The knowledge retrieval matrix: codification and personification as separate strategies

Previous discussions of knowledge transfer within multinational corporations tended to focus on the process as an isolated phenomenon and on the factors that impede the process. Less attention has been given to how the individual knowledge worker retrieves or identifies, and then decodes knowledge accessed from the corporate memory. We suggest that multinational companies (MNCs) solve knowledge retrieval problems by implementing virtual communities of practice intranet-based collaborative forums. Codification and personalization strategies have previously been emphasized as an either-or solution. These virtual communities of practice combine the codification and personalization strategies, simultaneously utilizing the advantages of two approaches.