Human Factors & Knowledge Management: A System Dynamics Based Analysis

Abstract

Post globalization, in the IT sector, there has been a shift towards efficient managing of knowledge assets, owing to its importance in ensuring sustainability. This paper studies the ‘people’ dimension of the Knowledge Management (KM) initiative in a typical Information Technology (IT) industry. Organizational culture and Top management commitment & support are Critical Success Factors (CSFs) considered in this research. The interdependencies between factors are considered while developing a System Dynamics (SD) model and the influence of the variables belonging to the human dimension of KM are varied dynamically, to study their influence, on Knowledge Management System (KMS) performance, in conjunction with the other success factors. The simulation results exhibit the advantage gained by KMS, by reducing the delay in cultural transformation, and lowering the rate of erosion of congenial culture. The results also underscore the importance of consistent and continued support of the top management, for the success of KMS.