Toward strategic harmony between codification and personalisation in services firms

The increasing impact of digitization and the evolution of information and communication technologies have significant knowledge implications for productivity and innovation in service firms. Understanding the harmony between codification and personalization of knowledge is crucial for executives managing strategic knowledge in knowledge-based firms. This study focuses on the advisory services sector, where knowledge is considered a valuable strategic asset. The research employed a qualitative approach with multiple case studies. The analysis of the results reveals that two of the three services firms encountered a lack of synergy between codification and personalization strategies, leading to difficulties in their knowledge processes and ultimately hampering work productivity. In contrast, the third organization highlighted the importance of harmonizing both strategies, cultivating enhanced knowledge management (KM) practices toward the efficacy of managing firm knowledge. This paper proposes a three-step journey (initiating, developing, and harmonizing) toward strategic KM by understanding the harmony between codification and personalization orientations. Managers responsible for managing various firms’ business units or heterogeneous work processes can consider either codification or personalization in the initiating and developing steps of their firm’s strategic KM journey, before realizing the harmony in the management of the efficacy of both strategic knowledge orientations.