An Integrative Knowledge Management Framework to Support ERP Implementation for Improved Management Decision Making in Industry

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) has been identified as one of the key success factors for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation and has received considerable academic attention in the last decade, whilst continuously gaining interest from industry. KM for ERP implementation is, however, a challenging task because of the complexity of ERP packages used in various industrial contexts. If implemented successfully, ERP systems will improve management decision making by providing more accurate, timely and integrated enterprise wide information. This study proposes an integrative KM competence (IKMC) framework that can provide holistic consideration of different types of knowledge across its life cycle phases. The framework has been tested with companies in service industry which have implemented standard ERP packages. The key findings indicate how to advance KM competence by knowledge creation, transfer, retention and application. In addition, the study informs practitioners about the most important knowledge types (ERP package and business process knowledge) and how, why and with what to create, transfer, retain and re-use knowledge during an ERP implementation to achieve project success.