Critical organizational events and emergent knowledge strategy: a retrospective processual analysis

The prior studies in the knowledge management area have established the argument that knowledge plays a critical role in the development, survival and growth of firms, by contending that knowledge leads to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, a review of the literature shows that our understanding of the spillovers of knowledge acquired or transferred and particularly the impact of knowledge requirements on strategy is limited. This empirical paper explores those issues by identifying and explaining the critical organizational events of two case study companies. The methodology adopted in this paper is based on the retrospective processual approach. The findings show that organizational critical events were either a result of knowledge lacking in organizations or the exploitation of existing knowledge, indicating link between knowledge, strategy and critical organizational events. It was also found that strategy (knowledge) changed over time due to internal factors (knowledge requirements) and external factors.