Success and Failure Factors for KM: The Utilization of Knowledge in the Swedish Armed Forces

Developing successful knowledge management (KM) processes is extremely difficult. In general, a large number of all KM projects end unsuccessfully. The aim of this paper is to summarize and study the attempts to take advantage of Lessons Learned in the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF), focusing on international missions. Relevant reports, articles and literature have been studied. With the purpose of understanding the reasons for failure and the failure factors in SwAF’s attempts at KM, Chua and Lam’s model for unsuccessful KM implementation has been applied to four cases from the organization. The results show that SwAF are aware of the importance of knowledge and have attempted to implement KM on several occasions. In most cases, however, the KM projects do not achieve widespread use and eventually end unsuccessfully. Furthermore, many of the KM tools that have been developed are no longer in use. The Swedish Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Demining Centre (SWEDEC) and the Swedish Air Force are notable exceptions.