Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and an Agenda for Research

Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has been a raging interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource. For example, some companies have started to produce supplemental annual reports reflecting their intellectual and knowledge assets, while others have created the organizational position of Chief Knowledge Officer. The heightened interest in organizational knowledge and knowledge management is primarily motivated by the transition into the knowledge economy, where knowledge is viewed as the principle source of organizational rent and sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge management systems (KMS) refer to a class of information systems that have evolved from the need to enable systematic organizational learning and memory by facilitating the coding and sharing of knowledge across organizational entities that previously may have had little occasion for interacting. As such, an understanding of the effective development and implementation of KMS require a foundation in several rich research literatures including: organizational learning, the sociology of knowledge, and the resourcebased theory of the firm. This article will provide a review of these bodies of literature in relation to knowledge management with a view toward understanding the role of information and communication technology in providing not only the technical infrastructure of KMS but in effecting organizational implementation of knowledge management strategies. In the paper, we view organizations as social collectives that generate, codify, store, distribute, and apply knowledge. This perspective, grounded in the sociology of knowledge, views organizations as knowledge systems consisting of a set of socially enacted knowledge processes. These knowledge processes, including knowledge construction, storage, distribution, and application, constitute a framework for managing organizational knowledge. For each phase of the knowledge management process, we first review and summarize the relevant literature drawn from organizational knowledge and learning, organizational memory, communication, and knowledge integration and organizational capability. Next, we develop a research agenda aimed at IS researchers by developing propositions that describe the potential role of IT in the augmentation/support of the knowledge management processes. In summary, the purpose of the paper is threefold: 1To identify and synthesize literature relevant to knowledge management, 2To provide a framework for knowledge management systems planning and design, and 3To provide a theoretically based research agenda and propositions for information system researchers with an interest in this area.