The introduction of knowledge management technology within the British Council : an action research study

The study describes action research undertaken within the Knowledge Managementprogramme of the British Council, a not-for-profit multinational organisation. Aninterpretive methodology is adopted because of its appropriateness to the study ofreal-life complex situations. There is a contested literature on KnowledgeManagement which this study explores and contributes too.The action research draws on a social constructivist stance to develop and introduceKnowledge Management systems for significant groups within the organisation. Arich set of issues emerge from the literature, and the action research, whichcontribute to the discourse on Knowledge Management systems and their use inpractice. The study suggests that a methodological framework is beneficial insupporting the development and introduction of such systems. However the researchidentified that Knowledge Management problems cannot be identified and so reconceptualisesKnowledge Management in terms of improvement. A framework isdeveloped (AFFEKT: Appreciative Framework for Evolving KnowledgeTechnologies) to such improvement. This framework is used in the final actionresearch cycle. The conclusions are drawn from a reflection on the application of thisframework and reflection on broader issues raised by the action research.The study concludes that knowledge management systems should introduced throughan ongoing iterative process of reflection and action. Knowledge Managementsystems should encourage new work practices, however this requires a realisationthat the development of a Knowledge Management systems is a reflective process bywhich the system is integrated into existing practice and enables users to critique thispractice. The study contributes to the discourse concerning the application of technologywithin Knowledge Management (Galliers 1999; Alavi and Leidner 2001; Butler2002; Wickramasinghe 2002). It contributes to the field of Information Systems bydescribing a coherent narrative on the introduction of knowledge managementsystems within a unique organisational context, and by developing a framework toaid intervention