In this section, we review several theoretical and practical bases for knowledge assessment. We select only a few, diverse, representative approaches for discussion, leaving more comprehensive research for the interested reader to pursue via the references cited here.
Change Management Approaches
In terms of theory and practice alike, KM is not as unique as many people assert. For instance, KM is viewed by numerous scholars as fundamentally oriented toward managing change (Davenport et al., 1998). Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) research has addressed several important questions pertaining to managing change. For example, we have the benefit of results such as “tactics for managing radical change” (Stoddard & Jarvenpaa, 1995), revelations of “reengineering myths” (Davenport & Stoddard, 1994), insight into implementation problems (Clemons et al., 1995; Grover et al., 1995), measurement-driven process redesign methods (Nissen, 1998), and many others. Research on BPR has also produced numerous analytical frameworks such as those articulated by Andrews and Stalick (1994), Davenport (1993), Hammer and Champy (1993), Harrington (1991) and Johansson et al. (1993). Many cases of large-scale change have been studied (e.g., Goldstein, 1986; Kettinger et al., 1995; King & Konsynski, 1990; Stoddard & Meadows, 1992; Talebzadeh et al., 1995) as well. Hence KM has much to learn from BPR.