Information Technology and Management 1 (2000) 229245

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Knowledge management in academia:

A proposed framework
Gabriele Piccoli a , Rami Ahmad a and Blake Ives b
a

Center for Virtual Organizations and Commerce, E.J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
E-mail: gpiccol@lsu.edu;rahmad@isdb.org.sa
b
A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118-5669, USA
E-mail: bives@acm.org

While the concepts of organizational learning and knowledge management are essential
in industry, relatively little attention has been devoted to how these same concepts can be
applied to higher education. Despite the ready availability of the Internet and the World
Wide Web, and the increasing familiarity of faculty and students with these tools, many
universities seem reluctant to release their firm hold on learning paradigms that predate the
information revolution by centuries. We believe that the necessary infrastructure is largely
in place to begin to fundamentally reengineer knowledge creation and delivery based on
principles of knowledge management and organizational learning.
In this article we first introduce a model of knowledge creation and delivery that can be
implemented by teams of students and faculty members in universities. We demonstrate,
through description of a practical application of the complete knowledge creation and delivery cycle, how the theoretical model can be implemented and how the entities involved
interact in the cycle. Finally, we describe the product of one cycle implementation, a WebBased Virtual Learning Environment designed for an introductory Information Technology
course for undergraduate business students.
Keywords: knowledge management, organizational learning, technology enhanced education, Web based training

1.

Introduction

In industry after industry knowledge is now generally recognized as a strategic

resource and a critical source of competitive advantage [8,10,28]. Considerable attention has been devoted to issues of organizational learning, knowledge management
and the ability of organizations to create new knowledge [9,15,24,26].
A learning organization is able to harness the collective intelligence of its members to its objectives and commits itself to organization-wide knowledge sharing.
Gravin [9] defines the learning organization as one that is skilled at creating, acquiring
and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge

An earlier version of this paper has appeared in the Proceedings of the Fourth Americas Conference on
Information Systems, Baltimore, MD, August 1998.

Baltzer Science Publishers BV

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and insights (p. 80). Thus, the members of a learning organization are continually
creating knowledge and increasing their capacity to produce results and take effective
action [15,31].
Knowledge management is defined as a process through which organizations
create, store and utilize their collective knowledge [29]. This process includes three
stages: organizational learning, the process of acquiring information; knowledge production, the process of transforming and integrating information into usable knowledge;
and knowledge distribution; the process of disseminating knowledge throughout the
organization [29].
While individuals create knowledge, organizations play a critical role in stimulating knowledge creation, articulating and codifying such knowledge and cultivating
a culture of knowledge augmentation and sharing [26,32]. Organizations are also instrumental in the development of organizational memory, defined by Huber [13] as
the means by which knowledge is stored for future use (p. 90). Companies recognize that their employees knowledge and experience can be leveraged to better serve
their target markets. Universities have long recognized the value of the expertise of
their principal employees the faculty and have devised systems to motivate the
creation, archiving and sharing of faculty-generated knowledge. With the exception
of graduate-level work such as doctoral research work and student-edited law reviews,
however, universities rarely solicit student contributions to organizational memory.
Higher education institutions have been accused of failing to provide students
with critical thinking, quantitative reasoning and research skills [33]. Recently, they
have been dubbed as laggards in the information revolution as well [3,16,17]. Despite
many obvious exceptions, universities have not, on balance, employed technology
to the same degree, or to the same effect, as has the business community [34]. Indeed, teacher-centered, classroom education remains by far the predominant crucible of
learning within the university context. Unfortunately, such learning environments are
increasingly proving to be a poor fit with the needs of emerging education paradigms
that view learning as lifelong, flexible, student controlled, or just-in-time. Some
theorists have argued that the structure of typical classroom education may discourage
the kinds of learning necessary for the twenty-first century [18].
Organizations today require employees who can quickly contribute novel solutions, communicate and cooperate effectively, independently seek out and evaluate
information, and readily share their knowledge in a manner that is intelligible and
readily usable by co-workers [12,14]. Increasingly employees are separated from their
co-workers by time zones if not oceans. It is the responsibility of the university, and
the business school in particular, to equip graduates with these abilities.
In this article we present a conceptual model of knowledge management inspired
by Nonakas hypertext organization. The hypertext organization has a strategic ability
to acquire, create, exploit, and accumulate new knowledge continuously and repeatedly in a circular process ([26], p. 34). We have developed and implemented this
concept with student and faculty teams. Our model applies the concepts of knowledge
management and learning organizations to the university context, providing a frame-

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work for drawing on the capabilities of faculty and students and managing the wealth
of information the participants create. The proposed model suggests how to exploit
Information Technology (IT) so as to harness the unique talents and expertise of the
participants while creating a culture of knowledge creation and sharing that benefits
all stakeholders. The model has the potential to help students develop the ability to
learn at a higher level (i.e., learn to learn) and critically evaluate information; it can
also help universities adapt to the rapidly evolving higher education environment as
well as take advantage of the opportunities created by advances in IT.
This article is organized as follows: In the next section we present the conceptual
model and describe its major components. Next we illustrate how the model has been
implemented in the development of a flexible and reusable Web-Based Virtual Learning
Environment. We then discuss the design stage, the production stage, the characteristics
of the learning environment and how the development product is used as a learning
tool. Finally we describe the research projects organized around the development and
implementation of the knowledge creation and delivery cycle and we discuss potential
research and practice implications.
2.

The conceptual model

The concept of the hypertext organization [26] provides our theoretical frame of
reference for the development of the proposed knowledge creation and delivery cycle. In the hypertext organization knowledge is managed through a dynamic cycle of
knowledge and information sharing in which the organizations members cooperate in
knowledge creating activities driven by top management vision. During these activities they interact extensively in a high-trust environment in which information flows
freely and intensive hands-on experience stimulates knowledge building. The resulting
knowledge is then codified, documented and indexed, or in Nonakas words, inventoried, so that it can be efficiently accessed and shared. In order to make knowledge
creation effective and efficient, the hypertext organization must allocate time, space
and organizational resources to these activities, distributing resources and incentives so
as to promote a continuous knowledge management cycle driven by a clear underlying
vision.
Similarly, the knowledge creation and delivery cycle we propose relies on the
process of establishing a vision that directs all knowledge building efforts, producing
and inventorying knowledge and structuring resource and reward allocation to enable
and stimulate the cycle.
Creating a hypertext organization within a university requires a structured approach that stretches across a diverse set of stakeholders. Among these stakeholders
are undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and associated researchers. Our objective is to create an explicit and structured process that can foster both individual and
organizational learning while simultaneously increasing organizational memory. Our
conceptual model is based on a three-stage approach [24] involving knowledge acqui-

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Figure 1. The proposed knowledge management model. (Dotted lines represent feedback loops.)

sition and generation, knowledge codification and storage, and knowledge sharing and
application.
The process of acquisition and generation represents the act of gathering and
producing new knowledge; henceforth it will be referred to as the creation stage
of the knowledge management cycle. We adopt the label delivery to designate the
process of sharing the stored knowledge by either pushing it to the users or letting
them access it or pull it as needed.
Three entities, or engines, drive the proposed knowledge creation and delivery
process (figure 1). Faculty and researchers in the research engine provide guidance
and set goals for the organization, while monitoring progress and evaluating results
(knowledge acquisition and generation). Graduate students in the production engine,
under supervision of those managing the research engine, produce and codify knowledge as part of their own training (knowledge generation and knowledge storage).
Finally, students in the learning engine, under faculty direction, absorb and apply the
stored knowledge (knowledge utilization). While membership in the different engines
is flexible (e.g., faculty may participate in the production engine along with particularly qualified undergraduate students), the three engines play a specific role in the
knowledge creation process. Individuals who are best positioned to contribute and
benefit in each stage are represented in the proposed model. Learning becomes a
continuous and cyclical process that provides participants at different levels in the
organization either with the necessary information or the means to obtain it. A wide
range of projects lends itself to development through the proposed knowledge creation
and delivery cycle. Examples range from the development of computer applications
such as the web-based learning environment described below, to web-based knowledge
repositories describing tools, frameworks and methodologies, to case study archives.
The important role played by IT in knowledge and information management efforts has been widely recognized [4]. In our work we employ network and Internet
technologies to increase knowledge sharing. The Internet, and the World Wide Web
in particular, facilitate efficient and effective exchange of the knowledge created and
provide a worldwide distribution channel for cumulative knowledge building. But
it is people, not technology, who initiate and sustain the knowledge management and

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sharing processes [4]. Quality contributions from individuals are essential if the cycle is to succeed. Knowledge management programs require a culture that promotes
increased knowledge sharing, reliance on the contributions of others, and decentralization of knowledge ownership [7]. If such a culture is absent, knowledge management
programs are likely to fail [7].
We suggest that our model provides tangible benefits for all parties involved
in the process and rewards them for their participation, thereby promoting a culture
of knowledge creation and sharing. Next we will introduce the three engines and
devote particular attention to the contribution of each and the rewards available to
their members.
3.

The entities

Each engine serves a different purpose and contributes to the knowledge creation
and delivery cycle in a specific manner that benefits the users of that engine directly
while contributing to the perpetuation of the overall process.
3.1. Research engine
The research engine, comprised of university faculty, affiliated researchers from
other institutions, and doctoral students, initiates and directs the knowledge creation
projects. Participants in the research engine:

select research areas to explore;

identify theories and hypotheses to formalize the exploration;
operationalize these theories and hypotheses in development projects;
establish guidelines and provide direction for learning and development;
assess the validity of the hypotheses and theories;
ensure the quality of the final product.

Through research and analysis of the external environment, new technologies,

and job market demands, researchers specify learning objectives and development
requirements for students involved in the production phase. This planning ensures that
development projects are integrated with relevant concepts and class material so that
students do not perceive production projects merely as a make work activity. The
research engine leads and facilitates the discovery and knowledge creation process of
the developing students, ensuring that they are familiar with, and take advantage of,
the knowledge accumulated and stored in the repositories by earlier developers. The
research engine designs the course of the formal study, formulates hypotheses, selects
the research methodologies to be employed, and so on.
Success requires that participants within each engine recognize the benefits of
participating and perceive tangible returns for the time they have invested. Rewards
and benefits for research engine participants come in various forms. Eventually, there

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will be publications in scholarly outlets, but there are both more immediate and more
long lasting benefits. In the near term, ideas can be more readily implemented, data
automatically collected, and hypotheses more easily tested, thus reducing the cost associated with research ventures and increasing productivity. Similarly new researchers
can quickly be integrated into ongoing projects and make contributions to the research
or production engines or enroll their students as participants in the learning engine. In
the long term, the external visibility of the web-based research engine will promote
a shift in organizational culture toward a more open and cooperative environment
where knowledge augmentation and sharing are instrumental to individual learning
and organizational development. In such a culture research engine participants will
benefit from increased collaboration with qualified colleagues both within and outside
the institution. Moreover, as the experience base grows, faculty members will likely
enjoy an enriched teaching environment with more motivated and interested students,
an environment that we believe will help attract high quality faculty and graduate
students.
3.2. Production engine
The research engine provides guidance to the production engine, the models
production unit. Graduate students and senior undergraduates, some of whom have
previously benefited from the stored knowledge or have necessary skills and expertise,
are the key contributors to the production effort. Members of the production engine:

research the content areas of the required knowledge module;

acquire the technical skills required for its development;
confirm the final requirements for the knowledge module;
design and develop the module;
assure its quality.

Production occurs within a formal learning environment such as a formal class,

an independent study or project (e.g., masters thesis, senior thesis), or a combination
of the above. For example, on large-scale projects, a masters student could lead,
organize and integrate a knowledge creation project involving an entire graduate class
of developers. Working either in teams or as individuals, the developers would investigate relevant topic areas and gain expertise in the subject matter and concepts
assigned to them. Here students acquire higher level learning skills and the ability to
produce high quality work. Throughout the production phase, students acquire also
the technical skills necessary to capture, store, and present the knowledge that they
have produced. Thus, the production engine provides a rich learning opportunity for
its members.
In addition to enhancing members learning, the production engine is intended
to produce a knowledge module of standard format and high quality that will subsequently be used by students in the learning engine. The research engine regulates the

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production engine by incorporating the production projects in the learning process and
introducing concepts and skills necessary for project completion. The research engine,
however, must also be attentive to the suggestions and criticisms of the members of
the production engine. This feedback allows the research engine to revise and adjust
the theoretical framework and hypotheses underlying the production efforts.
While a superficial analysis may suggest that better grades are the primary objective of the students in the production engine, the potential benefits to the participants
are far greater. First, if the model is to be judged a success, students must feel that this
format provides a more engaging learning environment than traditional classes, one
which offers them greater control over their own learning and an improved opportunity
to build upon what they have learned in the course. Furthermore, they will see the
connection between classroom lectures and practical implementations while acquiring
new skills that are valued in the workplace. On projects that attract researchers from
other institutions, students in the production engine will have an opportunity to interact
with well-known faculty members and researchers in a stimulating environment that
they would not otherwise have access to. In some instances, the development of the
learning modules may also require interaction with students from other institutions,
countries, or cultures. Finally, the developers will be engaged in the production of
useful content and applications which, in turn they will see implemented in a familiar
environment.
3.3. Learning engine
The third component of the proposed model, the learning engine, is the primary
user of the knowledge created earlier in the cycle. Under the guidance of faculty
or in self-paced learning environments, the students take advantage of the available
knowledge repositories. As the knowledge creation cycles are repeated, the available knowledge base grows and students have greater access to information. In this
environment, learners can customize their learning experience to fit their individual
needs.
In this third phase the research engine fulfills an essential role of guidance and
direction. Classes must exploit the stored knowledge while maintaining a flexible
structure that can accommodate student needs. Feedback generated by the learning
engine helps the research engine to test and revise the original design hypothesis.
Rewards for students in the learning engine include a new, flexible and interesting
learning environment and exposure to a large knowledge base of up-to-date material.
4.

Implementation

A variety of projects can be structured and implemented using the described

framework. For example, faculty and researchers interested in Web Based Group Support Systems could envision and design an electronic meeting application. Over the
course of one or more semesters, students enrolled in Internet Development courses

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would create the structure of the application and successively augment it by adding
components and features (e.g., brainstorming element, voting element, scheduling element, etc.). Throughout the production phase, a number of software development
methodologies and theories could be evaluated, perhaps among them some of the management or development tools created by previous production teams. In the learning
phase, the GSS could be used by teams of executive MBA students to work remotely,
for instance to collaborate on assigned case studies. Interested researchers could test a
number of hypotheses and theories, for instance on the dynamics of virtual teamwork.
In another example, one or more master students could, as part of their masters project
requirements, develop an infrastructure for remote teaching using streaming video technology. Faculty could then leverage this resource by inviting virtual guest speakers
to contribute to the knowledge repository. The master students would create repositories of both technical knowledge for system maintenance and pedagogical knowledge
for faculty training. Interested researchers might investigate the effectiveness of the
technology-enhanced learning environment, technical innovation in business education,
and the like.
While the above scenarios are hypothetical, they are quite feasible. They also
suggest a desirable multi-methodological approach to research [27] that, based on the
proposed knowledge creation and delivery cycle, can be successfully implemented
within the university context. In the remainder of this section we report on an actual implementation of a complete knowledge creation and delivery cycle at a large
state university in the United States. This implementation involved a two-year effort
combining the design, development, and use phases of a Web-Based Virtual Learning
Environment (WBVLE) for basic IT skills training. The developers were graduate
students enrolled in an introductory information systems class, supervised by a more
advanced graduate student. The modules they developed, online training for Microsoft
Office, were then used in several introductory undergraduate courses. Examination of
the actual implementation of the proposed model should help to clarify the concept
and demonstrate the models feasibility.
4.1. Research engine
Participating faculty and doctoral students established the overarching research
questions and the high level requirements for the developers. The research questions
focused on the effectiveness of WBVLE and issues of adoption and determinants of
web based training use.
While technology has not pervaded business education to the same extent that
it has been adopted by the business community, the advent of the World Wide Web
and Internet technologies have produced an acceleration and renewed interest in their
incorporation in the learning process [25]. Technological issues are rapidly being
resolved and the technical viability of IT-enabled courses and web-based instruction
is no longer a major concern, but the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning
environments remains an area in need of further research [17]. Our first step toward

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addressing these issues was to create a learning environment that takes advantage
of the unique opportunities offered by the rapidly emerging web technologies. We
researched the relevant domains (i.e., instructional technology, education, etc.) to
frame the investigation.
The design of the learning environment was grounded in the conviction that
at the heart of any learning activity is a learning model that is either implicitly or
explicitly employed; technology serves as an enabler or inhibitor in the application of
any specific model [17].
Wilson [35] classified the emerging technology-enabled learning environments
into three categories. Computer Microworlds, where the students learn in a selfcontained computer-based environment. Classroom-Based Learning Environments,
where various technologies support classroom activities. Virtual Learning Environments, defined as computer-based environments that are relatively open systems, allowing interaction with other participants and access to a wide range of resources.
These new environments, particularly web-based virtual learning environments, offer a wide range of advantages over traditional environments, including convenience,
flexibility, reduced education costs, transcendence of geographical barriers, currency
of material, increasing retention [20].
Although virtual learning is an increasingly popular term, the phrase may be
misleading. The learning is real, but the environment has changed [30]. Internet
technologies provide rich new variations in the learning environment. The time,
place, and space1 where learning occurs no longer represent either constraints
or boundaries. The instructor and the students can now be de-coupled in any or
all of these dimensions. Because there is no need for students to meet together,
WBVLE simultaneously satisfies students who prefer to study during the day and
those preferring or required to study at other times. Virtual environments may also
better suit students with relevant prior knowledge, unburdening them from having to
sit through the presentation of familiar materials, a common problem in traditional
classrooms where students preparation is often uneven. Indeed, in virtual learning
environments, skillful instructors may even be able to leverage the knowledge of more
experienced students who can help others online or provide novel perspectives that
help to stimulate discussions.
Virtual learning environments provide a number of advantages and opportunities
for both educators and students, but they do not represent an educational panacea.
Virtual learning environments, because of the inherent high levels of flexibility and
students control that they promote, require superior time management skills along with
high levels of student interest and motivation. As a consequence these environments
may engender high drop rates; they may alienate students and generally decrease
students satisfaction with the learning experience particularly undergraduates.
1

Space and place, which may at first appear to be synonyms, are instead clearly defined and separate
concepts in the education literature. Place represents the physical location in which the learning takes
place. Learning space on the other hand refers to the range of resources available to the learner such
as books, notes, web sites, etc.

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In this implementation of the knowledge creation and delivery cycle, the purpose
of the research engine was to develop a program of research to study WBVLE (e.g.,
effectiveness, impact, adoption and acceptance, etc.). Thus, we strongly anchored the
design and development of the WBVLE in Component Display Theory (CDT), an
instructional design theory that predicts higher learning outcomes when the presentation of materials is coupled with examples and an opportunity to practice the skills
learned [21,22].
Theory predicts that rendering more control to the learner over the content and the
pace of learning will improve the effectiveness of the learning process [21]. The most
basic empowerment characteristic of virtual learning environments is the high level of
control and flexibility they offer to the learner. A learner in the virtual environment
is easily equipped with control over content selection, how much time to devote to
specific subjects, and when to engage in the learning activity. Furthermore, physical
presence in a traditional classroom is no longer a requirement. Fast learners are no
longer constrained, as in traditional environments, by the needs of slower and less
experienced individuals. Technology has been shown to enable students to learn at
their own pace [5].
Through implementation of our knowledge creation and delivery cycle, the research engine developed the facilities needed for conducting research on the effectiveness of different learning models in virtual learning environments.
4.2. Production engine
Seventy graduate students enrolled at three-credit-hour introductory MIS course
developed the core material for the WBVLE application. They were guided by one
member faculty and managed by one graduate assistant who was fulfilling requirements
for a graduate project. A second graduate student provided technical support. A doctoral student, member of the research engine, skilled in theoretical design, devised a
standardized boilerplate to ensure consistency across the learning module the students
would create. The doctoral student defined also the overarching structure at this stage.
This included a mapping of how the various modules related to each other as well as
specifying the navigation scheme to be employed among the modules. One hundred
and thirty-eight teaching modules were developed. Each module trains the user to use
the functionality of a single menu option. Each module contains a description of a
command, its intended use, and step-by-step instructions for carrying it out. Examples
of teaching modules range from bolding and italicizing text in Microsoft Word, to the
use of absolute and relative referencing in Microsoft Excel.
The project was presented to the class as a Distributed Software Development
(DSD) project, which allowed the faculty member to introduce a number of concepts
and skills relating to the course (see table 1).
The class membership was split in half. One half worked on the project as
individuals, while the remaining students were assigned to teams. The workload, per
student, was roughly equivalent for individual versus team participants; in addition

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Table 1
Concepts and skills introduced in the production phase.
Concepts

Skills

Internet addressing
Relative addressing
Maintenance
Project management
Quality assurance
Client/Server technology
Distributed management
Distributed work
Hierarchical decomposition
Infrastructure
Security
Boilerplates
Copyright
Privacy

Hyper-Text Mark-Up language

Text editing
File name suffixes
File transfer protocol
Directory navigation
Advanced multimedia
WWW searching
Electronic mail
Estimation

individual students or groups of students were assigned to perform quality assurance

on the work of other individuals or teams. The doctoral student devised a standard form
for recording errors in formatting, content, potential copyright violations, bad links,
inconsistencies with the boilerplate, omission of relative addressing, and so on. As our
focus in this implementation was not on the production phase, we did not formalize
any hypothesis at this stage. Still, student evaluations and a post study debriefing of
the research team did provide us with valuable strategies for crafting future knowledge
creation and delivery cycles. Among these are the following:

Establish strong leadership early in the project production phase.

Integrate the lecture material and course objectives with the production projects.
Understand the reward system and provide adequate incentive for the developers.
If a quality assurance scheme is implemented, make the process systematic using
strict directions and standard forms to record errors and deviance from the original
design.
For large-scale projects, expect the product to contain a certain degree of wording and format inconsistency. To partially mitigate the problem, provide constant
feedback and expose developers to the work of others early on.
4.2.1. The product of the production engine
In this implementation the production engine developed a usable software application along with a considerable body of shared knowledge. The application had to
be highly flexible to accommodate a wide range of learners. The core of the application is thus organized as a web of modules grouped in tutorials. The modules utilize
JavaScript routines to present the material in a form that allows students to apply
concepts and practice skills without leaving the virtual environment. Two separate

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navigation schemes are provided for students: sequential and free-form. The sequential pattern allows students to follow a path predefined by the instructor. This scheme
is intended for learners who prefer to be guided during the learning process. More
independent, or perhaps more advanced, students, who favor individual discovery, can
take advantage of the free-form navigation scheme. A number of links connect related
modules and allow the students to follow paths that best fit their interests and learning
styles. Each module is also linked to animations that visually show how to accomplish a particular task. This feature was incorporated expressly to accommodate visual
learners.
While web-based training can be delivered through the World Wide Web directly without any container application, delivery shells like Lotus Learning Space
or WebCT offer a number of readily available communication and learning management features. Consistent with our initial goals we placed particular emphasis during
the design stage on flexibility and the ability to insert the core material in different
shell applications. As we experience delivering courses through the World Wide Web
increases and we modify our hypotheses, we need to be able to modify the learning
environment and its capabilities with minimal maintenance efforts.
4.3. The learning engine
At this stage, courses must exploit stored knowledge and the research engine
must capture the feedback generated by the learners and test the validity of their
original theories and hypotheses. This section describes how stored knowledge can be
employed as a teaching tool in the learning engine.
The course that we delivered through the Internet is an introduction to Information
Systems for freshman students in the College of Business. It is a basic skills course
that introduces students to computing principles and the Microsoft Office 97 suite of
productivity tools (Word, Excel, Power Point, Access). The course is designed for
undergraduate students but could be targeted to employees in any organization.
Students in the virtual environment are presented with a detailed schedule of
weekly lessons. Each lesson is composed of one practice assignment, one graded assignment and two tutorials. Each lesson begins with a practice assignment that presents
the students with the objectives of the lesson. The students print out the practice assignment and complete it as they read the on-line tutorials. The tasks to be completed
in each practice assignment are synchronized with the teaching modules contained in
the lessons tutorials. The students are instructed to resize the application window (e.g.,
Microsoft Word 97) to fit on the screen alongside the teaching modules. Accessing
the material and the application simultaneously allows the students to practice each
skill as it is learned. Figure 2 displays a screen shot of the application and teaching
module.
After a practice session students complete a graded assignment and e-mail it to
the instructor for feedback and grading. The graded assignments are structured so that
the students cannot just passively follow the tutorials, but instead must actively apply

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Figure 2. Target application and learning module.

the skills and concepts that they learned. Nonetheless, if they do not remember how to
perform a specific task, they can access the on-line material in a just-in-time fashion.
Interaction among students and with the instructor takes place through an electronic discussion facility. While students are completing the lesson or the assignment,
they can easily post questions and comments to the discussion area and receive timely
answers from the instructor or other students. Physical meetings are only necessary to
complete examinations.
5.

Research projects

We are pursuing two main research streams in this project. First, we are investigating issues of effectiveness of web-based virtual learning environments [1,2].
Second, we are concerned with issues of adoption and determinants of web based
training use. While reporting specifics of these studies is beyond the scope of this article, we will briefly explain how our results have informed our ongoing investigation
and the following iterations of the knowledge creation and delivery cycle. Specifically, as the first stream has already yielded preliminary results, we will use it as
an example [1]. We conducted a field experiment to assess the effectiveness of web
based virtual learning environments by comparing them to traditional classroom environments. When compared to traditional classrooms, the virtual learning environment
provided a higher degree of learner control over pace, content, and sequence of the
presentation of the subject matter. Under such circumstances, more effective learning
should result [21]. We measure the effectiveness of the learning environment in terms
of performance, computer self-efficacy [6] and satisfaction [11].
The findings indicated that, while there was no statistically significant difference
in performance, subjects in the virtual environment reported higher levels of self-

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efficacy. Interestingly, subjects in the virtual environment, despite showing higher

levels of self-efficacy, were less satisfied with the learning experience. These results
partially confirmed our predictions based on CDT but, at the same time, raised a number
of intriguing questions. For example, are the findings population-specific? Would
they hold with non-traditional students, or employed personnel? Is the lower level of
satisfaction reported by students in the virtual environment due to lower levels of social
interaction online? These questions could be investigated by using different samples or
porting the core course to a delivery shell that offers enhanced communication features
such as video conferencing or synchronous chat redesigning the course structure to
incorporate socialization activities. Moreover, in a virtual learning environment there
might be a number of moderating variables of performance and satisfaction (e.g.,
learning style, demographic variables, computer experience and attitudes) that should
be pursued. As we proceed with the analysis, new and intriguing questions arise
which we intend to explore through subsequent iterations of the knowledge creation
and delivery cycle.
6.

Implications for research and practice

We believe that the knowledge creation and delivery cycle that we describe here
has important implications for research and practice. Our proposed model presents
a systematic approach to efficiently pursue a widespread range of research objectives
and, we believe, it represents an exciting venue for investigation itself. Future research should focus on the viability of the knowledge creation and delivery cycle in
different settings. We worked within the boundaries of a focused research center.
While this environment is very flexible and guarantees independence and decisional
freedom, it may tend to constrain the scope of projects pursued. Future research could
examine the knowledge creation and delivery cycle in multidisciplinary environments.
What specific strengths and weaknesses do such settings offer? Also, what contextual
characteristics of the educational setting nurture the knowledge creation and delivery
process? What is the role of external stakeholders in stimulating or hindering the
process?
Another promising research avenues deals with the fit between the projects pursued and the teaching method chosen in the production and learning engines. It is
unlikely, for example, that a strictly objectivist teaching model can stimulate and
foster the knowledge creation process we described. Constructivist or collaborative
models seem to hold greater promise in this direction.
Finally, we believe that the proposed model lends itself to the creation of a wide
range of deliverables, though to this date we have only experimented with application
development projects. Future research should focus on knowledge creation processes
that deal with abstract knowledge rather than tangible products and test the viability
of the proposed model in this context.
Our knowledge creation and delivery model has deep implications for teaching
and research practice in higher education institutions. The university represents the

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243

primary training center for a workforce that is facing an ever-changing organizational

landscape. The recent trends toward global competition, shortened product life cycles
and mass customization have forced organizations to implement flexible arrangements,
such as network structures [23] and virtual teams [19], and require that new hires
be able to contribute immediately to profit generating activities. These organizations
can no longer afford long training and socialization periods. New employees should
be able to perform high quality independent and collaborative work upon joining the
organization. They need to be able to seek needed information, understand how to
exploit the knowledge base of the organization and how to immediately augment it.
As new technologies enabling anytime-anywhere and just-in-time learning
opportunities quickly become available, traditional higher education institutions face
considerable competition from new training outfits that have understood the great
potential of the emerging information technology and have taken advantage of it.
These emerging competitors represent a considerable threat to universities leadership
in the education market.
The model of knowledge creation and delivery that we have proposed in this
article provides a blueprint for educators who intend to apply knowledge management
concepts and information technologies in their research and teaching activities. They
should actively search for synergetic projects that represent research opportunities for
them, challenge students and create a product that can be used by future students.
These projects should have a strong component of innovation, push students to build
on previous work (i.e., stored knowledge) and stimulate them to explore emerging
topics and report on their findings. As our experience suggests, this process can be
successful because it offers tangible incentives to all the participants. Moreover, by
stimulating students to build on previous work and to explore novel topics, the proposed
plan can substantially contribute to the development and acquisition of valued skills
by all members of the knowledge creation and delivery cycle.
7.

Conclusion

The objectives of this article are twofold. First in order to help institutions of
higher education realize the importance of knowledge management and the contribution of students, as well as faculty, to the knowledge creation process, we propose a
model of knowledge management that can be implemented with faculty and students in
a university setting. The procedure we introduce is based on the complementary contributions to the overall organizational knowledge base of three entities: the research
engine, the production engine and the learning engine. We argue that the process we
describe, through the enabling effect of the World Wide Web and Internet technologies,
can be successfully implemented because it provides tangible rewards for all the key
stakeholders.
Secondly, to demonstrate that our theoretical model has practical application, we
describe an actual implementation of the knowledge creation and delivery framework
to develop a Web-Based Virtual Learning Environment for IT basic skills training. We

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explain both the theoretical foundations of the application and the features offered by
different delivery options. Although some might argue that the use of the Internet and
IT in education is now inevitable and there is no need to justify it, we believe that
investments in its deployment must be justified through vigorous research under a wide
range of learning situations. Implementations such as the one presented in this paper
could serve as a platform for researchers to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency
of virtual environments. We believe that the knowledge creation and delivery cycle
we propose here offers a systematic approach to efficiently pursue these and other
interesting research avenues.

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