2009年12月9日 星期三

CHALLENGES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

CHALLENGES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND SMES: THE CASE OF TOURISM PROMOTION IN TAIWAN

YAU-TZU MA
Graduate School of Business, Argosy University
Argosy University/S.F. 1005 Atlantic Ave, Alameda, CA 94501, United States
dennisma888@yahoo.com

ANDREA CRESTAN
Graduate School of Business, Argosy University
Argosy University/S.F. 1005 Atlantic Ave, Alameda, CA 94501, United States
acrestan@argosy.edu

Knowledge Management (KM) has different implications for different businesses in different contexts. In recent years, management researchers have proposed theoretical frameworks for KM in primary industries (Pan, & Scarbrough, 1999). These IT-based theoretical frameworks include models from Wiig, Leonard-Barton, Arthur Anderson and APQC, and Choo (Selamat, Abdullah, and Paul, 2006). However, the tourism industry has failed to embrace KM, academic research seldom influencing the real life issues and practices in tourism (Cooper, 2006). This article focuses on the tourism industry whose core product is knowledge itself. Using the case of Taiwan, this research examines how KM affects the competitive nature of the country’s industry and how travel business associates can use KM to build long-term competitive advantages. Hall (2005) suggests that knowledge management consists of both information technology (IT) and non-IT tools and techniques to assist in the creation, sharing, and storage of knowledge efficiently. Although technology can support KM, it still comes back to the people to build those technologies, use, and constantly improve them. Therefore, the goal of this paper is neither the replication nor the testing of technology based KM. This paper discusses a non-technological approach of KM in regards to how the Taiwanese government may collaborate collectively, and convert “tacit knowledge” into "explicit knowledge" or information for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), utilizing wider KM applications to accomplish desired goals and objectives for the country’s tourism industry.
1. Introduction
Traditional knowledge management (KM) focuses on the single organization. The KM and tourism industry in broader scope are the collaboration between both public and private sector organizations to promote destinations collectively (Ruhanen and Copper, 2004). In today’s highly competitive global business environment, it is generally accepted that the sustainability of a firm’s competitive advantage will depend on its innovative capacity based on knowledge acquisition, integration, and application (Chen, 2007). For SMEs, the application of KM for innovation and product development is critical for the competitiveness of both tourism destinations and enterprises (Hjalager 2002). Today, KM has been recognized as a key competitive tool for the private sector and a determinant of economic growth for governments (Lin, 2006).
Tourism, as one of the world’s major economic sectors, needs to adapt to this trend. The adoption of a KM approach is required to transform tourism research and intellectual property into one of the necessary competences for the sector (Ruhanen and Copper, 2004). This paper addresses the case of Taiwan and how its government can collaborate collectively, converting “tacit knowledge” into "explicit knowledge" or information for SMEs through the use of wider KM applications, accomplishing desired goals and objectives within the country’s tourism industry.

1.1. Taiwanese Governments KM Initiatives
Taiwan’s government KM initiatives are driven by the country’s Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission (RDEC); its goal is to promote government reform and innovation. This Commission is responsible for policy research, government restructuring, e-government planning, departmental performance evaluation, and government publications and archives. Under the Taiwanese Cabinet, the RDEC is charged with overseeing administrative efficiency and modernization at all levels of the government (Lin, 2007). Figure 1 illustrates the mechanism of E-government.


Figure 1. E-government mechanism.
Source: the Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission (RDEC), Taiwan.
For instance, the Cabinet implemented the e-Taiwan project (2002-2007), which is composed of e-government, e-industry, e-society, and e-infrastructure. Among the projects, e-government is a major driving force to accelerate the transformation of traditional industries to knowledge based economies (Lin, 2002).
Moreover, during the 2003 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Taiwan held the first APEC Incubator Forum, offering opportunities for 100 SMEs from the region to share experiences and learn about the methods for facilitating their growth (Chung, 2004). Taiwan also proposed t the initiative "Transforming the Digital Divide into a Digital Opportunity" as the member of one of 21 member economies: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua-New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. At this meeting, participants expressed their collective concern that the "digital divide could further widen social and economic disparities across the APEC region," and they called for "a public-private partnership to create digital opportunity." The proposal aims at bridging the digital divide by helping developing member economies to improve their knowledge and skills base. The objective is to assist members and their public and private sector organizations in understanding, developing, and implementing measures to digitalize supply-chain management and enterprise-resource planning (Hwang, 2003).
2. KM and the Tourism Industry
KM for tourism research may encompass: 1) Customer-focused knowledge, 2) Intellectual asset management and 3) Innovation and knowledge creation (Ruhanen & Cooper, 2004). As shown in Figure 2, Shariq (1997) indicates four key stages of KM from knowledge generation to commercialization and diffusion.

Figure 2. The Knowledge Value Change.
A review of literature shows that there is a lack of a unified theoretical framework for SMEs in the internationalization process, market entry modes, and timing strategies for SMEs (Malhotra, Ulgado, & Agarwal, 2003). Consequently, KM plays a crucial role for Taiwan’s SMEs to compete in the international tourism market. In the visitor economy, market failures occur when both, consumers and tourism markers, encounter information gaps and potential visitors do not have the relevant information for an appropriate decisions making (Deloitte, 2008). From the business perspective, KM is important as it comprises knowledge, either embodied in individuals, or embedded in organizational processes or practices. In other words, it is most critical for firms to know what the best offerings for tourists are so as to increase their willingness to visit a certain region and to pay for their travel arrangements.
2.1 Government policies for Implementing KM in Taiwan’s Tourism Industry
In the past three decades, Taiwan has been experiencing an economic transformation from a country with labor intensive industries to a society of knowledge intensive manufacturing and service industries. This was mainly due to the loss of Taiwan’s competitive advantage of inexpensive labor in the manufacturing industry to China and declining investments within this industry. As a result, the economy of Taiwan failed to continue to grow and its government started initiatives to find other areas for market growth, such as the international tourism market development.
Today, international tourism is not only one of the largest employment sectors in most countries in the world, but also has a profound impact on the world economy. Indeed, international tourism contributed to the world economy output about US$ 944 billion last year according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2009). International tourism receipts represented in 2003, approximately 6 per cent of worldwide exports of goods and services.
A series of national development plans, based on the government’s strategy to “Take action locally to connect to the global village”, have been implemented during the past five years aiming at integrating better KM within the tourism industry. For example, in 2004, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) implemented for instance the "Doubling Tourists Arrival Plan" and the “Three-year Taiwan Tourism Development Stimulus Plan (2007-2009)” aiming at creating an attractive, unique, visitor-friendly, and high-quality travel environment in Taiwan for international tourists.
In 2008, the Tourism Bureau of the MOTC carried out the “Tour Taiwan Years 2008-2009 Plan “to promote tourism development with an annual budget of approximately US$ 32 million. The objective of this project is to integrate government and private resources to make Taiwan one of the top tourism destinations in Asia. A range of KM initiatives include placing media advertisements, organizing promotional events for SMEs, and supporting local communities to create a hospitable and travel-friendly environment (Tour Taiwan Years, 2008).



2.2. Challenges of KM and Collaboration between the Taiwanese Government and SMEs
KM, used for operational business tools and appropriate technology can help a firm to achieve strategic benefits, such as differentiating services, decreasing promotion costs, and building closer relationships with customers.
The Taiwanese government being actively involved in the development of a knowledge-based economy, and private tour business associates working hard to attain innovative business opportunities in the travel industry, there are, however, critical challenges for the country to implement KM for an improved collaboration between the government and Taiwanese SMEs. One challenge is that the know-how of guiding foreign visitors is generated by the tour guides’ personal experience. Thus, the expertise of the travel business is only known by individual SMEs, which consider knowledge as their competitive advantage in the marketplace. Moreover, there are no KM tools available or specific tour guides training for attracting international tourist to the country. Consequently the quality of the tour associates may not meet the expectations of international tourists, the problems above not being addressed. In addition, even when implemented, the best IT systems cannot guarantee working operational systems as many Taiwanese SMEs struggle with factors that are not related to IT issues, like the dilemma of raising enough capital for these tools and managing them in an appropriate way (Chen, 2007).
Finally, despite the effort of RDEC on e-government planning, one of the biggest challenges for Taiwanese tour associates in regards to the application of KM is to maintain dynamic information in English on their websites. Chircu & Kauffman (2000) for example identified three conversion barriers that limit the pay off and value of IT investments: (1) Resource barriers (2) Knowledge barrier, and (3) Usage barriers. Petre, Minocha & Roberts (2006) pointed out that the reason for this is insufficient information and usability problems with websites. According to Vehovar, Batagelj, and Lozar (1998), non-English-speaking countries face language barriers to globally promote their Websites, and creating and maintaining multilingual website pages requires continual significant translation costs.
In Taiwan, most government and private sectors have difficulties finding a bilingual professional in their organization to manage the English Web site maintenance (Ma & Crestan, 2009). Therefore, while knowledge sharing channels are not developed enough for the tourism development and KM tools, it is very difficult for tour associates to collaborate with the government and other private organizations, and to provide dynamic product information efficiently to their customers.
At last, the government faces challenges to create knowledge sharing mechanisms for the tourism industry as a whole without the support of academic researchers. Although tourism research has grown in recent years, it has been limited to product oriented individual case studies. Also, academic tourism research institutes have received very little government funding compared to other industries such as medicine, technology, and agriculture (Ruhanen & Cooper, 2004). Therefore, the research related to KM and collaboration between the Taiwanese government and SMEs relies heavily on the country’s Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission (RDEC), focusing on KM development for the Taiwanese tourism industry.
2.3. Insufficient English Environment
English speaking not being common in the daily life of Taiwanese travel agents, the average level of English proficiency of the Taiwanese hospitality industry personnel is low (China Post Staff, 2004). As a result, although Taiwan was once one of the biggest exporting countries in Asia, Taiwan’s English speaking environment today is insufficient in both public and private service industries.
The Taipei Times cited research by the British Council, stating that Taiwan is behind in English proficiency (Writer, 2007). The report also quoted statistics from the 104 Job Bank, an online recruitment service, that showed almost half of the jobs in Taiwan require a basic command of English. But although the demand for English in the workplace has gone up, the level of English in Taiwanese has not improved. The director of Taiwan’s Language Center, Shih Chien University, suggests that the average of Taiwanese students’ English ability is below its Asian competitors (Kou, 2007).
However, the 2004 report of the test scores of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) indicates that Taiwan ranked 6th among ten other Asian countries. It shows that the competitiveness of Taiwanese students is being challenged by other countries. Due to the fact that English is a major language in both the academic and business society, low English proficiency may threaten Taiwan’s international competitiveness in the job markets and furthermore, it could impede Taiwan’s economic growth (Kou, 2007).
Finally, in regards to the tourism industry in Taiwan, the report of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei, sales strategies of Taiwanese travel business associates are not focused enough on the interests of international tourists, causing low inbound tour visitors compared to other Asian countries (Travel and Tourism, 2007). For example, the cost for an experienced English tour guide is high and most Taiwanese travel agents are willing to invest in training costs for existing employees (Ma and Crestan, 2009).

3. Recommendation and conclusion
There is no doubt that effective KM may well enhance the Taiwanese government’s efficiency in collaborating collectively with SMEs utilizing KM practices and tools to better satisfy the needs and requirements of the tourism industry and also to economically develop the country. These practices include better administrative efficiency and modernization at all levels of the government through appropriate KM systems, allowing the government to better collaborate with SMEs associated with the tourism industry. Initiatives, such as the country Cabinet’s e-government that helps transforming of traditional industries to knowledge based economies, need to be further developed and SMEs need to be integrated in these efforts. Moreover, Taiwan’s government must continue to develop programs, which help SMEs and the general public to extend their knowledge and skills base, including training for improved English proficiency, allowing local communities to establish a hospitable and friendly environment for international tourists. Taiwan’s government needs furthermore to continue to help local SMEs to implement KM tools and operating systems in order for them to become more competitive on the international tourism market. In the short run, the best way to utilize non-IT related KM, helping Taiwan’s tourism industry growth, is to develop KM initiatives in regards to English databases for tourism information about Taiwan. For example, “A Glance at Taiwan”, a government website designed by the Tourism Bureau provides free image files about Taiwan, thousands of images being available to the world. Topics include (1) Tourist attractions and landscapes of nature beauty, (2) Museums, memorials and historic spots of cultural heritage, (3) Image of cities, towns and regions of infrastructures, and (4) Folklore, festivals for local cultural activities. However, these databases only provide images and no written information regarding to above topics. Therefore, it is crucial for the government to develop a database that generalizes “tacit knowledge” from tourism experts and converts it into "explicit knowledge" or information for both local tour associates and international tourists. Since “tacit knowledge” comes from the tour associates’ professional experience, the government could implement current market-driven incentive programs of tour promotion and establish reward systems access this “tacit knowledge”, generated from the tour associates’ years of experience, and integrate it into information, which can be used by all stakeholders (government and concerned SMEs). This system would allow the government to get a better hold of tourism related knowledge and make it available to concerned SMEs, which could draw from a large amount of information to improve their services.
In the long run, “the Action Plan for Creating an English Living Environment,” conducted by the government in the “Challenging 2008-National Development Key Plans”, needs to be further developed. The Plan focuses on facilitating English signs, service measures, English proficiency, bilingual websites, and R&D innovations, and promotes nine implementation strategies (English carnival, 2005). The goal of this plan is to establish and promulgate English language programs to prepare SMEs and the public for internationalized living services as well as to establish a professional talent pool, attracting more foreign visitors to Taiwan and strengthening Taiwan's worldwide competitiveness in the international tourism market.
As knowledge is an essential element for economic activity, KM is without a doubt a key factor in determining economic strength for Taiwan. While IT scholars have made a lot of contributions on technological related KM, tourism associates must be aware of this important agenda and adapt KM as a sustainable industry development system. Moreover, the government must play an important role in collaborating with higher education institutions, research centers, and private enterprises to diffuse their research and business focusing on KM within tourism industry.
Thus, academic tourism research must continue to grow and the Taiwanese government needs to play an important role in funding research and development as well as KM initiatives, allowing an improved collaboration between the Taiwanese government and local SMEs developing the Taiwanese tourism industry.

References
Chen, T.F. (2007, June07). Synergy of Knowledge-Based Innovation Capacity and Innovation Supply Chain: A Case Study of Taiwanese High-Tech SMEs. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 8, No. 2
China Post Staff (2004). Taiwan not good for English: survey language environment. Breaking news from Taiwan, China and the world. December 1, 2004, the China Post.
Chircu, A., & Kauffman, R. (2000). Limits to Value in Electronic Commerce-Related IT Investments. Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 17, No.2, pp. 59-80.
Chung, O.(2004). Being Seen, Being Heard. Taiwan Review. Vol.54, No.11
Cooper, C. (2006). Knowledge management and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 47–64
English carnival (2005). Important Achievements of Creating an English Living Environment. Retrieved from http://www.ettoday.com/events/english/index1en_2.htm
Hall, H.L. (2005). Knowledge management in times of change: Tacit and explicit knowledge transfers. Unpublished doctor dissertation. University of North Texas.
Hjalager, A.(2002). Repairing Innovation Defectiveness in Tourism. Tourism Management. Vol. 23, Issue 5. pp.465–474.
Hwang, J.(2003). Taiwan Rises to the APEC Challenge. Taiwan Review.Vol.53 No.11.
Kou. T.S. (2007, April). The Needs of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Taiwan Universities Using Globalization as a Model. Paper presented at 2007 International Conference on English Education., Taiwan.
Kuester, S., & Hess, S. (2008, December). How to overcome customers' adoption barriers. NeuroPsychoEconomics Conference Proceedings, Retrieved August 5, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Lin, C. (2002). Innovating and Transforming Government through Information. Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission The Executive Yuan, Taiwan, retrieved from http://www.rdec.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=13659&ctNode=3702&mp=100
Lin, C.C. (2006). Implications and Development of Knowledge-Based Government. 31st Annual Symposium of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, May 2006, Barcelona.
Lin, C.C. (2007). Knowledge Management in Public Institutions: The Taiwan Experience. Minister of Examination. Vol. 3, No. 2
Ma Y.T. & Crestan, A. (2009). Taiwan's Challenge for Significant International Tourism Market Growth. dg.o 2009 - 10th International Digital Government Research Conference, Puebla, Mexico.
Malhotra, N., Ulgado, F., & Agarwal, J. (2003, December). Internationalization and Entry Modes: A Multitheoretical Framework and Research Propositions. Journal of International Marketing, Vol.1, No.4, pp.1-31.
Pan, S. & Scarbrough, H. (1999).Knowledge Management in Practice: An Exploratory Case Study. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.359-373.
Petre, M., Minocha, S., & Roberts, D. (2006). Usability beyond the website: an empirically-grounded e-commerce evaluation instrument for the total customer experience. Behaviour & Information Technology, Vol. 2, No.2, pp. 189-203
Ruhanen, L. & Cooper, C. (2004), Applying a Knowledge Management Framework to Tourism Research, Tourism Recreation Research, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 83-89.
Selamat, M. Abdullah, R. and Paul C.J.(2006, August). Knowledge Management Framework in a Technology Support Environment. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL.6 No.8A, pp. 101-109
Sarvary, M. (1999, Winter99). Knowledge Management and Competition in the Consulting Industry. California Management Review, Vol. 41. No. 2, pp.95-107.
Shariq, S. Z. (1997). Knowledge Management: An Emerging Discipline. The Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 1. No.1. pp75- 82.
Travel and Tourism (2007).The European Chamber of Commerce, Taipei, 2007-2008 Position Paper. Retrieved from the European Chamber of Commerce website: http://www.ecct.com.tw
Vehovar, V., Batagelj, Z., and Lozar, K. (1998). Language as a Barrier. Internet Society. Retrieved from http://www.isoc.org/inet99/proceedings/3i/3i_3.htm
Writer, R. (2007, August 22). Taiwan behind in English proficiency, paper reports. Taipei Times, pp 2.

沒有留言:

張貼留言