Enterprise Content Management Systems As a Knowledge Infrastructure: the Knowledge-Based Content Management Framework
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International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(3), 49-70, July-September 2015 49 Enterprise Content Management Systems as a Knowledge Infrastructure: The Knowledge-Based Content Management Framework Thang Le Dinh, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada Tim A. Rickenberg, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany Hans-Georg Fill, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria Michael H. Breitner, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany ABSTRACT The rise of the knowledge-based economy has significantly transformed the economies of developed countries from managed economies into entrepreneurial economies, which deal with knowledge as both input and out- put. Consequently, knowledge has become a key asset for organizations and knowledge management is one of the driving forces of business success. One of the most important challenges faced by enterprises today is to manage both knowledge assets and the e-collaboration process between knowledge workers. Critical business knowledge and information is often contained in mostly unstructured documents in content manage- ment systems. Therefore, content management based on knowledge perspectives is crucial for organizations, especially knowledge-intensive organizations. Enterprise Content Management has evolved as an integrated approach to managing documents and content on an enterprise-wide scale. This approach must be enhanced in order to build a robust foundation to support knowledge development and the collaboration process. This paper presents the KBCM (Knowledge-Based Content Management) framework for constructing a knowledge infrastructure based on the perspective of knowledge components that could help enterprises create more business value by classifying content formally and enabling its transformation into valuable knowledge assets. Keywords: Design Science Research, Enterprise Content Management, Information Management, Knowledge Management, Knowledge-Based Content Management Framework DOI: 10.4018/ijec.2015070104 Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 50 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(3), 49-70, July-September 2015 INTRODUCTION While ECM received a lot of attention from practitioners (Wiltzius et al., 2011), it has been The rise of a knowledge-based economy has neglected by academic research (Rickenberg significantly transformed the economies of et al., 2012a). Since ECM is still an emerging developed countries from managed economies field in Information Systems (IS) research, into entrepreneurial economies that rely heav- more research needs to be conducted in order ily on the production, distribution, and use to add more value to this approach (Wiltzius et of knowledge (Beijerse, 1999). Knowledge al., 2011). While there is little literature about thus becomes an asset of the organization the reconciliation of ECM and KM, integra- and knowledge management (KM) becomes tion of the two areas is crucial, especially for a critical factor in the success of a business. knowledge-intensive organizations. Effective Organizational knowledge that is created and knowledge flows and KM can drive innovation; held by individuals is integrated within an or- therefore, managing knowledge inside ECM ganization through collaboration (Grant, 1996). systems, both within and among enterprises, has E-collaboration is defined as the collaboration become vital. Accordingly, this paper seeks to among individuals engaged in a common task answer the following research question: using electronic technologies (Kock, 2005). With e-collaboration, a change-oriented capa- How can enterprise content management bility, companies are able to identify, integrate, systems be enhanced to implement a knowl- and apply their knowledge assets in order to edge infrastructure in knowledge-intensive meet competitive demands (Fink, 2007). Recent organizations? studies show that e-collaboration technologies directly influence innovation (Fedorowicz et al., In order to respond to this question, this 2008; Meroño-Cerdán et al., 2008). Especially paper presents a Knowledge-Based Content in knowledge-intensive enterprises, information Management (KBCM) framework that pro- is a driver of business in general and innovation poses a new facet for ECM systems to support in particular. Companies want to make use of knowledge development and the collaboration business-critical knowledge and information, process. One of our previous papers, which which is existent and used in collaboration was presented at the HICSS’14 conference, processes, that is contained in mostly unstruc- proposed a knowledge-based framework for tured documents. This enterprise content is ECM. This paper extends and formalizes this often scattered across several repositories and framework in order to transform ECM systems systems and makes up 80% of a company’s into a knowledge infrastructure. Enterprises can total data (O’Callaghan & Smits, 2005). Huge use the framework to classify content formally amounts of content are produced every year and to transform it first into information as- and this content needs to be captured, managed, sets and then into organizational knowledge. stored, preserved, and delivered efficiently on an Following the guidelines of design science enterprise-wide scale (AIIM, 2014). However, research (Hevner et al., 2004), the next section content is not just a means to an end; it could of this paper presents a literature review and the help enterprises to create more business value research design. Next, the KBCM framework since it contains useful information. for enhancing ECM systems to implement a To manage content on an enterprise-wide knowledge infrastructure based on knowledge scale, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) components is presented. Within a real-world has evolved as an integrated approach to In- example, the applicability of the framework is formation Management (IM) (Päivärinta & then checked and demonstrated. After a discus- Munkvold, 2005). More and more companies sion on limitations and implications, the paper adopt commercial ECM solutions that are ends with conclusions and outlook. becoming more developed and sophisticated. Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(3), 49-70, July-September 2015 51 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ized knowledge in ECM systems. A new facet of ECM systems will need to support different The real value of organizations today is more knowledge conversion activities to transform dependent on ideas, insights, and information. knowledge from one form to another, such as According to Landry et al. (2006), knowledge combination, internalization, externalization, is the result of a series of three successive trans- and socialization (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). formations: i) from reality to data, to capture and This is especially important for knowledge- store discrete facts about reality; ii) from data intensive organizations which, as opposed to to information, to process and organize data in labor-intensive or capital-intensive organiza- order to create useful business information; and tions, supply the market with the use of fairly iii) from information to knowledge, to interpret sophisticated knowledge or knowledge-based information in order to derive an action. This products and services (OCDE, 2007). section explains the key ECM aspects related While IM and KM are well-studied top- to these transformations, outlines the general ics in IS literature, ECM has received little relationship and interaction between ECM, IM, attention from scholars yet (Vom Brocke et and KM, and reveals the research gap that the al., 2008) and limited academic research has paper is addressing. been conducted. Concerning the importance of The theoretical foundation of our research is ECM for IS research, Tyrväinen et al. (2006) based on elements gathered from the resource- emphasized that ECM represents an important based view and the knowledge-based view. and complex subfield of Information Systems. The resource-based view (Barney, 1991) states Since the introduction of the concept around that resources, such as knowledge, can lead the turn of the millennium, what lies beneath to the creation of competitive advantage. The ECM has not been perfectly clear (Smith & knowledge-based view (Grant, 1996) builds McKeen, 2003). From a practical point of view, upon and extends the resource-based view and ECM is defined as strategies, methods, and emphasizes the importance of knowledge as a tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, strategically significant resource toward achiev- and deliver content and documents related to ing a competitive advantage. As KM involves organizational processes (AIIM, 2014). From the learning process of individual and collective an academic viewpoint, ECM can be summed members of an organization or of a network of up as an integrated approach to IM (Päivärinta organizations (Nonaka et al., 2005), it needs & Munkvold, 2005). to promote intellectual capital, which refers to As a multifaceted topic, ECM emerged the knowledge and knowledge processes of a from several related preceding approaches and social entity (Subramaniam & Youndt, 2005). disciplines. While in the past, several concepts Knowledge is integrated into an organization simultaneously coexisted within the company’s through the coordination