This document discusses designing a flexibility-based knowledge management (KM) model. It aims to integrate flexibility and KM by drawing similarities between the two disciplines and using systems theory of control. Flexibility and KM are both strategic approaches to achieve competitiveness using common elements like strategy, technology, and structure. The document proposes that flexibility can be defined as the managerial capabilities to control changes in the KM process caused by interactions with the environment. It presents two cases to visualize the integration - with KM as a process and flexibility as a system, or vice versa. The flexibility-based KM model would apply flexibility in two ways - to control elements within the KM system and interactions between the KM system and the external

1. Toward designing a flexibility based
Knowledge Management model
Himanshu Dutt
Doctoral Research Scholar,
Centre for Management Studies,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Presented in GLOGIFT 13 conference at IIT Delhi on Saturday, 14 December
Email: himanshudutt@gmail.com

2. Purpose
•
Draw similarity between both the disciplines – flexibility & KM – for
integration with each other.
•
Use ‘Systems Theory of Control’ to establish relationship between both.
•
Conceptualize the flexibility based KM model design.

3. Flexibility & KM
•
Strategic approach to achieve competitiveness
•
Strategy, technology, structure – are commonality
•
Goal is: ‘economic’ assets use to offset tendencies and improve
productivity.
•
New phenomenon, ambiguity in definition due to variety, multidimensional nature – defining them becomes hard.
•
Both evolving with ‘newer taxonomies’ and ‘generations’
•
No one single model – unstructured and inconsistent
•
Born from hypercompetitiveness*
*Volberda, Henk W. (1996). Toward the flexible firm: how to remain vital in
hypercompetitive environments, Organization Science, 7(4), July-August, 359-374.

4. Application of Extraction Vs.
Application of Control
Difference lies in their application to the organisational assets.
While knowledge is extracted from intellectual assets; flexibility is applied to control
the behaviour of these assets. This way KM can be perceived as the application of
extraction while flexibility is the application of control.

5. KM-Flexibility: Integration
Their integration can be visualized as a process and a system wherein
KM as process, is related to the managing, creating and sharing of
organisation knowledge, and flexibility as system, keeps a check on the
tendencies that may cause organisation to drift from its KM process.
Systems theory of control will help its visualization.

6. Systems Theory of Control*
Case 1: Flexibility as ‘managerial capabilities to control’
Controls
Environment
Organisation
Adapts
(Controlling organs)
(Target system)
Target system interacts with controlling organs that constraints the functionality of the
system.
Flexibility forces organisation to adapt to its environment. This requires managerial
capabilities to control tendencies in organisation’s environment.
*Cook, Norman D. (1979). Systemic stability and flexibility. J. Social Biol. Struct., 2, 315-332.

7. Systems Theory of Control…2
Case 2: Flexibility as ‘controllability of the design’
Controls
Organisation
Environment
Adapts
(Controlling organs)
(Target system)
Flexibility forces environment to adapt to the requirements of the organisation. This
requires designing a pre-controlled model to control tendencies.
Cook, Norman D. (1979). Systemic stability and flexibility. J. Social Biol. Struct., 2, 315-332.

8. Define: Flexibility & KM Relationship
According to this approach,
flexibility can be defined as ‘managerial
capabilities that control the changes in the KM model’ caused due to its
interaction with the environment and ‘controllability of the KM design’
that negates the impact of environment changes on it.

9. Premise: why flexibility will be required in KM
•
All organisations demand some sort of control mechanism to respond to
tendencies and so requires the KM.
•
Flexibility addresses volatility. KM suffers from volatility.
•
It perceives the situation under which what all activities will be preferred
over others are determined to respond to the environment (Sushil,
2001). KM will require a control agent to react to its environment
profitably since 70% KM initiatives worldwide fail*.
•
Flexibility premise is that for every competitive change there is
corresponding managerial capability and organisational ability to
control.
Chua, Alton & Lam, Wing (2005). Why KM projects fail: a multi case analysis.
Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(3), 6-17.

10. Integrating Flexibility into KM Design
Case 1: KM as Process and Flexibility as System
KM as Process
Create
Constraints the
behaviour of the
KM Process
Flexibility as System
Technology
Manage
Share
(Closed System)
KM model
reconfigures itself
based on its
interaction with
flexibility system
Strategy
Structure
(Open System)
Here, KM is viewed as ‘closed system’ that requires flexibility in controlling the impact of
firm’s operating environment forces on KM process (of creating, managing and sharing
of knowledge). KM model will require managerial capabilities to control
tendencies.

11. Integrating Flexibility into KM Design…2
Case 2: KM as System and Flexibility as Process
KM as System
Constraints the
behaviour of the
flexibility process
Flexibility as Process
Anticipating Tendencies
Technology
Formulating Strategies
Strategy
Structure
(Open System)
Flexibility process
reconfigures itself
based on its
interaction with
KM requirements
Accumulating Resources
Implementing Control
(Closed System)
Here, KM is viewed as ‘open system’ that is designed flexibility based to pre-control
the environment forces to make it automatically adapt to the operating environment.

12. KM Design
• KM is assumed as ‘network of controlling organs’ and
its environment as ‘target system’.
• As network of controlling organs, the elements of KM
system – technology, culture, structure, strategy and
leadership – interact among themselves.
• In parallel, this system also interacts with the target
system (environment forces).
• Flexibility can be applied in 2 ways:
– Applied to each element of the ‘controlling organs’ to
control their tendency to change, and resisting it from
causing any change further.
– Applied to interaction between ‘controlling organs’ and
‘target system’ (or the environment).

13. KM Design…2
• In this case, flexibility will come from ‘quality
of management to control’.
• But when controlling organs and target system
is interchanged for example KM becomes the
target system and the environment forces
becomes the controlling organs; flexibility will
come from the ‘ability of the organisation to
control’.

14. How flexibility can be applied
to design KM model?
4 combinations of flexibility: high and low quality of management control versus
high and low ability of management control
High
High
Quality of
Management
to Control
Low
High Mgmt. QualityHigh Org. Ability
High Mgmt. Ability Low Org Quality
Low Mgmt. Quality –
High Org. Ability
Low Mgmt. Quality –
Low Org. Ability
Low
Ability of Organisation to Control
Quality of management control results in control for product variety, procedures and
rapidity while ability of organisation to control results from technology, structure and
culture.

15. Questions are welcome.