Knowledge Management Adoption Research Articles

Barriers to Knowledge Management in the Health Sector of Pakistan

Knowledge management (KM) is the source for creating a sustainable competitive advantage, and it helps the organizations to retain, develop, organize and utilize their knowledge. Due to globalization, the organizations must maintain their knowledge assets to survive. Many organizations have realized the potential of KM and are applying it. Since the healthcare industry is growing significantly, it is continuously generating a wealth of knowledge. This knowledge can be recorded, communicated and used by many health care professionals with the help of KM. There is a wealth of research on KM in healthcare of developed countries, but very few studies regarding KM implementation can be found in developing countries i.e., Pakistan. Pakistan is now looking towards the implementation of KM; it is in its initial stages. The implementation of KM in the healthcare of Pakistan is affected by different barriers. In this study, the barriers will be identified and analyzed. An interrelationship between the barriers will be determined, and how the different barriers support each other (driving power), and how they influence each other (dependence power). The results of interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and MICMAC (Matrice d’Impacts croises-multipication appliqué an classment i.e., cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) approach show that lack of support from top management, insufficient strategic planning and lack of support from organizational structure are the main barriers to KM adoption in the healthcare of Pakistan. This study provides a solution in determining the main barriers that need to be solved first, and to ensure effective implementation of KM in the healthcare of Pakistan.

Reflection of embedded knowledge culture in communications of Australian companies

ABSTRACTManaging knowledge and fostering a knowledge-sharing culture are essential in meeting the expectations of such diverse stakeholders as business owners, investors, current and prospective employees, business partners, customers, and the public. This paper describes how the adoption of knowledge management is reflected in communicated company values and principles by analysing the occurrence of knowledge-related keywords in the online resources of selected companies in Australia. The results show that companies are publicly communicating knowledge creation, sharing, and management-related topics, with knowledge sharing being the most frequent topic. The extent of communicating about knowledge-related issues differ between large organisations and SMEs; large companies mention relevant keywords significantly more frequently in their documents than SMEs. This indicates that knowledge management penetrates deeper into larger companies’ values and philosophy.

Learning transfer system inventory (LTSI) and knowledge creation in organizations

PurposeKnowledge creation has received substantial attention by researchers, ever since the Socialization Externalization Combination Internalization (SECI) process was introduced. Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) focuses on learning transfer and has been validated across many countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings between LTSI and SECI, and LTSI’s role in knowledge amplification as part of the organizational knowledge creation spiral.Design/methodology/approachThe literature on organizational learning, SECI and LTSI is studied, as well as a detailed review of the LTSI constructs as it relates to SECI is completed.FindingsBoth SECI and LTSI emphasize the substantial interplay between explicit and tacit knowledge as the basis of knowledge interchange. The result of this research is a theoretical framework combining LTSI and SECI that can help understand knowledge transfer in terms of interplay of explicit and tacit knowledge and LTSI’s role in knowledge amplification as part of organizational knowledge creation.Practical implicationsIt is proposed that LTSI can potentially be used to gauge the propensity of an organizational environment to create and transfer knowledge ontologically, as well as adopt knowledge management systems. The LTSI constructs into basic knowledge interactions (various combinations of explicit and tacit knowledge conversions) are categorized thus helping practitioners analyze the basic building blocks of learning transfer and knowledge creation. The theoretical association of the two frameworks paves the way for more empirical validation of the SECI model potentially.Originality/valueThis paper is an original attempt to associate SECI with LTSI.

Culture effect on knowledge management adoption in Nigerian hospitality industry

PurposeThe effect of culture on various aspects of life, business and disciplines such as knowledge management (KM) has been much studied. Hospitality has also received much attention because it, among others, can produce and redistribute wealth whether in developed or developing economies, who often find it as an invaluable means of generating foreign income. Nonetheless, there is no combination of the three areas in a single study done in a developing economy. The paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the impact of culture on the adoption of KM in the hospitality industry of Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachHofstede’s culture model and technology acceptance model were used as underpinning theories to develop a research model which was operationalised into a 45-item questionnaire. A five-point Likert scale that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used. The questions were closed-ended for the variables of the model, but there were also open-ended questions. Two Nigerian cities were purposely sampled and they generated 195 responses from the 400 questionnaires that were distributed. Correlation analysis was first done to establish relationships before regression analysis was performed after checking for multicollinearity. Findings and conclusions were drawn from significant hypotheses.FindingsThe findings showed significant collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, femininity and short- and long-term orientations as factors that would affect adoption of KM in the hospitality industry of Nigeria. Power distance and individualism as factors, on the other hand, were not significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has produced a model that can form the basis for future research. The study apparently is the first and therefore needs replication in other industries and other developing economies. A comparative study can be done too between developing countries or between a developing and a developed country. Many replicated studies could perhaps produce a generic model that would apply beyond Nigeria. Moreover, as this study is on a moving target both in terms of culture and the extent of KM adoption, subsequent studies could update the findings of this study.Practical implicationsHospitality managers have to develop and maintain a conducive culture if adoption of KM is to be achieved. Managers should be sensitive to and take good advantage of cultural differences displayed in the personality traits of employees. For example, uncertainty avoidance (preference for precision) could be an asset to make knowledge explicit in computer systems, making it easier to share such knowledge in the organisation. Collectivism and nurturing orientation would encourage knowledge sharing and collaborative work, which is often nowadays done virtually. Managers should encourage knowledge workers to seek and acquire both short- and long-term views of their work.Originality/valueThere apparently is no systematic empirical study that combines KM, hospitality and culture in developing economies’ context. Thus, this study examines the effects of culture on KM adoption in the Nigerian hospitality industry. The findings have practical implications on how the Nigerian hospitality industry can benefit from the application of KM.

Knowledge Management for research sustainability of academic researchers in India-An overview and theoretical framework

Objectives: Knowledge Management (KM) is an integration of numerous endeavors and fields of study. This paper provides a theoretical framework for characterizing attributes of academic researchers and techniques available to knowledge management. It provides an overview of a few key terms and concepts, describes the framework, provides examples of how to use it, and explores a variety of potential application areas the area of research. Methodology: The study is based on primary and secondary sources. It includes extensive literature review, survey-based research, interpretative structural modeling. The sample unit was post graduate colleges affiliated to deemed universities and Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune City. The sample frame was randomly chosen. The sample extent was Pune city defined by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The sample size was 30 academic researchers. Sample Element was academic researchers with a designation of professor and Associate professor. To ascertain the relationship among the various variables and propose a conceptual framework Isometric Modeling Technique(ISM) proposed by Warfield in 1973 is used. This model is further analyzed using MIC MAC analysis. Findings: The findings suggest that the term knowledge management is familiar to most of the professionals and there are positive outcomes contributing to quality research though the ways of knowing and degrees of their understanding are varied. When combined with academic research and research sustainability developing a sense of intellectual capital amongst academicians can sustain the growth of education. Application/ Improvements: The insights gained will shed light on positive outcomes of adopting knowledge management for research sustainability for academic researchers in India and the conceptual framework developed in the paper will help the policy makers and academicians for decision making. Research sustainability practices and academic research can be the key for personal and professional development of academicians. Keywords: Academic Researcher, Knowledge Management, Research Sustainability, Strategy

Knowledge Management in PCS-enabled ports: an assessment of the barriers

ABSTRACTLiterature lacks works that investigate Knowledge Management (KM) from an interdisciplinary point of view and that deepen barriers to KM in a Supply Chain context. Thus, with the purpose to cope with this dearth, we singled out 75 barriers to KM adoption and/or development by means of an in-depth up-to-date systematic literature review. The review was conducted according to a review matrix we developed for steering the inquiry and for classifying its results in six clusters. By pointing out the similarities between KM Systems and Port Community Systems (PCSs), we assessed the relevance of these clusters in a PCS-enabled port area through a Focus Group. The main evidences show that strategic, organisational, and technological barriers could be the most relevant ones in this context, while other acknowledged barriers may be less important. These results provide a first contribution to the aforementioned shortages, propose solutions for overcoming the KM barriers, and pave the way for further research on KM in logistics and in PCS-enabled port communities.

Exploring the role of transformational leadership in human capital effectiveness

PurposeMalaysia has set year 2020 as a targeted year to become the most developed nation and to transform the economy into knowledge based. Issue is to become developed nation, but without human capital development (HCD) process, the achievement of this vision would be difficult. Numerous studies articulated the direct impact of human capital on the country economic growth. Human capital is a significant factor to get competitive advantage, which is the need of the day for all countries as well as for organizations to survive in today’s tough competitive environment. Major objective of this research was to find the role of transformational leadership (TL) in human capital effectiveness with the effect of knowledge management (KM) strategies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachA mixed research method is deployed in this study. Data are collected with the help of self-administrated questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The structural equation modeling technique is used in the data; data are analyzed with the help of AMOS and Nvivo software.FindingsThe results revealed that transformation has a positive effect on KM strategies. Further, this study also identified that knowledge codification strategy and personalization strategy have a positive impact on human capital effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe results revealed that KM strategies play a vital role in human capital effectiveness. Therefore, the Malaysian healthcare industry should introduce KM strategies in order to enhance employees’ knowledge skills and ability. This study is only conducted in Malaysia; the future researcher can use a different method to test the current research model.Practical implicationsKnowledge codification and knowledge personalization strategy can contribute to the HCD process. This study can be generalized in the Malaysian healthcare industry. This kind of effort will add value into human capital. Hence, organization can get a competitive advantage with the help of human capital. TL style is the most appropriate style in the current era; this leadership has the ability to transform the system, which is the need of the day. Due to rapid changes in technology, a leader who believes in change can meet the challenges of twenty-first century.Originality/valueKM strategies and their use have been a research issue for some time. Companies have also adopted knowledge management strategies tools to support and stimulate knowledge sharing in their organizations and to help employees to find the expertise they are looking for. But no research has been performed on the importance of KM strategies. This paper describes a unique and new framework that the authors devised to help companies to do just that.

Adopting knowledge management strategy and its role in achieving educational quality standards An analytical study of the opinions of a sample of university teachers

This research aims to identify the nature of the relationship between the knowledge management strategy in its dimensions, and its implications on the aspects of the educational process, and thus achieve educational quality standards and the requirements of the desired future university, according to a strategic methodology used as a road map that shows the path and steps necessary to achieve this goal. This research was applied on a random sample From the professors of the University of Kufa, and in order to achieve its objectives, the research presented a proposed model that represents a methodological road map, and tested its validity using the structural modeling (SEM) (Structural Equation Model), and then tested the relationships between variables using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) program

Identification of critical knowledge management enablers for implementation of KM in manufacturing organisations

In the globalisation of business, knowledge management (KM) plays an important role in manufacturing organisation to create, build and maintain competitive advantage through utilisation of knowledge. The performance of KM adoption in manufacturing organisation affected by various influencing factors but it is always difficult for the practitioners to improve all aspects at the same time. The aim of this study is to identify critical knowledge management enablers (KMEs) of KM adoption in manufacturing organisations. This study presents a favourable method combining fuzzy set theory and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to segment the critical enablers for successful KM adoption in manufacturing organisation. The results gathered from the implementation of the fuzzy DEMATEL method are to identify critical enablers of KM adoption in manufacturing organisation through six different clusters. Twenty two highlighted as critical enablers out of total forty six enablers for successful adoption of KM in manufacturing organisation. The decision makers can apply a phased implementation of these KMEs to ensure the effective KM adoption under the constraints of available resources. This proposed method provides a more accurate, effective and systematic decision support tool for identifying KMEs of KM adoption in manufacturing organisation.

Link between Knowledge Management and Managerial Accounting: Impacts of Environment and Structure

Knowledge plays a significant role in offering competitive advantages to firms, which helps do better than their rivals do. However, knowledge management is conditional on various conditions, for example the usefulness of knowledge management, business environments and firm structure as well as the adoption of managerial accounting in business. In the current research project, quantitative analyses was employed, particularly using confirmatory factor analyses, ordinary least square regressions and instrumental variable regressions to explore the relationships among knowledge management, its usefulness, business environments, firm structure and the adoption of managerial accounting in business. The empirical results disclose that the adoption of knowledge management is statistically related to its usefulness, firm structure and business environments as well as to the application of managerial accounting in business. This research project makes some implications on how the executives, who face different kinds of firm structure, high uncertainty of business environments, high application levels of managerial accounting in business and high usefulness of knowledge management, should adopt knowledge management in business.

The acceptance of corporate wiki use for knowledge diffusion purposes

PurposeScholars and practitioners alike view knowledge as a crucial organisational asset. Over the past decade, several knowledge management (KM) technologies have emerged, such as wikis. A wiki is a web-based hypertext application that supports a collaborative and conversational approach to KM. While wikis are generally simple to use, their adoption for managing organisational knowledge sometimes meets resistance from employees. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the user acceptance of organisational wikis as a means of knowledge creation and diffusion.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the existing research on KM and information technology adoption, this study identified the following factors: the relevance of top management support for and complexity of enterprise wikis as well as technical support and knowledge-sharing self-efficacy. A cross-sectional survey was employed to examine the influence of these factors on employees’ acceptance of corporate wikis. Overall, 102 employees participated in the online survey, and the data collected were analysed using the partial least squares method.FindingsThe research model developed demonstrates that top management support, technical support and knowledge-sharing self-efficacy have a positive significant effect on employees’ willingness to use wikis for knowledge-creation purposes within organisations.Originality/valueThe findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on the implementation of wikis as a KM technology by developing a theoretical model explaining employees’ acceptance of this technology. Organisations could use this model to guide and facilitate wiki initiatives.

Knowledge management technology: human-computer interaction & cultural perspective on pattern of retrieval, organization, use, and sharing of information and knowledge

Knowledge Management (KM) implementation is as much a challenge as it is a great opportunity for businesses worldwide in several sectors. The controversy over its worthwhile application persists among practitioners and scholars, with claims having arisen that business opportunities and performance are enhanced through KM adoption. Conversely, challenges regarding effective implementation of KM concerning individuals’ behaviors, beliefs, and practices prompt significant questioning regarding its complex basis: individual-technology-process-production. The purpose of this work is to shed light on some perspectives for the effective adoption of knowledge management technology, the consolidation of a favorable and aligned organizational culture, and patterns of use and retrieval of information in organizations. This study brings into focus the concept of knowledge management and technology, and culture in the organization through a systematic literature review and based on the researcher’s hypothesis and observations that successful KM implementation results from a clear understanding of its multidisciplinary, complex, and multifaceted process, which requires a methodical and strategic business practice concerning the application of technological tools, the establishment of a learning culture through shared vision of business’ and individuals’ needs, and consequential enhancement of processes and solutions. It concludes that investment in KM practice and the consolidation of a learning culture are correlated, reflecting a type of leadership that is favorable to the flow of information, generation, and sharing of knowledge (the intellectual capital) and optimization of decision making and business performance.

Understanding Dynamics of KMS Adoption in Indian ITES Organizations

The design of Knowledge management adoption depicts similarity to the design proposed in 'Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)' and 'Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2)' holding varied adoption enablers, suggested by Davis 1989. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between KM adoption enablers and demographic variables prevalent in Indian ITES organizations within Delhi NCR. Due to ordinal nature of data, 'multiple-ordinal regression' was applied. The demographic variables are considered independent while KM adoption variables/enablers are considered dependent for this research. The outcomes from of 'multiple-ordinal regression' showcase that maximum number of statistically significant outcomes were in case of the KM adoption enabler 'Perceived Usefulness' holding likelihood of lower cumulative scores in most cases with lowest scores from the independent variables '18-28 years' age group and 'Admin' department. This research study has proposed a knowledge management adoption framework for Indian ITES organization that can be used as guidelines to develop KM adoption and augmentation strategies.

Assessing the Key Success Factors of Knowledge Management Adoption in Supply Chain

Today Supply chains of organizations need to developing knowledge in order to achieve competitive advantages. Hence, knowledge management (KM) plays an important role in supply chain to create, build, maintain and utilize knowledge in this way. KM adoption in the supply chain needs high investment as well as few changes in the culture in whole of organization. The aim of this paper is to identify and prioritize the key success factors (KSFs) of KM adoption in the supply chain. In this study after reviewing the literature, the most important success factors of KM adoption were identified and classified in 16 KSF. Then this factors analyzed by best-worst method technique. Also, an empirical study presented to illustrate the proposed method and demonstrate its effectiveness. Therefore, for complete the questionnaire, was used the opinions of 10 experts. A total of 16 KSFs were identified through extended literature review and expert’s opinion. The results of the study showed that Supports of Top management, Integration of knowledge and information flow and Organization structure are the three most important KSFs of KM adoption in the SC. The case of this study should pay attention and concentrate to these KSFs with higher priority for effective KM adoption in supply chain and implement them progressively to greatly improve the efficiency of the whole supply chain performance.

Modelling the effect of perceived interdependence among mental healthcare professionals on their work role performance

ABSTRACTThe purpose of mental healthcare system reform was to enhance service efficiency by strengthening primary mental healthcare and increasing service integration in communities. Reinforcing interprofessional teamwork also intended to address the extensive and multidimensional needs of patients with mental disorders by bringing together a broader array of expertise. In this context, mental healthcare professionals (MHCPs) from various health and social care professions are more interdependent in many aspects of their work (tasks, resources, and goals). We wanted to examine the effect of perceived interdependence among MHCPs on their work role performance in the context of mental healthcare. For this purpose, we developed and tested a model coherent with the Input-Mediator-Outcome-Input (IMOI) framework of team effectiveness. Data from questionnaires administered to 315 MHCPs from four local health service networks in Quebec, Canada were analysed through structural equation modelling and mediation analysis. The structural equation model provided a good fit for the data and explained 51% of the variance of work role performance. Perceived collaboration, confidence in the advantages of interprofessional collaboration, involvement in the decision process, knowledge sharing, and satisfaction with the nature of the work partially mediated the effect of perceived interdependence among team members on work role performance. Therefore, perceived interdependence among team members had a positive impact on the work role performance of MHCPs mostly through its effect on favourable team functioning features. This implies, in practice, that increased interdependence of MHCPs would be more likely to truly enhance work role performance if team-based interventions to promote collaborative work and interprofessional teaching and training programs to support work within interprofessional teams were jointly implemented. Participation in the decision process and knowledge sharing should also be fostered, for instance, by adopting knowledge management best practices.

A comprehensive analysis of knowledge management in Indian manufacturing companies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to ascertain the current status of knowledge management (KM) adoption in the Indian manufacturing organizations and to develop a comprehensive research model to investigate the impact of enabling conditions for KM and the impact of KM on organizational performance through structural equation modelling.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive research design is adopted and primary data are collected through structured questionnaire. In total, 251 responses were obtained from the top- and middle-level managers and the structural relationships in the research model were tested using the partial least squares method.FindingsThe results revealed a moderate adoption of KM by the manufacturing companies. Also, a significant impact of the enablers on KM processes is observed. It is found that Indian manufacturing is operating in labour-intensive traditional methods and KM is still in its infancy. The impact of KM on the performance is moderate and contradicting the extant literature, the impact of KM on innovation is found to be weak.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is carried out in companies located in India and hence generalizing the findings should be done with caution. The sample is dominated by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which may have implications for the findings.Practical implicationsAs manufacturing companies in the developing countries such as India experience a greater competition in the globalized economy, adoption of KM will perk up the performance of the organizations. Practicing managers need to create a culture that facilitates KM adoption. Policy makers shall support SMEs in technology adoption, R&D, skill development and so on.Originality/valuePrevious KM studies in India are fragmented and analysed KM processes and KM enablers in isolation. Also, the holistic studies on KM literature focussed only on one or two facets of KM. A study which investigates the interactions between KM enablers, KM processes and organizational performance and innovation is scarce. The scarcity of empirical studies on KM and a dearth of understanding of the KM concept led to this maiden attempt to provide a comprehensive understanding of KM framework in the Indian manufacturing sector. A validated structured questionnaire for exploring KM practices in the Indian context is developed. Though the importance of the influence of external factors is theoretically emphasized, an empirical investigation is first of its kind.

Knowledge Management in Startups: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

This paper conducts a systematic literature review on knowledge management (KM) in the context of startups in order to analyze the state of the art, identify research gaps and define a future research agenda. The main findings highlight that, even though there is an increasing number of papers on the topic of KM in startups, several issues are still neglected. Specifically, the paper identifies four main gaps in the body of literature. The first gap deals with the environmental and socio-political factors influencing the adoption of KM in startups. The second gap regards the lack of a comprehensive taxonomy of knowledge management systems (KMSs) that may support the processes of knowledge creation, acquisition, storage, transfer, sharing and application. This second gap allows us to identify a third gap concerning the level of alignment between startup’s strategies and technologies adopted. Finally, the fourth gap deals with the issue of the impact of KM on startup’s performances with regard to economic, financial, market, technical, technological, organizational, human and relational performance. From these four gaps, six research questions (RQs) have been proposed. These RQs allow us to identify possible areas of analysis to define a future research agenda. Neglecting these issues means underestimating all the possible advantages of KM adoption for a startup to achieve efficiency, effectiveness and scalability goals.

Are academic libraries ready for knowledge management?

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the effect of organizational factors, such as the culture of trust, human resources (HR) practice and top management support on librarians’ attitudes towards knowledge sharing (KS), and the degree to which this attitude affects their perceived readiness to adopt knowledge management (KM).Design/methodology/approachA soft copy of the questionnaire was sent to 217 academic librarians in both public and private universities in Kuwait. A total of 150 valid responses were collected and tested using a structural equation model. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and LISREL software to verify the research hypotheses.FindingsThe study found that apart from HR practices, all the other factors had significant effects on librarians’ attitudes towards KS. In addition, the attitude of librarians towards KS was found to significantly affect the readiness to adopt KM in academic libraries.Practical implicationsFindings should help libraries identify opportunities and barriers to adopting KM. Results indicate that strengthening the affecting factors, such as a culture of trust and top management support, lead to a more positive attitude towards KS and ultimately a better chance of success for any KM initiative that will take place in an academic library.Originality/valueThe primary research contribution is the conceptual model of the effect of the organizational factors of a culture of trust, HR practices and top management support on librarians’ attitudes towards KS, and the degree to which this affects their perceived readiness to adopt KM.

Knowledge Management for Excellence in Indian Public Sector

Organizations can build a new kind of relationship with citizens, putting skills and resources directly at their disposal and enabling them to play a much greater role in public policy. They can also harness the “power of us” and pull people together to create public value in new ways if the knowledge is put to use in an effective manner (Baporikar, 2004). Knowledge creation, generation, and application are a continuous process. Although Knowledge Management (KM) has gained global attention, its adoption in public sector is still embryonic. Hence, it is vital for organizations to comprehend KM; so that KM strategy and organizational strategy can be well aligned. This is all the more important for public sector because the impact is not only high but directly affecting the common man. Based on in depth literature review and content analysis of secondary data this paper aims to develop comprehensive understanding of KM application in public sector. It also provides cases of Indian public sector organizations that by adoption of KM have excelled.

A Framework for Knowledge Based Software Service Supply Chain (SSSC): A Comparative Analysis with Existing Frameworks

Knowledge management adoption in the supply chain (SC) is at its infancy and related scholarly research is relatively scarce. The main difficulties are in figuring out how to combine knowledge management concepts with the SC development process, to improve the overall steps, performance and productivity of the SC. The purpose of this paper is to test and analyse the existing knowledge based SCs frameworks in the literature (including manufacturing, service and software SCs), and verify how they integrate with the knowledge management concepts, taking into consideration some parameters including lessons learned, etc. which we believe, hinder such knowledge process in the existing frameworks. To come up with the proposed framework, we conducted an extensive research on the existing frameworks to identify how they handle and transfer knowledge during the development process of the SC and how they integrate the knowledge management concepts with their frameworks. Few SC frameworks were tested to figure out their efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, after detailed comparative analysis and testing, the research suggests that the proposed framework adds value to existing research and could be adopted by SC participants as a useful knowledge based framework which could increase the SC overall speed, performance and productivity. The proposed framework consists of parameters which should be introduced for more effective SSSC operations, while the absence of major parameters (identified in this paper) makes a framework less efficient.