Knowledge management gives Canadian businesses a competitive edge

14 March 2001 - A study by Ipsos-Reid for Microsoft Canada Co.shows that 91% of Canadian business leaders believe knowledge management practices have a direct impact on organizational effectiveness. Knowledge management may be defined as a formal, directed process of determining what information an organization has which could benefit other people in the business - and then devising ways of making this information easily available.

This is one of the first studies on the prevalence of knowledge management. It was designed to investigate the specific knowledge management practices used by Canadian organizations and to measure the success and impact of those KM practices. The study indicates that the top three knowledge management processes in place are:

* Development of an intranet.
* Holding events to share knowledge throughout an organization.
* Using software to encourage sharing and collaboration.

The study indicates that 65% of Canadian businesses practicing knowledge management believe that it has given their organization a competitive advantage. It also shows that despite recent criticisms, knowledge management has been a considerable success in most Canadian organizations that have implemented KM practices:

- 91% of respondents agree that knowledge management practices have been successful in creating value in improving organizational effectiveness
- 88% agree that KM practices have succeeded in delivering customer value
- 89% of respondents felt that the positive impact of KM practices also extended to employee satisfaction
- The average return to date is 41% among those organizations able to calculate a return on investment - the average dollar value being $41,278
- 89% of respondents considered that their organization hasd a culture that encourages and provides opportunities for communicating ideas, knowledge and experience internally
- One third of organizations without KM practices in place have plans to implement one in the next 12 months

"The results indicate that the positive impact of knowledge management processes in Canadian companies extends throughout all different departments, creating value in customer service, product development, human resources, sales and marketing," said Chris Ferneyhough, vice president, technology research, Ipsos-Reid Canada. "We see the implementation of KM practices expanding over the next few years, helping to make even more Canadian companies competitive in the global marketplace."

The Ipsos-Reid Knowledge Management Study was sponsored by Microsoft Canada. It was based on survey responses from 402 Canadian organizations with no fewer than 50 PCs. The survey targeted senior business and information technology decision makers.

"The primary goal of knowledge management is to deliver the intellectual capacity of a firm to the employees who make the day-to-day decisions that in turn determine the success or failure of a business," according to Anne McKeon, product manager, Microsoft Canada. "The Ipsos-Reid Knowledge Management Study results support Microsoft's view that knowledge management should be a priority for Canadian business leaders because it shows there is competitive advantage and return on investment gains to be made when a knowledge management solution is implemented."