Managing Knowledge Management: Towards an Operating System for Institutional Investment

Abstract

Knowledge management in institutional investment suffers from many misconceptions and a dearth of actionable models for best practice. This is problematic in various ways, not least of which is how it holds back knowledge management from acting as a bridge to deployment of artificial intelligence in institutional-investment organizations. We propose a model for knowledge management that addresses both problems. Specifically, we develop a model that casts knowledge management as an organizational operating system. This operating-system approach to managing knowledge: 1) prioritizes access to knowledge; 2) promotes the creation of new knowledge from existing knowledge; 3) allows more knowledge to exist in its ‘native’ form (i.e., in its original format and location within the organization); 4) promotes interactions among distinct sources of knowledge in the organization; and 5) encourages experimentation. We discuss how this model can benefit various organizational functions, including risk management and innovation. We also cover two specific instantiations of the model (a culture-based version and a technology-based version) and describe how to blend them.

Keywords: culture, data management, institutional investing, knowledge, models, technology