Knowledge Management at Booz & Company: Towards a Culture of Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration

After its split from Booz Allen Hamilton in July 2008, Booz & Company emerged as a globally operating strategy consulting firm. As a new organization, Booz & Company had to redefine its brand, culture, and values. The new CEO stressed the importance of knowledge management (KM) as part of the firm's competitive strategy to be foremost in foresight and provide essential advantage to clients. Adrienne Crowther, director of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and Tom Stewart, the firm's new chief marketing and knowledge officer, rolled out a new firm-wide KM-system that would act as a differentiator in enabling connections across the firm.
The case shows the importance of KM to professional service firms and management consultancies, that depend heavily on knowledge for their existence and growth. It illustrates the process of renewing the KM-system at Booz & Company by describing the triggers, obstacles, and challenges encountered throughout the initiative and the major actions taken to overcome them.