Knowledge management practices of financial services companies

Abstract

The study explored the knowledge management landscape within South African financial services organisations by examining their practices with regards to knowledge management and comparing them against practices outlined in contemporary literature. The literature identified three broad processes, namely that of knowledge identification, knowledge generation and knowledge application which together lead to an increase in organisational learning. It is these broad processes that are the focus of the study. The perceptions of ten knowledge worl<ers, employed mainly in public companies' listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, were examined with regards to their organisation's knowledge management practices. Both empirical and non-empirical approaches were followed in this qualitative study. Data was gathered using face-to face interviews and questionnaires which were designed to support the interview results with hard numbers. The data was analysed through a combination of content and frequency distribution analysis. The study found that financial services organisations are much better at knowledge generation than they are at knowledge application and that they are particularty poor at knowledge evaluation and knowledge identification. Furthermore the study revealed a lack of strategic emphasis in the practice of knowledge management. The study concluded that knowledge management practices are not in line with contemporary best practices and have reached only half their potential in this regard. For the majority of organisations, current practices are not strategically driven, but merely embedded in processes, procedures and cultures.