Measuring organizational knowledge: A conceptual and methodological framework

Knowledge is fundamental to strategic success. Limited progress has been made, however, in measuring organizational knowledge. We employ research on resource-based theory and organizational epistemology to suggest a perceptual approach to measuring knowledge. We present a research protocol to identify a domain of organizational knowledge resources within industries. Using a sample of organizations from the hospital and textile industries, we interviewed CEOs to identify the feasible set of knowledge resources. We presented this set to managers at those organizations to measure their perceptions of the value-added of each knowledge resource for their organizations. The results demonstrate that the importance of knowledge resources varies by industry and organization, and calls to question efforts to generate an inventory of generic knowledge resources that is applicable across industries. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.