Knowledge Management under Institutional Pressures: The Case of the Smartcard in France

Abstract

This chapter explores how knowledge management, an enabler of change due to its knowledge creation capability, is subject to several forces that shape its processes and outcomes. A qualitative analysis based on data from a case study of the first major rollout of smartcard technology in France shows how institutional isomorphic pressures affect not only knowledge management processes but also resulting innovations. Government impetus, legal authorities, and cultural expectations in French society produced coercive isomorphic pressures on the credit card industry, while existing credit card solutions, systems, and standards played the role of mimetic pressures, and professional networks and network externalities acted as normative pressures. The study suggests that a systems perspective which acknowledges these institutional isomorphic pressures can lead to greater strategic alignment and can provide a basis for meaningful differentiation and competitive advantage.