Developing a Model to Assess the Readiness of Implementing Knowledge Management: Evidence from Yazd Regional Electric Company

Abstract

Knowledge is now considered as a strategic property and ability of an organization classified as an intangible resource to gain competitive advantage. To prioritize the knowledge management (KM) and identify the current situation of an organization, it seems essential to determine the factors influencing the successful implementation of KM. This study intends to identify the factors affecting the successful implementation of KM and develop a growth model based on the priorities of these factors. It also seeks to evaluate the performance of the organization in terms of KM. Investigation, validation and prioritization of the factors are carried out by the experts and the collected data is analyzed by statistical methods. Using a questionnaire to develop a KM growth model, the current situation of Yazd Regional Electric Company has been then evaluated. Additionally, the weakness and strength points of the organization in relation to the desirable state are identified and finally some suggestions are provided to resolve the weakness points. Introduction The variations of the information technology in the recent years have caused the traditional business models to accommodate themselves to the ever changing environments so that only those organizations which are able to exploit the existing rewards might participate in creating and using knowledge. This philosophy specifies knowledge management as a concept to increase the organizational knowledge [1].