprocess,forexampletheproject
managementwithaPrince2method.Thethreeviewsthatarepresentedinthefollowingchapters
areoftencitedandmuchusedandthereforethemostapplicableforthisresearch.

Procedure

Activity

Decisionmaking
processes

SAS70

COBIT

CoreBusiness
processes

ITIL/BS15000

Support
processes

ISO17799/
BS7799
SysTrust

CMM/CMMI
ITAudit
ITDueDiligence
ASL
Prince2

BusinessUnit

SixSigma

BusinessSystem
ITGovernance
Review(Weill&
Ross)
ITGovernance
Assessment
(Weill&Ross)
ITGovernance
Checklist
ITGovernance
Assessment
ProcessModel
ITGI
ITServiceCMM

SOX

Figure6:MatchingProcesstypeswithorganizationalentitiesandtherelatedgovernanceframeworks
(Larsen,Pedersen&Andersen,2006)

2.2.3.1.
WeillandRoss
ThefirstmodelthatwillbepresentedistheframeworkbyWeill&Ross(2005)whichpresentsa
theoreticalapproachwithaframeworkwhichisconcentratedaroundtheallocationofdecision
rightsforafixedsetofITdecisiondomains.Bydeterminingtheinputprovidersanddecisionmakers
forallthedecisionareas,thebestfittinggovernancearchetypecanbedetermined.Thisgovernance
archetypecandifferperdecisiondomain.Theframeworkisespeciallyconvenientforanassessment
becauseitmakesitpossibletogetaquickrepresentationofthestructurethatisexistentwithin
theITorganization.ItisnotpossibletodeterminethematurityoftheITorganizationbecausethe
effectivenessofthestructureitselfisnotbeingassessed,onlythestructureisobserved.Byassessing
theITgovernancestructurewiththisframework,itwillbepossibletoproposechangesinthe
organization.
Organizationalstructure
Weill&Ross(2004)havedefinedsixgovernancearchetypesfortheorganizationalstructurein
relationtoIT.Thesepresentsixdifferentlevelsbetweenahighlycentralizedandahighly
decentralizedorganization.WeillandRossdomakeadistinctionwiththelevelthatdeliversthe
inputofandthelevelthatmakestheactualdecision.

|16


Archetype
Businessmonarchy
ITmonarchy
Federal

ITduopoly
Feudal
Anarchy

Description
Aseniorbusinessexecutiveoragroupofseniorexecutives,sometimes
includingtheCIO
IndividualorgroupsofITexecutives
Clevelexecutivesandbusinessrepresentativesofalltheoperatinggroups,
mayincludesITinvolvement(equivalentofthecentralgovernmentandthe
statesworkingtogether)
TwopartydecisionmakinginvolvingITexecutivesandonegroupofbusiness
leaders
Businessunitorprocessleadersmakingseparatedecisionsbasedonthe
needsoftheirentities
Eachindividualuserorsmallgroup

Figure7:ITGovernancearchetypesfromcentralizedtodecentralized(Weill&Ross,2004)

AcloserexaminationofgovernancestructuresbyBrown&Grant(2005)showsthatsomeoftheseIT
governanceconceptscanalsobefoundinearliergovernanceresearch.Thebusinessmonarchyand
ITmonarchyarchetypesrepresentastrictcentralizeddecisionmakingstructurewithdifferent
interpretationsofthecentralizedunit.Theopposite,theFeudalarchetype,hasadecentralized
structure,withthebusinessunitownersastheprimarydecisionmakers.Themostprominent
similaritycanbeseenwiththeFederalarchetype,whichevenmaintainsthesameterminology,
representingthemiddleground,centralizeddecentralizedconceptbyZmud,Boynton&Jacobs
(1986).TheITDuopolyarchetyperepresentsabalancebetweenabusinessunitowneranda
technicalrepresentative,andalthoughsimilartotheFederalmodel,theITDuopolyismore
restrictive.EquallyabsentispreviousresearchistheanarchicalITgovernancearchetype.

Decisionareas

Besidestheorganizationalstructure,WeillandRossalsodeterminefivedifferentdomainsinwhich
thedecisionsaremade.Thisdistinctionservesthegoaltomakedifferentdecisiondomainsbe
controlledfromdifferentlevelswithinanorganization.Forexample,anITinvestmentisoften
decidedmorecentralthanneedsfromthebusiness.ThedecisionareasarevisualizedinFigure8
accordingtoWeill&Ross(2004).
Decisionarea
ITprinciples
ITarchitecture
ITinfrastructure
Businessapplication
needs
Prioritizationand
investments

Description
HighleveldecisionsaboutthestrategicroleofITinthebusiness
Anintegratedsetoftechnicalchoicestoguidetheorganizationinsatisfying
businessneeds
Centrallycoordinated,sharedITservicesprovidingthefoundationforthe
enterprisesITcapabilityandtypicallycreatedbeforepreciseusageneeds
BusinessrequirementsforpurchasedorinternallydevelopedITapplications
decisionsabouthowmuchandwheretoinvestinIT,includingproject
approvalandjustificationtechniques
Figure8:ITGovernancedecisionareas(Weill&Ross,2004)

Bymergingtheorganizationalstructure(thegovernancearchetypes)andthedecisionareas
(decisiondomains)theframeworkbyRossandWeillcanbecreated.Thisallowsthecreationofthe
overviewoftheITgovernanceorganization.ThewholeframeworkisshowninFigure9aspresented
byWeill&Ross(2004).

|17

GovernanceArchetype

ITPrinciples

Input

Decision

ITArchitecture

Decision

Input

Decision

Business
application
needs
Input

Prioritization
andIT
investment

Decision

Input

IT
Duopoly
Feudal

Anarchy

Business
Monarchy
IT
Monarchy
Federal

Input

DecisionDomain
ITInfrastructure

Decision

|18

Figure9:GovernanceFrameworkbyWeillandRoss(Weill&Ross,2004)

Resources
Weill&Ross(2004)presentaclearstructurefortheorganizationaswellasconcreteareasonwhich
decisionscanbemade.Toachievethat,mechanismscanbeusedwhichwillbepresentednext.The
elementwhichisnotextensivelypresentedintheirworkaretherequiredresources.Whereother
modelsmaypresentaseparateareaofresourcemanagement,thedecisionareaPrioritizationand
ITinvestmentcanbeperceivedasanareaorresourcemanagement.Still,thisisnoexplicit
allocationofresourcesorformalresourcemanagementinrelationtotheactivitiesthatareneeded
toimplementthemechanisms.
Mechanisms
Asstated,WeillandRosspresentedtheallocationofdecisionrightsanddecisionareasintheir
researchclearly.Paralleltothis,theyalsofocusonmechanismstochangeanorganization.To
implementoneormoreoftheITgovernancearchetypes,mechanismsareneededtochangetoor
maintainadesiredsituationofITgovernance,beinganeffectiveITgovernancestructure(Weill&
Woodham,2002).Examplesofthesemechanisms,withtheirobjectivesandcorresponding
propertiesarepresentedinFigure10.


Mechanisms

Objectives

Desirable
behavior

Undesirable
behavior
observed

Performance
metric

ExecutiveCommittee

Holisticviewof
seamlessbusiness
includingIT
Seniormanagement
involvementand
educationingaining
businessvaluefrom
IT
Identifystrategic
technologiesand
standardsenformcent
Separationof
proposaland
approval
Specifyandmeasure
ITservice
RecoupITcostsfrom
business

SeamlessIT
management

ITignored

Growth,MarketCap,
Productivity

Involvementand
alignment

Abdicationbysenior
management

Margin,ROA,
Productivity

BusinessdrivenIT
decisionmaking

ITpoliceanddelays

PrudentITinvesting

Paralysisbyanalysis

MarginGrowth,
MarketCap,
Productivity
ROA,Productivity

ITCouncils

Architecture
committee
Capitalinvestment
approvalandbudgets
Servicelevel
agreements
Chargeback

ProcessteamswithIT
membership

Professionalsupply
anddemand
ResponsibleuseofIT

ManagetoSLAnot
businessneed
Argumentsabout
chargesandwarped
demand
Takeprocessview
Endtoendprocess
Stagnationof
usingIT(andother
management
functionalskillsand
assets)effectively
fragmentedIT
infrastructure
Figure10:Mechanismsandfocus(Weill&Woodham,2002)

ROA
ROA

ROA,Productivity

Themechanismsareallfocusedontheimplementationofauthorityinaglobalorspecificdecision
area.Thesemechanismscanhaveasignificanteffectwhenimplemented.Atthesametime,
differentorganizationsmayhaveadifferentfociduetotheirgovernancestructure.Thesituationof
theorganizationthereforeisimportantwhenimplementingorassessinganorganizationalIT
governancestructure.
Themoresituationspecificgovernanceisalsopresentedinlaterwork.Weill&Ross(2005)promote
therelationbetweenthelevelofcentralization,themechanismsthatarerelatedtothatlevelof
centralization,therelatedinfrastructureandthebasicprinciples.Theresultingviewthereforeis,
thatwhenanorganizationiscentralized,decentralizedoranylevelinbetweenthat,itshouldbe
focusingontheseelementstobefunctioningoptimally(Weill&Ross,2005).

|19


Element
KeyITGovernance
Mechanisms

Enterprisewide
management
mechanisms
Architectureprocess
Capitalapproval
Trackingofbusinessof
IT

ITInfrastructure

Modularcapabilities
centrallycoordinated
andarchitected

KeyITPrinciples

Requireprocess
standardizationandIT
modularity
Morecentralized

Governance

Effects
Jointdecisionmaking
bycentralITandeach
BU
Business/IT
relationshipmanagers
ProcessteamswithIT
members
SLA&chargeback
ITleadershipdecision
makingbody
LayersofsharedIT
services

Budgetapprovaland
riskmanagement
Localaccountability
Portalsorother
information/services
sources

Localcustomized
capabilitywithfew
requiredshared
services
Lowunitcostsanduse
ofsharedservices
Blended

Moredecentralized

Figure11:GovernanceandPerformance(Weill&Ross,2005)

Thecleardistinctionbetweenthethreelevelsofcentralizationshowsthatthisorganizational
structurehasastrongimpactonthewaytheorganizationisoptimallyfunctioning.Whenan
organizationiscentralized,therearemoreuniformsystemsandstandardizationisimportant.The
oppositeisthecasewithadecentralizedorganizationwhichpursuesindependentislandsof
authoritywhichareallaccountablefortheirownITandthushavealowamountofsystemsin
common.
ThiscompletebutratherstrategicworkbyWeill&Ross(2004)mainlytakesonthreecomponentsof
governance,beingtheorganizationalstructure,thedecisionareasandthemechanisms.The
situationoftheorganizationisalsotakenintoaccountandcaninfluencethecontentsofthe
proposedmechanismsconsiderably(Weill&Woodham,2002).
2.2.3.2.
ITGI
AnotherprominentandbutmorepracticalcontributiontothefieldofITgovernanceresearchis
givenbytheITGovernanceInstitute.ThemanagementdirectedviewonITgovernancebytheITGI
resultsfocusesonITperformanceandattemptstomeetthefollowingobjectives(ITGI,2004):

AligningITstrategywiththebusinessstrategy;
CascadingITstrategyandgoalsdownintotheenterprise;
Providingorganizationalstructuresthatfacilitatetheimplementationofstrategyandgoals;
Creatingconstructiverelationshipsandeffectivecommunicationsbetweenthebusinessand
IT,andwithexternalpartners;
InsistingthatITcontrolframeworkbeadoptedandimplemented;
MeasuringITperformance.

|20


TheobjectivesoftheITGIfocusonthealignmentofITgovernancewiththebusinessandtheoptimal
usageofresources.ThisfocusgivesadifferentresultsthantheframeworkbyWeillandRoss.The
approachoftheITGIismorepracticalduetothefactthatitisdevelopedbycompaniesandresultsin
afocusontheITorganizationsperformance.TheITGIapproachisshowninFigure12andthisfigure
clearlyshowsthedriverofthewholeprocess,beingtheorganizationsstakeholders.
|21
ThisstraightforwardITGIprocessshouldresultinpositiveoutcomes,beinganincreased
performanceandreducedriskbecauseoftheimprovedcontrolstructure.Forthecomplete
elaborationontheITGImethod,pleaserefertotheITGImanual(ITGI,2004).

Figure12:ITGovernanceInstitutemodel(ITGI,2004)

Organizationalstructure

TheviewbytheITGIgivesnoprominentpositiontothegovernancestructure.AccordingtotheITGI
BoardsandexecutivemanagementneedtoextendgovernancetoITandprovidetheleadership,
organizationalstructuresandprocessesthatensurethattheenterprisesITsustainsandextendsthe
enterprisesstrategiesandobjectives.Wheninterpretingthis,itisclearthattheboardsand
executivesareincontroloftheITorganization.InthisITorganization,astructurewiththe
correspondingleadershipneedstobebroughtinplacetoachievethedeterminedobjectives.The
structurethereforeisbroughtinplaceasasupportingelementtotransferthedemandstotheIT
organizationaswellasobjectivesbytheboardsandexecutivemanagement.
FormalallocationoftheaccountabilityorauthorityisnotextensivelydescribedintheITGIliterature
duetothefactthatthestructureisassumedtobeasitis.Thefocusintheliteratureisonthe
decisionareasandthecorrespondingmechanismstoimplementacontrolstructure.

Decisionareas

Accordingtothedescriptionabove,therearepredefinedgovernanceobjectives.Inlinewiththese
governanceobjectives,themechanismswillhaveafocusareaaswell.Theseareascanbeperceived
asdecisionareasduetothefactthatthemechanismswillimpactthatareaandtheseareaswillbe
approachedseparately.ITGIdefinesfivedifferentareasofdecisionmaking,whichareinlinewith
themodelaspresentedbefore.
Decisionarea
Strategicalignment
Valuedelivery
Riskmanagement
Resource
management
Performance
measurement

Description
Aligningthebusinessstrategyandcollaborativesolutions
OptimizingexpensesandprovidingthevalueofIT
SafeguardingofITassets,disasterrecoveryandcontinuityofoperations
Optimizingtheinvestment,useandallocationofresources
TrackingprojectdeliveryandmonitoringITservices
Figure13:ITGIdecisionareas(ITGI,2004)

TheseareasclearlyrepresentthefocusoftheITGI.Thereisahighlevelofmanagementissueswhich
focusonchangingthecurrentsituationinasituationinwhichITcandelivermorevalue.Thiscanbe
achievedbyaligningtheorganizationbetter,whilesafeguardingtheassets,optimizingtheusageof
resourcesandintheendimprovingtheperformance.
Resources
AccordingtotheITGI,theITstrategydrivestheprocesses.Theseprocessesobtainthenecessary
resourcestoexecutetheirresponsibilities.AkeytosuccessfulperformanceaccordingtotheITGIis
theoptimalinvestment,useandallocationofresources.AccordingtotheITGI.theresourcesin
relationtotheITorganizationare:

People
Applications
Technology
Facilities
Data

Mostenterprisesfailtomaximizetheefficiencyoftheirassetsandoptimizethecostsrelatingto
theseassets(ITGI,2004).Thegoalthereforeistohavetheresourcesavailableforthechangesat
hand,withouttakingontoomuchriskandoptimizingthevalueoftheITorganizationinrelationto
theorganization.Toassurethis,themanagementofresourcesisaseparateareawithintheITGI
approach.Thisresultsinresourcemanagementspecificmechanismstocontroltheusageof
resources.
Mechanisms
TheimplementationofgovernancemechanismshasprominentpositionwithintheITGIapproach.
TheITGIprocessisacontinuousprocess,aimedatincreasetheperformanceoftheITorganization.
Toachievethisgoal,asetoffixedmechanismsarepresentedtooptimizetheorganizationwhichare
showninFigure14.Thesemechanismshavebeensimplifiedslightlyfitinthisresearch.Theoriginal

|22


setwiththeelaborationcanbefoundintheITGImanual(ITGI,2004).Themechanismswhichare
presentedinFigure14areorderedaccordingtothedecisionareaswhichhavebeenpresented
earlier.
Strategic
alignment

Valuedelivery

Riskmanagement Resource
management

Performance
management

AscertainITstrategy
alignment

Deliversolutionsand
services

Ascertainrisk
transparency

AscertainITdelivery

Enhancereputation,
leadershipand
efficiency
Providecustomer
trustandtimeto
market

Allocateboard
responsibilityforrisk

Verifyobjective
achievementsand
eliminatesurprises
Maintainbalanced
scorecards

DirectITstrategy
definition
Ensureculture
support

Createconsciousness
forriskmitigation

Maintainawareness
fornew
developments
EnsureITresources
canfulfill
requirements
Improveefficiency
andeffectivenessof
theITinfrastructure
Sustaininvestments
foreducation

Considerproactive
riskmanagement
Embedrisk
managementinthe
enterprise
Ascertainsecurity

processes
Figure14:ITGImechanisms(ITGI,2004)

TheresultingoverviewoftheITGIapproachisamodelwhichprimarilyfocusesonthevalueofITand
theoptimizationoftheservicedeliveryfortheorganization.Thefocusthereforeisverydifferent
thantheapproachofWeill&Ross(2004)butdoesgiveanextrainsightintothepossibilitiesofIT
governance.
2.2.3.3.
COBIT
Besidestheframeworkfordecisionrightallocation(Weill&Ross,2004)oratopdownviewof
optimizingdaytodayIToperations(ITGI,2004),completecontrolframeworkshavebeendeveloped
aswell.ControlframeworksareaimedatmonitoringandcontrollingtheITrelatedactivities.An
oftenreferredandoftenusedframeworkistheCOBITframework.TheCOBITframeworkconsistsof
34highlevelcontrolprocesseswhicharegroupedinfourdomains.ThefocuswithCOBITisthe
implementationof(partsof)thisfixedsetofprocessesandtogetincontrol.
Organizationalstructure
ThefocusoftheCOBITframeworkisdifferentthanthepreviouslyelaboratedmodels.COBITfocuses
ontheproperimplementationofnewmechanismsorimprovementofexistingmechanismsto
achieveapredeterminedlevelofcontrolovertheITorganization.Becausethelackofaformal
allocation,itwillnotbepossibletoincludethisintheresearch.Therearenoelementswhichhaveto
betakenonbyaCIOorotherelementswhichshouldbeallocatedinthedaytodayprocesses.
AccordingtoCOBIT,theallocationisdependingonthesituation,aslongasitisclearwhois
responsibleintheendtobeabletocontrolthewholeITorganization.
TheCOBITframeworkreliesheavilyonthematurityoftheITorganization.Inthisview,the
allocationoftheaccountabilityandauthoritydependsonthematurityoftheITorganizationaswell.
InanimmatureITorganization,theITrelateddecisionmakingstructureisnotformallydefined
whereamatureITorganizationdoeshaveaformaldefinitionwhichmakesthecontrolpossible.To
beabletocontroltheITorganizationthematurityneedstobehigherthanthefirsttolevelsbecause

|23


thefirsttwomaturitylevelshavenoformalallocationwherethethreehigherlevelsdohavethis
allocation.
Decisionareas
WithintheCOBITframework,therearefourdistinctdomainsinwhichgovernanceprocessesare
implemented:
Decisionarea
Planningand
organizing

Description
Thisareacoversawholerangeoftopics.Includedarethestrategyand
tacticsusedbyITtoachievebusinessobjectives,strategyplanning,strategy
communication,strategymanagement,riskmanagement,andresource
management,whichinsuresthattherequiredtechnologyinfrastructureand
humancapitalareinplace.
Acquisitionand
ForITtorealizeitsstrategy,itmustidentify,developoracquire,and
implementation
implementsolutionstobusinessprocesses.Additionally,itmustmanagethe
lifecycleofexistingsystemsthroughmaintenance,enhancements,and
retirements.
Deliveryandsupport ITdeliversservicestoitscustomers(users).Thisareaconcernsserviceand
supportissuesincludingperformanceandsecurity,anditalsoincludes
training.
Monitoring
AllITprocessesneedtoberegularlyassessedfortheirqualityand
compliancewithcontrolrequirements.Themonitoringareaaddresses
managementsoversightoftheorganizationscontrolprocesses.
Figure15:COBITgovernancedomains(Symons,2005)

TheCOBITdomainsconsistofvariousprocessestocreatealevelofcontrolovertheITorganization.
Wheretheplanningandorganizationhasavastmorestrategicfocus,themonitoringismore
relatedtothedaytodayoperationsoftheorganization.Thesedomainsalsodifferintheexistence
throughoutthehierarchy.Itwillbelogicalthatthisthemorestrategicelementswillbeimplemented
higherinthehierarchythanthemoreoperationalelements.
Theareasallhavecleardescriptionswhichresultsinacompleteoverviewoftheprocessesthatcan
beimplementedinallthese.ThisalsogivesclearscopeofthepossibilitieswithintheCOBIT
framework.
Resources
Nexttothecleardecisionareas,thereareafixedsetofresourceswhichcanbeused.InFigure15,
themanagementofresourcesisputintheareaofplanningandorganization.Thisresultsinafixed
resourcemanagementsubarea.ThefollowingresourcescanbeidentifiedaccordingtoCOBIT:

|24


Resource
Applications
Information
Infrastructure

People

Description
Applicationsaretheautomatedusersystemsandmanualproceduresthat
processtheinformation.
Informationisdata,inalltheirforms,input,processedandoutputbythe
informationsystemsinwhateverformisusedbythebusiness.
Infrastructureisthetechnologyandfacilities(i.e.,hardware,operating
systems,databasemanagementsystems,networking,multimedia,andthe
environmentthathousesandsupportsthem)thatenabletheprocessingof
theapplications.
Peoplearethepersonnelrequiredtoplan,organize,acquire,implement,
deliver,support,monitorandevaluatetheinformationsystemsandservices.
Theymaybeinternal,outsourcedorcontractedasrequired.
Figure16:COBITresources(COBIT,2008)

TheCOBITframeworkisfocusedontheITorganizationitselfandcomprisesofthesefourresources
whichcanbeusedandneedtobecontrolledtobeincontroloftheITorganization.
Mechanisms
TheheartofCOBITisaframeworkof34highlevelcontrolprocesseswhicharegroupedinfour
domainsaspresentedinFigure17.Overall,COBITrepresentsacomprehensiveframeworkfor
implementingITgovernancewithaverystrongauditingandcontrolsperspective.Thiscomplexity
makesitdifficulttoimplementtheframeworkormakeanassessmentwiththeprinciplesthatCOBIT
isbuiltupon.
Planningand
organizing

Acquisitionand
implementation

Deliveryandsupport

Monitoring

Strategicplanning
Informationarchitecture

Identifysolutions
Acquireandmaintain
applicationsoftware
Acquireandmaintain
technologyarchitecture
DevelopandmaintainIT
procedures
Installandaccreditsystems
Managechanges

Defineservicelevels
Managethirdpartyservices

Monitortheprocess
Assessinternalcontrol
adequacy
Obtainindependent
assurance
Provideforindependent
audits

Technologicaldirection
ITorganizationand
relationships
ManagetheITinvestment
Communicateaimsand
direction
Managehumanresources

Ensurecompliance
Assessrisks

Manageprojects
Managequality

Manageperformanceand
capacity
Ensuresystemssecurity
Identifyandattributecosts
Educateandtrainusers

AssistandadviseIT
customers
Managetheconfiguration
Manageproblemsand
incidents
Managedata
Managefacilities
Manageoperations
Figure17:COBITprocesses(Symons,2005)

COBITisoftenimplementedtocomplywithregulatorystandardslikeSOxorCOSO.Byimplementing
(partsof)theaboveshownprocesses,whicharethoroughlydescribedintheCOBITliterature,the
desiredcontrolovertheITorganizationcanbeachieved,increasedormaintained.Anprominent
elementCOBITframeworkisthematurityoftheITgovernance.Thiswillbepresentedinthe
followingchapter.

|25


Inthese34highlevelprocesses,210mechanismsarepresent.Theseprocessesarethereforenotthe
actualmechanismsbutonlycontainersofmechanismswithasimilaraim.Itwillnotbepossibleto
includeallthe210mechanismsinthisresearchandthereforethisgroupingofmechanismswillbe
usedinstead.
Maturity

|26

AnimportantaspectoftheCOBITframeworkisthenotionofmaturity,whichisawidelyaccepted
methodofmeasuringthelevelofcontrol.TheCOBITframeworkdistinctthefollowinglevelsof
maturity:
Maturitylevel

Description

(0)Nonexistent

Completelackofanyrecognizableprocesses.Theenterprisehasnotevenrecognizedthat
thereisanissuetobeaddressed.
Thereisevidencethattheenterprisehasrecognizedthattheissuesexistandneedtobe
addressed.Thereare,however,nostandardizedprocesses;instead,thereareadhoc
approachesthattendtobeappliedonanindividualorcasebycasebasis.Theoverall
approachtomanagementisdisorganized.
Processeshavedevelopedtothestagewheresimilarproceduresarefollowedbydifferent
peopleundertakingthesametask.Thereisnoformaltrainingorcommunicationofstandard
procedures,andresponsibilityislefttotheindividual.Thereisahighdegreeofrelianceon
theknowledgeofindividualsand,therefore,errorsarelikely.
Procedureshavebeenstandardizedanddocumented,andcommunicatedthroughtraining.It
ismandatedthattheseprocessesshouldbefollowed;however,itisunlikelythatdeviations
willbedetected.Theproceduresthemselvesarenotsophisticatedbutaretheformalization
ofexistingpractices.
Managementmonitorsandmeasurescompliancewithproceduresandtakesactionwhere
processesappearnottobeworkingeffectively.Processesareunderconstantimprovement
andprovidegoodpractice.Automationandtoolsareusedinalimitedorfragmentedway.
Processeshavebeenrefinedtoalevelofgoodpractice,basedontheresultsofcontinuous
improvementandmaturitymodelingwithotherenterprises.ITisusedinanintegratedwayto
automatetheworkflow,providingtoolstoimprovequalityandeffectiveness,makingthe
enterprisequicktoadapt.
Figure18:Maturitylevels(COBIT,2008)

(1)Initial/AdHoc

(2)Repeatablebut
Intuitive

(3)DefinedProcess

(4)Managedand
Measurable
(5)Optimized

DeHaes&VanGrembergen(2004)presentexactlythesamematuritylevelsasCOBIT(2008)but
Symons(2005)gavehisownperceptiononmaturitybyreducingthefivelevelstofour,althoughthe
underlyingprinciplesremainthesame.
MaturityisanimportantelementfortheCOBITframeworkbecauseitrepresenthowthe
governanceprocessesaremergedintothedaytodayoperations.Fromthethirdorfourthmaturity
level,itispartofthedaytodayoperationsandwillthecontrolbeeffectiveenoughtorelyupon.
Whenitislowerthanlevelthree,itwillnotbeastructuredelementofdaytodayoperations
resultinginagovernancestructurewhichwillbelessreliable.Tocircumventthisissueforthis
research,itwillbeassumedthatmaturitywillatleastonthethirdlevelandthuswillbeoperational
andtrustworthy.
2.2.3.4.
Summarizingthemodels
ByimplementinganITgovernancestructure,achangeinthedemandsortheorganizationcanbe
noticedquicklyandtheITcanbeadaptedifneeded.Itisimportanttoknowwhoareresponsible,
whattheyareresponsibleforandwhattheyareallowedtodecideupon.Tomakesurethatthere
arepeopleinchargewhoknowtheITorganizationandtoassurethatdecisionsaremadeonsound
arguments,morespecificgovernanceontheareaofITisneeded.


Inthischapter,thebasicsofthreeITgovernancemodelsandframeworkshavebeenelaborated.The
basicelements,theorganizationalstructure,resources,decisionareasandcontrolmechanismsare
presentedinthedifferentmodelsandframeworksintheirownperspective.InFigure19the
roundupofthepresentedelementsisshown.

Organizational
structure

Decisionareas

Resources

Weill&Ross

BusinessMonarchy
ITMonarchy
Federal
ITDuopoly
Feudal
Anarchy

7strategic
mechanisms

ITGI

19mechanisms

COBIT

ITPrinciples

ITArchitecture
ITInfrastructure
BusinessApplication
Needs
PrioritizationandIT
Investment
Strategicalignment
People
Valuedelivery
Applications
Riskmanagement
Technology
Resource
Facilities
management
Data
Performance
measurement
Planningand
Applications
organizing
Information
Acquisitionand
Infrastructure
implementation
People
Deliveryandsupport
Monitoring
Figure19:Overviewofthegovernanceframeworks

Mechanisms

34highlevel
processeswith210
underlying
mechanisms

ThedifferentmodelsallpresentdifferentelementsandadifferentperceptionofITgovernance.
WhereWeillandRossfocusontheorganizationalstructure,ITGIhasamoremanagementdirected
approachfortheITprocessesandtheCOBITframeworkfocusesonmonitoringandcontroloftheIT
organization.ThisresultsinacomprehensiveviewofITgovernancewiththecorresponding
elementsfromthevariousmodelsandframeworks.Thenextchapterwillgointoknowledge
governance.Theaimwillbetocreateasimilarresultfortheareaofknowledgegovernanceand
mergethatresultwiththeresultsfromtheITgovernanceresearch,resultinginamergedviewonIT
andknowledgegovernance.

2.3.Knowledgegovernance
Therearemoreresourceswithinanorganizationwhichcanassistinachievingalongterm
competitiveadvantagethenonlyIT.Ofcoursefinancialinvestmentscanresultinasignificant
advantagebutalsoknowledgecanbeanimportantresourceinanorganization(Grant,1997).
2.3.1. Introducingknowledgegovernance
Whatistherelationofknowledgewiththeorganization?Theknowledgebasedviewofthefirm,as
presentedbyGrant(1997),startswithfourbasicassumptions.

|27


1. Knowledgeistheoverwhelminglyimportantproductiveresourceintermsofitscontribution
tovalueaddedanditsstrategicsignificance;
2. Differenttypesofknowledgevaryintheirtransferability;
3. Individualsaretheprimaryagentsofknowledgecreationand,inthecaseoftacitknowledge,
aretheprincipalrepositoriesofknowledge;
4. Mostknowledgeissubjecttoeconomiesofscaleandscope.
Thefirstassumptionisbasedonthefactthatknowledgecanandshouldbeusedtoachievea
competitiveadvantage.Withgoodknowledgemanagementinplace,anorganizationcanachievea
higherperformanceoritcanresultininnovativeproductswhichinturncanleadtoacompetitive
advantage(Grant,1997).Theassumptionalsostatesthatknowledgeisaresourceandthuscanbe
managed.Thesecondassumptionstatesthedifferencebetweentacitandexplicitknowledgein
respecttothetransferability.Tacitknowledgeishardertotransferthanexplicitknowledgebecause
explicitknowledgecanbestoredinacodifiedwayandthustransferredeasierthanthetacit
knowledgewhichcanbetransferredbylearning(Fang,Huang&Liu,2004).Thethirdassumption
impliesthatknowledgeisanintangibleasset.Whenknowledgeisexplicit,itcanbestoredbut
knowledgecreationalwaysstartswithahumanaction.Therefore,theprimaryagentsforknowledge
creationaretheemployeeswithinanorganization.Whenthecreatedknowledgeistacit,itishardto
storetheknowledgeinaninformationsystemandthemajorityoftheknowledgewillkeepresiding
intheheadsoftheemployeeswhichinthatcasemakingthethemtheknowledgerepositoriesofan
organization.Thefinalassumptionimpliesthatonceknowledgeiscreated,itcanbeusedoverand
overagainwithlowmarginalcosts,whichcanonlybeachievedbyhavingrightcontroland
mechanismsinplace.
TheassumptionsofGrantimplythatknowledgecaninfluenceanorganizationsignificantly.By
adaptingandaligningtheknowledgemanagementprocesseswiththeorganizationaldemandsand
theavailableknowledge,acompetitiveadvantagecanbecreatedduetobetterknowledgeusage.
Inthefollowingchaptersthevariousviewsuponknowledgegovernancewillbepresented.Where
thematureITgovernanceresearchwaspresentedaccordingtothevariousITgovernancemodels
andframeworks,theknowledgegovernanceresearchismuchlessmature.Thisresultsinamore
generaldescriptionoftheorganizationalstructure,decisionareasandtheresources.Theknowledge
governancemechanismswillbepresentedmorethoroughlyduetothevastamountofliteratureon
thatarea.
2.3.2. Thegovernanceinknowledgegovernance
Knowledgegovernancedescribesthestructuringoftheknowledgemanagementfunctionintermsof
thedistributionofthedecisionrights,responsibilitiesamongenterprisestakeholders,aswellasthe
structuresandprocessesformakingandmonitoringstrategicdecisionsregardingknowledge
management(Fangetal.,2004).Thisdefinitionislargelyinlinewiththepreviouslydefinedviewon
governancewhichtakesontheorganizationalstructure,resources,decisionareasandcontrol
mechanisms.Thedecisionareasareincludedliterallywherethestructuresandprocessesarerelated
tothemechanismswhichareusedinthisresearch.
Thegoalofknowledgegovernanceistocontrolandtherebyinfluencethesuccessofknowledge
processes(Fangetal.,2004).Knowledgegovernancemakesitpossibletoachievetheorganizational
longtermgoalsforknowledgemanagement.Toachievethesegoals,differentmechanismsand

|28


processeshavebeenpresentedbydifferentscholars,whichareknownasknowledgegovernance
mechanisms(Foss,2007;Peltokorpi&Tsuyuki,2006).Theperceptionofknowledgegovernanceby
Fangetal.(2004)isamorestrategicview,focussingontheallocationofaccountabilityandauthority
whereotherscholarsfocusontheactualimplementationofknowledgegovernancemechanisms.
ThisthereforeresultsinasimilarsituationasoccurredwiththeITgovernanceliterature.
|29
Knowledgeisacomplexsubjecttocomprehend,manage,steerandalsotogovern.Aknowledge
transferissociallycomplexandatwowayprocessandthusrequirescomplexgovernancestructures
andexchangemechanismsinordertobesuccessful(Choi,Cheng,Hilton&Russel,2005).To
maximizethebenefitsfromknowledge,knowledgegovernancehastomakedispersedand
embeddedknowledgeflowoptimalthroughanorganization(Fangetal.,2004).Therefore
knowledgegovernancedealswiththedeploymentoforganizationalstructuresandcoordinationand
governancemechanismsinordertomaximizethesebenefits(Foss,Husted,Michailova&Pedersen,
2003).
Organizationalstructure
Thefirstgovernanceelementtobefocusedonistheorganizationalstructure.Inthedefinitionby
Fangetal.(2004)thestructureispresentedasaprominentelementofknowledgegovernance.
Whentheliteraturebyscholarsinthisfieldisresearchedfurther,theonlyscholarpresentinga
formalorganizationalstructureisGrandori(2001).Shepromotesthreemechanismstoinitiatethe
formalorganizationtogovernknowledge.Theactualallocationoftheaccountabilityandauthorityis
notpresentedincurrentliterature.Peltokorpi&Tsuyuki(2006)alsopresentvariousstructural
mechanisms.TheresearchbyPeltokorpi&Tsuyuki(2006)aswellastheresearchbyGrandori(2001)
willbeelaboratedinthesectionconcerningthemechanismsbecausetheyarepresentedas
governancemechanismsthoughonamoreorganizationallevel.Completeoverviewsofhowto
allocateauthorityandaccountabilityintheknowledgegovernanceorganizationarenotpresentin
currentresearch.
Decisionareas
Incurrentknowledgegovernanceresearch,thedifferentscholarsallpresenttheirideasaccordingto
theirownperspectiveofknowledgegovernance,whichispossibleinthisrelativelynewresearch
area.Thisresultsinalargevarietyinknowledgegovernanceresearchbutnofixedsetofknowledge
governancedecisionareas.
Tobeabletousethisgovernanceelementintheremainderofthisresearch,itiseminenttocreatea
setofdecisionareas.Alogicalstepwouldbetotakecontemporaryresearchintheareaof
knowledgemanagementanddetermineinwhichwaytheareasofknowledgemanagementcanbe
influencedbyknowledgegovernance.Possibly,thesecouldbeexpandedwithsomemorestrategic
areastocreateacompletesetofknowledgegovernancedecisionareas.
Traditionallyknowledgeresearchresolvesaroundthecreation,usage,transportandretentionof
knowledge(Grant,1991).Theseactivitiescanbeperceivedasknowledgeseparateareasinrelation
toanorganization.Sotheseareascanalsobegovernedseparately.Therearedifferentmechanisms
orinterventionsneededinanorganizationtomakesurethatknowledgeiscreatedthanwhichare


neededforknowledgetransfersorretention.Sofortheseareas,differentgovernanceareascanbe
created.
Thetraditionalknowledgeareas(creation,usage,transportandretention)takeinaprominent
positioninknowledgegovernanceliteratureaswell.Grabher(2004)forexamplefocusesonlearning
forthecreationandtransportofknowledge.Besidesthesetraditionalelementsculturaland
motivationalaspectsisfocuseduponbyscholarsaswell(Foss,2007;Osterloh&Frey,2000).This
aspectcanthereforebeperceivedasadifferentarea.Thelastareawhichwillbeaddedtothe
traditionalknowledgemanagement,istheimpactofIT(Holsapple,2005).IThasatightlinkwith
knowledgeandduetothefocusofthisresearch,ITwillbeincludedasaseparatedecisionareain
relationthegovernanceofknowledge.
Thiscombinationofexistingknowledgemanagementareasandcurrentknowledgegovernance
researchthereforeresultsinthefollowingknowledgegovernancedecisionareas:

Knowledgecreation
Knowledgeusage
Knowledgetransport
Knowledgeretention
Cultureandmotivation
IT
Resources

Inlinewiththedecisionareas,therearemainlythreeresourcesthatarepresentedbyscholarsin
relationtotheknowledgegovernance:

Knowledge
People
Technology

Knowledgeasaresourcecanresemblebothtacitandexplicitknowledge.Thisshouldbemanagedto
beabletocreatenew,use,transportandretainknowledge.Thisprimaryresourceinknowledge
managementisobviousbutnottheonlyonetobemanaged.Anotherelementsthatcantbe
neglectedispeople,theemployees.(Foss,2007)Thepeopleneedtobetakencareoftoassurethe
rightculturalandmotivationalaspects.Theseareneededtocreateasituationinwhichknowledge
canmemanaged.Furthermore,thetechnologicalresources,likeITneedtobeinplacetosupport
themanagementofknowledgewhenneeded.
Mechanisms
Themechanismsforknowledgegovernancearecoveredbyavastamountofliteratureandwillbe
elaboratedfurtherinthenextchapter.Thedistinctionthatcanbemadeinrelationtothe
organizationisthatthedifferentscholarspresentdifferentfociinrelationtoknowledgegovernance
mechanisms.Thestructureoftheorganizationdetermineswhichmechanismsaresuitableto
facilitatethetransferofknowledge,theintegrationandassimilationandtosupporttheusageof
knowledgeinthedaytodaywork(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001).Sowhenimplementingandusing
themechanisms,itmustbeclearinwhichsituationtheycanbeused.Grantalsosupportsthisnotion

|30


bystatingthattheorganizationaldesignshouldincorporateverticalintegration,crossfunctional
coordinationanddirectparticipationofspecialists(Grant,1997).Thisallimpliesthatthereare
situationalfactorsthatinfluencetheusageofknowledgeandknowledgemanagement.Thereforea
differentapproachforthecontrolofknowledgeprocessesmightbeneededindifferent
organizations.
2.3.3. Knowledgegovernancemechanisms
Inthischapterthedifferentknowledgegovernancemechanismswillbepresented.Thefirstpartwill
focusonthemoreglobalintroductionofknowledgegovernancemechanismsafterwhichthe
individualperspectiveswillbeelaborated.
2.3.3.1.
Introducingknowledgegovernancemechanisms
Thusfartheconceptmechanismhasbeenpresentedmultipletimeswithoutclearlypositioningit
inrelationtotheknowledgemanagementarea.Fangetal.(2004)chooseaverynarrowdefinitionin
thiscasebyusingKnowledgegovernancemechanismsarearrangementswhichinvolveknowledge
creationandknowledgeexchange.Incontrasttothistightdefinition,Foss(2007)statesthat
knowledgegovernancemechanismsaremanipulationsonanorganizationallevelusing
management,suchasorganizationalstructure,jobdesign,rewardsystems,informationsystems,
procedures,accountingsystemsandcoordinationmechanisms.Thislatterdefinitionfocuseshasa
moreorganizationalviewandcomprisesofmanymorepossibleelementsthatcaninfluencethe
knowledgemanagementprocessesbeingaknowledgegovernancemechanisms.Tobeabletousea
largeamountofpossiblemechanisms,thedefinitionbyFosswillbeusedforthisresearch.
Thedifferentmechanismshavedifferenteffectsaccordingtothedifferentscholars,ascanbe
expectedfromthevarietyinthedefinitionsandperspectives.Fangetal.(2004)focusonthe
knowledgemanagementprocessesbystatingthatknowledgegovernanceshouldresultinsmooth
flowofdispersedandembeddedknowledgethoughanorganization.AccordingtoFoss(2007),the
mechanismsshouldsupportemployeesmakingdecisionsthatwillleadtofavourableorganizational
outcomes.Whenknowledgegovernancemechanismsareimplementedcorrectly,theycanresultin
majoradvantages,being(1)reducethelossofemployeeswiththeirtacitknowledge,(2)Reducethe
costofproductdevelopment,(3)Increasetheproductivityduetoknowledgerelatedeconomiesof
scaleand(4)increaseemployeesatisfaction(MartnCastilla&RodrguezRuiz,2008).
Usingtherightmechanisminacertainsituationthereforeiseminentandthereforethe
determinationofthepossibilitiesofamechanismisimportantinrelationtothisresearch.
2.3.3.2.
Themechanisms
Grandori(2001)focusesonknowledgetransferandmoreorganizationalgovernancemechanisms.
Sheputsforwardthatknowledgeintensiveorganizationsshouldconstructsystemsthatsupportthe
exchangeofknowledgethoughmutuallearningandgenerationofknowledge(Grandori,2001).
Theselearningmechanismscanberelatedtoasituationwhereamixbetweentacitandexplicit
knowledgeispresent.Puretacitknowledgeishardtocodifyandtheemphasisshouldbeon
retentionoftheknowledge(retainingemployees)andnotoncreationortransferaccording.Where
methodsforquickknowledgeexchangeareimportantwhendealingwithlargeamountsofexplicit
knowledge,learningcanbeusedformoretacitknowledge(Grabher,2004)
Grandori(2001)presentsthreedifferentorganizationalknowledgegovernancemechanisms:

|31

Configurationofcommunicationanddecisionmaking;
Thelogicofdecisionmaking;
Theinvestmentindedicatedstructuresandformalizedproceduresofcoordination.

PeltokorpiandTsuyuki(2006)proposeanumberofsteeringandcontrolmechanisms.Thesecan
eitherinaharddimension(Contracts,directives,incentivesandrewards)tosupporttransparency
andcollectivemonitoringorinasoftdimension(Communication,trust,managementstylesand
organizationalculture)tosupportmotivation,trustandsharednormsandvision.Theresulting
mechanismswhichareproposedare

Consensusbasedhierarchy;
SharedHRMpractices;
Performancemeasuresandoutputcontrol.

Choietal.(2005)focusontransferringknowledge,amoretraditionalapproach.Explicitknowledge
iseasiertotransferthantacitknowledge,sotheirperspectiveismainlyfocusedonexplicit
knowledge.Thesescholarspresentanumberofmechanismstomakeknowledgebettertransferable
throughouttheorganizationdependingonthecharacteristicsoftheorganization.TheworkbyChoi
etal.(2005)alsopinpointsaninterestingissuewhichvariousscholarshaveintheareaofknowledge
governance.Thisisthatknowledgegovernanceisverycloselyrelatedtoknowledgemanagement.
Thisresultsinincentivesandmechanismswhichdirectlyinfluencetheknowledgeflowsand
processesinsteadoftheknowledgemanagementprocesses.Nonetheless,thesemechanismsare
presentedasknowledgegovernanceandthereforewillbeincludedinthisresearch.
Othermechanismsthatarepresentedbyvariousscholarsaremoresupportingelementslike
motivationandculture.Themotivationisneededtokeeptheknowledgeflowingandtokeepthe
competitiveadvantage(Osterloh&Frey,2000).Organizationalmembersingeneralcanbe
motivatedintrinsicallyorextrinsically.Intrinsicmotivationisaneedforsatisfaction.Itisfor
someonesownsakeandappearstobeselfsustained(Fangetal.,2004;Osterloh&Frey,2000)
whereextrinsicmotivationcanbeamoreexplicitrewardinglikefinancialcompensation.
ThemostformallistofsupportingmechanismsisgivenbyFangetal.(2004)whopromotethe
followingessentialconditionswhichhavetobemetforeffectiveknowledgemanagement,and
thereforeisknowledgegovernance:

Theincentivemechanismforknowledgesharing;
Organizationidentity(thecohesionadconsistencyingoalsbetweenmembers);
Mutualtrustbetweenmembers;
Informalcommunicationchannel;
Organizationallearning.

Authorityorincentivescanresultinmotivationfromanemployeetocooperatewithamechanism.
Whenanorganizationusestacitknowledge,intrinsicmotivationismostsuitedformofmotivation.
Theoppositeisthecasewithanexplicitknowledgeusingorganization,whichshouldprimarilyfocus
onextrinsicmotivation.Theintrinsicmotivationishardertomanagethanextrinsicmotivation,but
extrinsicmotivationcanhaveacorruptingeffect(Fangetal.,2004).Bothmotivationtypestherefore
haveadvantagesanddisadvantagesbutarefixedtothetypeofknowledge.

|32


Foss(2007)stressesthattherearenoconceivablemechanismswhichdirectlytakeusfromthe
organizationlevelconstructofcapabilitytoorganizationalleveloutcomessuchasacompetitive
advantage.Butwhichelementsneedtobetakencareoftomakeagovernancemechanisma
success?Grandori(2001)obviouslyreferstotheearliermentionedmechanismswhichshouldbe
implementedcorrectlybutalsotothefactthattheunderlyingknowledgecomplexity,differentiation
andinterests,coordinationmechanismscansucceedorfail.
Altogether,thereisalargeamountofperceivablemechanismsintheknowledgegovernance
researchdomain.Notallpossiblemechanismshavebeendescribedindetailbutthecomplete
researchwillberoundupinFigure20.Inthisfigure,themoreorganizationalorientedmechanisms
aspresentedbyFossandGrandoriarepresentedparalleltothemoreoperationalandalmost
knowledgemanagementmechanismslikepresentedbyChoietal.orbyFangetal.Thisresultsinthe
difficultyofinterpretingthesefindingsanddeterminewhichmechanismswillbesuitedinwhich
situation.Thiswillbedonebycreatingafixedsetofsituationalfactors,linkingthesetotheIT
governanceresultsanddeterminewheretheseknowledgegovernanceelementscansupportthat
specificsituation.
Grandori
(2001)

Peltokorpi
&Tsuyuki
(2006

Configuration
of
communication
anddecision
making
Investmentin
dedicated
structuresand
formalized
proceduresof
coordination
Logicaldecision
making

Consensus
based
hierarchy

Knowledge
exchange

Organizational
learning

Incentives

Contracts

Network
creation

Intrinsic
motivation

SharedHRM
practices

Knowledgegift

Knowledge
sharing

Creationof
organizational
identity

Directives

Cumulative
learning

Extrinsic
motivation

Knowledge
entitlement

Knowledge
spiral

Mutualtrust

Rewardschemes

Disruptive
learning

Performance
measuresand
output
control

Knowledge
integration

Incentives

Trust

Informal
communication
Organizational
learning
Authority

Management
styles
Organizational
culture

Choiet
Fangetal. Foss(2007) Fossetal
al.(2005) (2004)
.(2003)

Grabher Osterloh
(2004)
&Frey
(2000)

Figure20:Roundupofknowledgegovernancemechanisms

2.4.Answeringresearchquestions
Inchapter1.2.1,theresearchquestionswerepresented.Thefirstthreequestionscanbeanswered
withthisfundamentalpartofmyresearch.Thequestionsthatthereforeinmyopinioncanbe
answeredarethefollowing:
1. WhichITandknowledgegovernancemodelsexist?
2. WhatarethemainprinciplesofITgovernanceandknowledgegovernance?
3. WhatarethedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenthemainprinciplesofITgovernanceand
knowledgegovernance?

|33


2.4.1. Existingmodels
Thefirstquestionisansweredtroughthepresentationofthedifferentmodelsthatexistinginboth
governanceareas.Thebasisforthis,isthegeneralconceptofgovernance.Theassumptionisthat
governancecanbeperceivedasthecombinationoftheorganizationalstructure,resources,decision
areasandcontrolmechanisms.Thevariousmodels,frameworksandotherresearchthathavebeen
presentedinthesefirstchapters,havebeenbrokendowntotheseelementsandclearlyshowthe
differentfocithatthedifferentscholarshave.
WheretheITgovernancemodelsandframeworksupplementedeachother,theknowledge
governanceresearchprimarilyfocusesonthegovernancemechanisms.Thisisduetothefactthat
thefociofthedifferentscholarsdifferstronglywithintheknowledgegovernanceresearch.
ItisclearthatthestructureoftheorganizationinrelationtotheITgovernanceisonlypresented
extensivelyintheworkbyWeillandRoss(2004),whereGrandori(2001)takesonthisperspective
bestinrelationtotheknowledgegovernance.Thisresultsinasituationthatnocompleterelation
canbefoundbetweenthestructureofthegovernancebetweenthesetwoareas.Adifferent
approachwillthereforebeneededtolinktheresearchareas,onanorganizationallevel.
DuetothematurityoftheITgovernanceresearch,thedecisionareasarealsomoreclearintheIT
governanceresearchdomain.Themainelementsoftheknowledgeresearchresolvearoundthe
creation,usage,transportandretentionofknowledge(Grant,1991).Byinterpretingtheresearchof
thepresentedscholars,asetofdecisionareashasbeenderivedandsomeadditionalareashave
beenaddedtocoverthecompletescopeofthesubject.Theresultofthedecisionareasispresented
inFigure21.
ITGovernance
Planningandorganization
ITArchitecture

ITInfrastructure
BusinessApplicationNeeds
PrioritizationandITInvestment
Monitoringandcontrol
Riskmanagement

Knowledgegovernance
Creation
Usage
Transport
Retention
Culture
Technology

Figure21:Governancedecisionareas

Theunderlyingresourceshavenotbeenpresentedextensivelybyscholarsinneitheroftheresearch
areas.Inmostmodels,aseparateresourcemanagementactivityisbroughtintoplacetocontrolall
resourcedemandswhichshouldmakesurethatnoresourcesarewasted.
Allmechanisms,whichhavebeenpresented,allrelatetothevariousdecisionareas.Thematurity
anddirectapplicabilitydodifferstrongfromeachother.Thelinkbetweenthetwoareasinrelation
totheorganizationalstructure,decisionareas,resourcesandmechanismswillbepresentedin
chapter3.
2.4.2. Themainprinciples
Besidesallgovernancemodels,therearefoundationsforbothgovernanceresearches.Thedifferent
scholars(inbothITandknowledgegovernance)proposedifferentsolutionsandmechanismsfora
similarproblem.Alogicalconclusioncouldbe,thatthesedifferencesarecauseddifferentbasic
principlesinthescholarsreasoning.Thedownsideisthatnotallscholarsputforwardtheirown
principlesandthereforeachoicehadtobemadetoonhowtopresenttheseprinciples.The

|34


ITGI(2004),whichconsistsoflargegroupoforganizations,presentsclearITgovernanceprinciples.
Forknowledgegovernance,oneofthemostrecentworkspresentingaclearsetofprinciples,isFelin
&Spender(2009).
AccordingtotheITGItheprinciplesofITgovernancearefocusedonsettingclearobjectivesforthe
ITorganization,providingandgettingdirection(throughaproperstructure)andevaluate(monitor)
theperformance(ITGI,2004).Thisisreasonedfromthebasicprinciplethatobjectiveshavetobe
set,steeredandmonitoredtoachieveacertainlevelofperformance.AccordingtoFelin&Spender
(2009),thefocusofknowledgegovernanceshouldbeonmicrofoundations,beingtheindividuals
withinanorganization,butthatmacrolevelshouldnotbeneglected.Thisreasoningisalsodoneby
Foss(2007)whopromotesthefollowingsetofprinciples:

Knowledgeprocessesarebuiltuponindividualprocesses;
Knowledgeismanagedthroughhumaninterventions;
Thesocialenvironmentneedstobetakenoningoverningknowledge;
Economicsoforganizationneedtobetakenintoaccount;
Knowledgemechanismsarecomplex.

Thisresultsintheconclusionthatthescopeandfocusdiffersstrongfromeachother.Itisobvious
thatthesetwoareasdonotcoverthesameelements,butalsoinrespecttotheorganizationitself
theydiffer.MuchoftheITgovernanceperceivestheorganizationfromahigherlevelandtherefore
hasahighlevelperspective.Theknowledgegovernanceisfocussingonthemicrofoundationsand
individualwithintheorganization.Thisdifferenceinperspectiveistheissuethathasalsoarisenin
thepreviouschapters.Thescopeofbothresearchareas,clearlydiffersinrelationtotheareaof
operationwithinanorganization.
2.4.3. Thedifferencesandsimilarities
Itisclearthattherearelargedifferencesbutalsosimilaritiesbetweenthetwogovernanceareas.
Themaindifferenceinbothresearchareascanbefoundinthescopeofbothtypes.WhereIT
governancefocusesontheorganizationasawhole,thecurrentknowledgegovernanceresearch
focusesontheindividualprocessesandthehumanelementintheorganization.
Fortheprocesses,asimilaritybutalsomanydifferencescanbeobserved.Bothgovernance
approachestrytooptimizetheusageoftheresourcetocreateoptimalbenefitsinrelationtothat
resource.Thedifferenceinthataspectcanbefoundinthelevelthatitistakenon.WhereIT
governancetriestoimprovetheITmanagementstructurebyimprovingtheunderlyingmanagement
processes,theknowledgegovernancetriestoinfluencetheusageofknowledgeitself.
Theorganizationalstructurethatisdescribedpresentsstrongdifferences.ITgovernanceresearch
hasavastamountofliteratureonthisareawheretheknowledgegovernanceresearchdoesnot.In
theknowledgegovernanceresearch,onlyafewpossibleimprovementsfortheorganizationare
presented.
Thedecisionareasofcoursecompletelydifferfromeachother.AninterestingelementisthattheIT
governanceresearchalsopresentsmorestrategicallyelementslikeprinciplesandstrategywhere
thisisnotdescribedintheknowledgegovernanceresearch.Thiscouldbeexplainedbythematurity
oftheresearch.

|35


Themechanismsinturnarepresentedextensivelyinbothgovernanceareas.Thefocusofcourseis
differentalthoughinbothareastheeffectsareclear.Theresourcesthatareneededforthe
implementationontheotherhandisnotclearinneitheroftheresearchareas.Themanagementof
resourcesislocatedinaseparatemanagementprocesswhichshouldbeimplementedwithinthe
governancestructure.
|36
InthefollowingchapteritwillbeelaboratedhowthegovernanceofknowledgeandITare
intertwinedinrelationtotheorganization.Thiswillresultinaframeworkwhichgivesanoverviewof
possiblealignmentimprovementsfrombothgovernanceperspectives.

3. Mergingtheresearchareas
Bothareasofgovernancehavebeenpresentedextensivelyandthusthenextstepwillbetomerge
theseareastogether.Withthismergeithastobecomeclearhowtheseareasinteractandwhat
effecttheycanhaveonanorganizationseparatelybutalsocombined.Tobeabletoassessthe
impactontheorganization,asetoforganizationalsituationalfactorswillbedeterminedaswell.

3.1.Overview
Tomergetheresearchareas,thedifferencesandsimilaritieshavebeenelaborated.Itisclearthat
bothresearchareasoperateseparatelybutcansupporteachother.Tointegratetheresultsfromthe
literatureresearchinoneframeworkithastobeclearhowthedifferentgovernanceelements
(organizationalstructure,decisionareas,resourcesandmechanisms)supplementeachotherinan
actualsituation.
Tolinktheresultsfromthisresearchtoanactualsituation,ithastotakethecharacteristicsofthat
situationintoaccount.Inthisresearch,asituationisobservedaccordingtoasetofpredefined
situationalfactors.Inboththegovernanceareasthesearepresent,althoughthesehavenotbeen
elaboratedthoroughlyyet.IntheITgovernanceresearch,Weill&Ross(2005)presenttheinfluence
oftheallocationofauthorityandaccountabilityasasituationalfactor.TheresultisthattheIT
landscapeisinfluencedsignificantlywhenanorganizationisorganizedcentralizedordecentralized.
Fortheknowledgegovernance,themajorinfluenceisthemaincharacteristicoftheknowledgeat
hand,beingtacitorexplicitknowledge.
TobeabletomakeasingleframeworkwhichcombinesthecurrentITgovernanceresearchandthe
knowledgegovernance,itisimportanttoknowhowthesesituationalfactorsinfluencethe
governanceareasandhowthesecanbemergedintothisresearch.

3.2.Situationalfactors
TolinktheITgovernanceresearchtotheorganization,ithastobeclearwhatstructureofthe
organizationis,becausethatwillinfluencethegovernancestructure.Fortheknowledge
governance,anextravariablecomesintoplaybecauseanorganizationwillbefocusedontheusage
oftheexistingknowledge,beingtacitorexplicit.Thesetwosituationalfactors,theorganizational
structureandtheknowledgeusagewillbepresentedinthefollowingchapters.
3.2.1. Organizationalstructure
Asdescribedinthepreviouschapter,theorganizationalstructureisapartofthegovernance
structure.Abasicconcepttodescribeanorganizationalstructureistheamountofcentralization
withinanorganization(Marschak,1959).Thedegreeofcentralizationcanbedefinedasthedegree
ofparticipationindecisionmakingorthedegreeofrelianceonthehierarchyofauthority(Hage&
Aiken,1967).Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentrally,mostdecisionswillbemadeinone
centralplace.Theoppositeistheconceptofdecentralizationwhereauthoritywillbeallocated
throughouttheorganization.Betweencentralizationanddecentralizationtherearemanydifferent
levels,fromtwoautonomousbusinessunitsuptosmallteamswithownresponsibilities.
Thecreationoftheorganizationalstructureisrelatedtotheorganizationalenvironment.Thislast
aspect,takingonwhyanorganizationhasacertainstructurewillnotbeelaboratedfurtherinthis
researchduetothefactthattheorganizationalenvironmentishighlycomplexandvolatile(Miles,

|37


Snow,Meyer&Coleman,1978).Duetothis
complexity,itwillbeassumedthatthe
organizationalstructureisafixedelementand
theoptimizationoftheorganizational
structureisthereforeoutofthescopeofthis
research.

|38

Mintzberg(1980)proposesfivedifferent
structuralconfigurationsfromcentralizedto
decentralized.Dependingonthetypologyone
ortwopartsofanorganization,depictedin
Figure22,willincreaseinimportance.The
allocationofaccountabilityandauthoritycan
varybetweenthestrategicapextothe
operatingcoreinthismodel.
Figure22:Basicpartsofanorganization

AsimilarviewhasbeenpresentedbyWeill&
(Mintzberg,1980)
Ross(2004)whotakeonasetofarchetypesinthis
samespectrumtodeterminetheallocationofdecisionrightsintheITorganization.Thisallocation
alsorangesfromacentralizedtoadecentralizedstructure.Betweentheorganizationalstructure
andtheITgovernancestructureasdescribedbyWeill&Ross(2005)anumberofsimilaritiescanbe
found.
Thebehaviorinacentralizedordecentralizedorganizationcanbedescribedbytheformalization
(Mintzberg,1980).AsimilarperceptioncanbefoundintheITgovernanceresearchwhichstatesthat
amorecentralizedorganizationwillhavemorestandardizedbusinessprocesses.Themore
centralizedanorganizationwillbecome,themorestandardizedtheworkwillbecomeandjobswill
becomemorespecialized.Behavior,forexample,willbemoreformalizedandunitscanbecome
largerduetothelessdirectsupervisionandamoreuniformjobdesign.
Thefocusofacentralizedorganization,accordingtoWeill&Ross(2005)istheperformanceand
growth/innovationwillbethemainfocusforadecentralizedorganization.Mintzberg(1980)
describestheunitsizeandgroupinginacentralizedorganizationaslargefunctionalgroups.Ina
decentralizedorganizationtheseunitsaresmallmarketfocusedgroups.Itisaplausiblethatthe
largerfunctionalorientedbusinessunitswillbettersupportaperformancefocusduetoscale
advantageswherethesmallmarketorientedbusinessunitsoffertheflexibilityforgrowthand
innovation.
Whenobservingthesesimilaritiesbetweentheresearchareas,itcanbeassumedthatwhenthe
organizationisorganizedcentralizedordecentralized,theITgovernancestructurewillbeorganized
inasimilarway.Thisresultsintheassumptionthatwhentheorganizationalstructureiscentralized,
theITgovernancestructurewillbecentralizedaswell.Whentheorganizationalstructureis
decentralized,theITgovernancestructurewillbedecentralizedaswell.
Whenthisreasoningiscontinued,amorecentralizedorganizationshouldpursuethe
standardizationoftheITlandscapewherethedecentralizedorganizationwillhavemuchmore
localizedIT(Weill&Ross,2005).Thenextstepofthisresearchwillbetodeterminetheimpactthat


theknowledgeusagewillhaveontheorganizationandhowthisrelatestotheorganizational
structure.
3.2.2. Knowledgeusage
Knowledgeisanelementwhichisresearchedintensivelyinrecentliterature.Thisresearchwillfocus
onhowknowledgeisusedintheorganizationandhowthisisinfluenced.
Acleardistinctionthatcanbemadeinrespecttoknowledge,isbetweentacitknowledgeand
explicitknowledge.Tacitknowledgeispersonal,contextspecific.Thismakestacitknowledgehardto
formalizeandcommunicate.Popularexamplesaredrivingabikeorcar.Explicitorcodified
knowledge,ontheotherhand,referstoknowledgethatistransmittableinformal,systematic
language(Nonaka&Takeuchi,1995).Whetherknowledgeistacitorexplicit,itisbothseenasan
intangibleassetforanorganization(Choi,etal,2005)andthusishardtomanage.Thedifferent
typesofknowledgehavedifferentpropertieswhicharepresentedinFigure23.
Tacitknowledgeapproach

Explicitknowledgeapproach

Knowledgeispersonalinnatureandvery
difficulttoextractfrompeople.
Knowledgemustbetransferredbymoving
peoplewithinorbetweenorganizations.

Knowledgecanbearticulatedandcodifiedto
createexplicitknowledgeassets.
Knowledgecanbedisseminated(using
informationtechnologies)intheformof
documents,drawings,bestpractices,etc.
Learningcanbedesignedtoremedyknowledge
deficienciesthroughstructured,managed,
scientificprocesses.

Learningmustbeencouragedbybringingthe
rightpeopletogetherundertheright
circumstances.

Figure23:Tacitknowledgeversusexplicitknowledge(Sanchez,2005)

Itisimportanttoknowwhattypeofknowledgeisresidinginanorganizationandhavethe
knowledgemanagementprocessesalignedtothisknowledgeandthustooptimizethegainsfrom
thisknowledge.TheknowledgebasedviewofthefirmbyGrant(1997)alreadyshowedthat
knowledgecanhaveaseriousimpactontheorganizationanditthereforeisimportantthat
knowledgeismanagedproperly.
Whencontrolling,andthusgoverning,theknowledgemanagementprocesses,differentmechanisms
canbeimplementedtooptimizethebenefitsfromthisknowledge.Differentexampleshavebeen
presentedinchapter2.3.3.2.Allthesemechanismsareinfluencedbythecharacteristicsofthe
knowledgewithintheorganizationandthesecharacteristicswillinfluencethesuccessandimpactof
amechanism.Thismakestheknowledgecharacteristicsasituationalfactorbecauseitinfluencesthe
usageofknowledgemanagementandthuswillinfluencetheknowledgegovernanceaswell.

3.3.Linkingthesituationalfactors
Thetwosituationalfactorshavebeenpresentedindividuallyinthepreviouschapters.Thenextstep
istolinkthestructureofthe(IT)organizationtotheknowledgeusage.Thisisneededtocreatea
fixedsetofpossiblesituationsthatinfluencetheITandknowledgegovernance.Thusfaritisclear
thatdependingonthestructureoftheorganization,theITgovernancestructureisformed,which
influencestheimplementationofpossibleITgovernancemechanisms.Thesameeffectcanbe
observedintheareaofknowledgegovernancewhichisinfluencedbythecharacteristicsofthe
knowledgeathand.

|39


Thegoalofthischapteristolinkthetacitknowledgefocusofanorganizationtothedecentralized
organizationalstructureandtheexplicitfocustothecentralizedorganizationalstructure.When
doingthis,theknowledgeusagefordecisionmaking(management)andknowledgeusageinthe
primaryprocessareobservedseparatelytosupportbothareasofknowledgeusagewithinthe
organization.
|40
Firstthelinkbetweenthestructureoftheorganizationandknowledgeintheprimaryprocesswillbe
elaborated.Sachs(1995)presentstwotypesoforganizationalcombinationsofjobdesignand
knowledgeusage,beingtheorganizational,explicitandtheactivityoriented,tacitviewsofan
organization.Theseviewslinkspecificjobdesignparameterstotheusageofexplicitandtacit
knowledge.TheresultispresentedinFigure24withthedesignparametersaccordingtothesetwo
extremes.
Organizationalexplicit

Activityorientedtacit

Deskillingisdesirable
Routinework,rotethinkingdesirable

Skilldevelopmentisdesirable
Developmentofknowledge,understanding,
deciphering,iscentraltoskill
Flexibility=skilledpeople
Collaborationandcollaborativelearningtake
placeincommunities
Communitiesarefundsofknowledge
Skillthroughlearningproducesreliability

Flexibility=interchangeablejobs
Standardoperatingenvironmentsarenecessary
tothebusiness
Socialintegrationisnonproductive
Automationproducesreliability

Figure24:Organizationaldesignparameters(Sachs,1995)

Whenobservingthemoreroutinework,theflexibilityandthelowskilldevelopmentaspresentedby
Sachs(1995),thesecanbelinkedtothecentralizedstructurebyMintzberg(1980).Amore
centralizedorganizationwillhavemorestandardizedworkprocesses,beingmoreroutinework
whichmakesthedevelopmentofexpertiseislessimportant.Peopleneedtobegeneralistsinthat
typeoforganization.Theactivityorientedsituationcanbelinkedtothedecentralizedorganization
becausethedevelopmentofskillwillresultincommunitiesaroundspecificmarketsorproblems.
Thesesmallercommunitiesareinlinewiththedecentralizedorganization.Theflexibilityisalso
limitedduetothesmallercommunitiesandthemorespecificjobs.Throughthisresult,itcanbe
assumedthatamorecentralizedorganizationwillmostlikelyuseexplicitknowledgewherea
decentralizedorganizationwillbefocusingontacitknowledge.
TheresearchbyHansen,Nohria&Tierney(1999)resultsinasimilarperception.Thesescholars
presentthejobdesignaroundacodificationorpersonalizationstrategywhichresolvesaroundthe
focusonexplicitortacitknowledge.AccordingtoHansenetal.(1999),acodificationstrategy,which
hasafocusonexplicitknowledge,willresultinlargerteamsandlessextensivelearning.Thisisalso
thecasewithamorecentralizedorganizationaccordingtoMintzberg(1980).Theoppositeisthe
casewithapersonalizationstrategy,whichwillresultinasmallerteamsandrequireshigher
education(Hansenetal.,1999).AccordingtoMintzbert(1980),amoredecentralizedorganization
willhavesmallerteamsandwillfocusonexpertise.Theseareinterestingsimilaritieswhichonce
againsupportthislinkbetweenthesituationalfactors.
Fromadecisionmakingperspective,thelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandthe
knowledgeusagecanbemadeaswell.Whentherearemultipleautonomousbusinessunits,the


knowledgeofaspecificsituationwillberesidinginthatspecificbusinessunit.Thisisinlinewith
Mintzberg(1980)whostatesthatinadecentralizedorganization,thegroupingofthesmallbusiness
unitswillbefunctionalandmarketoriented.Marketspecificknowledgewillresideinaspecific
businessunit,resultinginspecificknowledgeinspecificbusinessunits.Tomanagethesebusiness
units,thedecisionsshouldbemadewheretheknowledgeisresiding(Grant,1997).When
knowledgeisexplicit,itiseasilytransferablethroughoutanorganizationanditwillfacilitatea
situationinwhichdecisionscanbemadecentrally.Whenknowledgeisresidinginindividualsinan
organization,theseindividualsareinthebestpositiontomakeadecision.Sothemoretacit
knowledgeisusedtomakeadecision,themoredecentralizedthisdecisionmakingauthorityshould
be.
Fromboththeprimaryprocessaswellasfromthemanagementperspectivethereissignificant
supportfortheassumptionthatacentralizedorganizationwillbefocusedonexplicitknowledgeand
adecentralizedorganizationwillfocusontacitknowledge.Similarreasoninghasbeendoneby
Smedlund(2008).ThedifferencewiththisresearchisthatSmedlunddoesnotsupportthelink
betweenthetacitknowledgeusageandthedecentralizedstructure.Inhisreasoning,potential
knowledge,definedasknowledgethathasnotyetbeenused,isthekeyelementforadecentralized
organization.IntheresearchbySmedlundtacitknowledgehasalinkwithadivisionalized
organizationalstructure.
AccordingtoMintzberg(1980),thedivisionalizedstructureisonlyadifferenttypeof
decentralization.Smedlundsperceptionofthepotentialandtacitknowledgeasisalsopresentedby
Alavi&Leidner(2001).Thesescholardescribethesetwoknowledgetypeascognitivetacitand
technicaltacitknowledge.ThedifferenceinthiscaseisthatAlaviandLeidneronlyobservetheseas
subsetsoftacitknowledge.ByinterpretingthisresearchbyMintzberg,AlaveandLeidner,itcanbe
concludedthatSmedlundsresearchpresentsasubsetoftacitknowledgeandasubsetofthe
decentralizedstructure.Hisresearchthereforesupportsthefoundationsofthisresearch.

Figure25:Knowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure

|41


Theviewonthealignmentbetweentheorganizationalstructureandknowledgeusageisvisualized
inFigure25.Thislinksuggeststhatthemostoptimalconfigurationbetweenthetwoelementscan
befoundbyeitheradaptingtheorganizationtotheknowledgeortheotherwayaround.

3.4.Mergingthestrategies
Bothsituationalfactorshavebeenmergedintotwosituations,beingacentralizedexplicitanda
decentralizedtacitsituation.Ofcourse,theseareonlytwoextremesituationsbutthesedomakeit
possibletocontinuethisresearchandlinkotherknowledgeandITrelatedelementsand
mechanismstothesesituations.
Bydeterminingtheamountofcentralizationinanorganization,itispossibletodeterminethe
optimalknowledgefocusandoptimalITusageaswell.Togovernanorganizationonthedifferent
areas,thefirststepiscreatingaclearlongtermview,beingaproperstrategyforboththeITandthe
knowledgemanagement.
Theknowledgestrategieswhichcanbeusedinthesesituationsaretheknowledgeprotectionand
theknowledgetransferstrategy(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001).Theknowledgetransferstrategy
focusesontherapiddisseminationofknowledgeandthequickandfullutilizationofthisknowledge,
whichsuitsanorganizationthatfocusesonexplicitknowledge.Theknowledgeprotectionstrategyis
aimedatmaintainingknowledgeinitsoriginalandconstructivestateandkeepingknowledgefrom
transferringtootherorganizations.Thisprotectionstrategythereforesuitsthefocusontacit
knowledge.
Besideslinkingtheseknowledgestrategiestoexplicitandtacitknowledge,thesecanalsobelinked
totheorganizationalstructureduetothepreviouslypresentedrelationbetweentheorganizational
structureandtheknowledgeusage.Thetransferstrategywouldthereforebetheoptimalstrategy
whenanorganizationiscentralizedandthedecentralizedorganizationshouldpursueaprotection
strategytokeepthetacitknowledgewithintheorganization.
Theseknowledgestrategiesimplythatwhentheorganizationisfocusingonthetransferofthe
knowledgethroughouttheorganization,itshouldinvestinatechnicalsupportlikeaknowledge
managementsystem.Whenanorganizationisdecentralizedandthususingtacitknowledge,it
shouldfocusonthepeople,becausethesearetheprimaryknowledgerepositoriesfortacit
knowledge(Grant,1997).Tosupportthese,HRMprocessescanbeusedtoretainthesepeoplein
theorganization.Paralleltothat,thetacitknowledgeshouldbemadeaccessiblebycreating
knowledgenetworks(Hansen,2002).Bydeterminingtheorganizationalstructure,theknowledge
usageandthefirststepsforimprovingtheknowledgelandscapecanbederived.
ITandknowledgemanagementaretwoconceptsthathavebeenintertwinedheavilyinboth
literatureandpractice.Differentscholarsarestatingthatknowledgemanagementcantexist
withoutIT(Alavi&Leidner,2001;Holsapple,2005)whereothersstatethatthisisnotthecase
(McDermott,1999).Withoutgoingintothisdiscussion,itissafetostatethatinmanyknowledge
managementsettings,ITplaysaprominentrole.Furthermore,differentknowledgesettingshave
differentdemandsinrelationtotheITstructure.SothenextstepwillbetodeterminehowITcan
supporttheseknowledgestrategiesandhowdoesisreflectedintheITstrategy?

|42


ITusage,especiallyinrespecttoknowledgemanagement,directlyimpactsindividualactions(Foss,
2007).Toachieveasignificantresultwithadelicateprocesslikeknowledgemanagement,ITneeds
tobefinetunedtotheorganizationspecificsituation.Accordingtovariousscholarstherearetwo
maintypesofITusageinrespecttoknowledgemanagementbeingacodificationandnetwork
creation(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001;Hansenetal.,1999).Whenthereisalargeamountofexplicit
knowledgeinanorganization,codificationprocessescanbesupportedbyIT.ThisITusageisaimed
atincreasingthespeedthatknowledgeiscodified,transferredandusedwithinanorganization.
Whenthereisalargeamountoftacitknowledge,networksofpeoplecanbecreatedusingIT
systemswhichshouldsupportcommunicationconcerningtheknowledge.Thisshouldresultinan
improvementoffindingtherightknowledgewithintheorganizationwhichinturnsupportsthe
personalizationstrategybecausepeoplecanlearnfromeachother.Thiswillresultinthefactthat
lessknowledgewillbelostwhenanemployeeleaves.

Figure26:ITusage,derivedfromBloodgood&Salisbury(2001)andHansenetal.(1999)

Asstated,theITneedstobefinetunedtotheorganizationalsituation.Itwillnotberealistictostate
thatanorganizationwillbefullycentralizedordecentralizednorwillitberealistictostatthatan
organizationwillpurelyfocusontacitorexplicitknowledge.TheusageofITwillbebetweenthese
twoextremesmostofthetime.InFigure26thereisabalancebetweenthetwotypesofknowledge,
andthetwotypesofITthatareneeded.Thefocusstillisoncodificationinancentralizedexplicit
situationandonnetworkcreationwhenthesituationisdecentralizedtacitbutamixofbothIT
strategiesisasuitablesolutionaswell,whenthisisinlinewiththeorganizationalstructure.
Aspresentedinchapter2.2.3.1,theamountofcentralizationwillhaveasignificanteffectontheIT
strategylandscape(Weill&Ross,2005).Thefundamentaldifferencewillbethefocuson
standardizationforacentralizedstructure,andacustomizedITlandscapeinthedecentralized
situation.Thisdifferencewillalsoresultindifferentsupportoftheknowledgeprocesseddueto
completedifferentITlandscapes.Aknowledgemanagementsysteminanorganizationneedsa
standardizedITlandscapetobeeffectivethroughoutthewholeorganizationwherethecreationof
knowledgenetworkshavelessdemandsfromtheinfrastructureandonlyreliescommunication
systems.Thegeneralperceptionisthatwhentheorganizationiscentralized,technologywillachieve
asignificantpositionintheknowledgeareawhereadecentralizedwillfocusonamorepersonnel

|43


andHRMfocussedstrategybecausetheretentionofknowledgebecomesmoreimportant
(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001).

3.5.Aligningtheknowledgeusage
Perfectalignmentwouldbeverydesirableinthisbutthereisalowprobabilitythatanorganization
willhaveitsorganizationalstructureperfectlyalignedwiththeusageofknowledgeandtheITusage.
Thenextstepthereforewillbetheprocessofaligningtheelementstoeachother.Changingthe
organizationalstructurewillnoteasilybeeasyduetothefactthatthisstructureisalignedtoits
environment,whichishighlycomplexandvolatile(Milesetal.,1978).Duetothis,thealignmentwill
focusonchangingtheusageofknowledgeandIT.
Tochangeanorganizationfromusingthewrongtypeofknowledgetotherightone,the
configurationoftacitandexplicitknowledgecanbechanged(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001).In
Figure27,thepreviouslypresentedassumptionsonthetacit/decentralizedandthe
explicit/centralizedorganizationhavebeenvisualized.Inthecentre,abalanceofbothstrategieshas
beenincludedandallhasbeenputinthismatrixforthesakeofclarity.

Figure27:Changestrategyoverview,derivedfromBloodgood&Salisbury(2001).

Tochangefromoneofthesituationsortoanothersituation,threepossibilitiesarepresentedasa
changestrategy(Bloodgood&Salisbury,2001).
1. Acquirenewresourcesandnotreconfigure:Tocreateapurecentralizedandexplicit
knowledgeconfiguration,newknowledgeshouldbeacquiredandtransferredthroughout
theorganization.Thisshouldresultinasustainablecompetitiveadvantage.Speedisvery
importantinthiscasebecausethecompetitionwillalsobeabletoacquirethisexplicit
knowledgerapidly.
2. Reconfigurewithexistingresources:Duetothetacitnatureoftheknowledgeofa
decentralizedorganization,theusageofallknowledgethatresideintheemployeesshould
beaddressedandusedtocreateacompetitiveadvantage.

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3. Reconfigureusingnewresources:Whenthereisabalancedmixturehastobeachieved,the
existingtacitknowledgeshouldbeusedtothefullextentbutthecompetitiveadvantagewill
alsobeachievedbyreconfiguringtheorganizationwithnewlyacquiredexplicitknowledge.
Inalltheabovedescribedstrategicchanges,effortshouldbeputinthemanipulationofthe
organizationalknowledgeusagetoassurethatthemaximalgainfromknowledgecanbeachieved
accordingtotheorganizationalstructure.Nexttotheseknowledgemanipulations,theITlandscape
shouldbereviewedaswelltosupportthechangingdemandsfromtheorganization.

|45

4. Creatingaframework
Inthepreviouschapters,therehasbeenanextensivereviewofexistingITandknowledge
governanceresearchandthelinkbetweentheareashasbeenelaboratedaswell.Bothknowledge
andITgovernancehavebeendescribedaccordingtotheorganizationalstructure,resources,
decisionareasandcontrolmechanisms.Alltheseelementscanbeusedtocreateasingleframework
incorporatingthesituationalfactors.Theresultingframeworkgivesasituationspecificviewonthe
optimalusageofknowledgeandITforaspecificsituation.

4.1.Frameworkpresentation
Tobuildupthecombinedframework,thefirststepwillbethepositionthetwodifferentsituations
asdescribed.Theassumptionisthatanorganizationwillbeorganizedcentralizedordecentralized
withthecorrespondingknowledgefocus,beingexplicitandtacit.Thiswillresultintwosituations,
beingthecentralized/explicitknowledgeandthedecentralized/tacitknowledgesituations.When
observingtheallocationofauthorityandaccountability,theyrepresentstheorganizationalstructure
asdescribedintheITgovernanceresearch.Thiswasnotexplicitlydescribedintheknowledge
governanceresearchandthusthissituationfactorwillbethemaindescriptoroftheorganizational
structure.
Tocontinue,thedifferentareasinwhichtheorganizationhasbeendescribed,havetobemergedto
createonecomprehensiveandclearsetwhichisapplicableforboththeITaswellastheknowledge
governancearea.Whenthepresentedgovernancedecisionareas,visualizedinFigure21,are
observed,itispossibletocreateonecomprehensivesetofdecisionareas.Thegovernancedecision
areas,aswillbeusedinthefinalframework,arepresentedinFigure28.Theaimisnottomakea
perfectmodelofanorganization,buttocombinebothITandknowledgeareasinsuchawaythata
goodoverviewcanbecreatedofpossibleimprovementsthroughouttheorganization.
Thesixareasthathavebeencreated,arebasedontheperspectivethattherehastobeaclear
strategicviewonhowtouseITandknowledgeandhowtechnology,people,monitoring,demands
andinvestmentswillbeorganizedinaspecificsituation.Theseareas,aspresentedinFigure28,are
createdwiththefocusonpreparingtheorganizationforproperITandknowledgeusage,optimal
usageofknowledgeinrelationtoITandalignmentwiththeorganizationalstructure.

|46


Decisionarea

Description

Planningandorganizing

TheorganizationandplanningofboththeITandknowledgeusage.Thisincludesthe
alignmentofthestrategicgoalsandtheusageofresourcesinrelationtobothareas.The
organizationalstructurewillfurthermoredeterminewhethertheorganizationwillfocuson
theusageoftacitorexplicitknowledgeandthecorrespondingtechnologicalorHRMfocus.
ThedeterminationofthetechnologicalneedsforIT.ThiscouldbeanadvancedKMSormore
focusoncommunicationandknowledgenetworks.Thisshouldbesupportedbythe
correspondingITarchitectureandinfrastructuretoassurepropertransportandretentionof
knowledge(primarilywithexplicitknowledge).
Toretainandtransporttacitknowledgepeopleneedtobemotivatedtoshareknowledge.
Thecodificationofexplicitknowledgeneedstobesupportedaswellbythepeople.Intheend
allknowledgeiscreatedbypeoplesostrongsupportforthemanagementofknowledgeis
eminent.
TheperformanceofboththeITandtheknowledgenetworksneedstobemonitoredand
promotedaswell.Thiscanbedonebybusinessrulesandincentives.Furthermore,theoverall
controlneedstobeimplementedaswell.
TheneedsfromthebusinesstouseknowledgeandIThavetobesupportedbyboth
managementareas.Thesupportcanvaryinrelationtotheorganizationalstructure.Thisis
duetotheamountofstandardizationthatisemergingintheorganization.
Inunderperformingsituations,itiseminenttodeterminetheoptimalchangesinrelationwith
theglobalstrategyandtoinvestinthoseareaswhichwillimprovetheperformancemost.
Figure28:MergedITandknowledgedecisionareas

Knowledgesupporting
technology

Peopleandculture

Monitoringandcontrol

Businessneeds

Prioritizationand
investments

Tocompletetheframework,thepresentedITandknowledgegovernancemechanismshavebeen
allocatedintothevariouscellsoftheframework.Thisresultsintoasituationspecificgovernance
frameworkonhowtooptimizebothITandknowledgegovernance.Tocreateacomprehensive
framework,notallmechanismshavebeenincludedandothershavebeenincludedtwicebecause
theyweresuitableinbothsituationsbutwithadifferentfocus.Theresultisthefollowing
framework.
Area
Planningand
organization

Technological
knowledgesupport

Peopleandculture

Decentralized/Tacit

Centralized/Explicit

Theorganizationwillfocusonthehuman
resourcemanagementandwilltryto
preventthedepartureofknowledge
(employees)withaknowledgeprotection
strategy.

DecisionsonITaretakendecentralized.
Theorganizationwillhavesmall,largely
autonomous,groupsandbusinessunits.

Thefocusoftheorganizationwillbeto
groworinnovatewithnewproducts
ITispositionedtocreateknowledge
networksbetweentheknowledge
repositories(theemployees)

Theinfrastructurehastosupportthe
communicationbetweenemployeeswhich
isneededtocreatetheknowledge
networks

Localarchitecturewithfewshared
componentswillbeimplementedto
supportthecustomizedIT
Theprimaryprocesseswillconsistofa
higheramountvarietyfortheemployees
thaninamorecentralized(process
oriented)organization.

Theorganizationwillfocusonamore
technologicalfocus.Theknowledgeinthe
organizationneedstobecodifiedand
transportedthroughouttheorganization

DecisionsonITaretakencentralizedbythe
businessandthereareafewaccountable
managers

Thefocusoftheorganizationwillbeon
efficiency,productivityandprofitmargins.
ITispositionedtocodifyandtransfer
knowledgefromemployeesinaknowledge
managementsystem.

Theinfrastructureisaimedatquicktransfer
ofknowledgethroughknowledgemarkets
tosupporttheknowledgeneeds.

Centralarchitecturewillsupportthe
standardizedIT.

Theprimaryprocesswillbemore
standardizedanduniformtomakecentral
controlpossible.

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Monitoringandcontrol

Businessneeds

Prioritizationand
investments

Cultureisveryimportanttotransport
knowledgewhenitistacit.Thorough
supportforaknowledgesharingculture
thereforeiseminent.

Tacitknowledgecanonlybeshared
(throughknowledgenetworks)byhaving
strongintrinsicmotivation.Thisshouldbe
embeddedintheorganizationalculture.

Intrinsicmotivationisnotenoughfortacit
knowledgesharing.Animportantelement
istrust.

Whenalotoftacitknowledgeisrelatedto
thejob,ahighlevelofexpertisecanbe
developed.Byhavingmultipleexperts,
knowledgecanbesharedthoughthe
knowledgenetworks.

Withintheorganization,alargevarietycan
existinthepersonneldirectory.
Supervisionandmonitoringwillbe
allocatedtothebusinessunits

Riskmanagementwillbeaprominent
elementtocontroltheauthorityand
accountabilityinthebusinessunits.

Inacentralizedorganizationthereputation
ofthemanagementisimportanttoassure
respectandcommitmentfortheusageof
knowledge

Themotivationforexplicitknowledge
sharing,beingcodification,canbedonein
anextrinsicway.

Tobeabletorewardemployeesforsharing
knowledge,arewardingschememustbein
place.

Whentheorganizationthrivesonexplicit
knowledge,anybodycanlearnthisquickly
andnoexpertisewillarise.Thepeoplewill
becomegeneralists.

Withintheorganization,therecanbelittle
varietyinthepersonneldirectory.
Supervisionandmonitoringwillbecentrally
coordinated

Centralizationwillcircumventtheneedfor
extensiveriskmanagementprocessesdue
toenterprisewidemanagement
mechanisms.
Needsfromthebusinessneedtobeinline
withtheorganizationalneeds.

Standardized(enterprisewide)ITwill
supportorganizationwidedemands.

Differentdivisionsorunitsaresupported
intheirownITdemandsbythecustomized
IT

CustomizedITwillbeusedtosupport
individualdemands.
Investmentsareneededintheareaof
Tocodifyknowledgeandafterwardsstore
HRMforthenetworkcreationand
anduseknowledge,theknowledge
protectionofknowledgebecause
managementsystemshavetobe
employeesneedtoberetainedinthe
implemented.
organizationandneedmotivationfor

knowledgesharing

Investmentindedicatedstructuresand
Creationofportalsorother
formalizedcoordinationproceduresto
information/servicesourcesand
centralizethe.
communicationservices

Creationofinformalcommunicationto
promotenetworkcreation

PromotesharedHRMpracticestooptimize
theHRMfunctionintheorganization
Figure29:KnowledgeenrichedITGovernanceframework

Thisframeworkisbasedontheworksofseveralauthors,whichhavebeenmentionedearlier
extensively.TheseworksareBloodgoodandSalisbury(2001),Choietal.(2005),DeHaesandVan
Grembergen(2004),Fangetal.(2004),Fossetal.(2003),Foss(2007),Grabher(2004),Grandori
(2001),Hansenetal.(1999),ITGI(2004),Mintzberg(1980),Nonaka&Konno(1998),Osterloh&Frey
(2000),Peltokorpi&Tsuyuki(2006),Sanchez(2005),Symons(2005),Weill&Ross(2005),Weill&
Ross(2004)andWeill&Woodham(2002).Allthesescholarshavepresentedmechanismsintheir
perceptionwhichinturnhavemappedtooneofthetwoorganizationalsituationalfactors.Ifnot

|48


possible,thesehaveinterpretedandappliedinbothareastomakeacleardistinctionbetweenthe
extremesorhavenotbeenincludedatall.
Thedifferentareaswhichhavebeendescribedintheframework,allusedifferentmechanisms,
whicharespecificforthatarea.Inthenextchapter,thegeneraldescription,constructionandimpact
ofthedifferentareasandthecorrespondingmechanismswillbeelaboratedfurther.

4.2.Elaborationoftheframework
Theframeworksfundamentistheseparationofthedecisionareas,whichallfocusonthedifferent
aspectsoftheorganization,togetherwiththesituationspecificmechanismsonhowtoalignanduse
bothknowledgeandIT.
Thefirstarea,planningandorganization,consistsofstrategicelementsofboththeITand
knowledgegovernancearea.ThisareafocusesonhowtotakeoptimizethealignmentofITand
knowledge.Theorganizationcanfocusonamorepersonalizedstrategyorcancreateasituation
whichwillrelyonacodificationstrategy.Whenfocusingoncodification,technologyandtransferring
willincreaseinimportance.Thepersonalizationstrategyresultsinafocusonhumanresource
managementandthuscreationofknowledgenetworks,whichwilldemandadifferentapproachfor
theITandknowledgemanagement.Themorestructuralelementsarealsoincludedinthisarea,
beingtheallocationoftheaccountabilityandauthorityandthealignmentwiththebusinessstrategy
oftheorganization.
Intheknowledgesupportingtechnologydecisionarea,thetechnicalelementsinrespecttothe
organizationwillbetakenon.Thisareaismoreimportantinanorganizationwhichprimarilyfocuses
ontheusageofexplicitknowledgeduetotheimportanceofquicktransportofknowledge.To
achievesignificantresult,thisareawillberesponsibleforthecreationandsupportoftheIT
infrastructureandarchitecture.Thiscanbelocalizedanddispersedorbestandardized.Depending
ontheorganizationalstructure,theknowledgeandITdemands,thiscanbeoptimizedbythe
mechanismsinthisarea.
Peopleandcultureareespeciallyimportantwhenanorganizationfocusesontheusageoftacit
knowledge.ThisdecisionareawillberesponsiblefortheculturalandmotivationalaspectsofITand
knowledgegovernancewithintheorganzation.Besidesmotivatingpeopletoshare,useandtransfer
knowledge,itisalsoimportanttohavethejobsdesignedproperly.FurthermoretheusageofHRM
servicestopositionpeopleoptimallyinanorganizationandtoretaintheminthecaseoftacit
knowledgeisveryimportanttobeabletoachieveacompetitiveadvantagewiththeknowledgeat
hand.
ToassuretheperformanceoftheorganizationalITandknowledge,itneedstobemonitoredand
controlled.Thiscanbedoneinvariousways.TheITforexamplecanbebroughtincontrolthrough
theimplementationofaformalcontrolframeworklikeCOBIT.Butmoreglobal,itisimportantto
haveagoodsupervisionandaccountabilitystructureinplace.Thiscanbeachievedinrelationtothe
organizationalstructurecentralizingordecentralizingthesupervisionandaccountability.Atthe
sametimethemotivationbecomesanissueduetotheperformanceoftheknowledgenetwork.This
needstobemonitoredcloselytocircumventacorruptingeffectwiththeknowledgesharing.

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BusinessneedswillcompriseoftheneedsfromboththeknowledgeaswellasfromtheITarea.An
employeemightdemandtheaccesstocertainknowledgeresourcesordifferentITequipment.The
researchinrelationtoITgovernancehasaclearviewonhowtohandlerequestsinastandardizedor
localizedITlandscape.Forknowledgeneeds,similarprinciplesmaybedeveloped.Thismight
influencetheavailabilityofknowledgethroughouttheorganization.Whentheorganizationfocuses
ontheusageofexplicitknowledge,theneedscanbefulfilledeasilywherethedecentralized/tacit
situationwillneedmethodstolocalizetheknowledgeintheorganization.
Prioritizationandinvestmentsasthefinalareawillbedeterminingwhatisimplementedtochange
ormaintainathesituationathand.Thiscanbethedevelopmentofanewknowledgemanagement
systemforacentralizedorganizationbutalsoinvestmentsontheHRMareaandadditional
communicationequipmenttosupportthenetworkcreationinadecentralizedorganization.
Dependingontheknowledgestrategythiscouldincludetheadequaterewardingofemployeesbut
alsotheimprovementofworkingconditionstokeeptheemployeessatisfied.Theongoing
investmentsarealsopartofthisdecisionareabecauserunningprojectsmightnotbealignedwith
thisframeworkandthereforemightbereconsidered.

4.3.Answeringresearchquestions
Inchapter1.2.1,thedifferentresearchquestionswerepresented.Thefirstthreequestionshave
beenansweredpreviouslyandthenextthreewillansweredoninthischapter.Thefollowing
questionsstillneedtobeanswered:
4. HowcanprinciplesofknowledgegovernanceandITgovernancebecombinedinone
organizationalframework?
5. WhataretheprerequisitesofanorganizationtogainfromITandknowledgegovernance?
6. Howisknowledgeusagelinkedtothestructureoftheorganization?
Inthepreviouschapter,theknowledgeenrichedITgovernanceframeworkhasbeencreatedsothis
subquestionhasbeenansweredclearly.Thesamecountsforthesixthquestionwhichquestionsthe
linkbetweenknowledgeandtheorganization,whichisalsointegratedintotheframework.
TheprerequisitestogainfromITandknowledgegovernanceonthecontrarycanbeelaborated
further.InthisresearchitwasassumedthattogainfrombothknowledgeaswellasIT,itiseminent
thatthesetwogovernanceareasarealignedtothestructureoftheorganizationandthustoeach
other.Thisprerequisiteimpliesthatwhentheseelementsarenotaligned,therewillbea
suboptimalsituation.
Furthermore,thenotionofmaturityhasalsobeenmentionedwithoutincludingitinthisresearch.
ThematurityoftheITorganizationdeterminestowhichextentthisisincontrol.Whennotin
control,itwillbehardertoaligntheITorganizationwiththerestoftheorganizationandthe
knowledgeusage.

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5. Validation
Thetheoreticalframeworkwhichisproposedinthepreviouschapterswillbevalidatedusing
qualitativevalidationtechniques.Theinitialvalidationwillbeexecutedwithsemistructuredexpert
interviews,succeededbysixdifferentcasestudiesconsistingofdocumentresearchandinterviews.
Intheexpertinterviewsthefocuswillbeonthebasicelements(theaxesoftheframework)andthe
assumptionswhichhavebeenmadeduringtheliteratureresearch.Inthecasestudiesthisresearch
willbevalidatedthroughafixedsetofpropositions,derivedfromtheframeworkwhichshould
validatetheincludedmechanismsandfocusofthedifferentdecisionareas.Byobservingthe
elementsofmyframeworkantheorganization,itwillbepossibletodeterminethevalidityofmy
framework.

5.1.Expertinterviews
AccordingtoLoflandandLofland(1995)aqualitativeinterviewisadialoguebetweenaninterviewer
andanintervieweewhichisaimedatistoelicitingrich,detailedmaterial.Theaimoftheseexpert
interviewsistovalidatethefoundationsandindividualcomponentsoftheproposedtheoretical
frameworkbeforevalidatingtheframeworkasawhole.Paralleltothevalidation,theinterviewswill
alsobeusedtoimprovethefoundationsofthisresearchsosomeoftheelementsmentionedin
theseinterviewsmighthavebeenusedinearlierpartsofthisthesisaswell.
AccordingtoDorussen,Lenz&Blavoukos(2005),theresultofanexpertinterview,reliesonthe
qualityoftheexpert.Thisdoesnotmeanthatallexpertsneedtobeequallyknowledgeablebutthey
shouldbereliableconcerningthesubject.
5.1.1. Expertselectionandinterviewtechnique
Thegoalistoreceivefeedbackonboththeresearchareas(ITgovernanceandknowledge
governance)bydifferentexperts.TheseexpertswillbeselectedfromKPMG,thenetworkofKPMG
orthroughthenetworkofUtrechtUniversity.
TheexpertswhichhavebeeninterviewedareJanKingmaandLennardvanderPoelontheareaof
knowledgemanagementandgovernance.FortheareaofITgovernance,thereisalargeamountof
literature.Therefore,thereisonlyoneexperttovalidatethefoundationsofthisresearch,being
ChristiaanPiek.Theseexpertsarechosenduetotheirvastamountofpracticalexperienceintheir
ownfields.Itisthispracticalexpertisethatisneededtovalidatethisscientificresult.
Interviewscanbestructuredinterviews,semistructuredinterviewsorunstructuredinterviews
(FontanaandFrey,2005).Allthreeinterviewstructureshaveadifferentgoalandallhavetheirown
advantagesanddisadvantages.Anunstructuredinterviewwilloftenresultinindepthinformation
aboutasubjectwherethestructuredinterviewwillresultinconcreteanswerstoquestionsarisen
fromtheresearch.Inthisresearch,theaimistoreceivevaluablefeedbackontheframeworkandto
confirmthevalidityoftheframework.Thechoicethereforehasbeenmadetoproceedwithsemi
structuredinterviews.
5.1.2. KMexpertJanKingma
ThefirstexpertontheareaofknowledgemanagementisJanKingma.JanKingmaisaprincipal
manageratDNVCIBITwithovertwelveyearsofexperienceintheareaofknowledgemanagement.
Theaimofthisinterviewistovalidatethelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandknowledge
usage,thepositionofITusageandsupportforKMandtheusageofHRMservices.

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Oneofthefundamentalsofknowledgemanagementresearchistheseparationoftacitandexplicit
knowledge.Thisseparationisalsopresentinthisresearch.JanKingmadoesnotsupportthis
separationasstrongasoftenpresented.Explicitknowledgeinhisperceptionisanaidintheprimary
process.Thedifferenceinanorganizationistheinternalization,theinterpretationandthusahuman
factor.Theseparationbetweentacitandexplicitexistsbutitisabalanceandtheonedoesnot
excludetheother.
Basicknowledgeisoftenperceivedasexplicitknowledge.Whenpeoplebecomemoreexperienced
intheirwork,theydevelopanexpertisewhichismoretacitknowledge.ThetermthatJanKingma
usesforthisisdeepcompetence.Thesedeepcompetencesarehardtocodifybutcanbeaserious
improvementfortheprimaryprocessintermsofspeedandaccuracy.Byfocusingonthetacit
knowledge,itwillbecomepossibletocreatehighlevelsofexpertiseaswell.
Whenobservingtheorganizationalcontextinrelationtotheknowledgeusage,thefollowing
observationcanbemade:Organizationswithstrictbusinessprocessestendtorelymoreonexplicit
knowledgewheremoreknowledgeintensiveorganizations,likeconsultingfirms,tendtorelymore
ontacitknowledge.Whentranslatingthistothisresearchitcanbestatedthatwhenthegovernance
isseenasarule(morestrict)knowledgeusagewillbemoreexplicitandwhengovernanceisseenas
adirection(lessstrict)itwillresultintacitknowledgeusage.Theautonomyinthedifferentpartsof
theorganization,whenmoredecentralized,willresultinanownlanguagewhichwillmakeexplicit
knowledgetransferharderandamorelocalandtacitknowledgemanagementwillemerge.The
resultingviewthereforesupportstheassumptionthatthereisalinkbetweentheorganizational
structureandtheusageofknowledge.
Anexampleofthislinkisthelocalizationofproducts.Whenaproductneedstobelocalized,
standardizationoftheprimaryprocessislessfeasiblethenwithauniformproduct.Thislocalization
willresultinautonomyanddecentralizationtoacertaindegree.Whenthishappens,onlyasetof
principlescanbegivenfromthecentralmanagementandtheseneedtobeinterpretedbylocal
managers.Theresultwillbethatknowledgeconcerningthissituationwillbeneededwiththerights
todecideonthatspecificsituation.Theknowledgeofthisspecificsituationwillberesidingonthat
specificlocationandwillbebasedonexpertise.Thereforethiswillbetacitknowledge.
UsingITforknowledgemanagementisvieweduponaccordingtothetraditionalapproachbyJan
Kingma.Thismeansthattacitknowledgecanbesupportedbynetworkingthroughcollaborationand
communicationtools.Explicitknowledgeshouldbesupportedbycodificationandknowledge
managementsystems.Inaneverydaysituationtherewillbeamixofsystemsduetothemixed
existenceofknowledgewithinanorganization.
Tomakeknowledgemanagementasuccess,ithastobeembeddedintheorganization.Especially
whenknowledgeusageandsharingareseenasadirectiveinsteadofarule.Thisiswherethe
motivationandcultureofanorganizationbecomeimportant.JanKingmahasaverystrongopinion
abouttheusingandsharingofknowledge.Itispartofthejob.Withthisstatementhetriesto
pinpointtothefactthatknowledgesharingandusageshouldbeembeddedintheorganizational
culture.Withouttakingknowledgeandknowledgemanagementserious,itwillnotbepossibleto
benefitoptimallyfromit.

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ThefunctionofHRMisalsopresentintheareaofknowledgemanagement.Inthisresearchitis
assumedthatwhentacitknowledgebecomesmoreimportantinanorganization,theHRM
departmentincreasesinimportanceaswell.JanKingmaagreeswiththisperceptionbecausewhen
employeeshavealotoftacitknowledge,itisimportanttoknowwhohaswhichknowledgeandhow
totrainthesepeopleaccordingly.Thisismuchlesswithstructuredprocessorganizationswhichdo
notneedthisasmuch.ThisresultsintheconfirmationofthelinkbetweenthepositionofHRMand
theusageoftacitknowledgeandthattheusageofexplicitknowledgecanbesupportedby
technology.
Inthisinterview,anumberofinterestingviewshavebeencreatedinrelationtothisresearch.First,
therelationbetweentheorganizationalstructureandtheusageofknowledgeseemstobestrong.
Thisisduetothefactthatdifferentorganizationalstructuresdemandadifferentwayofworking.
Thisalsoisdependingofthemarketathandwhichinfluencestheorganizationalstructure.The
resultisadifferentusageofknowledgeindifferentorganizationsaccordingtoJanKingma.
Furthermore,thepositionoftheorganizationalcultureandtheHRMfunctionreceivesattention
fromJanKingmaaswell,inasimilarwayaspresentedintheframework.Thefocusonnetwork
creation,theusageoftheinfrastructureandthecodificationofknowledgeareallsupported.
5.1.3. KMexpertLennardvanderPoel
ThesecondexpertonthisareaisLennardvanderPoel.LennardvanderPoelisoneofthefounders
andpartnersofProvenResense.ProvenResenseisaconsultingfirmintheareaofknowledge
management.AccordingtoLennardvanderPoelknowledgemanagementconsistsofcreating
awareness,steeringonknowledgeandmakeanorganizationincontroloftheknowledge.
Throughhiswork,thefocusisonknowledgeintensiveorganizationsandthekeysolutionisto
optimallypositiontheemployeestogainmostfromtheirknowledge.Furthermore,thetraditional
approachoftacitandexplicitknowledgeisnotsupportedverystrong.Anoftenusedsolutionisto
visualizetheavailableandthedemandedknowledgesothesecanbealignedtoeachother.ITis
positionedasatoolintheseprojectsandconceptsasknowledgesharingandcodificationareless
importantinthissetting.
DuetothefactthatLennardvanderPoelhasaviewofoptimallypositioningemployees,thereisa
strongfocusontacitknowledgeandonlytoalimitedextentonexplicitknowledge.Thisviewmakes
thelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandtheknowledgeusageveryhard.Lennardvander
Poelthinksthattheknowledgecannotbelinkedtotheorganizationalstructurebutitcanbelinked
tothestructureofthedecisionmakinginrelationtothedaytodayoperations.Thedecisionmaking
structureisthemaindescriptoroftheorganizationalstructureinthisresearch.
ThesameissueariseswiththelinkwithHRM.Thecustomersareoftenknowledgeintensive
organizationsandtheemployeeisthecentralissue.ThereforeHRMoftentakesonanimportant
position.ThepositionofHRMdoesnotdependonthetypeofknowledgebutmoreontheofferof
knowledgeonthemarket,thecostsofgettingthatknowledgeandtheflexibilityoftheorganization,
accordingtoLennardvanderPoel.Thisimpliesthattherearemorefactorsthathaveanimpacton
theeffectivenessofHRM.HRMisneededtodefinetheKPIswhichmeasurethealignmentbetween
availableandneededknowledge.Thisincludesthedeterminationofthelevelofexpertiseofthe
employees,knowledgeareas,competencesandtalents.

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Inrelationtomotivationalissues,thevisionofLennardvanderPoelisthatbypositioningemployees
accordingtotheirknowledge,theywillbemotivatedbythechallengesathand.BesidesthatHRM
shouldmonitorthedemandsforfurthereducationandrepositioningaccordingly.Thiscontinuous
cyclewillkeepthemotivationoptimalandshouldgiveabasisforoptimalknowledgeusageand
sharing.
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ITismerelyseenasatool.IncertainsituationsITcanbeusedtocodifyknowledgebut
ProvenResenseprimarilyusesITasaknowledgedashboard.LennardvanderPoelhimselfis
cautiouswiththeusageofITaswell.WhenusingITasaprominentelementofknowledge
management,itabsorbsallattentionandenergy.ThisisbecauseITiseasiertoimplementthana
morevolatilesubjectlikeknowledge.Therefore,theprojectsfocusmightshiftfromtheactualaim,
theknowledgemanagement,totheimplementationofanITsystem.
Thelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructure(theallocationofauthorityandaccountability)andthe
usageofknowledgecanbeobservedasfacevalidity.Itisconfirmedthattheallocationofdecision
rightsimpactstheknowledgeusageaswellasthemotivationandpositioningofpeople.Elements
thathavenotbeenconfirmedontheotherhandarethefocusoncodificationandmoreintensiveIT
usageinrelationtoknowledgemanagement.Theseelementsdohaveaprominentpositioninthe
presentedframework.Roundingupthisinterview,thetacitanddecentralizedareaoftheframework
havebeenconfirmedbuttheexplicitandcentralizedsituationhasnotbeenconfirmedduetothe
strongtechnicalfocusandusageofexplicitknowledge.
5.1.4. ITgovernanceexpertChristiaanPiek
ThethirdinterviewiswithChristiaanPiek,aseniormanageratKPMGITadvisoryandanexperton
theareaofITgovernance.Alargeportionofthisresearchisbasedonthelinkbetweenthe
organizationalstructureandtheusageofknowledge.ITisperceivedasasupportingelementbuthas
aseriouspositioninmyframework,especiallyconcerningtheusageofexplicitknowledge.
TheinitialassumptionImakeisthattheITgovernancestructureissimilartotheorganizational
structure.Thismeansthatwhenthereisacentralizedorganizationalstructure,theITgovernance
structureshouldbecentralizedaswell.ThisassumptionisconfirmedbyChristiaanPiek.Thenote
thatismadeisthattheITgovernanceshouldbeatleastonmaturitylevelthreetobeeffective.
Whenthisisnotthecase,therewillbeanunsuccessfulimplementationofITgovernance.Thehigher
maturitywillresultinmorestructuredandformalizedprocedureswhichmakesurethatthedesired
resultsareachieved.Thisconfirmationresultsintheacceptanceoftheassumptionthatthe
organizationalstructureshouldresembletheITgovernancestructure(morecentralizedor
decentralized).
Concerningtheinfrastructure,anorganizationalwayswilltrytohaveanuniforminfrastructureand
communication.Inthisway,transfersofrawdataandcommunicationwillbepossiblethroughout
theorganization.BesidesthattheITlandscape,theITarchitecture,dependsonthedemandsfrom
theprimaryprocessandtheseapplicationscandifferthroughoutanorganization.The
standardizationandvariationinITsystemshasatightrelationwiththeamountofcentralizationof
IT.Thismeansthatwhentheorganizationiscentralized,theinfrastructurewillbemostlythesame
throughouttheorganization(orthiswillbethegoal).


Thedifferencesintheinfrastructureandarchitecturewilldependonthedemandsfromthedayto
dayoperations.Thebasicinfrastructurewillbethesamethroughouttheorganization(whichmakes
communicationpossible)buttheroadsseparateafterwardsinacentralizedoradecentralizedone.
Whencentralized,theorganizationwillfocusonthestandardizationofmostITsystemsand
underlyinginfrastructure.Themoredecentralizedorganizationwillsupportthemorespecific
demandsfromtheusersandwillthereforenotfocusonthestandardization.
EfficiencyalsobecomesanissuewhenobservingtheITgovernance.TheITorganizationwillbemore
effectivewhenitismorecentralized.Thisshouldbethefocusandthedesiredresultfrom
centralizingtheITorganization.Thedownsideisthatitwillbecomeaslowerandlessresponsive
organization.TheoppositeofcoursecountsforthedecentralizedITorganizationwhichwillbequick
andflexible.Changesanddemandscanbefulfilledquickerinadecentralizedorganizationwherethe
centralizedorganizationwillbefocusingonefficiency.
ThisinterviewconfirmstheassumptionsontheITgovernancestructureandthelinksbetweenthe
organizationandITorganizationasalreadyindicatedbyWeill&Ross(2005).
5.1.5. Expertinterviewresults
Itisclearthatthetwoexpertsontheknowledgemanagementareahaveadifferentperspectiveon
knowledgemanagementandthusontheresearchthathasbeenpresentedinthepreviouschapters.
WhereLennardvanderPoelclearlyhasapreferenceforthemorehumanandtacitapproach,Jan
Kingmatakesonamorebroadapproach.
Throughtheinterviewsthesituationalfactorsintheframeworkhavebeenvalidatedaswellasthe
mainfocusforbothsituations.Thedecentralized/tacitpartoftheframeworkisinitsfundamentsis
supportedbyLennardvanderPoelwherethematchoftheorganizationalstructureandknowledge
usageinthecentralized/explicitsituationwasvalidatedbyJanKingma.
Theaimfortheseinterviewswastovalidatethetwosituationsasbeingpropersituationalfactors
whichinfluencethisframework.Thesecondaimwastovalidatethemainfocusofthedifferent
areas,beingafocusontechnologyorHRM.Thesealsofoundsupportthroughtheseinterviews.
TheITgovernanceelementisevenmorebasedonexistingresearchandthelastquestionshave
beenconfirmedbyChristiaanPiek.Theonlynotethathasbeenmade,whichmightbecomea
concernisthematurityofthegovernanceorganization.ChristiaanPiekhasmentionedthatahigher
maturitylevelisneededtohaveaneffectivestructure.Thisisnotincorporatedinthisresearchbut
maybeagoodstartforfurtherresearch.

5.2.Casestudies
Aftertheinitialvalidationbytheexpertinterviews,sixcasestudieshavebeenexecutedaccordingto
thehierarchicmethod(Verschuren&Doorewaard,2007).Thismethodmakesitpossibletochoose
fordifferentorganizationsbasedontheusageofknowledgeandtheorganizationalstructure.These
casestudieswillbedoneindependentlyofeachotherandwillconsistofaninitialinterviewwitha
managerorsupervisor,followedbypossiblyanotherinterviewwithanotherpersonwhichshouldgo
indepthontheareaofknowledgeusageandincentives.Theoptimalresultwouldbetoobtainother
sourcesofinformationfromtheorganizationaswelllikedocumentation,presentationsorminutes
frommeetings.Bytriangulatingtheresultsfromtheinitialexpertinterviewswiththeresultsfrom

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thecasestudy(interviewsandothersources)Itwillbeabletoconcludethisresearchanddetermine
thevalidityoftheframework.
5.2.1. Determiningtheorganizationalstructure
Todeterminetheamountofcentralizationofanorganization,therearetwooptionsforresearch.A
researchercandoacompletecasestudyandobserveforexampleallelementsaspresentedby
Mintzberg(1980)todeterminetheorganizationalstructure.Theotheroptionisanoftenusedand
appropriatetool,beingasurvey.Aratheragedbutstilloftenusedandcitedsurveyhasbeen
designedbyHageandAiken(1967).Thesescholarsproposedasetofmeasurementsaroundthe
followingitems:

Hierarchyofauthority;
Actualparticipationindecisions;
Jobcodification;
Ruleobservation;
Professionaltraining;
Professionalactivity;

Forthefirstfourelementsthereareatotalofsixteenquestionswhichcanbeansweredusingafive
pointLikertscale.Thefirstquestion,whichrelatestothefirstcategory,isHowfrequentlydoyou
usuallyparticipateinthedecisiontohirenewstaff?.Likethisquestion,therearefifteenmore
whichaltogethergiveanindicationofthelevelofcentralization.Thelattertwoelementsare
measuredbyastraightforwardquestionconcerningtheleveloftraining.Inansweringthese
questions,thesurveyedpersonneedstogivetheamountoftrainingthatisofferedbytheemployer.
Thisvariesfromalackoftraininguntiltrainingbeyondcollegedegreeandprofessionaltraining.
Validationbyotherresearchhasproventhatthissurveyisavalidmeasurementforthelevelof
centralization.Becausethefocusinthisresearchontheextremesandnottheprecise,these
questionswillbeusedintheinterviewstogetanimpressionoftheamountofcentralization.
Completelyexecutingthissurveyinwithinallcasestudieswouldrequireavastamountoftimeto
createavalidresultwhichisnotpossibleinthecurrenttimespan.Therefore,thequestionswillbe
integratedintotheinterviews.
5.2.2. Measuringknowledgeusage
Itisassumedthatthereisastrongrelationshipbetweentheorganizationalstructureandtheusage
ofknowledgewithinanorganization.Knowledgeisacomplexelementwhichoftenisobservedin
differentwaysbydifferentscholars.Inthisresearchitwasassumedthatknowledgeisaresource
whichcanbemanagedbyknowledgemanagementprocesses.Tovalidatethisassumption,ithasto
beresearchedwhetheracentralizedordecentralizedorganizationisactuallyfocusingon
respectivelyexplicitortacitknowledge.Therelationbetweentheusageofknowledgeandthe
organizationalstructurethereforeneedstobeverified.
TheknowledgewillbemeasuredusingasurveywhichhasbeendevelopedbyKogutandZander
(Kogut&Zander,1993;Zander&Kogut,1995).Thethirteenquestionshavebeendividedupinthree
differentcategoriesbeing,codifiability,teachabilityandcomplexity.

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QuestionsthatareproposedforexampleareAusefulmanualdescribingourprimaryprocesscanbe
writtenorOurproductcanbemanufacturedinaunitisolatedfromallotherproductionwithout
qualitybeinginfluencedatall.Thesequestionsshouldresultinapropermeasurementofthe
tacitnessorexplicitnessoftheknowledgeusageinanorganization.
Aswiththeorganizationalstructure,thissurveywillbeusedtodeterminetheknowledgeusageina
qualitativewayandnotbyexecutingthesurveyextensivelyatallcasestudyorganizationsduetothe
shorttimespan.
5.2.3. Casestudydesign
AccordingtoYin(1994),therearefiveelementswhichhavetobeelaboratedtoassureasuccessful
casestudy.Thesefiveelementsare:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Astudiesquestions
Astudiespropositions
Theunitsofanalysis
Thelogiclinkingthedatatothepropositions
Thecriteriaforinterpretingthefindings

Next,secondtillfifthelementwillbepresented.Thefirstelement,thestudiesquestion,isthe
overallresearchquestionHowcanITgovernancebeenhancedbyknowledgegovernanceprinciples
andhowisthisinfluencedbyorganizationspecificsituationalfactors?.Thegoalofthesecase
studiesistovalidatethefindingsthathavebeendonethroughtheliteratureresearch.
5.2.3.1.
Propositions
Withinthescopeofthepresentedframework,anumberofdistinctfeaturescanbedesignatedto
assurethevalidityoftheresearch.Thesepropositionswillalsoaidinthelocationofevidenceto
supporttheresearchquestion(Yin,1994).Thepropositionshavebeenderivedfromtheframework
andrepresentthefundamentsandmostdistinctiveelementsintheframework.Todeterminethe
usageofIT,thefocusofknowledgemanagementandthestructure,sixbasicpropositionshavebeen
developed.Toclarifythelinkwiththesituationalfactorsfromthisresearch,thesesixpropositions
willbothbepresentedinacentralizedandthedecentralizedversiontoclearlypresentthe
differencesthatneedtobeobservedwithinthecasestudies.Thecasestudieswillfocusonthe
followingpropositions:
1. Knowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure:
a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralizeditwillfocusontheusageofexplicit
knowledge
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralizeditwillfocusontheusageoftacit
knowledge
2. ITgovernancestructure:
a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicittheITgovernancestructure
willbeeitherbeconcentratedontheITorbusinessmonarchyarchetypes
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,theITgovernancestructure
willbeeitherbeconcentratedonthefederalorITduopolyarchetypes
3. Knowledgestrategyfocus:

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a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,theorganizationwillfocuson
acodificationwithitsITandthereforeamoretechnologicalstrategy
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,theorganizationwillfocuson
anetworkcreationwithitsITandthereforeonamorepersonalized(HRM)focused
strategy
4. ITarchitecture:
a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,therewillbeonly
standardizedITsolutionsandtherewillbelesstonobusinessunitspecificsoftware
(acentralITarchitecture).
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,therewillbeahighamount
ofcustomsoftwareforthedifferentdepartmentsandnooronlyafeworganization
wideinformationsystems(localizedITarchitecture).
5. Knowledgetransferring:
a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledgewillbe
transferredthroughknowledgemanagementsystemsandthereforetheinvestment
focuswillbeonthesetransfersystems
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledgewillbe
transferredthroughpersonalcommunicationandlearningandthereforethe
investmentfocuswillbeonHRMandnetworkingtools.
6. Knowledgeretention:
a. Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledgeisprimarily
retainedbystoringitinknowledgemanagementsystems.
b. Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledgewillnotprimarily
beretainedbystoringitinknowledgemanagementsystems.
Thesepropositionshavebeenselectedbecausetheyrepresentthemainelementsinanorganization
whichcanbemeasuredandwhichpresentacleardistinctionbetweenthetwosituations.Thefirst
propositionisselfexplanatory.Thesecondandthirdpropositionsareelementswhicharegoverned
inthePlanningandorganizationarea.Thesearestrategicelementsandrepresenttheoverall
focusoftheorganization.
Thefourthproposition,ITarchitecture,representstheusageofITintheorganization.Thisinfluences
thepossibilitiesofsupportingtheknowledgemanagementandprimaryprocessingeneral.The
areasofKnowledgesupportingtechnologyandtheBusinessneedsarecloselyrelatedtothis
propositionbecausetheseareasfocusonhowtechnologyispositionedinrelationtotheknowledge
usageandhowtheITdemandsfromtheprimaryprocessarehandled.
Thetransferringoftheknowledgeistwofoldedinthisresearchascanbeexpectedinthedifferent
approachesforexplicitandtacitknowledge.Thetransferringoftacitknowledgereliesonpersonal
approachthroughPeopleandculturewhereexplicitknowledgewillrelyontheareaof
Technologyknowledgesupport.Thisdistinctionwillthereforebeagoodindicatorforthefocusof
anorganization.
Thefinalpropositionfocusesontheretentionofknowledge.Willthisbedonethrougha
technologicalapproachormoreonthepersonalapproach.Thiswillofteninvolveinvestmentsand
thereforeithastobeclearwheretheprioritiesarewithintheorganization.Thereforethis

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propositionisinfluencedbytheareaofTechnologyknowledgesupportandPrioritizationand
investments.
Throughthesesixpropositions,alltheareasoftheframeworkarecoveredandcanbevalidated.
5.2.3.2.
Linkingthedatatothepropositions
Withthecasestudiesthefocuswillbeontwodifferenttypesofdatacollection.Theinterviewsand
documentationfromtheorganizations.ThesurveyswhichareincludedasAppendixA:
MeasurementoforganizationalstructureandAppendixB:Measurementofknowledgeusagewillbe
usedasguidelinestodeterminetheamountofcentralizationoftheorganizationandtheusageof
tacitandexplicitknowledge.Thesetwosurveyswillresultinthevalidationorfalsificationofthefirst
proposition.
ForthesecondpropositionaninsightintothestructureoftheITgovernancehastobecreated.This
canbedonethroughtheinsightsfromthesurveyandcanbesupportedbydocumentslikean
organizationalchart.Theinterviewshouldalsogiveaninsightoftherelationoftheorganizational
structureandtheITgovernancestructure.Iftheresultisdifferentthanexpectedbytheproposition,
theunderlyingreasonsforthiswillbeinterestingbecausethesecouldimprovethisresearch.This
processwillresultintheconfirmationorfalsificationofpropositiontwo.
Theknowledgestrategyfocusforpropositionthreewillbederivedthoughtheinterviewaswell.The
goalistodeterminetowhichextentcodificationisusedasastrategicelementandwhether
technologicalaidsareusedtosupportthatstrategy.TheoppositeisthemoreHRMorientedand
employee/personalfocus.Whentheemployeesareassumedtobethecenteroftheorganizations
knowledge(tacitknowledge),networkcreationshouldbeacentralissueandthusnostrongfocuson
technologyorcodificationshouldbefound.Iftheassumptionsarecorrect,propositionthreecanbe
confirmedorfalsifiedbydeterminationoftheknowledgestrategytotheorganization.
Forthefourthproposition,documentationdescribingtheITlandscapewillbeaviableoptionto
validatetheassumptions.AnorganizationshouldbefocusedonhavingastrictorloosepolicyonIT
systemsandarchitecture.SobyallowingallITsystemsorhavingonlyafewcentralizedITsystems,
thepropositioncanbeconfirmed.Ifnodocumentationisavailable,theinformationcanalsobe
derivedfromtheinterviews.Thepreferencewouldbeacombinationofboth.Mostpeopleinan
organizationwillbeabletogiveaninsightintohowITdemandsarefulfilled.Theoneextremeisa
basiccomputerwithpreinstalledsoftwarewhereinotherorganizationsitwillbepossibletoget
customITdemandsfulfilledaswell.Sothroughvariousindicators,theITlandscapecanbe
visualized.
Transferringknowledgeiscloselylinkedtoknowledgeusage.Tacitknowledgeshouldbetransferred
throughthecreationofnetworks.Theexplicitknowledgecanbetransferredwhencodified.The
investmentcouldbedescribedindocumentationbutitwillbehardtogetaccesstothose
documentsTherefore,theinterviewsshouldgiveaninsightintotheinvestmentsforknowledge
transfers.Itcouldalsobethatnoinvestmentsaremadeandinthatcase,themostviablesituation
fortheorganizationwillbediscussed.Propositionfiveisthereforelargelyinlinewiththethird
propositionduetothefactthatthefocusofthestrategyshouldbesupportedwithinvestmentsfor
thetransferringofknowledge.

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Thelastpropositionisaimedatthemoretacitanddecentralizedorganization.Whentacit
knowledgeisaprominentelementwithintheorganization,theknowledgewillresideinthe
employees.Tomakesurethatnoknowledgeislost,employeeshavetoberetained.Whenan
organizationforexampleusesmanyparttimeortemporaryemployees,thiswillnotbeanoption.
WhenfixedHRMprocessesareinplacetoassuretheretentionofemployees,amoretacitfocus
strategycanwork.
5.2.3.3.
Unitofanalysis
Whenobservinganorganization,therearealotofelementsthatcanbetakenintoaccount.To
assurethefocusforthisresearch,itisimportanttohaveanunderstandingoftheunitofanalysis.
Theorganizationitselfistheoverallentityinwhichthecaseisexecuted.Thoughthisiscorrect,itis
possibletotightenthescopeandthuscreateafocusontheimportantaspectsoftheorganization.
Whereinanorganizationareelementslikestrategy,demandsandfocusdetermined?Thisisa
typicalmanagementissue.Sothefocusandunitofanalysisinthesecasestudieswillbethe
organizationsmanagementwhichdefinesthestrategyforITandknowledgeusageandisresponsible
fortheorganizationalstructure.Thisexcludesthedaytodayoperationfromthiscasestudy.The
interviewsanddocumentationwillthereforefocusonthemanagementsperspectiveofknowledge
andITusage.
5.2.3.4.
Interpretingthefindings
Thepropositionsandrelatedstudywillgiveagoodoverviewofthesituationinanorganization.
Ideallyitshouldresultintheconfirmationof1a,2a,3a,4a,5aand6aforanorganizationor1b,2b,
3b,4b,5band6b.Thiswouldinstantlyconfirmthepropositionsandthusthisresearch.Thoughthis
wouldbeperfectforthisresearch,itisalsopossiblethatorganizationsmixelementsinwhichcase
theunderlyingreasoningwillbemoreinteresting.
Allthedifferentcaseswillbepresentedalongthepropositionsandextrainterestinginformationofa
specificsituationwillbepresentedsimultaneously.Whenthefindingsdonotmatchthe
expectations,theunderlyingreasoningwillbepresentedaswell.Thiscaneitherbethatthe
organizationispursuingthewronggoalsbyforexampletryingtocodifytacitknowledgeorthe
propositionscanbefalsifiedwhenthisisnotthecase.Whenthesesituationsoccurandareobserved
inthedocumentationorinterviews,furtherresearchwillbeneededtodeterminetheunderlying
facts.
Tocontroltheexternalvalidityofthisresearch,therewillbesixdifferentorganizationswhichare
operatingindifferentindustries,ofarelativesimilarsize.Inthisresearchtheaimistoderiveresults
fromthesameareawithintheorganizations,beingmanagersormoremonitoring/controlling
employees.Theresultsfromthecasesshouldbeanalyzedaccordingtotheframeworktosee
whetheranorganizationisalignedproperlyaccordingtotheirstructureandknowledgeusageand
whichvariablesareinfluencingthealignment.
5.2.4. Casestudy:KPMGAdvisory
ThefirstcasestudyatKPMGAdvisoryisbasedontwointerviewswithPierreMeere,LudvigDaae
andadocumentedknowledgestrategyofKPMG,TheNetherlands.PierreMeereistheknowledge
managerforKPMG,TheNetherlandsandisresponsiblefortheimprovementoftheknowledge
managementforbothKPMGAdvisoryaswellasKPMGAudit(whichwillbethenextcasestudy).

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LudvigDaaeisamanageratKPMGITAdvisoryandhashandsonexperienceofknowledge
managementwithinKPMGadvisoryaswellasexperiencefromapreviousjob.
WithinKPMGAdvisory,knowledgeiscurrentlyseenasbeingtheoreticalandanalytical.Inthepast,
thisresultedinalackofattentionbutnewinitiativeshaveresultedinanumberofconcreteresults.
Examplesareanewadvisoryintranetwhichisduetobeexpandedintheupcomingmonths.The
focusforthisintranetwillbeonpersonalinformation,networksandcredentials.Thisintranet
shouldbeaninitiatorofopencommunicationandshouldmakeitabletolocalizeknowledgewithin
KPMGadvisory.Thefinalgoalwouldbeanetworkinwhichknowledgeisopenlytransferred.
Thefirstissueistheusageofknowledge.PierreMeerestatesthattheusageofknowledgeisvery
differentwithinKPMG.KPMGAuditprimarilyusesexplicitknowledgewhereKPMGAdvisoryfocuses
onthemoretacitknowledge.ThefactisthatITadvisoryalsohassomeITauditactivities.Thismixof
workiscurrentlyseparatedwithalargescalereorganization.LudvigDaaestatesthatthisis
completelytrueforthenewPerformance&Technologybusinessunit(pureadvisoryactivities)but
Risk&Compliancebusinessunit(ITauditactivities)tendstoincludeexplicitknowledgeaswell.
Whenobservingtheorganizationalstructureinrespecttotheknowledgeusage,KPMGadvisoryis
stilloneorganizationsotherewillbenodifferenceorganizationalstructurebetweenthe
PerformanceandTechnologyortheRiskandCompliancearea.KPMGadvisoryisorganizedvery
decentralized.Therearedifferentbusinessunitsandwithintheunits,differentpeopleare
responsibleforthedifferentprojectsandtherearespecificstafffunctions.Especiallywhenpeople
becomemoreexperienced,theresponsibilitiesincrease.
Toconcludethecurrentandoptimalrelationbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure
itcanbestatedthatKPMGadvisoryisorganizeddecentralizedandfocusesontacitknowledge.The
RiskandComplianceareausesmoreexplicitknowledgebutalsoahighamountoftacitknowledge
duetothefactthattheseareoftenlinkedwithongoingadvisoryactivities.TheRiskandCompliance
areaalsoiscontrolledtighterwhichiscompletelyinlinewiththisresearch.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure.

Result
Confirmed

Forthefirstproposition,theITgovernancestructureistakenon.TheassumptionisthattheIT
governanceshouldbeorganizedaccordingtoadecentralizearchetype.ThesituationforKPMGis
thatthereisoneglobalITfoundationwhichcanbeadaptedforlocalsituations.Thereforethereisa
certainamountofdecentralizationinthatwayaswell.TheproblemisthatbothKPMGAdvisoryand
KPMGAuditbothworkonthesameITplatformsandthatsecurityisamajorissue.Therefore
freedominITisrestrictedtoacertainextent.EveryKPMGemployeehasastrictsetofprinciples
fromITthatithastofollow.Furthermore,theorganizationisnotverytransparent.
ThereisonecentralITdepartmentforTheNetherlandsandasupportstaffonallofficeswhichhave
acertainamountofITrelateddecisionpower.ButthecontroloftheITisnotallocatedtothe
businessorprocessleadersnoristhereacleargroupofClevelexecutives.ThereareITexecutives
whichhaveastrongdecisionmakingauthoritybutthesecanbeinfluencedbyonegroupofbusiness
executives.AccordingtoWeill&Ross(2004),thisisafeudalarchetypewhichfalsifiesthis

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proposition.ThereasonforthisisthatKPMGtakesonsecurityverystrictandthatrequiresafixed
setofITpossibilities.Whenthatisdecentralized,securitymaybecomeanissue.
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,theIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedonthefederal
orITduopolyarchetypes.

Result
Falsified
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Thethirdpropositionistheknowledgestrategyfocus.AselaboratedbyPierreMeere,thecurrent
focusisonthecreationofnetworks.Thiswillbedonethroughnewtechnologies,PierreMeere
agreeswiththefactthatthisisacultural,motivationalandconfirmstheimportanceofalargeHRM
element.Thefocusseemstobeatechnologicalonebutshouldresultinfurthercommunication,
whichisatypicalelementforthenetworkcreationstrategy.Furthermore,HRMcouldalsoassistin
makingknowledgemanagementmeasurableinKPIsorincludeitintheannualjobevaluation.
LudvigDaaealsoconfirmsthefactthatthetechnologicalfocuswillnotworkinthesettingofKMPG
Advisory,especiallynotinthePerformanceandTechnologyarea.Furthermorehestatesthatitis
veryimportanttohaveanownnetworkandusethistogetknowledgeoutoftheorganization
becausethecurrentlyusedITisnotsufficient.
Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,the
organizationwillfocusonanetworkcreationwithitsITand
thereforeonamorepersonalized(HRM)focusedstrategy.

Result
Confirmed

ConcerningtheITarchitecture,KPMGadvisoryisnotinlinewiththeassumptionofthisresearch.
Theassumptionisthattherewouldbemanycustommadeinformationsystemsforthedifferent
departments.Thefactisthatthisisnotthecase.Thereareafewsimplenationalinformation
systems,mainlyforcommunication.Therearenospecificworkrelatedinformationsystemsbesides
theMicrosoftOfficepackage.
Thisobservationistwofold.Ontheoneside,therearenationspecificITsystems(localization)for
theregistrationofleads,projectsandhourregistrationandbesidescommunication,nointernational
ITsystems.SothereislittlecentralizedITbutonlyasmallamountofcustomizedIT.ThereforeI
chooseneithertoconfirmnorfalsifythisproposition.
Result
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,therewillbe Unclear
ahighamountofcustomsoftwareforthedifferentdepartments
andnooronlyafeworganizationwideinformationsystems
(localizedITarchitecture).

Thefocusoftransferringknowledgeisapureknowledgerelatedelement.Theexpectedresultisthat
theknowledgewithinKPMGAdvisorywouldfocusonHRMrelatedelementsandnetworkingtools.
PierreMeerestatesthatthebeginningofknowledgetransfersisinthetechnicalarea.Therehaveto


betoolsandsystemsinplacetomakepropertransferringandlocalizationofknowledgepossible.In
hisvision,ITneedstobethereandwork!.
TheinitialfocusforKPMGadvisoryisonthecreationofknowledgelocalizationtools.Thisshould
improvethelocalizationofknowledgeandnetworkcreation.Thenextstepwillbetomotivate
peopletousethisandthiswouldincludeHRMtofillholesintheknowledgenetworkandtoreward
peopleinanappropriateway.
Result
Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge Confirmed
willbetransferredthroughpersonalcommunicationandlearning
andthereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonHRMandnetworking
tools.

Toretainexplicitknowledge,knowledgemanagementsystemcanbeused.Whenthisisinplaceina
situationwherealotoftacitknowledgeisused,thiswouldnotworkandthereasoningforthis
decisionwouldbeveryinterestinginrelationtothisknowledge.WithinKPMGadvisorythisisnot
thecase.NetworksarefarmoreimportantstatesLudvigDaae.Anopencultureandthemotivation
forlearningandsharingwouldresultinfarbetterresults.Thecodificationwouldfurthermorebea
wasteofresourcesbecauseitcouldneverbecodifiedproperlyandcanalmostneverbeusedin
exactlythesameway.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge
willnotprimarilyberetainedbystoringitinknowledge
managementsystems.

Result
Confirmed

Allinall,KPMGadvisorystillhasarathertechnicalfocusbutthisiselaboratedbyPierreMeereas
beingafoundationforfurtherknowledgemanagementbecauseitisfocusedoncommunicationand
knowledgelocalization.BetterusageofHRMspossibilitiesandproperdeterminationofthe
availableknowledgecouldfurtherbenefittheusageofknowledgewithinKPMGadvisory.Inrelation
tothiscase,mostpropositionsappearedtobevalidexceptfortheusageofcustomITandthe
relatedorganization.
5.2.5. Casestudy:KPMGAudit
ThecaseconcerningKPMGAudithasbeenbasedontwointerviewswithPierreMeere,Jessevander
HoffandadocumentedknowledgestrategysuppliedforKPMGTheNetherlands.PierreMeereisthe
knowledgemanagerforKPMGTheNetherlandsandisresponsiblefortheimprovementofthe
knowledgemanagementforbothKPMGAdvisoryaswellasKPMGAudit.JessevanderHoffisan
advisorforKMPTITAdvisorybutalsoisanaccountantwithKPMGAudit.Inthispositionheis
perfectlycapableofcomparingtheknowledgeusageinbothorganizations.
ThehistoryofknowledgemanagementwithinKPMGAuditissimilarastheonewithinKPMG
Advisory.Recentdevelopmentsarequitedifferentthough.IntheNetherlandsanewintranethas
beenintroducedtocommunicateimportantchanges(explicitknowledge)fromthecentral
DepartmentorProfessionalPractice(DPP)totheemployeesofKPMGAudit.Besidesthat,an

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internationaleAuditsystemisbeingdevelopedaswell.Thissystemisatoolthatcanbeusedinthe
processofyearendreportcreation.
DPPisanimportantelementwithinKPMGAuditduetothefactthattheyhavetoapprove
innovationsfortheauditarea.Themainknowledgethatisused,beingnewregulations,lawand
risks,alsoflowsthroughthisdepartment.Thereforetheyareveryimportantintheknowledge
managementareaaswell.Theknowledgeiseasytocodifyduetothehighdegreeofexplicitness.
Tacitknowledgeisusedaswell,accordingtoJessevanderHoff,butmoretospeeduptheprocess
duetotheexperienceinacertainarea.
TheorganizationalstructureofficiallyissimilartothestructureofKPMGAdvisory.ThoughJessevan
derHoffstatesthatonadaytodaybasis,theauditdepartmentismorestructured.Everythingis
donemorestrict,organizedandcontrolled.Whencontinuingonthis,thedifferencebetweenKPMG
AuditandKPMGAdvisoryisthatauditismuchmorecentralizedinrelationtoauthorityand
supervision.
TheresultingeffectisthattheworkatKPMGauditismorestrictandsupervised.Thebasic
knowledgehasahighdegreeofexplicitnessandfurtherspecializationwillresultinanincreasing
amountoftacitknowledge.Thistacitknowledgeresultsinknowingwhattolookforincertainareas
(likebanks).Thisdoesnotmeanthattheworkcannotbeexecutedwithoutthisknowledge,butonly
makesitfaster.KPMGAuditthereforecanbeclassifiedasbeingcentralizedandusesexplicit
knowledge.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure

Result
Confirmed

Forthefirstproposition,theITgovernancestructureis,theassumptionisthattheITgovernance
shouldbeorganizedaccordingtooneofthecentralizedarchetypes.ThesituationforKPMGisthat
thereisoneglobalITfoundationwhichcanbeadaptedforlocalsituations.Thereforethereisa
certainamountofdecentralizationinthatwayaswell.TheproblemisthatbothKPMGAdvisoryand
KPMGAuditbothworkonthesameITplatformsandthatsecurityisamajorissue.Therefore
freedominITisrestrictedtoacertainextent.EveryKPMGemployeehasastrictsetofprinciples
fromITthatithastofollow.Furthermore,theorganizationisnotverytransparent.
TheITorganizationisnotcompletelydecentralizednorcentralizedaspresentedintheprevious
case.Aspresented,theorganizationcanbestbepresentedasbeingafeudalarchetype.Thedemand
forthecentralizedorganizationisthatitshouldbeanITorbusinessmonarchy(Weill&Ross,2004).
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicittheIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedontheITor
businessmonarchyarchetypes.

Result
Falsified

KnowledgemanagementingeneralhasbeenevolvedmorewithKPMGAdvisorythanwithinKPMG
Audit.Thisalsoresultsinadifferentapproachbytheemployees.AtKPMGAudit,peoplefocuson
thefastandproperexecutionoftheworkingprocessandknowledgedoesnothaveaprominent

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positioninthis.ForKPMGAudit,PierreMeerewantstofocusoninfrastructureandprocessesfirstto
getapropertechnologicalbasis.Thisshouldresultinabasisforcodificationoftheknowledge.
JessevanderHoffalsoelaboratesonthecodifiedworkingprocess.Whenstartingonaprojectina
newprojectinanareawhichhehasnoknowledgeon,hefirsttakesontheliteratureandthefiles
fromtheauditfromthepreviousyearsinthatoracomparableindustry.Aftertheliterature,
colleaguescanbeaskedtofilloutsomesmallgapstogetherwiththecustomer.Thebasisofthe
knowledgeacquisitionisclearlydocumentedwhichcanbeobservedascodifiedknowledge.
ThisprocessisduetobeimplementedintheneweAuditandthereforeitisabletoconfirmthe
secondproposition.Thefocusisclearlyoncodificationandthetechnologicalstrategyisduetobe
implemented.
Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,the
organizationwillfocusonacodificationwithitsITandthereforea
moretechnologicalstrategy.

Result
Confirmed

TomakeastatementabouttheITarchitecture,thesameissuearisesaswiththeITgovernance
proposition.Howmuchstandardsoftwareisneededtoconfirmtheproposition?Themainsoftware
thatisusedwithinKPMGaudit,isstandardsoftwarewhichisusedthroughalloftheDutchKPMG
offices.Thispartiallyislocalizedsoftware.Animportantdevelopmentthatistakingplaceatthis
moment,whichistheeAudit.Thissystemisaimedatassistingthroughoutthewholeprocessofan
audit.Thissystemisbeingdevelopedgloballyanddoessupportthethirdproposition.Stillthereare
localizedsoftwaresystems,thoughthisisonlyonacountrylevel.Thispropositionhasthetendency
tobeconfirmedduetothefactthattheeAuditmaybecomeaprominentelementintheprimary
workprocess.Thiswillbecomemorecentralizedthanforexampletheadvisoryarea.Still,because
theproofisnotstrongenough,thispropositionwillnotbeconfirmednorfalsified.
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,therewill
beonlystandardizedITsolutionsandtherewillbelesstono
businessunitspecificsoftware(acentralITarchitecture).

Result
Unclear

TransferringknowledgeisaprominentissuewithinKPMGAudit.Untilacoupleofmonthsago,there
wasnointranetsitetocommunicatesimplemessagesthroughouttheorganization.Byimproving
this,knowledgemanagementandusageshouldbebroughtintotheprimaryprocess.Thiswill
includeincentivestoshareknowledgeandembeddingitintheculture.
Theknowledge,asstated,ismainlyexplicitknowledge.Totransferthis,transferandsharingsystems
mightbeveryuseful.ThisisgoingtobepromotedandimplementedaccordingtoPierreMeereand
mightbeaninterestingdevelopmentaccordingtoJessevanderHoff.Thepropositionthat
investmentswillfocusontransfersystemsisconfirmedwiththeeAuditsystemandintranetfocus.
Furthermore,thetransferringisbecomingincreasinglyimportantaswell.

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Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
willbetransferredthroughknowledgemanagementsystemsand
thereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonthesetransfersystems

Result
Confirmed

Toretaintheknowledge,aclearaimcanbeseenforknowledgemanagementsystems.Thestoring
ofworkingpapers,documentationandfilesinacentralsystemwillmakeitabletoimprovethe
reuseofknowledge.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
isprimarilyretainedbystoringitinknowledgemanagement
systems.

Result
Confirmed

ThedifferencebetweenKPMGAuditandKPMGAdvisoryisveryclear.WhereKPMGAuditisvery
strict,KPMGAdvisoryhasmorefreedominthedaytodaywork.Lesscontrolandauthoritycan
clearlybedistricted.Theamountofcentralizationthereforeisclearlydifferent.Furthermore,the
knowledgeusageisdifferentaswell.Thiscombinationisperfectsupportforthepropositionsmade
inthisresearch.
TheonlyclearproblemistheITorganization.ThisisoneITorganizationforbothorganizations
resultinginthefalsificationofthepropositionfortheITgovernancestructure.Thedecisionsonthe
othersidedohaveaclearfocusforthestandardizedsoftwarewithKPMGAuditandknowledge
relatedinitiativesarecompletelyinlinewiththisresearch.
5.2.6. Casestudy:CiscoSystems
ThethirdcasestudyisCiscoSystems.Theresultsofthiscasearebasedonaninterviewwiththe
EuropeanCIOofCisco,RobbertKuppens,andadditionaldocumentationconcerningtheusageofIT
andknowledgewithintheorganization.
Ciscoisanorganizationwhichwantstobeknownasveryinventiveandinnovative.Acrucialelement
inthisinnovationisthemanagementofknowledge.RobbertKuppensthinksthatknowledgeand
knowledgemanagementdonotcovertheentiretopic.Hethinksthatknowledgeisonlyapartofthe
eventualinnovation.Themagicwordisexperience.Thisknowledgeandexperiencesharingandthe
cooperationhavetobeembeddedintheorganizationsculturetomakeitasuccess.Acrucial
elementinthisperceptionismotivation.
ThewellknownphrasePracticewhatyoupreachisveryapplicabletoCisco.AllCiscosinternal
experiencesaretakentogetherandinessencebecometheeventualproduct.Theexperienceisthe
additionalvalueoftheproductthatthecustomerpaysfor.Examplesandcasestudiesofthese
experiencescanbefoundonCiscosCiscoonCiscowebsite1.Thisexperiencesharingisaprimary
responsibilityofRobbertKuppensinhisfunction.Butthefactthatthisusageofexperienceand
knowledgeissoimportantstressesthepropermanagementofittobecomeandstaysuccessful.

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ciscoitatwork/index.html

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Butwhatkindofknowledgeorexperienceistheprimarysourceofthecompetitiveadvantage?
AccordingtoRobbertKuppens,thecollaborationeventuallywillleadtoanincreasingproductivity.
Thiscollaborationismainlyfocusedonthecooperationandtheknowledgeandexperiencesharing.
Thisnotaimedatcodifyingtheknowledgebutthecollaborationusingtacitknowledgeand
experiences.Thisisonlysupportedbycodifiedknowledgeintheformofminutes,reports,etc.
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Besidesthecollaborationontheworkfloor,thisisalsoimplementedinthegovernancemodel.
Thereisacertainamountoftheclassiccommand&controlstructurewhichiscombinedwitha
collaborativemodel.ThereisauniformapproachcalledVSE(Vision,StrategyandExecution)which
keepsthedifferentunitsoftheorganizationaligned.Stillmanydecisionscanbemadedecentralized
aslongastheykeepwithinthecorporateboundaries.
Becauseofthecollaborativestrategyandalimitedcommand&controlstructurethisstructureas
beingdecentralized.TheknowledgeiscalledexperiencebyRobbertKuppens.Whenexperiencesare
themainelementofknowledge,thiscanbeobservedastacitknowledgeandinthecaseofCiscothis
issupportedbyexplicitknowledge.ThereferencecanbemadetothestatementsfromJanKingma
whotookontheconceptofdeepcompetencesbeingexpertise.Thelinkbetweenthe
decentralizationandtheusageoftacitknowledgecanthereforebeconfirmed.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure.

Result
Confirmed

RobbertKuppenscomparesCiscosITdepartmentswithafleetofships.Shipscanhavethesame
departingportandthesameporttoarriveat.Thecoursethattheytakeon,isuptothem.Soifa
shipwantstochangetheircourseabitandmakeaturnabitearlier,thisisnoproblem,aslongas
theystaywithinsight,theboundariesthathavebeencreatedbythemanagement.
Ciscoisanorganizationwithmanycaptainsandoneadmiral.Inpreviousyearstherewascomplete
autonomy.ThenewVSEapproachhastightenedthedecisionauthoritybutisstillafleetofships
withcaptains.ThisfigureofspeechcanbetranslatedtotheITgovernancearchetypesofWeill&
Ross(2004).Duetothefactthatthereareseveralexecutivesfromthevariousoperationgroupsare
involvedintheITdecisionmaking,theITgovernancearchetypecanbeclassifiedasafederalone.
Thisisalsoinlinewiththisresearch.
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,theIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedonthefederal
orITduopolyarchetypes.

Result
Confirmed

ThenewestITinnovationsofCiscoareabigcollaborationplatform(Liferay)whichisbasedon
unifiedcommunicationsasanimportantelement.FurthermoretherearetoolslikeWebExConnect
tocollaborateandDirectory3.0(aninternalLinkedIn)forthelocalizationofknowledge.Thefocusis
onthepeopleandnotonthetechnologyitself.Thecommunicationandnetworkcreationisvery
importantforCisco.Thecodificationandtechnologyareonlysupporting.


Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,the
organizationwillfocusonanetworkcreationwithitsITand
thereforeonamorepersonalized(HRM)focusedstrategy.

Result
Confirmed

Ciscoasafleetofshipsresultedinmanydifferentsystems.Themanydifferentsystemsgavetrouble
inimplementingtheportalsandcommunicationtools.Thereforethefocusshiftedtostandardizing
certainelementstomaketransparency,collaborationandcommunicationeasierthroughoutthe
organization.
ThereisafixedbasisofcommunicationsandcollaborationequipmentandtoolsliketheCVision
(internalYouTube)andaCiscopedia.Thesebasictoolsarefocusedonthecollaborativestructureof
theorganizationbuttherestillaremanydifferentinformationsystems.Thebasicinfrastructurehas
becomeunifiedashasthecommunicationplatform.Thehighamountofvariationstillconfirmsthe
thirdpropositionfromthisresearch.
Result
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,therewillbe Confirmed
ahighamountofcustomsoftwareforthedifferentdepartments
andnooronlyafeworganizationwideinformationsystems
(localizedITarchitecture).

Thefourthpropositiontakesonthetransferringofknowledge.Thefocusisclearlyonnetworking
tools,personalcommunicationandlearningfromeachotherthroughthecollaborativeworking
environment.TheHRMcomponentisnotverystrongthougha360degreecollaborationfeedback
isinplacetomonitortheknowledgesharing.Thisfeedbacksystemresemblesthecollaborationand
cooperationofpeopleandwilldirectlyaffectthebonus.
Thefocusclearlyisnotonthetraditionalcodificationbutthereisasignificanttechnologicalpartdue
tothefactthatCiscosfoundationsareinthetechnologicalarea.Bypracticingwhatyoupreachyou
automaticallywillgetatechnologicalfocusaswell.TheHRMcomponentisnotverystrongyetbut
thecommunicationandnetworkingdotakeaprominentposition.Duetothislastfact,withthenote
thattechnologytakesaprominentpositioninthispart,Idoconfirmthisproposition.
Result
Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge Confirmed
willbetransferredthroughpersonalcommunicationandlearning
andthereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonHRMandnetworking
tools.

Duetothecurrentinnovations,thefocusofcollaborationisalsoshiftingtomaintainingtrackof
everythingthathappens.Thisinacertainextentisstoringtheknowledgeinasystem.Thetraditional
typeofcodificationtakesonthecreationofdocumentsbutCiscotakesthismuchfurther.The
storageoflivemeetingsmakescodificationstepuptothenextlevel.Themainelementstillwill
remainthenetworkingandcollaborationandthereforeIchoosenotapprovenorfalsifythis

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proposition.Thisisbecausestorageisaprominentpartandfurtherresearchinthissituationmaybe
needed.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge
willnotprimarilyberetainedbystoringitinknowledge
managementsystems.

Result
Unclear

ThelastnotesthathavetobemadeforthecaseofCiscoistheongoinginnovation.Theshiftthatis
beingmadedeservesfurtherresearch.ShiftscanbenoticedonboththeITstructureaswellason
theknowledgemanagementarea.TheITmanagersarecurrentlybecomingmorerestrictedintheir
decisionauthority.Anumberofstandardplatformshavebeenimplementedandthusadegreeof
centralizationisbeingbroughtintoplace.
Thesecondchangethatcanbenoticedistheusageofknowledge.Besidestheextensive
collaborationbetweentheemployees,moreandmoreisbeingstored.Themeetingscanbe
recorded,teleconferencingbecomesmoreimportant,etc.Theusageofaudioandvideoisbecoming
aprominentwayofcodifyingknowledgeatCisco.Whereotherssticktotextandreports,Cisco
adoptsanewandricherwayofcodification.Thisalsomakeslessexplicitknowledgefeasiblefor
codification.
Whenlookingbacktothechangestrategieswhichhavebeenpresented,aninterestingfactcanbe
discovered.TheshiftwithinCiscocanbetypedasbecominglessdecentralizedandlesstacit.The
shiftcouldbelookeduponasbecomingmorebetweenbothextremes.Thischangestrategyneeded
accordingtothisresearchshouldbethereconfigurationofexistingresources(Bloodgood&
Salisbury,2001)whichisexactlywhatishappening.
5.2.7. Casestudy:MANRegionWest
TheforthcasestudyhasbeendoneatMANTruck&BusandHDS.MANTruck&BusandHDSare
bothpartofMANRegionWestB.V(ajointventurebetweenPonEquipment&PowerSystemand
MANNutzfahrzeuge).TheMANRegionWestisaformalorganizationwhichconsistofthelargely
independentDutch,French,BelgianandLuxembourgianorganizations.AtMANTruck&Busthe
interviewwaswithJohandeVries,managerbusinessdevelopmentwhoalsoallowedmetoreview
strategicdocumentationconcerningITandknowledgeusage.ThesecondinterviewwaswithDennis
vandenBuntofHDS,oneofthesubsidiariesofMANRegionWest.
InTheNetherlandstherearedifferentsubsidiariesfordifferentmarkets.Thesesubsidiariesallhave
theirownmarketing,salesandservicedepartments.Besidesthat,thereisamanagementteamfor
theDutchoperations.MostoftheactivitiesaredonebyMANTruck&Busastheimporterofchassis
fortrucksfromMANNutzfahrzeuge.ThissubsidiarythereforesuppliestheITandfinancialservices
fortheothersubsidiaries.
ThesubsidiariesarelargelyautonomouswithinMANRegionWest.Onlyforstrategicandfinancial
decisions,authorizationisrequired.ThisisbecauseMANRegionWestisasmallstafforganization
andthusdoesnothavethepersonneltomonitor,controlanddecideonmoreoperationalissues.
ThehierarchyisverystrongwithinMANbuttheinitiativedoesnotcomefromthemanagement.The
subsidiarieshaveahighamountofinfluencebutnotcannotmakethefinaldecision.Thoughthe

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subsidiariesareautonomous,MANTruck&BuscontrolsmostoftheDutchactivitiesandtherefore
theorganizationwillbeobservedascentralized.
TheknowledgewithinMANhasastrongexplicitfocus.Thesemainlyconsistofdrawings,schemes,
manualsandFAQsfromtheMANmainofficeinGermany.Thisknowledgeisdeliveredinacodified
wayandthereforecanbetransferredeasilythroughouttheorganization.Thelinkbetweenthe
knowledgeusageandthestructureoftheorganizationcanthereforebeconfirmed.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure.

Result
Confirmed

WithinTheNetherlandsthereisonecentralITdepartment,whichispartofMANTruck&Bus.This
departmentisorganizedthroughaclientsuppliermodel.IfthesubsidiarieshaveITdemands,they
canbefiledatthecentralITdepartmentandthatwillobservetowhichextentitcanbefulfilled.
ThereisonecentralITmanagerandcurrentlythereisachangegoingontocreateonecentralIT
architecture.ThemanagementthroughoneITmanagerisapureformoftheITmonarchyas
describedbyWeillandRoss.Thereforeitisclearthatthefirstpropositioncanbeconfirmed.
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicittheIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedontheITor
businessmonarchyarchetypes.

Result
Confirmed

KnowledgemanagementisincreasinginpopularitywithinMAN.Thisisbecausetheusageand
propermanagementofknowledgecancreateacompetitiveadvantageforthedifferent
departments.Thetraditionalproductionviewontheprocesshasresultedinanunderestimated
powerofproperknowledgeusage.Departmentsassales,serviceandhelpdeskneedknowledgeand
informationtobeabletoperformtheirworkaccordingtothestandards.Ifnoknowledge,for
exampleaboutnewproduct,isavailable,theworkcouldgowrong.Theknowledgewhichisavailable
(thedrawings,schemes,etc.)aretransferredthroughouttheorganizationbutnotinsuchawaythat
theyareeasilyaccessibleandwillbeusedactively.
Asnoticedbefore,thisisallcodifiedworkandthereforeseveraltechnologicalapproacheshavebeen
takenontotransfertheknowledgefromthemainofficetotheemployees.Thesalesemployeesare
supportedwithCRMsystemsfortheircustomerandforthemarketknowledgethereisanelearning
system.Thisisapuretechnologicalapproach.Thesameisfortheservicedepartmentswhohave
systemsforthequestionsandschemes.
Thenetworkingisslightlyusedaswell.Thisismainlyfortheinnovationoftheorganizationandwork
processes.Thisisnottheissuefortheprimaryprocessbutonlyformanagementissues.These
requireaninsightintopossibleimprovementsandfocusontacitknowledge.Thisofcourseisnotthe
focusofthisresearchbecausemanagementalwayshasamoretacitapproachthentheprimary
process.
Roundingupthestrategicfocus,theknowledgeisexplicitandcodificationhasbeentakenon
extensively.Improvementscanbemadetoincreasetheusageofknowledgebutthestrategythatis

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takenonisclearlycodificationandatechnologicalfocus.ItisclearthattherecertainlyisnoHRM
focuscombinedwithnetworking.
Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,the
organizationwillfocusonacodificationwithitsITandthereforea
moretechnologicalstrategy.

Result
Confirmed
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TheclientcustomerrelationatMANwithinTheNetherlandshasresultedinahighlyfragmentedIT
landscape.Thereareseveraldifferentapplicationsandforcertainapplicationsitisnotclearwhois
responsiblewhatsoever.
Thecurrentcourseistoincreasetheefficiencyandtostandardizetheprimaryprocess.Thisis
neededduetothelowmarginsonthestandardproducts.Toachievethisgoal,wellknownmethods
likeLeanandSixSigmahavebeenadoptedthroughoutMAN.TosupportthisontheITside,standard
architectureisbeingdeveloped.ThegoalistostandardizeallDutchMANactivitiesinthecoming
years.
Becausethecurrentarchitectureisfragmented,thepropositionshouldbefalsified.Theaimforthe
comingyearsontheotherhand,istostandardizewhichdoessupporttheproposition.Thechoice
thereforeistostatethispropositionasunclearbutitdoestendstoconfirmation.
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,therewill
beonlystandardizedITsolutionsandtherewillbelesstono
businessunitspecificsoftware(acentralITarchitecture).

Result
Unclear

KnowledgecurrentlyissuppliedbythemainofficeinGermanyandusedbythedifferent
departments.Asstated,varioussystemsareinplacewhichshouldsupportthetransferof
knowledge.Motivationforusageofthesesystemsshouldimprovetheusage.Thefocuswillbeon
thesetransfersystemsbutmoreontheareaofusagemotivationandstandardization.
Thepropositioncanbeconfirmednonethelessbecausethevastamountofknowledgeiscreatedat
themainofficeandthathastobetransferred.Thisiscurrentlytakenonandthepropositionis
confirmed.
Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
willbetransferredthroughknowledgemanagementsystemsand
thereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonthesetransfersystems

Result
Confirmed

Thestorageofknowledgecanbedoneinallthevarioussystemstoretaintheknowledge.Whatis
interesting,isthepositionofHRMwithinMAN.Theknowledgeandexperiencethatpeoplehave,is
linkedtotheHRMactivitiesaswell.Thefactisthatthenatureofactivitiesisnotasprocessoriented
asexpectedandalotofdifferentactivitiesarestilltakingplace.Thereareevenactivitiesthatonly


onepersonwasabletodo.Thismeansthatsomepositionsdohaveamoretacitnaturethan
expected.Thisissupportedbyhavingtherewardinglinkedtotheexpertiselevelaswell.
Thenatureofthework,asbeingrelativelyspecialized,whichrequiresacertainamountofbasic
educationmakesthepositionofHRMimportantintheprimaryprocess.Theknowledgethereforeis
notmainlystoredinKMSbutalsonotthroughHRM.Thereforethispropositionwillnotbe
confirmednorfalsified.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
isprimarilyretainedbystoringitinknowledgemanagement
systems.

Result
Unclear

Asstated,thatthenatureoftheworkisexplicitintheprimaryprocessofMAN.Inthelastparagraph
therehasbeenanotionofatacitnatureoftheworkaswell.Thereforethequestionariseswoulda
knowledgenetworkimprovetheusageofknowledge.Thebasisofalltheusedknowledgeisexplicit
knowledgeandthereforethiswouldprobablynotbethecase.Furthermore,usageofthisknowledge
onalargerscalewouldrequirecodificationaswellandthereforethiswillnotinterferewiththe
assumptionsofthisresearch.
AninterestingelementisthatHDSistheonlyproductionsubsidiarybutthatsubsidiaryhasahigher
leveloftacitknowledge.Thisisbecauseofthespecificfiretruckknowledgewhichisrequiredforthe
sales,buildingandservice.Everyproductiscustommadeandthereforeitishardtocodifythis.The
HRMdepartmentofHDSthereforeisnotintegratedwiththerestofMANnoristheITdepartment
andITinfrastructure(theyevenusedifferentcommunicationsoftware).Thisisonceagainisastrong
confirmationofthebasicfundamentsofmyresearchthatwhentacitknowledgeemerges,thisis
combinedwithdecentralization.
5.2.8. Casestudy:GetronicsInformationandCommunicationSolutions
AtGetronicsInformation&CommunicationSolutions,MartijnvanZon,managerknowledge
managementhasbeeninterviewed.MartijnvanZonalsoprovideddocumentationontheknowledge
managementplansofhisorganizationtoverifytheresultsfromtheinterviews.
Knowledgemanagementisanelementwhichhasnotbeentakenonseriouslyinthelastyearsat
GetronicsInformationandCommunicationSolutionandtrainingwasorganizedbythemanagersof
thedifferentbusinessunits.Recently,aplanwaspresentedtomergeallknowledgeactivities
togetherandtocreateauniformtrainingandeducationplan,supportedwithvariousknowledge
managementactivities.
MartijnvanZonisthemanagerknowledgemanagementandisonlyresponsibleforthisbusiness
unit.Asstated,thereareplanstocreateamorecentralapproachforknowledgemanagementbut
thishasnotbeeninitiatedyet.TheorganizationofGetronicsisverystrictandcentralized.
Knowledgemanagementisoneofthefewexceptionswhichisbroadeningitsscope.Thereisa
stronghierarchywhichalsotranslatesitselfinaverystrictITpolicy.

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Theknowledgethatflowsthroughtheorganizationisprimarilyexplicitknowledge.Duringthe
educationandtraining,itisassumedthattheknowledgecanbeacquiredthroughbooks,casesand
somesupportingstorytelling.Thisstorytellingimpliesthatthereissometacitknowledgeaswell,
beingtheexpertiseoftheemployees.Theeducationoftheaverageemployeeisnormal,supported
bysomehighereducatedemployees.
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Inlinewiththisresearch,thefirstassumptionisthatthecentralizedorganizationwouldprimarily
useexplicitknowledgewhichisthecase.Thefirstassumptionthereforecanbeconfirmedtobevalid
inthiscase.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure.

Result
Confirmed

ITisorganizedfromonecentrallocation.Thisdepartmentalsohasalargeamountofauthorityin
relationtothedecisionsforchangesandimplementations.MartijnvanZonevenstatedthatthe
implementationofnewknowledgemanagementsystemswouldbecomeabigchallengeduetothis
authority.Thismeansthatthiscanonlybeoneoftheextremearchetypesfromtheresearchby
Weill&Ross(2004),beingtheITorbusinessmonarchy.Theassumptionfromthisresearchcan
thereforebeconfirmed.
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicittheIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedontheITor
businessmonarchyarchetypes.

Result
Confirmed

AtGetronicsICSthefocusofthenewknowledgemanagementplansisontheeducationandtraining
oftheemployees.Thisstartswithabasictrainingtoachievethedesiredlevelofexpertise.More
advancedtrainingwillbeusedtomaintainthislevel.Followingthistraining,therewillbespecific
vendordaysforemployeestoshareknowledgeonthedifferenttopics.Thelaststepswillbe
newslettersandmoretechnologicalsolutions.Possibilitiesmightbetechnologieslikewikistoshare
theknowledge.
Inrelationtothisresearch,twoconclusionscanbederived.Ontheoneside,thefinalstepsare
clearlyonamoretechnologicalfocus.Ontheotherside,thebasiceducationisreallytrainingthe
employeesintheirwork.SothiscouldbeperceivedasamoreHRMapproach.Themixofthese
elementsseemstobeeffectiveaswell.Theeducationatthesametimeismainlyfrombooksand
thuscodifiedknowledge.
Becausethebasiceducationismainlycodifiedknowledge,itdoessupportthisassumptionand
togetherwiththefinalstepsoftheplansthisisenoughevidencetosupportthisproposition.
Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,the
organizationwillfocusonacodificationwithitsITandthereforea
moretechnologicalstrategy.

Result
Confirmed


TheITarchitectureiscompletelystandardizedaswell,whichisinlinewiththecentralizedIT
department.Thereisnospecificsoftwareandeverythingismanagedfromacentrallocation.This
standardizedITlandscapeiswhatisexpectedinrelationtothisresearchandthereforeconfirmsthis
proposition.
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,therewill
beonlystandardizedITsolutionsandtherewillbelesstono
businessunitspecificsoftware(acentralITarchitecture).

Result
Confirmed

Theknowledgeinitiallywillbetransferredthroughtrainingandvendordays.Inalaterstage,the
knowledgewillbetransferredthroughnewslettersandtechnologicalsolutions.Completeknowledge
transfersystemsthereforearenooptionyet.Thisisnotexpectedfromthisresearchandthus
falsifiesthisproposition.
Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
willbetransferredthroughknowledgemanagementsystemsand
thereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonthesetransfersystems

Result
Falsified

Theknowledgeretentionisaninterestingtopic.Theplansthathavebeencreatedrelyheavilyonthe
educationandtrainingthroughcodifiedknowledge.Thisisaformofaknowledgemanagement
system.Ofcourse,thisisnotthetypeofKMSthatisbeingfocusinguponbythisresearch.Onthe
longterm,MartijnvanZonwantstochangethefocustoamoretechnicalapproachsothiswillbe
takenoneventuallyandisinlinewiththeplans.Thereforethispropositionwilnotbeconfirmednor
willitbefalsified.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizedcentralized/explicit,knowledge
isprimarilyretainedbystoringitinknowledgemanagement
systems.

Result
Unclear

WhendiscussingtheresearchingeneralMartijnvanZonisnotconvincedofthebasicassumptionof
thisresearch,therelationbetweenorganizationalstructureandknowledgeusage.Hebelievesthere
ismorebehindthisrelation.AccordingtoClaeys(2007),whichMartijnvanZondirectsto,thereisa
relationbetweentheusageofknowledgeandtheorientationoftheorganization.Thiscanbean
internalorexternalfocuscombinedwithacontrolorchangefocus.Thiscouldbeavaluableaddition
tothisresearchwhichshouldcertainlybeaddressedinfurtherresearch.
5.2.9. Casestudy:GetronicsConsulting
ThelastcasestudyisdonewithJanPaulOuwerkerkofGetronicsConsulting.Thisinterviewwas
intendedtosupportthepreviouscasestudyatGetronicsICSbutduetothesurprisingresults,I
chosetopresentthemasaseparatecasestudy.

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GetronicsConsultingisaseparatecompanyundertheGetronicsflagandhasnorelationwhatsoever
withGetronicsICS.InsteadofbeingverycentralizedlikethepreviousGetronicscompany,Getronics
Consultingisdecentralizedorganizationwithseparateautonomousbusinessunits.Thereisacentral
staffbuttheunitsareautonomousanddifferstronglyfromeachother.
Theknowledgeusageisverydispersedaswell.Thereisnoformalcollectionandlittletono
codificationeither.Theknowledgeisresidingintheemployeesandhasastrongtacitnature.The
goalfortheemployeesistobecomeexpertsintheirareawhichimpliestacitknowledgeaswell.The
organizationisdecentralizedsoinlinewiththisresearchitcanbeconfirmedthatthisdecentralized
organizationusestacitknowledge.
Proposition Description
1
Initiallinkbetweenknowledgeusageandorganizationalstructure.

Result
Confirmed

TheITorganizationismorecentralizedthanexpected.InsteadofadecentralizedITauthority,there
isonecompanytowhichallITactivitiesareoutsourced.Withintheorganizationthereofcourseis
someresponsibility,butthecompanyisprimarilyafacilitatingservice.Theresultisthatthisisa
centralizedITgovernancestructure,atleastintermsofauthority.
ParalleltothisITorganization,thereisasecondgroupwhichisactivewithinGetronicsConsulting.
Thisgroupmanagesanewsetofsoftwarepackagesandmakestheusageavailable.Thisresultsina
morelocalizedITauthorityaswell.
Proposition Description
2
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,theIT
governancestructurewillbeeitherbeconcentratedonthefederal
orITduopolyarchetypes.

Result
Confirmed

Thecurrentsituationdoesnotpromotethecreationofknowledgenetworks.Theefficientusageof
workinghoursisimportantandwithoutthatmotivation,onlytheintrinsicmotivationmayresultin
knowledgenetworks.Theproductivitygoalsoftheemployeesthereforeblocksthecreationofthe
knowledgenetworks.
TrainingisaprominentelementofallemployeesandinthatareaHRMplaysabigrole.Thedifferent
businessunitsalsocanusetheHRMservicesondemandfortherecruitmentofspecific
positions.Fromtheoneside,networksarenotactivelycreated,ontheothersideHRMdoesplaya
bigrole.Sothispropositionwillnotbeconfirmednorwillitbefalsified.
Proposition Description
3
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,the
organizationwillfocusonanetworkcreationwithitsITand
thereforeonamorepersonalized(HRM)focusedstrategy.

Result
Unclear

DuetothecentralizedoutsourcedIT,thereisastandardizedITlandscapewithnocustomsoftware.
Theothergroupthatisactive,doessupplycustomsoftwarepackages.Thisserviceisnotmeantto

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beareplacementanddoesnotactivelysupportthis,butitispossibletohaveadifferentplatformto
workwith,thanthestandardITplatformwhichvalidatesthisproposition.
Result
Proposition Description
4
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,therewillbe Confirmed
ahighamountofcustomsoftwareforthedifferentdepartments
andnooronlyafeworganizationwideinformationsystems
(localizedITarchitecture).

ThefocusoncommunicationandlearningnetworksisveryclearwithinGetronicsConsulting.The
approachtoachievethis,isnotveryeffectivethough.TheITsystemsthatarebroughtinplace,are
verysuitableforthecodificationofknowledgeandnotforthecreationofknowledgenetworks.
Adifferentpropositionwouldbetheusageofthedatabaseofresumes.Thisdatabasecouldbeused
tolocalizeknowledgeandwiththecommunicationsplatform,aknowledgenetworkcouldbe
createdonthelongterm.Thedifficultyis,thatthisdatabaseisforthestaffonly,andnotforthe
employeesthemselves.
Theaimoftheknowledgemanagementincentivesisveryclearandcompletelysupportsthe
proposition,theexecutioncouldbeimprovedthough.
Result
Proposition Description
5
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge Confirmed
willbetransferredthroughpersonalcommunicationandlearning
andthereforetheinvestmentfocuswillbeonHRMandnetworking
tools.

Toretainknowledge,inthiscasetheemployees,acoachingprojecthasbeenstarted.Thisproject
alsoimprovesthenetworkswithinthecompanyandresultsintheretentionoftheemployeesas
well.AfuturelinkwithmoreHRMservicesmightmemadeinthefuture.
Proposition Description
6
Whenanorganizationisorganizeddecentralized/tacit,knowledge
willnotprimarilyberetainedbystoringitinknowledge
managementsystems.

Result
Confirmed

ThecurrentsituationistheresultofthechangingservicesthatGetronicsConsultingoffers.Where
theorganizationreliedonthesecondment,itnowoffersmoreconsultingservices.Wherethe
employeesusedtobesecondedtothecustomers,onlythestaffneededtohaveanoverviewofthe
knowledgeandexperiencethatthenemployeehad,itisnowchangingrapidly.Inamoretypical
consultingfirm,itisimportanttohaveagoodoverviewoftheavailableknowledgetooptimally
supportthecustomers.ThisissomethingthatshouldbetakenonatGetronicsConsulting.

5.3.Validationconclusions
Inallcasesthathavebeentakenon,thelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandtheusageof
knowledgehasbeenconfirmed.Inthedifferentcases,centralizedandexplicitknowledgeusing

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organizationslikeMANanddecentralizedwithtacitknowledgeusingorganizationslikeKPMG
advisoryhavebeenfound.Also,thevisionandchangesthatareadoptedintheorganizationsare
interestingaswell.Ciscoforexampleistryingtogetmoregripontheknowledgebycentralizingand
standardizing.Thisisaccompaniedbyacertaindegreeofexternalizationwhichalsoimpliesthe
shiftingfocusinknowledgeusage.
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KPMGAdvisory
KPMGAudit
Cisco
MAN
GetronicsICS
GetronicsConsulting
Result

1
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

2 3 4

+ +/

+ +/
+ + +
+ + +/
+ + +
+ +/ +
+/ + +/

5
+
+
+
+

+
+

6
+
+
+/
+/
+/
+
+/

Figure30:Casestudyresults

Ingeneraltheresultsarenotunanimous.Thenextquestionthereforewouldbewhetherthisisa
flawinthetheoreticalframeworkbecauseofthefalsificationofsomepropositionsorarethese
areasthatcouldbeimprovedbytheorganizations?Thefactisthattheframeworkonlyusestwo
extremessoamixedresultcouldbeexpected.Thetendencythathasbeenfoundintheresultsisin
favorofthisresearch.
WhenobservingthestructureoftheITorganization,thisisconfirmedwithCisco,MANand
GetronicsbecausetheyhavetheirITorganizedaccordingtotheorganizationalstructure.With
KPMGthisisnotconfirmedduetothesecurityissuesandthesupporttoKPMGauditandKPMG
advisorysimultaneously.Thisresultedinafederalstructurewhichexcludestheexistenceofboth
extremeITgovernancearchetypes.Thoughthechoiceforthisstructureisclear,itisnotinlinewith
theexpectedresultsandthereforerequiresadditionalresearch.
ThestrategicfocusoncodificationandtechnologyversusthenetworkingandHRMfocushas
perfectlyadoptedonbytheorganizationsexceptGetronicsConsulting.Thisisclearlythefocusthat
organizationsarefollowing.Whenthisisnotyetdone(MAN)thereareplanstoimplementthisin
thenearfuture.KPMGontheotherendhastobecautiousthattheydonotfocustoomuchonthe
technologicalareaforthetacitknowledge.GetronicsConsultingistryingtousemoretechnical
solutionsinadecentralized/tacitsituationwhichmaynotbeverysuccessfuleither.
ThearchitectureandusageofITgivesmixedresultsaswell.Thefocusandstrategyoftenisthere,
butnotexecutedasshouldbe.ForexampleKPMGhasacomparablyITlandscapeforbothauditas
wellasadvisorywhichwouldresultinanunderperformingITaccordingtothisresearch.MANhas
severalseparateapplicationsaswellbutisreducingit,justlikeCisco.ThemisfitatKPMGwas
expectedduetothefactthattheorganizationofITisstandardizedforsecurityreasons.Thefocusof
MANandCisco,whichistostandardizetheITlandscapewasexpectedinrelationtothisresearchas
well.GetronicsICSontheotherhanddoesnothavetheITlandscapeformedaccordingtothe
assumptionsofthisresearch.
Ascanbeexpected,thedirectionofITandknowledgeusageisobservedandfocusedcorrectlyin
relationtothisresearchsotheinvestmentsaredoneaccordingly.TheHRMfocusclearlyisadopted
bythecorrespondingorganizationsaswell.ThefunctionoftheHRMdepartmentdiffersfrom


organizationtoorganization.WhereKMPGadvisoryimpliesthatknowledgemanagementshouldbe
integratedintherecruitmentofemployees,MANstatesthatthebasiceducationandexpertise
shouldbemeasuredbytheHRMdepartment.ThisisclearlyadifferentapplicationofHRM
processes.Thenetworkcreationasafinalconceptinrelationtothiscasestudyoninvestments,is
doneaswell.Whentacitknowledgeisimportant,peoplearebroughttogethertoassurethe
creationofknowledgenetworks.TheonlyexceptionisGetronicsICSwhichusesadifferentapproach
butwhichseemstobesuccessfulaswell.
Whenitcomestoretainingknowledge,severaldifferencesbecomevisible.WhereKPMGadoptsthe
rightapproachfortheknowledgeretention,Ciscoprovesthatmoretacitknowledgecanbestored
aswellwhereMANtriestoretainexperts.Thisshouldbeaninterestingstartingpointforfurther
researchbecauseinthisresearch,onlytacitknowledgeshouldberetainedthroughHRM.The
explicitknowledge,liketheknowledgeusedatMAN,shouldbestoredinaknowledgemanagement
system.AtGetronicsICStheeducationofemployeesleadstoahigherlevelofexpertiseinthe
organizationthoughitmainlyfocusesonexplicitknowledgewhichisnotinlinewiththisresearch.
Wheneverythingisbeingaddedup,thereisavastamountofconfirmation.Thiscaneitherbebythe
provenconfirmationofthepropositionsorthestrategythattheorganizationshaveadopted.When
thepropositionsarefalsifiedornotcompletelyclear,thereoftenisareasonforthatsituation.
Theresultisthatthelinkbetweentheorganizationalstructureandknowledgeusage,knowledge
strategyfocusandknowledgetransferpropositionsarevalidated.FortheITgovernancestructure,IT
architectureandknowledgeretentionpropositionshavenotbeenvalidatedcompletely.Inthis
chapterithasbeenelaboratedwhythesepropositionsarenotvalidatedcompletely.Thetendency
clearlyisinfavorofthepropositionbuttheresultsshowtheinfluenceofotherfactorswhichmight
alsohaveaninfluenceontheresearchitself.Thisshouldberesearchedfurther.Altogetherthis
validationprovesthatthefundamentsofthisresearcharevalid.

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6. Conclusions
Toconcludethisresearch,inthischapterthesubconclusions,expertopinionsandcasestudyresults
willbecombinedintoonegeneralconclusionconcerningthisresearch.Afterthisconclusion,the
nextchapterhasbeenusedforfurtherdiscussionandthelimitationsconcerningthisconclusion
includingthefurtherresearchwhichwillbenecessarytoimprovethisresearch.
Existingliteratureshowsthatthefoundationsofanorganizationcanbevieweduponfromvarious
aspects.Byassumingthattheorganizationalstructurecanbeperceivedastheallocationof
accountabilityandauthority,ithasbeenmadeobservableanditbecamepossibletolinkthe
organizationalstructureoftheITgovernancestructureandtotheusageofknowledge.This
foundationhasasolidliterarybasisandthereforewasavalidfoundation.Theexpertswerenot
completelyconvincedofthismatchbutthecasestudieshavevalidatedtherelationbetweenthe
elements.
Thedivisionofthegovernanceintheorganizationalstructure,decisionareas,resourcesand
mechanismsmadeitpossibletoassesstheavailablegovernanceresearchandincludemany
mechanismsfromboththeITgovernanceresearch,knowledgemanagement,moregeneral
governanceresearchaswellassomebasicorganizationalmechanismsinthefinalframework.By
combiningthestructureoftheorganizationandtheknowledgefocusofanorganization,two
situationswerecreatedinwhichanorganizationcanbesituated.Thedecisionareasresultinafocus
onthespecificareaswiththeircorrespondingmechanisms.Theonlyelementwhichwasnot
representedintheframeworkextensively,isthepositionorresources.Thefurtherusageof
resourcesshouldbemanagedbyresourcemanagementprocessesaccordingtotheliterature.
ThesupportfortheITelementofthepresentedframeworkisnotverystronginthecasestudies
whichisinterestingcaseandmightbeusedinfurtherresearch.Especiallywhentheorganizationhas
nopureorganizationalformintermsoftheorganizationalstructure,therelationofITwiththe
organizationandtherelationbetweenITandknowledgeusagewillbeneededtoberesearched
further.ThisbecameclearinbothKPMGcaseswheretherewasonegeneralITdepartment,with
oneITstrategy.Theknowledgedepartmenthadtwodifferentstrategiesforbothorganizational
areas.
Theorganizationalstructureinrelationtoknowledgeusagemightbeimprovedaswell.When
observingthestructureandknowledgeusageatallthedifferentorganizations,itisclearthat
knowledgeispositioneddifferentlybytheorganizations.MartijnvanZonsuggestedtoincludethe
behavioroftheemployeeswithinanorganizationasaninfluencefactor.Thefactthusfaris,thatthe
determinationoftheamountofcentralizationhasproventobeagoodindicatoroftheknowledge
usage.
TheorganizationsinthecasestudieswereclearontheusageoftechnologyorHRMprocessesand
knewwhichofthetwo(oracombinationofboth)couldhelptostrengthenthepositionofthe
organizationintermsofknowledgeusage.Stillthecurrentusageofbothelementsdiffersstrongly
fromorganizationtoorganization.WhereMANhaslittletechnologyinplaceforknowledge
transferring,Ciscohasmanyadvancedandinnovativetoolstosupporttheirdaytodayoperations.
Atthesametime,bothhaveaclearvisiononhowtousetechnologyandHRMinthenearfuture
whichconfirmedmyassumptions.ThedifferentorganizationspositionHRMindifferentwaysin

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theirorganizationsaswell.Wheretheoneusesitasadepartmentforthedefinitionandmonitoring
ofKPIs,theotherhastheaimofintegrationinknowledgeprocesses.Thisusageoftechnologyand
HRMthereforemightnotbesoblackandwhiteaspresented.
Concludingthisresearch,theresultsareinnovativeduetothisisanareawhichhashadlittle
attention.Thisresearchcanbeusedasabasisforfurtherresearchbyimprovingthevarious
elements.Thisisnosilverbullet,butmerelyafocusinadifferentdirection.Thisdirectioncanhelp
organizationsimprovethealignmentoftheirknowledgeandITrelatedactivities.

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7. Discussion
Noteverybodymightagreewiththefoundationsorresultsinthisresearch.Duringthisresearch,
variousassumptionshadtobemadewhichmightnotbethebestanddeservefurtherresearch.In
thischapterthelimitationsofthisresearchandsuggestionsforfurtherresearchwillbepresented.

7.1.Limitations
Thisresearchhasitslimitations.Noteverythingcanbeincludedinthisresearchandthispossibly
givesanincompleteviewoftheproblemathand.Thelimitationswillbedividedupintothree
elements,theliterature,theexpertinterviewsandthecasestudies.
Theliteraturefocusesonthreedifferentareaswhichallhavetheirlimits.Theorganizational
structure,asthebasisofthisresearchhasonlybeenincludedinaminimalform.Byassumingthat
theorganizationalstructureonlyconsistsoftheamountofcentralizationisastrongsimplificationof
reality.Stillitisbelievedthatthissimplificationisvalidbecauseitisadescriptorforthestructureof
theorganization.Butbyassumingthattheorganizationalstructureisnotmorethanthecentralized
ordecentralizedstructure,theresultsarelimitedtothoseextremesandmixedstructuresorany
levelinbetweentheextremeswillneedadifferentviewthanpresentedinthisresearch.Thismight
alsobethereasonwhytherearenumberoffalsificationsinthecasestudiesthatwereperformed.
ITgovernanceresearchaspresentedinthisresearchismainlyfocusedontheallocationofdecision
rightsthroughWeillandRossandthemechanismsasproposedbytheITGIandtheCOBIT
framework.Therearefarmoreframeworksandmodelsthanpresentedinthisthesis.Thislimitsthe
frameworktotheinsightsofthesescholarsandgroups.Theotherdownsideisthatmostofthe
mechanismsthathavebeenpresented,arenotdevelopedforaspecificcentralizedordecentralized
organization.
Theknowledgegovernanceresearchhasaproperseparationduetothelinkwithtacitorexplicit
knowledge.Therefore,manymechanismsthathavebeenusedintheframeworkdofitinaspecific
area.Stilltherearesomeimprovementsthathavetobemadetothisinitialframework.Thefocusof
theorganizationinrelationtotheoverallstrategyandtheusageofknowledgeinthisstrategic
decisionmakinghasnotincludedintheresearch.Thereforethisresearchislimitedtothedaytoday
usageofknowledgeintheprimaryprocessandnotinthemanagementoftheorganization.As
alreadyhasbeenpresented,theknowledgegovernanceresearchmainlyfocusesonthe
implementationofmechanismswhichexcludestheformalallocationofdecisionmakingauthority,
decisionareasandresourcemanagement.
Fortheexpertinterviews,onlythreeexpertshavebeeninterviewedwhichhaddifferentopinionson
thevariousaspects.Whendifferentexpertswouldhavebeeninterviewed,differentopinionsmight
havearisenwithadifferentimpactonthisresearch.
Thecasesthathavebeentakenonareverymixed.Furtherresearchwithdifferentorganizations,
outsideofTheNetherland,indifferentareas,smaller,larger,woulddefinitivelyimprovethequality
ofthisresearchduetothefactthatitisalimitedsample.Furthermore,thecaseswereexecuted
withminimalresourcesinashorttimespan.Whentherewouldhavebeenmoreinterviews,
supportedwithempiricalevidence,thequalityofthisresearchwouldincreaseaswell.Thismakes
thecasesverylimitedbutacceptableforthistypeofqualitativeandexplorativeresearch.

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7.2.Furtherresearch
Toovercomethelimitationsfromthisresearch,severalelementsneedfurtherresearch.Themain
elementswhichareassumedasgoodstartforfurtherresearchwillbeshortlyelaboratedinthis
chapter.
Asstated,itisunlikelythatanorganizationiscompletelycentralizedordecentralized.Thereare
manymorepossibilitiesforanorganizationalstructure(Mintzberg,1980).Besidesthat,Mintzberg
alsoproposedseveralotherelementswhichaltogetherdeterminetheoverallstructureofthe
organization.Agoodnextstepwouldbetodeterminewhatthelevelsbetweenthetwoextremesin
thisresearchwillbeandwhichotherelements(fromforexampleMintzberg)canbeincludedinthis
work.Anotherelementcouldbethebehavioroftheemployeeswithintheorganization.Claeys
(2007)proposesseveralculturalandbehavioraspectswhichcouldbeinterestingaswell.Thismay
resultinadifferentapproachinthelinkbetweentheknowledgeusageintheorganizationandthe
structureoftheorganization.
Furthermore,theexternalmarketshavenotbeentakenintoaccount.Thiswouldbeavery
interestingextensionaswellbecauseitincludesthemanagerialdecisionmakingandthecompetitive
area.Knowledgecanbeusedintheoptimizationofthedaytodaybusinessbutmostcertainlywill
assistinstrategicdecisionmakingaswell.Byincludingtheexternalfactorsfromthemarket,the
frameworkmayhavetobeexpandedtoincludethatnotionaswell.
Anelementwhichhasbeenignoredisthematurityofthegovernance.ChristiaanPiekaswellas
existingliteraturementionthiselementbecausewithoutaproperandmaturegovernance
organization,thedecisionmakingprocesswillnotbeeffective.Thiselementisimportant,especially
whenmultipleelementslikeknowledgeandITneedtobeadaptedtotheorganizationorits
environment.
Thisresearchhasincludedmanydifferentmechanismsbuttheremaybemoreinteresting
mechanismsinrecentliterature.Furthermore,therearenocompleteknowledgegovernance
frameworkslikethereareITgovernanceframeworks.Thiswouldbeamostusefulpartoffurther
researchbecauseitwillallowtheorganizationstoimplementastructuretoeffectivelygovernthe
knowledgemanagementprocesses.
Inthecasestudies,elementsliketheinnovativecodificationoftacitknowledgeatCiscohavebeen
presented.Thiscouldbeveryinterestingtoseewhetherthisisarealinnovationorjustatemporary
phenomena.ThecoursethatCiscoistakingwiththeircollaborativeenvironmentismostinnovative
andmanyofthesepracticescanbeusedtoenrichtheresearchonknowledgemanagementand
governance
Motivationandculturehavebeenincludedinthisresearch,buttheyhavebeenapproachedfrom
theknowledgearea,motivationandcultureingeneralandfromanITpointofviewneedtobe
researchedaswelltoimprovethematchintheframework.
Althoughthischapterandthepreviouschapterpresentvariouslimitationsandsuggestionsfor
furtherresearch,thisresearchhasbeenastepintoanewareaofresearchbymergingmultiplefields
togetherandcreatinganewinsightforscienceandpractice.

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AppendixA:Measurementoforganizationalstructure
Hierarchyofauthority
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Therecanbelittleactiontakenhereuntilasupervisorapprovesadecision.
Apersonwhowantstomakehisowndecisionswouldbequicklydiscouragedhere.
Evensmallmattershavetobereferredtosomeonehigherupforafinalanswer.
IhavetoaskmybossbeforeIdoalmostanything.
AnydecisionImakehastohavemybosssapproval.

Actualparticipationindecisions
6. Howfrequentlydoyouusuallyparticipateinthedecisiontohirenewstaff?
7. Howfrequentlydoyouusuallyparticipateindecisiononthepromotionofanypfthe
professionalstaff?
8. Howfrequentlydoyouparticipateindecisionsontheadoptionofnewpolicies?
9. Howfrequentlydoyouparticipateinthedecisionsontheadoptionofnewprograms?
Jobcodification
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

IfeelthatIammyownbossinmostmatters.
Apersoncanmakehisowndecisionswithoutcheckingwithanybodyelse.
Howthingsaredonehereisleftuptothepersondoingthework
Peoplehereareallowedtodoalmostastheyplease
Mostpeopleheremaketheirownrulesonthejob

Ruleobservation
15. Theemployeesareconstantlybeingcheckedonforruleviolations
16. Peopleherefeelasthoughtheyareconstantlybeingwatchedtoseethattheyobeyallthe
rules
Professionaltraining
0.
1.
2.
3.

Lackoftrainingbeyondacollegedegreeandlackofotherprofessionaltraining
Lackoftrainingbeyondacollegedegree,butotherprofessionaltraining
Trainingbeyondacollegedegreeandlackofotherprofessionaltraining
Trainingbeyondacollegedegreeandotherprofessionaltraining

Professionalactivity

Onepointforbelongingtoaprofessionalorganization
Onepointforattendingatleasttwothirdsoftheprevioussixmeetingsoftheprofessional
organization
Onepointforpresentingapaperorholdinganofficeinaprofessionalorganization

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AppendixB:Measurementofknowledgeusage
Codifiability:Perceivedcodifiability
1. Ausefulmanualdescribingourprimaryprocesscanbewritten.
2. Largepartsofourprimaryprocesscontrolareembodiedinstandardtypesoftwarethatwe
modifiedforourneeds.
3. Largepartsofourprimaryprocesscontrolareembodiedinsoftwaredevelopedwithinour
companyexclusivelyforouruse.
4. Extensivedocumentationdescribingcriticalpartoftheprimaryprocessexistsinour
company
Teachability:Perceivedteachability
Personnelinthiscasearenewemployees,supportingintheprimaryprocess,sonomanagement.
5. Newpersonnelcaneasilylearnhowtoworkwiththecompanybytalkingtoskilled
employees.
6. Newpersonnelcaneasilylearnhowtoworkwiththecompanybystudyingacompletesetof
blueprints,manualsorotherdocumentation.
7. Educatingandtrainingnewpersonnelisaquick,easyjob.
8. Newpersonnelknowenoughafteranormalhighschooleducationtoworkwiththe
company
9. Newpersonnelknowenoughaftervocationaltrainingtoworkwiththecompany.
Complexity:Perceivedcomplexity
Howimportantarethefollowingelementstotheprimaryprocess?
10.
11.
12.
13.

Processesforstoringlargeamountsofinformationonprojects
Communicationbetweenteammembers
Elicitationoftherequirements
Differenttypesofservicesorcombinationsofservices

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