<*dv_2*>Theme:         Sharing Knowledge: Balancing Organisational Benefits and Risks

The importance of interfirm knowledge sharing is rapidly accelerating. Building fluid, productive transorganizational value networks to swarm and colonize new opportunities is the new business reality. The ability for ad hoc teams and their stakeholders to rapidly assemble and exploit their boundary-spanning knowledge and skills creates and sustains considerable competitive advantage for the firm.

There are substantial benefits for companies to establish the capabilities infrastructure to drive and optimize these interfirm business ecosystems and value networks. However, organizations must also be cognizant of the risks of availing their closely held intellectual capital assets, including the firm's top resources, to the extended enterprise. A careful balance must be achieved to assure these assets are optimized.

In the past, most organizations have erred on the side of control of these critical interfirm activities. Rigid firewalls, onerous or non-existent on-line collaboration policies, transaction-cost focus and overbearing security procedures ('need to know' policies) are typical extremes. However, at the same time, interfirm email traffic has increased exponentially and telephony, application integration and covert transorganizational collaboration has soared. Clearly, interfirm collaboration and knowledge sharing is out-of-balance.

There is a new mandate for openness, collaboration and value networks in large institutions and the modern enterprise. Join the KM Cluster Southern California to examine this new requirement for cross-boundary sharing and collaboration. Learn and elaborate strategies and tactics that provide for sustainable interfirm productivity growth, innovation and continuous excellence in interfirm collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Interact with the following thought leaders on February 27th at PwC:

                    Mark Zoeckler, Managing Director, Global KM, PwC

<*dv_1*>Ann Majchrzak, Ph.D., Professor of Information Systems,

Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

                    Dr. Scott Shaffar, Director, KM, Northrop Grumman