Abstract:
This research describes the problems facing two important professional communities,
Quality Management (QM) and Knowledge Management (KM), which face multiple
challenges in their efforts to impact the organisations in which they operate and
contribute significantly to their performance and financial results. The two
communities are positioned at very different points in their maturity life cycle. While
QM is an aging community that is trying to regain its relevancy, the KM community is
still in its infancy, and is struggling to mature. Many practitioners and academics
consider both to be "over promising and under delivering".
The aim of this research is to explore how the two communities can enhance their
effectiveness. As a theoretical framework the author used the concept of Intellectual
Capital, which is usually used in the context of formal organisations, and applied it to
the case of professional communities. The hypothesis states that the two
communities have complementary Intellectual Capitals, i. e. that the intangible assets
of each can be shared and exchanged through different patterns of interaction. An
investigation was conducted into whether the flows of such intangible assets between
Quality Management (QM) and Knowledge Management (KM) can increase their
organisational effectiveness.
The research surveyed the scientific as well as professional literature and classified
the evidence on QM/KM interactions into twelve patterns that cover the spectrum,
from complete ignorance of each other to full co-operation.
Two case studies are explored, where explicit efforts to encourage flows of
Intellectual Capital were demonstrated, one at a company level and the other at a
national level.
A unique methodology and visual tool, to map the Intellectual Capital of professional
communities, was developed and used to draw a generic map of the complementary
ICs of QM and KM and the potential flows between them, as perceived by a diverse
body of experts from both communities.
Finally, a series of (computer aided) focus groups were held with professionals.
Based on triangulation of the data between the 14 expert interviews, 2 in-depth case
studies, 68 focus group attendees and the literature, the following contributions to
knowledge were identified:
0 Creation of a new scheme to classify interactions between professional
communities.
O The application of the Intellectual Capital concept to professional
communities.
Q New insights into the situation of QM and KM communities using the
framework of Intellectual Capital, and the complementary nature of their
intangible assets.
Q New perspective on flows of Intellectual Capital between different entities
(in this case professional communities) as a way to increase the
effectiveness of both.
QA new methodology to self-assess and map Intellectual Capital.