Knowledge Management in Ec – E-Commerce
Knowledge Management in EC – e-commerce
Abstract
In the present E-Commerce (EC) era Knowledge Management (KM) is fundamental to a company’s success. Not only has the topic of KM attracted much research attention but the management of customer knowledge is becoming increasingly important. Nevertheless, little research has been carried out to see how KM is gained through EC and what a suitable framework is. Companies with EC operations have the advantage of acquiring more detailed information about their customers; for that reason they can gain valuable knowledge about their market. This paper will look at an analysis of how KM is employed in EC sites through analysing the interactions between the Business and Consumer, and between one consumer to another consumer. Hence customer knowledge management practices utilised by many e-commerce sites will be investigated. The findings of the analysis can be used as best practice by EC companies that are aspiring to complement their KM practices.
Introduction
Presently, many organisations have become conscious of the fact that in order to have a competitive advantage, they primarily need to effectively manage and employ organisational knowledge that can be exchanged or transferred on the Internet or Intranet without physical contact Pan et al (2001) and Kocharekar (2002). In competitive environments such as EC, the way in which businesses learn from past performances and manage knowledge makes an impact on future decisions. In addition to web-based companies many traditional companies are also moving into the world of the Internet, but are not performing well due to inflexibility and the inability to manage their customer and business processes as stressed by Sugumaran (2002). The changes that are reshaping many businesses in the EC era requires for a new effective and efficient method of discovering, capturing and sharing knowledge. Regardless of the substantial increase in EC companies, not much research
Abstract
In the present E-Commerce (EC) era Knowledge Management (KM) is fundamental to a company’s success. Not only has the topic of KM attracted much research attention but the management of customer knowledge is becoming increasingly important. Nevertheless, little research has been carried out to see how KM is gained through EC and what a suitable framework is. Companies with EC operations have the advantage of acquiring more detailed information about their customers; for that reason they can gain valuable knowledge about their market. This paper will look at an analysis of how KM is employed in EC sites through analysing the interactions between the Business and Consumer, and between one consumer to another consumer. Hence customer knowledge management practices utilised by many e-commerce sites will be investigated. The findings of the analysis can be used as best practice by EC companies that are aspiring to complement their KM practices.
Introduction
Presently, many organisations have become conscious of the fact that in order to have a competitive advantage, they primarily need to effectively manage and employ organisational knowledge that can be exchanged or transferred on the Internet or Intranet without physical contact Pan et al (2001) and Kocharekar (2002). In competitive environments such as EC, the way in which businesses learn from past performances and manage knowledge makes an impact on future decisions. In addition to web-based companies many traditional companies are also moving into the world of the Internet, but are not performing well due to inflexibility and the inability to manage their customer and business processes as stressed by Sugumaran (2002). The changes that are reshaping many businesses in the EC era requires for a new effective and efficient method of discovering, capturing and sharing knowledge. Regardless of the substantial increase in EC companies, not much research
References: Johnson Gerry. Scholes, Kevin. Whittington, Richard. (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy. - Text and Cases,7th ed, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall Kocharekar, R Pan Shan. L, Hsieh M-H, Chen H (2001) Knowledge Sharing Through Intranet-Based Learning: A Case Study of an Online Learning Center. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, pp. 179-195. Porter, Michael E. (2004) Competitive Advantage : Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, London; New York: Free Press Schwartz, David G Sugumaran, Vijayan (2002) AN AGENT-BASED KM FRAMEWORK FOR THE EC ENVIRONMENT. Journal of Computer Information Systems, Vol. 42 Issue 5, pp. 63-73 Wright, Paul Wah, Louisa (1999) Making Knowledge Stick, Management Review, Volume 88 Issue 5, -----------------------