[...]... different ways of transferring customer knowledge It also deals with the preconditions to sharing general and customer knowledge A distinction is made between customer relationship and customer knowledge It is shown how customer- oriented knowledge helps improve the interaction of company staff with their customers, thus proving the necessity for a company to use its customer knowledge resource Chapter... to manage knowledge – and especially customer knowledge Chapter 3 therefore focuses on different types of knowledge and explains the different approaches to knowledge management It describes the process of knowledge development and the interaction among the different types of knowledge Chapter 4 deals with knowledge transfer and sharing in order so as to better understand the complexity of knowledge. .. Germany by the IfM Bonn Internal stickiness of knowledge transfer Types of customer knowledge Characteristics of customer- oriented knowledge Valuation system Category knowledge – focus on availability Category knowledge – focus on dependence Category customer relationship – focus on availability Category customer relationship – focus on dependence... below: the ‘Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness’ (PKMA) (Fig 1.1) 1 Analyze the current knowledge situation in the company (for example by using a questionnaire) 2 Raise the awareness of the needs/benefits (have a close look at the mistakes made in the past concerning knowledge management) Fig 1.1 Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness (PKMA)14 14 ‘Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness (PKMA)’... Bonn Information Technology Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau Knowledge Management no date no place Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness respectively Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise(s) versus xi List of Figures 1.1 Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness (PKMA) 1.2 5-Step Customer Data Life Spiral (5-Step CDLS) 1.3 Customer Relationship Improvement Cycle (CRI-C) ... approx B2B B2C CKM CRI-C CRM CSR e.g etc EDP EU fig i.e IfM Bonn IT KfW KM n.d n.p PKMA resp SME(s) vs 5-Step Customer Data Life Spiral according to approximately Business-to-Business Business-to -Customer Customer Knowledge Management Customer Relationship Improvement Cycle Customer Relationship Management Corporate Social Responsibility exempli gratia (for example) et cetera Electronic Data Processing... 6 1 Introduction 1.5.1 Pyramid of Knowledge Management Awareness (PKMA) How should companies handle Knowledge Management if they had no or few points of contact up to now? In our today’s business environment, it is of vital importance for companies to have knowledge from, for and about their customers If a company has no or only little experience with knowledge management, it is helpful to follow... environment.12 For this reason, the present book investigates the knowledge management in SMEs Although good customer service is their most important factor,13 SMEs nevertheless have great difficulties in managing knowledge from, for and about the customer (see Sect 2.5) Therefore, the link between knowledge and customer relationship and the impact of sharing knowledge will be examined within a case study (Chaps... awareness of the need for sharing information and knowledge is of vital importance On the one hand, knowledge management requires aids such as advanced technologies and intelligent tools that make knowledge organizable and manageable.10 On the other hand, internal knowledge management is directly associated with the corporate culture of an organization Knowledge is a personal property and thus closely... Competitive 3.1 Knowledge Spiral on Epistemological Level 3.2 Spiral of Knowledge Development Within an Organization 3.3 Water Analogy of Knowledge 4.1 Best Practice Transfer Model 4.2 The Four Types of Ba 6.1 Results: Knowledge and Customer Relationship – Administrative Area 6.2 Results: Knowledge and Customer Relationship – . 41 4.7 Summary 43 5 Customer Relationship – Customer Knowledge 45 5.1 Preface 45 5.2 Customer Relationship Management 45 5.3 Customer Knowledge Management 47 5.3.1 Types of Customer Knowledge 48 5.3.2.