Identification and measurement of organizational knowledge management capabilities is necessary to determine the extent to which an organization utilizes its knowledge assets. We developed and operationalized a set of constructs to measure capabilities associated with management of knowledge assets identified as distinct knowledge capabilities (KCs) comprising the overall knowledge management (KM) capability of an organizational unit. Each KC represents a distinct kind of knowledge that requires different organizational process and technological support. This delineation of knowledge allows targeted improvement to a specific KC. We present validation of these capability constructs with empirical evidence from two separate business units in a large semi-conductor manufacturing company, providing the basis of measurement standardization for KM capability improvement. Confirmatory factor analysis affirmed four KCs, each identified as an overall factor influencing a set of latent descriptor variables. Second order and general-specific structural equation models of each capability provide evidence as to the validity of measurement of these knowledge assets.

The Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) has consistently encouraged dissemination of research on Knowledge Management (KM) over the past several years. The research presentations in the AMCIS mini-track on KM have showcased recent developments in Frameworks & Theory, Systems & Methods, Case Studies, and Evaluation & Assessment aspects of KM. We briefly describe some of the noteworthy papers presented at AMCIS 2004 in each of the above aspects. Contribution and acceptance data from the past three years clearly indicate that both the scope and the depth of issues researched in KM continue to grow in the Information Systems discipline.

This research investigates the premise that the likelihood of success of software reuse efforts may vary with the reuse strategy employed and, hence, potential reuse adopters must be able to understand reuse strategy alternatives and their implications. We use survey data collected from 71 software development groups to empirically develop a set of six dimensions that describe the practices employed in reuse programs. The study investigates the patterns in which these practices co-occur in the real world, demonstrating that the dimensions cluster into five distinct reuse strategies, each with a different potential for reuse success. The findings provide a means to classify reuse settings and assess their potential for success.

Independently updated views (IUVs) are updated versions of a relational view. Unlike traditional views, updating an IUV changes only that IUV and not the underlying database. Updates to an IUV are stored in a differential table (DT) and incorporated when the IUV is accessed. There is no restriction on the type of query used to define the IUV. Applications of IUVs include alternative scenarios for decision support, local updating of distributed snapshots, and CAD versioning. IUVs allow versions to be defined on dynamic databases. This may cause inconsistencies because both the IUV and the base tables on which the IUV is defined can be updated independently of one another. We introduce "overlapping updates" that cause such inconsistencies and present algorithms for their detection and resolution using timestamps. These algorithms do not impose additional overhead on the database and require only the modification of the DT. A performance analysis indicates that the cost of querying IUVs is reasonable for a wide range of queries, views, and access strategies. We also consider a materialized implementation of IUVs. Materialized IUVs do not require a DT, relying instead on additional system columns for operation codes and timestamps. Results suggest a mix of implementation strategies for different types of IUV applications, depending on the frequency and nature of queries on the IUVs, the IUV sizes, and how actively the base tables are updated.