Knowledge management practices in Indian information technology companies

Abstract

The present paper lays the foundations for the best practices in knowledge management and investigates the degree of awareness and implementation of KM principles and practices in Indian information technology (IT) companies. A purposive sample of 10 IT companies in North India was chosen for study and a survey was conducted with the objective of investigating the degree of awareness and implementation strategies of knowledge management. The present research work is based on secondary data obtained from 10 IT companies. The various phases of knowledge management (knowledge generation, knowledge codification, and knowledge transfer and knowledge application) were taken into account and data were interpreted on the basis of weighted scores for each parameter at each phase. Final conclusions were drawn on the basis of the Knowledge Management Index. The interpretation of data revealed that the Knowledge Management Index (KMI) for awareness and commitment is very high as per the pre-defined rating scale but the involvement of top management in allocating the necessary resource flow to initiate and sustain knowledge management practice is needed. It was very clear that though people are aware of the importance of documentation and it is being prepared to some extent, a lot needs to be done in this field. Only very critical information is documented and maintained in archives, whereas general information (which forms 30%–40% of daily work input) is not documented. The common perception was that there should be a mechanism through which the ideas of engineers/programmers can be implemented since the company can gain only if ideas are translated into tangible benefits. The Knowledge Management Index for awareness of intellectual property in IT companies was found to be too low, which is an area of concern, but the same was high for information technology. It was also revealed that HR professionals have to realise that true competitive advantage lies in the people and the best HR practices should be aligned to strengthen knowledge management.