Abstract

By the early 2000s, the World Bank was one of the foremost knowledge organizations in the world. It made a commitment to promote knowledge sharing within the organization in 1996, when it realized that the distance from its headquarters to operational regions had become a major obstacle in objective achievement. While the process of transformation into a ‘knowledge bank’ was not easy, the Bank accomplished it successfully and set up a system that extended around the world. The case describes the World Bank’s journey from a lending institution to a knowledge leader. It examines the need for knowledge sharing at the World Bank and the obstacles it overcame in the process. It also describes how the World Bank created a global knowledge community using web-based tools, as well as the role and development of thematic groups. The importance of tailoring the organization’s structure and human resource policies to knowledge sharing is also examined. The case concludes with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the knowledge sharing system at the World Bank.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Knowledge sharing in World Bank
• Challenges in implementing knowledge sharing programme.

Keywords

World Bank, Knowledge management, James Wolfensohn, Bretton Woods conference, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Thematic groups, Global community, IBM, Communities of practice, Knowledge sharing, Organization structure, Organizational culture, International Finance Corporation, The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes