Examining the Intellectual Structure of Knowledge Management , 1990 - 2002 –

The emergence of Knowledge Management (KM) as an important topic in management research is of particular relevance to information systems researchers as the functionalities based on information technologies play a critical role in shaping organizational efforts in this area. IS researchers, drawing on their familiarity with studying phenomena related to IT, therefore have the opportunity to be at the forefront of research in this area and contribute significantly to the scholarly discourse in knowledge management. This is indeed an important opportunity for the field of MIS, a relatively recent academic discipline. A high level view of the intellectual structure of the emerging discipline is necessary for IS researchers to take advantage of this important opportunity. This paper draws on author-cocitation analysis, a bibliometric methodology to examine KM research from 1990-2002 and highlight the intellectual structure of management research in knowledge management. The results reveal the existence of eight subfields of research on the topic. These sub-fields reflect the influence of a wide array of fundamental disciplines such as management, philosophy, and economics. However, the results provide no evidence of the impact of early IS research in KM on research in this area. The results thus highlight the significant challenge confronting academic IS researchers: to evolve a distinct focus, draw on prior theory and build a critical mass of research to be viewed as a significant contributor to knowledge in this domain. The results, we hope, will inform this important mission for the field.