Placing Knowledge Management in Context
We welcome the increased emphasis on practice-based theories of knowing as an alternative to the more representational, knowledge-as-object approaches which have characterised many organizational attempts at 'knowledge management' to date. Building on the findings of a short empirical study into the 'knowledge management' initiatives of a global software organization, which highlighted the value of rich context in the generation of meaning, we seek to shed some light on a perceived confusion about the nature of organizational context. We show such context to be an inseparable part of knowing, which it creates and by which it is defined, and re-use Blackler's (1995) taxonomy of 'knowledge types' to illustrate the relational interaction between shared and deeply personal components of context. Finally, we use these insights to suggest a way in which organizations may be able to derive more value from their investments in internal initiatives by increasing their ability to support knowing - and hence the generation of meaning - amongst their employees. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
Year of publication: |
2004
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Authors: | Thompson, Mark P. A. ; Walsham, Geoff |
Published in: |
Journal of Management Studies. - Wiley Blackwell, ISSN 0022-2380. - Vol. 41.2004, 5, p. 725-747
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Publisher: |
Wiley Blackwell |
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