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

Abdallah Al-Shawabkeh, Alexander K<strong>of</strong>inas and Mike Sharp
production as a temporary phenomenon that leads to yet ano<strong>the</strong>r paradigm or discipline; in accord
with Kuhn’s (1997)understanding <strong>of</strong> paradigm shifts in knowledge creation and scientific progress.
Much <strong>of</strong> this literature is focused on knowing and action: Blackler’s (1995) alternative view <strong>of</strong>
knowledge rooted in action and Tsoukas’s version (1996) <strong>of</strong> knowledge in distributed knowledge
systems and Engestrom’s (Engestrom 2001) or Argyris’s (2004) conceptions <strong>of</strong> knowledge creation
can be seen as representative <strong>the</strong>ories <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relational perspective (Hayes and Walsham, 2003).
Social capital <strong>the</strong>ory (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998) syn<strong>the</strong>sises a framework <strong>of</strong> organizational
knowledge creation that provides a macro level analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> KM. Intellectual capital
(organizational knowledge accumulated and used as a resource) and its creation are achieved
through <strong>the</strong> combination and exchange <strong>of</strong> its underlying conditions: access to parties for
combining/exchanging intellectual capital, anticipation <strong>of</strong> value through combining/exchanging
intellectual capital, motivation to combine/exchange intellectual capital and combination capability.
This framework is quite reminiscent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> knowledge transfer framework developed by Nonaka and
Takeuchi (1995). The new in social capital <strong>the</strong>ory is <strong>the</strong> underlying dimensions that facilitate <strong>the</strong>
creation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> intellectual capital. As I demonstrate in Figure 2-4 <strong>the</strong>se dimensions are <strong>the</strong> structural,
<strong>the</strong> cognitive and <strong>the</strong> relational dimension and make up <strong>the</strong> social capital <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organization. Social
capital comprises both <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> network and <strong>the</strong> actors that are mobilized through that network
(Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). The structural dimension concerns <strong>the</strong> configuration <strong>of</strong> linkages
between actors or units <strong>of</strong> analysis (Newell, Tansley et al. 2004). The relational dimension refers to
<strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relationships that actors have developed with each o<strong>the</strong>r through a history <strong>of</strong>
interactions. The focus within this dimension is on trust, respect and friendship. The third dimension is
<strong>the</strong> cognitive dimension that refers to <strong>the</strong> resources that facilitate <strong>the</strong> formation <strong>of</strong> shared norms,
representations, understanding and meaning that reside within each node <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> social network;
Figure 2.4: Social Capital and Knowledge Creation (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998)
Social capital <strong>the</strong>ory provides management with <strong>the</strong> means to manage knowledge by exercising
control over <strong>the</strong>se three dimensions. It is an ambitious framework and captures many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
components <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r typologies mentioned above.
O<strong>the</strong>r frameworks that have been introduced to answer <strong>the</strong> question "What is KM?" are focusing on
describing knowledge cycle activities (Rubinstein-Montano et al, 2001). The main concentration <strong>of</strong>
those frameworks emphasises on knowledge flow from creation to application, but not guidance on
how to implement KM. O<strong>the</strong>r KM frameworks have been introduced to investigate and analyse <strong>the</strong> KM
initiatives that were performed in particular industries. A well known framework <strong>of</strong> this category
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