Anatomy of a failed knowledge management initiative: lessons from PharmaCorp's experiences

Abstract

AbstractOn a sunny morning in July 1999, Samuel Parsons, Head of Knowledge Management at PharmaCorp, convened his regular Monday team meeting. He looked stressed. After dealing with a couple of administrative issues he said: ‘Last Friday evening I was informed that Wilco Smith, Head of Pharma Global Order Handling Services, no longer wants knowledge management. His only question now is how to off‐board the knowledge management staff.’ Thus came to an end a three‐year initiative that at the outset was considered to be ‘the knowledge management showcase for the firm’. This paper is for managers who have an interest in operationalizing knowledge and want to avoid the traps others have fallen into. It examines the case of PharmaCorp, a global organization and one of the largest in its industry. The case provides managers with five key lessons. First, manage knowledge interdependencies across communities of practice; second, contextualize knowledge within natural groups of activities; third, avoid an over‐emphasis on explicit knowledge; fourth, let knowledge management recipients determine tacit and explicit knowledge; and fifth, manage the input from external consultants. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.