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> OIP Home > Return to Previous > Knowledge Roles for Connected Organizations

Intermediaries:
Knowledge Roles for Connected Organizations

The objective of this session is to present the results of our research on emerging knowledge roles and emphasize the human aspect of KM
Our research focused on gaining an understanding of knowledge intermediary roles used to balance and sustain KM initiatives
Knowledge Intermediaries are those in an organization who connect knowledge seekers with knowledge sources in a way that adds business value.

  • An intermediary adds value by relating, researching, validating, reshaping, or transferring knowledge from knowledge sources to knowledge seekers.
  • An intermediary can be a person or a person working in combination with a technology.
    The research methodology was designed to reflect the realistic needs of IKM member firms through the guidance of a working group
  • What skills should I look for when hiring a knowledge intermediary?
  • What type of functions and responsibilities should this role incorporate?
  • How do issues of trust affect the success of a knowledge intermediary?
  • What are the most effective incentives used to enable knowledge sharing?
  • How do I measure and exhibit the business value of a knowledge intermediary program?

Using an interview guide that was geared to uncover answers to the previous questions and more, the research team collected 19 use cases drawn from 6 different industries

Upon completion of these 19 use cases, we found a confusing array of terminology and titles that made the development of a systematic approach to knowledge role design a daunting task

After a thorough qualitative analysis, we uncovered three basic categories underlying the variety of knowledge roles

The most apparent distinction between these role categories is their functions

However, categorization based solely on function does not reflect the full distinction between the categories. Other distinguishing variables contribute to the sound internal structure of each category

Using Viant as an example, we will demonstrate the role of Knowledge Stewards in a real business setting
Our research yielded three major deliverables

For more information on intermediation, feel free to contact us:

Lisa Sasson
617-693-1432
sasson@us.ibm.com
http://ikm.ihost.com

contact link