Centralized Versus Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Management Systems

The term knowledge management system (KMS) has been used widely to denote informationand communication technologies in support of knowledge management. However, so farinvestigations about the notion of KMS, their functions and architecture as well as the differencesto other types of systems remain on an abstract level. This paper reviews the literatureon KMS and distills a number of characteristics concerning the specifics of knowledge to bemanaged, the platform metaphor, advanced services, KM instruments, supported processes,participants and goals of their application.......
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Centralized Versus Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge and Process Management Volume 13 Number 1 pp 47–61 (2006) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/kpm.244& Research ArticleCentralized Versus Peer-to-PeerKnowledge Management SystemsRonald Maier* and Thomas Hadrich ¨Department of Management Information Systems And OR, Martin-Luther-UniversityHalle-Wittenberg, Germany The term knowledge management system (KMS) has been used widely to denote information and communication technologies in support of knowledge management. However, so far investigations about the notion of KMS, their functions and architecture as well as the differ- ences to other types of systems remain on an abstract level. This paper reviews the literature on KMS and distills a number of characteristics concerning the specifics of knowledge to be managed, the platform metaphor, advanced services, KM instruments, supported processes, participants and goals of their application. The paper then presents two ideal architectures for KMS, a centralized and a peer-to-peer architecture, discusses their differences with the help of two example systems and suggests that each of these architectures fits a different type of KM initiative. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.MOTIVATION (Alavi and Leidner, 2001, p. 114), and do not answer the question whether a concrete tool or sys-Knowledge management (KM) has been discussed tem qualifies as a KMS or, in other words, what ser-intensively from a human-oriented and from a vices a KMS has to offer. A general frame oftechnology-oriented perspective. Knowledge man- reference in the sense of a system architecture isagement systems are seen as enabling technologies needed for the analysis of existing tools and sys-for an effective and efficient KM. However, up- tems as well as for the development of individualto-date the term knowledge management system KMS solutions.(KMS) is often vaguely defined and used ambigu- Goals of this paper are to define the term KMSously. Examples are its use for specific KM tools, and to obtain a set of characteristics that differenti-for KM platforms or for a combination of tools ate KMS from other types of systems (section 2), tothat are applied with KM in mind. It remains contrast two ideal architectures for KMS which areunclear what separates KMS from other types of amalgamated on the basis of KMS architecturessystems that are also discussed as supporting KM proposed in the literature and to discuss theinitiatives. Examples are Intranet infrastructures, state-of-the-art with the help of example systemsdocument and content management systems, artifi- offered on the market (section 3) as well as to dis-cial intelligence technologies, business intelligence cuss the differences between the architectures andtools, visualization tools, Groupware or e-learning which KMS architecture fits what type of KMsystems. So far, investigations about the notion of initiative (section 4).KMS remain on the abstract level of what a KMSis used for, e.g. ‘a class of information systemsapplied to managing organizational knowledge’ TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS*Correspondence to: Ronald Maier, Department of Management Even though there is considerable disagreement inInformation Systems And OR, Martin-Luther-UniversityHalle-Wittenberg, Germany. the literature and business practice about whatE-mail: ronald.maier@wiwi.uni-halle.de exactly KM is, there are a number of researchersCopyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.RESEARCH ARTICLE Knowledge and Process Managementand practitioners who stress the importance and Lewin and Minton, 1998). This definition stressesusefulness of KMS as enabler or vehicle for the the primary goal of KMS as to increase organiza-implementation of these approaches. A review of tional effectiveness by a systematic managementthe literature on information and communication of knowledge. Thus, KMS are the technologicaltechnologies (ICT) to support KM reveals a number part of a KM initiative that also comprises per-of different terms in use, such as knowledge ware- son-oriented and organizational instruments tar-house, KM software, suite, (support) system, tech- ...