A Benchmarking Model for Management of Knowledge-Intensive Service Delivery Networks.

Author List: Dong, Su; Johar, Monica S.; Kumar, Ram L.;
Journal of Management Information Systems, 2011, Volume 28, Issue 3, Page 127-160.
Effective management of information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services is becoming increasingly important due to the growing complexity of their context. These services are often delivered by employees who work at widely dispersed locations and interact with each other to constitute knowledge-intensive service delivery networks (KISDNs). This paper contributes to the effective design and management of KISDNs by presenting a mixed-integer programming model that integrates disparate streams of research. This model facilitates analysis and managerial benchmarking of KISDN performance. It captures how the performance of such networks depends on the interaction between workflow decisions, structure of information flow networks (IFNs), and knowledge management decisions. We propose that knowledge about IFNs and worker competence can be effectively used to make workflow decisions. Our results, based on the study of different IFN archetypes, illustrate practices for effective management of KISDNs. Managers can enhance business value by recognizing existing IFNs, increasing randomness in IFNs, nurturing weak or performative ties depending on the archetype, assigning tasks based on effective worker competence, and selectively delaying assignment of tasks to workers. In addition, our results illustrate the impact of training and network density on KISDN performance.
Keywords: benchmarking; IT services; knowledge management; knowledge-based services; OR models; service delivery; service science
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List of Topics

#144 0.137 knowledge transfer management technology creation organizational process tacit research study organization processes work organizations implications practice explicit models consultants transfers
#211 0.134 service services delivery quality providers technology information customer business provider asp e-service role variability science propose logic companies especially customers
#191 0.103 model models process analysis paper management support used environment decision provides based develop use using help literature mathematical presented formulation
#88 0.100 managers managerial manager decisions study middle use important manager's appropriate importance context organizations indicate field experience management major organizational results
#249 0.084 network networks social analysis ties structure p2p exchange externalities individual impact peer-to-peer structural growth centrality participants sharing economic ownership embeddedness
#252 0.075 management practices technology information organizations organizational steering role fashion effective survey companies firms set planning focus committees executives managing committee
#59 0.062 capabilities capability firm firms performance resources business information technology firm's resource-based competitive it-enabled view study value infrastructure results organizational model
#221 0.058 competence experience versus individual disaster employees form npd concept context construct effectively focus functionalities front-end knowledge-intensive stage explores set definition