Integrating Change Management with a Knowledge Management Framework: A Methodological Proposal
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- I.
- How can integrating the ADKAR model with intangible asset and knowledge management improve knowledge retention and change acceptance in Industry 5.0?This question is addressed in this research by proposing a framework that combines the ADKAR model with intangible and knowledge asset management, demonstrating its effectiveness in a case study in a food production company.
- II.
- What is the impact of applying the human capital lifecycle to knowledge and change management in the context of Industry 5.0?This contribution answers this question by highlighting the importance of applying the human capital life cycle in knowledge and change management, showing how this approach improves process efficiency and reduces resistance to change.
- III.
- What are the long-term implications of combining change and knowledge management for organisational sustainability and innovation?The research suggests that combining these approaches not only facilitates the adoption of digital technologies but also has positive long-term effects on organisational sustainability and innovation, which is proposed as a future line of research.
2. Literature Review
- Definition and Conceptualisation of Intangible Assets: How are intangible assets defined and categorised in the current literature? What methodologies exist for their identification and prioritisation?
- Financial methods: These methods focus on the financial valuation of intangible assets, such as the Financial Method of Intangible Assets Measurement (FiMIAM).
- Management and measurement models: Models such as the Intellectus Model provide a framework for the measurement, management and reporting of intellectual capital, adapting to both public and private sectors.
- Integrated information systems: Integrated management of intangible assets using information systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), BI (Business Intelligence), and IMC (Intellectual Capital Management) can significantly increase their value [8].
- 2.
- Change Management Models: What are the most recognised change management models used in practice? How do they compare in terms of effectiveness and applicability in different organisational contexts?
- Kotter’s eight-step model: This model focuses on creating a sense of urgency, building a powerful coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the vision for change, empowering employees for action, generating short-term wins, consolidating achievements and anchoring new approaches in the organisational culture.
- Lewin’s three-stage model: This model is based on three stages: unfreeze, change and refreeze. The first stage involves preparing the organisation for change, the second stage focuses on implementing the change and the third stage aims to stabilise the organisation after the change.
- 3.
- Integration of Change Management and Knowledge Management: What approaches exist for integrating change management with knowledge management? What benefits and challenges have been identified in the literature?
- Personalisation and codification: Personalisation strategies focus on face-to-face interaction and socialisation, allowing for an effective exchange of tacit knowledge. On the other hand, codification is based on the documentation and storage of explicit knowledge, facilitating its access and use by the organisation.
- Knowledge sharing: Knowledge sharing is crucial to overcome challenges in implementing organisational change. It improves communication, employee participation and helps to overcome cultural, social, structural and political barriers.
- 4.
- Impact of Digital Transformation: How does digital transformation and the transition to Industry 5.0 affect intangible asset management and organisational knowledge? What new demands and opportunities arise in this context?
- Malleable organisational designs: Digital transformation is moving companies towards malleable organisational designs that allow for continuous adaptation. These designs are embedded in and driven by digital business ecosystems, facilitating greater flexibility and responsiveness to market changes.
- Innovation and new projects: The increasing amount and variety of knowledge available through digital infrastructures, such as crowdfunding platforms and open-source projects, are fostering the emergence of new innovation projects. This creates opportunities for companies to develop innovative products and services that respond to changing market needs.
- Intangible asset management: The management of intangible assets, such as intellectual capital and organisational knowledge, becomes more complex but also more critical in the context of Industry 5.0. Companies must develop new competencies and capabilities to manage these assets effectively, leveraging digital technologies to maximise their value.
- Knowledge management challenges: As companies digitise, they face additional challenges in managing the growing volume of knowledge and information flows. This requires greater investment in technologies and processes that facilitate the capture, transfer and exploitation of knowledge both within and across organisational boundaries.
- 5.
- Case Studies and Practical Applications: What case studies exist that demonstrate the practical application of change management models in the implementation of digital technologies? What are the results and lessons learned?
- Top management commitment: The active involvement and support of top management is crucial for successful implementation.
- Effective communication: Clear and continuous communication with all levels of the organisation helps to manage expectations and reduce resistance to change.
- Training and development: Providing adequate training and development opportunities for employees facilitates the adoption of new technologies and processes.
- Employee involvement: Involving employees in the change process increases their commitment and buy-in.
- Evaluation and feedback: Implementing mechanisms to evaluate progress and collect feedback allows for timely adjustments and continuous improvement.
- Organisational culture: Fostering a culture that values innovation and continuous improvement is essential to sustain change.
- Project management: Using robust project management methodologies ensures that changes are implemented in a structured and efficient manner.
- Intangible assets are essential for the success and competitiveness of modern companies. Current literature offers various methodologies for their identification, prioritisation and management, adapted to different industries and business contexts. The integration of these assets through information systems can further enhance their value and effectiveness.
- Both Kotter’s model and Lewin’s model are valuable tools for change management, each with its own strengths and areas of application. The choice of the appropriate model depends on the specific context and needs of the organisation.
- Integrating change management with knowledge management offers numerous benefits, such as reducing cynicism and improving readiness for change, but also faces significant challenges, such as cultural barriers and resistance to change. The literature suggests that a balanced approach combining personalisation and codification strategies can be particularly effective.
- Digital transformation and the transition to Industry 5.0 are redefining the management of intangible assets and organisational knowledge. These changes bring with them new demands and opportunities, from the need for more flexible organisational designs to the creation of digital knowledge-driven innovation projects. Companies that can adapt to these changes will be better positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the digital environment.
- The case studies demonstrate that the successful implementation of digital technologies in Industry 5.0 requires not only a clear vision and strategy but also meticulous attention to the implementation and consolidation of change, a holistic approach to change management and a commitment to continuous organisational learning.
3. Methodological Analysis
- -
- Objective: Identify key competencies and knowledge areas according to the business strategy.
- -
- Action: Conduct a strategic analysis to determine the critical competencies necessary for the growth and sustainability of the business.
- -
- Reference: Phase one of the knowledge management framework.
- -
- Objective: Establish priorities among the identified competencies and knowledge areas.
- -
- Action: Use impact and urgency criteria to prioritize knowledge areas requiring immediate intervention.
- -
- Reference: Phase two of the knowledge management framework.
- -
- Objective: Create awareness of the need for change in the organisation.
- -
- Action: Communicate the importance of managing intangible assets and knowledge, highlighting the benefits and impact on organisational efficiency.
- -
- Reference: First stage of the ADKAR model.
- -
- Objective: To foster the desire to participate in and support change.
- -
- Action: Engage key employees and opinion leaders to promote change, addressing any resistance and motivating participation.
- -
- Reference: Second stage of the ADKAR model.
- -
- Objective: Provide the knowledge needed to implement the change.
- -
- Action: Design and deliver training and development programs that cover priority knowledge and competencies.
- -
- Reference: Third stage of the ADKAR model.
- -
- Objective: To develop the skills necessary to apply the knowledge acquired.
- -
- Action: Facilitate practical opportunities and resources for employees to apply what they have learned in their day-to-day work.
- -
- Reference: Fourth stage of the ADKAR model.
- -
- Objective: To ensure that changes are sustained over the long term.
- -
- Action: Implement follow-up and reinforcement mechanisms, such as periodic evaluations and reward systems.
- -
- Reference: Fifth stage of the ADKAR model.
- -
- Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of the change and make continuous improvements.
- -
- Action: Conduct gap analysis and evaluate the life cycle of competencies and resources, implementing improvements based on the results obtained.
- -
- Reference: Phases seven and eight of the knowledge management framework.
4. Case Study
- Awareness: Ask why the change is being made and what are the objectives that the organisation intends to achieve, which include improving process efficiency, obtaining a better vision of the organisation in relation to the management of physical assets, streamlining critical data collection processes and making better use of the time of those involved, allowing them to focus their efforts on decision making. In this first stage, those involved had to understand the benefits that the change would produce in their work environment and in the organisation.
- Desire: Following the completion of awareness workshops, which helped the stakeholders understand the goals and advantages of the technological change, they were required to participate in the change process by offering suggestions for specific process improvements before the software was implemented, as well as by sharing their opinions about the limitations of the current context. Situations that needed to be fixed in asset and maintenance management support systems, like finance, procurement, and relationships with outside maintenance providers, were identified among these improvements.
- Knowledge: This stage is considered the stage of change itself, where people are already involved in the change project and initiate the modification of work processes. The situation described includes training in the new tool, new processes, changes in the way of working, etc. Minimum required performance standards and training topics were established to ascertain the required competence.
- Ability: At this stage, it is considered that the knowledge has already been internalized; however, fluency must be acquired in the execution of the activities so that the processes and people reach the required performance standards. Progress in the learning curve was monitored to determine the degree of achievement of the competencies with monthly and quarterly on-site tests.
- Reinforcement: This is the consolidation and adjustment stage to consolidate the change. It consists of monitoring that the change made is effective and is maintained over time. If not, gaps with the required performance standard should be identified and training or technology should be reinforced or adjusted.
- During the incorporation process: perform a general and specific induction in the job position, which must be structured by means of an adequate documentary support, which makes this process faster and more effective.
- At the moment of closing the learning curve (Knowledge): clearly establish the requirements to be evaluated in the transition from knowledge to ability (Ability).
- During the execution of critical activities: have documented and updated processes and procedures to ensure consistency and standardization in execution.
- Control and management of changes to a pre-existing process. Training processes were structured to guarantee the transfer of knowledge during any change in a process, and user acceptance tests were established to validate that the proposed changes make sense or consider the recommendations to adjust or improve the change.
- Avoid knowledge loss due to the employee’s withdrawal from the organisation, which must be a structured process that ensures the correct capture and classification of knowledge so that it can be reused and shared.
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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Picado Argüello, B.; González-Prida, V. Integrating Change Management with a Knowledge Management Framework: A Methodological Proposal. Information 2024, 15, 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15070406
Picado Argüello B, González-Prida V. Integrating Change Management with a Knowledge Management Framework: A Methodological Proposal. Information. 2024; 15(7):406. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15070406
Chicago/Turabian StylePicado Argüello, Bernal, and Vicente González-Prida. 2024. "Integrating Change Management with a Knowledge Management Framework: A Methodological Proposal" Information 15, no. 7: 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15070406