KVAM: model for measuring knowledge management performance of engineering community of practice

Abstract

The research presents the development of the knowledge value‐adding model (KVAM) for quantitative performance measurement of the community of practice (CoP) of the knowledge management system (KMS) in an A/E consulting firm. The proposed KVAM combines several existing KM theories including knowledge creation spiral, knowledge chain model, and knowledge value added theory to form a process‐level model for measuring the performance of a generic community of practice (CoP). Case study results show that the proposed KVAM provides KM managers with a useful tool not only to monitor the performance of a CoP and its members but also to plan an effective strategy for performance improvement. Unlike the traditional organizational‐level approaches, the proposed KVAM was concluded to better reflect the actual values solely generated by the KMS rather than other management factors.