A Comparative Study of Knowledge Processes and Methods in Austrian and Swiss SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a vital and growing part of any national economies. In common with most large businesses, SMEs have recognized the importance of knowledge management. Using survey data from 219 small and medium-sized enterprises in Austria and Switzerland including Liechtenstein, this paper investigates the use of knowledge processes and knowledge methods for SMEs. The objective of this paper is the identification of key knowledge processes in Austrian and Swiss Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. The basic research framework is the knowledge process model from Probst/Raub/Romhardt (1999) with its eight building blocks. Empirical studies conducted by the authors show that for SMEs only four knowledge processes of the building block approach are important: (1) knowledge identification, (2) knowledge acquisition, (3) knowledge distribution and (4) knowledge preservation. Based on the result of this first empirical study, a comparative study was conducted to gain more insight which knowledge methods support the four key knowledge processes in Austrian and Swiss SMEs. In this paper, the authors introduce a knowledge framework for the implementation of knowledge management in SMEs.