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To enhance our understanding of knowledge management, this paper focuses on a specific question: How do knowledge management processes influence perceived knowledge management effectiveness? Prior literature is used to develop the research model, including hypotheses about the effects of four knowledge management processes (internalization, externalization, socialization, and combination) on perceived individuallevel, group-level, and organizational-level knowledge management effectiveness. The study was conducted at the John F. Kennedy Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration using a survey of 159 individuals and two rounds of personal interviews. Structural equation modeling was performed to test measurement and structural models using the survey data. The emergent model suggests that internalization and externalization impact perceived effectiveness of individual-level knowledge management. Socialization and combination influence perceived effectiveness of knowledge management at group and organizational levels, respectively. The results also support the expected upward impact in perceived effectiveness of knowledge management, from individual to group level, as well as from group level to organizational level. The study's limitations and implications for practice and future research are described.

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Rapid changes in the field of knowledge management (KM) have to a great extent resulted from the dramatic progress we have witnessed in the field of information and communication technology. ICT allows the movement of information at increasing speeds and efficiencies, and thus facilitates sharing as well as accelerated growth of knowledge. For example, computers capture data from measurements of natural phenomena, and then quickly manipulate the data to better understand the phenomena they represent. Increased computer power at lower prices enables the measurement of increasingly complex processes, which we possibly could only imagine before. Thus, ICT has provided a major impetus for enabling the implementation of KM applications. Moreover, as learning has accrued over time in the area of social and structural mechanisms, such as through mentoring and retreats that enable effective knowledge sharing, it has made it possible to develop KM applications that best leverage these improved mechanisms by deploying sophisticated technologies.