Knowledge management as a strategic management tool at a South African enterprise

Abstract

The primary aim of this article was to explore the role of a knowledge management strategy to achieve a South African technology-oriented enterprise’s business strategy. The linking between knowledge management and the business strategy was viewed as the crux for successful knowledge management in any enterprise. Knowledge plays a crucial role in the competitive nature of enterprises and hence constitutes a critical component of enterprise strategy. The purpose of the empirical survey was to determine the relationship between the knowledge management function and the business strategy at the enterprise. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 355 employees were randomly selected to form the sample. The majority of the respondents were of the opinion that knowledge management plays an important role in the enterprise’s strategies, policies and practices. When implementing a knowledge management strategy, the prioritisation of knowledge management activities, as well as their integration with other business processes, should be an important management focus area and steps for the successful implementation of a knowledge management strategy were recommended.