| The purpose of this dissertation is the identification of influence factors that act as barriers to implementing knowledge management (KM) in U.S. military organizations. The dissertation addressed four research questions: (1) What are the managerial influences that act as barriers to the implementation of KM programs in the U.S. military? (2) What are the resource influences that act as barriers to the implementation of KM programs in the U.S. military? (3) What are the managerial influences that act as barriers to the implementation of KM programs in the U.S. military? (4) How do managerial, resource, and environmental influences impact KM program implementation in U.S. military organizations?; The investigation was conducted using case study methodology. Six military organizations were studied and analyzed. A plethora of negative influences were identified and three influence “process” models—a managerial, resource, and composite model—are proposed. The key negative influences include: lack of leadership education/commitment; functional stovepipe approaches to funding/problem-solving; lack of resources, especially funding; negative impacts of service-level IT plans, and the inability to prove value to customers and leaders.; In developing the composite model of negative KM influences, the research noted that organizations have, in many cases, confused the need for KM and the greater desire for organization learning through effective transfer systems. Knowledge transfer (KT)—a higher-order concept than KM—requires knowledge capture (KC), knowledge management (KM), and knowledge distribution through information technology (IT). These subsystems require separate approaches and technologies which must be effectively integrated to achieve the KT necessary for learning organizations. With this in mind, the composite model of influences presents the “vicious circle” of negative influences. It describes the chain of negative influences that begin with the inability to concisely communicate/describe KM/KT, which leads to weak leadership support, lack of resources, inadequate systems, user dissatisfaction, and the inability to prove value. The practical application of this research for the U.S. military is that identification of the negative influences and the “vicious circle” is a first step in creating positive influences and a “virtuous circle” that allow the services to achieve knowledge transfer in support of their stated goals of knowledge superiority and the transformation to learning organizations. |
