Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Farnaz Rahimi and Mohamad Ebrahim Maroosi
technical element refers to concrete know-how , crafts and skills ( Alavi and Leidner 2001). Tacit
knowledge is difficult to articulate and is challenging to transfer (Alavi and Leidner 2001) .explicit
knowledge is confinable this is not to suggest that this form <strong>of</strong> knowledge equals information. As Alavi
and Leinder 1999 point out, knowledge is information made actionable.
2. Knowledge management
Gupta et al (2000) defined Knowledge management as “a process that helps organizations find,
select, organize disseminate and transfer important information and expertise necessary for activities
such as problem solving, dynamic learning, strategic planning and decision making” .Liebowitz (2003)
considered it as dealing with capturing, sharing applying and creating knowledge in an organization to
best leverage this resource internally and externally. Various o<strong>the</strong>r definitions abound in <strong>the</strong> literature
(Bassi,1997 Hibbard, 1997; Horwitch & Armacost, 2002; Malhotra 1998; Rowley, 1999;vander Spek &
Spijkervet,1997;Wiig 1997)
Knowledge management in organizations refers to identifying and leveraging collective knowledge in
an organization to help <strong>the</strong> organization compete (Alavi and Leidner 2001)
A review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> KM literature shows <strong>the</strong> changing view <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> KM, resulting in different
definitions (see, Table1)
Table 1: KM definitions (1994-2006)
2006
2005
2003
2001
1999
1998
1996
1994
Knowledge management addresses policies, strategies, and techniques aimed at supporting
an organization’s competitiveness by optimizing <strong>the</strong> conditions needed for efficiency
improvement, innovation, and collaboration among employees.’’
(C.A.A.Sousa,P.H.J.Hendriks.2006)
Knowledge management is defined as doing what is needed to get <strong>the</strong> most out <strong>of</strong> knowledge
resources.’’ (Sabherwal , Sabherwal.2005)
Knowledge management is defined as <strong>the</strong> organized and systematic process <strong>of</strong> generating and
disseminating information and selecting , distilling ,and deploying explicit and tacit knowledge
to create unique value that can be used to achieve a competitive advantage in <strong>the</strong> marketplace
by an organization.’’ (Hult.2003)
Knowledge management refers to identifying and leveraging <strong>the</strong> collective knowledge in an
organization to help <strong>the</strong>
Organization compete....‘‘Knowledge management is largely regarded as a process involving
various activities ... At a minimum, one considers <strong>the</strong> four basic processes <strong>of</strong> creating, storing/
retrieving ,transferring ,and applying knowledge.’’ (Alavi and Leidner 2001)
Knowledge management is <strong>the</strong> formal management <strong>of</strong> knowledge for facilitating creation
,access ,and reuse <strong>of</strong>
Knowledge, typically using advanced technology.’’ (O’Leary.1999)
[a] term which has now come to be used to describe everything from organizational learning
efforts to database
Management tools.’’ (Ruggles.1994)
[t]he management <strong>of</strong> knowledge goes far beyond <strong>the</strong> storage and manipulation <strong>of</strong> data, or even
<strong>of</strong> information.
It is <strong>the</strong> attempt to recognize what is essentially a human asset buried in <strong>the</strong> minds <strong>of</strong>
individuals, and leverage it
Into an organizational asset that can be accessed and used by a broader set <strong>of</strong> individuals on
whose decisions
The firm depends.’’ (Maier.2004)
In its broadest sense ,knowledge management(KM)is a conceptual framework that
encompasses all activities and
perspectivesrequiredtomaking<strong>the</strong>organizationintelligentactingonasustainedbasis.KMincludesactivitiestogaining
overview<strong>of</strong>,dealingwith,andbenefitingfrom<strong>the</strong>areasthatrequiremanagementattentionbyidentifyin
gsalient alternatives ,suggesting methods for dealing with <strong>the</strong>m and conducting activities to
achieve desired results.’’ (Wiig.1994)
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) define organizational knowledge as ‘‘justified true belief’’, which can be
shared within an organization as information <strong>of</strong> which validity has been established through tests <strong>of</strong>
pro<strong>of</strong> (Liebeskind, 1996, p. 94). As organizational knowledge guides decision-making (Tsoukas &
Vladimirou) an organization must be aware <strong>of</strong> knowledge level in <strong>the</strong> organization.
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