Browsing by Author "Gibbert, Michael"
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- ItemManaging knowledge in organisations : a critical analysis of extant approaches and conceptual aids(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1999-12) Gibbert, Michael; Leibold, M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of conomic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Business Management.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Given the increased interest in the management of knowledge in corporations, there is a need for an analysis of the current level of sophistication of the most salient approaches and conceptual aids to knowledge management (KM). This study investigates the currently popular approaches to conceptualise knowledge and its management, in order to ultimately contribute towards a better understanding of the concept of KM. The study was conducted by way of investigation of the concept of knowledge as an organisational resource and the provision of critical analyses of current approaches and conceptual aids to KM. Theoretical investigations involving a comprehensive study of international research, both popular and academic, on relevant aspects of KM were undertaken in view of the purpose of this study. The most important conclusion that can be forwarded was that extant KM approaches and conceptual aids are not sufficiently sensitive to the resource they seek to manage, viz. knowledge. An investigation of the concept of knowledge, as the resource to be managed through KM, was first undertaken. The investigation revealed that particularly important for the conceptualisation of knowledge in a business context, are the complex properties of this resource that impact its manageability. It was demonstrated that recent thinking on these properties has undergone a consolidation, through which two key aspects are crystallising, viz. firstly that knowledge can be tacit or explicit; and that it can, secondly, reside at the level of the individual employee, the group, organisational, or interorganisational level in the corporation. A significant conclusion was that the extant two-dimensional conceptualisation of knowledge does not encapsulate all aspects of knowledge that are impacting its manageability. A critical analysis of the concept of KM was subsequently made. For this purpose, three conceptual models of KM that are currently popular among scholars, and that exemplify the potential of extant conceptual aids for managing knowledge in organisations, have been chosen eclectically: i) Spender (1996), ii) Hedlund (1995), and iii) Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Strengths and deficiencies of these models were discussed in order to enhance an understanding of the potential of the KM concept as it is currently portrayed in the literature. It was established that the three models analysed all use the above-mentioned inadequate two-dimensional conceptualisation of knowledge as a platform and conceptual frame of reference. This commonality was shown to compromise the potential of extant approaches and models for managing knowledge in organisations, and recommendations were made to overcome these deficiencies in future research in the KM field.