Knowledge management metrics via a balanced scorecard methodology

IT professionals are finding that more of their IT investments are being measured against a knowledge management (KM) metric. Those who want to deploy foundation technologies such as groupware, CRM or decision support tools, but fail to justify them on the basis of their contribution to KM, may find it difficult to get funding unless they can frame them within the KM context. Determining KM´s pervasiveness and impact is analogous to measuring the contribution of marketing, employee development, or any other management or organizational competency. The paper addresses the problem of developing measurement models for KM metrics and discusses what current KM metrics are in use, and examines their sustainability and soundness in assessing knowledge utilization and retention of generating revenue. The paper then discusses the use of a Balanced Scorecard approach to determine a business-oriented relationship between strategic KM usage and IT strategy and implementation.