Leading Organizational Learning

Chapter Twenty-Three

Building Social Connections to

Gain the Knowledge Advantage

Susan E. Jackson

Niclas L. Erhardt

Modern organizations face constantly changing competitive envi-
ronments. Thriving and at times merely surviving in such
environments requires developing capabilities that support inno-
vation, change management, and continuous learning. Because
effectively managing knowledge is essential to innovation and
learning, it is an increasingly important source of competitive
advantage.
During the past decade, many companies invested heavily in
electronic knowledge management systems. Their hope was
that electronic systems would increase their ability to store, sort,
distribute, and perhaps analyze the vast array of knowledge resid-
ing, and often hidden, within the many nooks and crannies of orga-
nizational life. However, what experienced users of electronic
knowledge management systems now realize is that electronic sys-
tems can be effective only when they are integrated into a total
management approach for retaining ideas, creating new knowl-
edge, and sustaining continuous learning.
When knowledge resources are recognized as essential to an
organization, a wide array of management practices may be
changed. Some new practices aim to create more opportunities for
knowledge accumulation and thereby increase the organization’s

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Note:We thank Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Deloitte Consulting, and Pfizer Inc. for
their contributions to some of the ideas presented in this chapter.