The document discusses a study on the implementation of knowledge management (KM) as a form of management innovation within a large public sector organization, emphasizing the adoption process and key phases. It details a consolidated model of adoption that includes initiation, implementation, and outcomes, highlighting the importance of decision-making and organizational discourse. The study offers insights into factors affecting the adoption of management innovations, including the role of task forces and contextual influences.

1. Paper presented at Information: interactions and impact (i3) 2015, 23-26
June 2015, Aberdeen
By Louise Rasmussen and Professor Hazel Hall, Edinburgh Napier University
l.rasmussen@napier.ac.uk
h.hall@napier.ac.uk, @hazelh
A Knowledge Management
implementation as a management
innovation: the impact of an agent of
change

2. Key themes: Knowledge Management and
management innovation
• KM and innovation
– KM more usually discussed in term of a facilitator of innovation
– Here attention is focused on KM as a type of innovation in its own right
• ‘Management innovation’
– Term derives from innovation literature
– Refers to a new practice that
• is generated, or adopted (and often modified), from elsewhere
• is intended to further organisational goals
• has an impact on managerial work
– Here KM is conceived as a management innovation

3. What does detailed study of a
KM implementation tell us about
the process of adoption of a
management innovation?
What does detailed study of a
KM implementation tell us about
the process of adoption of a
management innovation?

4. What does detailed study of a
KM implementation tell us about
the process of adoption of a
management innovation…
What does detailed study of a
KM implementation tell us about
the process of adoption of a
management innovation…
… in a large, distributed, public
sector organisation that uses
task forces for the delivery and
management of its services?
… in a large, distributed, public
sector organisation that uses
task forces for the delivery and
management of its services?

5. Research completed to answer
this question
Research stages Materials and output
1. Literature review • KM and innovation literature
• 5 key models  consolidated model of
adoption of management innovation
2. Longitudinal study of a KM
implementation within a large,
distributed, public sector
organisation staffed by task
forces
• Participant observation field notes
• 8732 documents and online files
• 4567 email threads
3. Data analysis • Detailed chronology of KM adoption 1995–
2008
4. Presentation of findings • Adaptation/extension of consolidated model
of adoption of management innovation
• Commentary on power of discourse

6. Research completed to answer
this question
Research stages Materials and output
1. Literature review • KM and innovation literature
• 5 key models  consolidated model of
adoption of management innovation
2. Longitudinal study of a KM
implementation within a large,
distributed, public sector
organisation staffed by task
forces
• Participant observation field notes
• 8732 documents and online files
• 4567 email threads
3. Data analysis • Detailed chronology of KM adoption 1995–
2008
4. Presentation of findings • Adaptation/extension of consolidated model
of adoption of management innovation
• Commentary on power of discourse

7. Research completed to answer
this question
Research stages Materials and output
1. Literature review • KM and innovation literature
• 5 key models  consolidated model of
adoption of management innovation
2. Longitudinal study of a KM
implementation within a large,
distributed, public sector
organisation staffed by task
forces
• Participant observation field notes
• 8732 documents and online files
• 4567 email threads
3. Data analysis • Detailed chronology of KM adoption 1995–
2008
4. Presentation of findings • Adaptation/extension of consolidated model
of adoption of management innovation
• Commentary on power of discourse

8. Research completed to answer
this question
Research stages Materials and output
1. Literature review • KM and innovation literature
• 5 key models  consolidated model of
adoption of management innovation
2. Longitudinal study of a KM
implementation within a large,
distributed, public sector
organisation staffed by task
forces
• Participant observation field notes
• 8732 documents and online files
• 4567 email threads
3. Data analysis • Detailed chronology of KM adoption 1995–
2008
4. Presentation of findings • Adaptation/extension of consolidated model
of adoption of management innovation
• Commentary on power of discourse

9. What does the literature tell us
about the process of adoption of
a management innovation?
What does the literature tell us
about the process of adoption of
a management innovation?

11. Don’t panic! This
can be explained
(and reformulated
as a consolidated
model)
Don’t panic! This
can be explained
(and reformulated
as a consolidated
model)

12. 5 models describe
adoption of management
innovation
5 models describe
adoption of management
innovation

13. Although the vocabulary in
the models varies, there is
commonality in the
coverage of stages of
adoption in each model
Although the vocabulary in
the models varies, there is
commonality in the
coverage of stages of
adoption in each model

14. There are three phases in the
adoption of a management
innovation: (1) initiation; (2)
implementation; (3) outcomes
There are three phases in the
adoption of a management
innovation: (1) initiation; (2)
implementation; (3) outcomes

15. Decision points occur
between phases
Decision points occur
between phases

16. Each of the three phases
comprises a number of
episodes
Each of the three phases
comprises a number of
episodes

17. Decision points occur
between episodes
Decision points occur
between episodes

18. Phase Episode
1. Initiation (a) Agenda setting
(b) Knowledge/research
(c) Matching
(d) Persuasion
Between-phase decision point: adopt or reject
2. Implementation (a) Modification
(b) Operationalisation
(c) Clarification/confirmation
3. Outcomes (a) Routinisation
Between-episode decision point: continue
adoption or reject it
(b) Discontinuation
A consolidated model
drawn from the literature

19. Phase Episode
1. Initiation (a) Agenda setting
(b) Knowledge/research
(c) Matching
(d) Persuasion
Between-phase decision point: adopt or reject
2. Implementation (a) Modification
(b) Operationalisation
(c) Clarification/confirmation
3. Outcomes (a) Routinisation
Between-episode decision point: continue
adoption or reject it
(b) Discontinuation
A consolidated model
drawn from the literature
Opportunity to make contributions on:
•How management innovations are adopted (as opposed
to generated)
•The role of decision making in the process of adoption of
management innovations
•The role of task forces in the implementation of a
management innovation
•The development of a model of that adoption of
management innovation that takes into account a range of
factors including decision making
•The role of organisational discourse in supporting
organisational change agendas
Opportunity to make contributions on:
•How management innovations are adopted (as opposed
to generated)
•The role of decision making in the process of adoption of
management innovations
•The role of task forces in the implementation of a
management innovation
•The development of a model of that adoption of
management innovation that takes into account a range of
factors including decision making
•The role of organisational discourse in supporting
organisational change agendas

20. The empirical work
Research stages Materials and output
2. Longitudinal study of a KM
implementation within a large,
distributed, public sector
organisation staffed by task
forces
• Participant observation field notes
• 8732 documents and online files
• 4567 email threads
3. Data analysis • Detailed chronology of KM adoption 1995–
2008
This work led to the identification of phases and episodes of the KM implementation
Particular attention was paid to:
•Context (internal and external)
•Decision making (formal and informal)
•Task force operations: e.g. strategy, structure, recruitment, roles
•Discourse of the host organisation
This work led to the identification of phases and episodes of the KM implementation
Particular attention was paid to:
•Context (internal and external)
•Decision making (formal and informal)
•Task force operations: e.g. strategy, structure, recruitment, roles
•Discourse of the host organisation

21. Initiation episode Activities
(a) Agenda setting • Defining organisational problem to be adressed
• Setting the agenda for change
Between-episode decision point: considering alternatives; (a) and (b) are
recursive
(b) Knowledge/research • Gaining awareness of organisational
needs/problems
• Gaining awareness of management innovations
(through serendipity or planned research)
(c) Matching/selection • Selecting a management innovation that
matches/is compatible with agenda for change
• Planning organisational structures for delivery
• Anticipating enablers and barriers
(d) Persuasion/validation • Persuading staff to adopt management
innovation
• Seeking validation from internal and external
sources
The extended model: Phase 1

22. Implementation episode Activities
(a) Modification • Modifying organisational structures to
accommodate management innovation
or vice versa
(b) Operationalisation • Rolling out the management innovation
for the first time – as trial experiment or
in full
• Ad hoc implementation occurs as a
result of inadequate matching/selection
in Phase 1
(c) Clarification/confirmation • Clarifying, theorising and making sense
of management innovation in situ
• Seeking validation for continued
adoption
The extended model: Phase 2

23. Outcomes episode Activities
(a) Routinisation • Continuing the adoption so that the
management innovation becomes routine
and standard practice
(b) Discontinuation • Ceasing adoption due to disenchantment or
dissatisfaction with performance
• Replacing the management innovation
The extended model: Phase 3
This research only identified decision making relevant to elements of these
two episodes (routinisation and discontinuation) of the management
innovation, i.e. not the management innovation as a whole
This finding supports the suggestion that routinisation may take 10 years or
more (Milton, 2014)
This research only identified decision making relevant to elements of these
two episodes (routinisation and discontinuation) of the management
innovation, i.e. not the management innovation as a whole
This finding supports the suggestion that routinisation may take 10 years or
more (Milton, 2014)

24. Agenda
setting
Knowledge/
research
Matching/selection
Persuasion/
validation
Modification
Operationalisation
Clarification/
confirmation
Routinisation Discontinuance
1. INITIATION
2. IMPLEMENTATION
3. OUTCOMES
KEY
Decisions between
alternatives within an
episode
Decisions to adopt or
reject between phases
Decisions to adopt/reject
between episodes
Phases occur in a linear
sequence, but may
overlap
Episodes occur in a
non-linear sequence and
may run in parallel
Phases occur in a linear
sequence, but may
overlap
Episodes occur in a
non-linear sequence and
may run in parallel
Extended model summary

25. The wider context: evident in analysis of
discourse and observation of behaviours
• Ambition for ‘One Network’
– Co-operation and collaboration
– Centralisation
– Consistency
– Resource sharing
• Reality of distributed fiefdoms
– Independent working
– Decentralisation
– Inconsistency
– Resource hoarding

26. Issues evident in matching/selection
episode (Phase 1)
KM: Ambition for ‘One
Network’
–‘One Network’ strategy
–Tools, e.g.
• intranet
• communities of practice
–Diagnostic processes, e.g.
• business analysis
• social capital analysis
• social network analysis
Staffing: local delivery and
fiefdom discourse
–Distributed Knowledge Analyst (KA)
roles
–KAs situated within a ‘Network
delivery’ structure
–KA job description referred to ‘local
delivery’ with ‘One Network’ parameters
–Different recruitment timescales,
contracts, grades, salary scales, job
titles, team names, competencies,
tasks, measures of performance…

27. Contributions of the study
• Detailed case study of a KM implementation in the public sector
• Greater understanding of the process of adoption of management
innovation, particularly with reference to:
– decision making
– the role of task forces
• Further evidence on the importance of context to any KM
implementation, in this case with specific reference to organisational
discourse

28. References
Birkinshaw, J., Hamel, G., & Mol, M.J. (2008). Management innovation. Advanced
Institute of Management Research Working Paper Series (021-July-2005).
Birkinshaw, J.M., & Mol, M.J. (2006). How management innovation happens. MIT
Sloan Management Review, 47(4), 81–88.
Milton, N. (2014). Global KM Survey: How long does it really take for KM to bed
in? Retrieved June 19 2015 from http://www.nickmilton.com/2014/08/how-
long-does-km-really-take-to-bed-in.html
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations, (5th
ed.). London: Simon &
Schuster.

29. Paper presented at Information: interactions and impact (i3) 2015, 23-26
June 2015, Aberdeen
By Louise Rasmussen and Professor Hazel Hall, Edinburgh Napier University
l.rasmussen@napier.ac.uk
h.hall@napier.ac.uk, @hazelh
A Knowledge Management
implementation as a management
innovation: the impact of an agent of
change