Knowledge Measurement Barriers: Results from a Case Study

The discussion about barriers is primarily involved with knowledge sharing issues and the implementation of knowledge management in general. The successful application of measurement strategies requires an understanding on how knowledge measurement processes are perceived by the participants. Measuring the skills and capabilities of knowledge workers is increasingly recognized as a source of competitive advantages and has to be embedded in the organizational culture. The objective of this paper is to increase the understanding of barriers associated with knowledge measurement processes. An exploratory study with 100 interviews at an European Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendor was conducted to establish a knowledge measurement system and identify associated measurement barriers. The analysis of the results identified 21 measurement barriers in three categories: (1) individual, (2) organizational, (3) measurement process. It is concluded that these barriers need to be minimized to improve measurement acceptance and to support a knowledge measurement culture in organizations.