Abstract
Literature in knowledge management is rich with studies of successful factors and case studies of large organizations. But question still remains: does size matter? Are there any differences in the use and practice of knowledge management between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large organizations? This paper reports a recent study investigating this fundamental question. A two phase research approach is undertaken in this study. First a qualitative filed study is undertaken by collecting data via interviews of five large organizations and ten SMEs. Content analysis of the interview data indicate “Competitive Pressure”, “Customer Demand and Expectation”, “Top Management Support/Leadership”, “Organizational Structure”, “Organizational culture”, and “Benefits to individuals” being the significant factors of knowledge management. The qualitative study reveals that there are no significant differences between the SMEs and large organizations on KM factors. A quantitative analysis is then undertaken on a recently collected dataset and the qualitative results are reconfirmed. This is contrary to the traditional literature on Information Systems which generally reports that size does matter in IS adoption. The implications of the study are highlighted.
Recommended Citation
Quaddus, Mohammed and Xu, Jun, "Does Size Matter in Knowledge Management? A Qualitative/Quantitative Enquiry" (2007). ACIS 2007 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2007/5