The data for this research were collected from a three year
pretest period before the KM/QM strategy was implemented and
a six year posttest period with an implemented KM/QM strategy.
Prior and during the pretest period, all four companies universally
applied the traditional corporate QM system, which does not
include a formal KM component. Company B was challenged
by its local management to improve quality and take a sustained
quality leadership role within the organization. Company B found that the traditional QM system offers the convenience
of automatic (electronic) distribution of data, but had slow
response times to communicate quality issues, was complex to
operate, resource intensive to administer and maintain, and did
not support knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and mutual
learning between different departments. The organization’s
traditional QM system is integrated in a modern corporate
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) structure as an ERP module,
which is considered state of the art within the industry. In order to
address the identified system deficiencies, company B adopted a
knowledge management approach that resembles Nonaka’s (1994)
theory of organizational knowledge creation, and integrated it in
their existing QM system at the beginning of the six year posttest
research period. The KM/QM strategy at company B evolved
naturally with frequent updates and adjustments, especially in
the early stages of the roll-out. It is still updated when necessary
for different needs and enhancements. Interestingly, the KM/QM
strategy was not implemented at companies A, C, or D during the
six year posttest period, despite noticeable quality improvements
at company B. This situation provides a fertile ground for research
since we are able to compare the long-term effects of a company
which uses knowledge management for quality management to
similar companies which apply traditional quality management
methods without a formal KM component.