Objectives of knowledge management

Competitor analysis 
Competitor analysis
is a key aspect of digital business situation analysis. It is also a key 
activity in producing a digital marketing plan which will feed into the digital business strat-
egy (which is described in more detail in Chapter 8 ).
Resource‑ advantage mapping 
It is useful to map the internal resource strengths against external opportunities, to identify, for 
example, where competitors are weak and can be attacked. To identify internal strengths, defini-
tion of
core competencies
is one approach. Lynch (2000) explains that core competencies are 
the resources, including knowledge, skills or technologies, that provide a particular benefit to 
customers, or increase
customer value
relative to competitors. Customer value is defined by 
Deise
et al 
. (2000) as dependent on product quality, service quality, price and fulfilment time. 
So, to understand core competencies we need to understand how the organisation is differenti-
ated from competitors in these areas. Benchmarking e-commerce services of competitors (as 
described in Chapter 8 ) is important here. The cost- base of a company relative to its competi-
tors’ is also important since lower production costs will lead to lower prices. Lynch (2000) argues 
that core competencies should be emphasised in objective setting and strategy definition.
Strategic objectives 
Defining and communicating an organisation’s