Knowledge Management:: The Benefits and Limitations of Computer Systems

Geoff Walsham

European Management Journal, 2001, vol. 19, issue 6, 599-608

Abstract: Much organisational effort has been put into knowledge management initiatives in recent years, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been central to many of these initiatives. However, organisations have found that levering knowledge through ICTs is often hard to achieve. This paper addresses the question of why this is the case, and what we can learn of value to the future practice of knowledge management. The analysis in the paper is based on a human-centred view of knowledge, emphasising the deep tacit knowledge which underpins human thought and action, and the complex sense-reading and sense-giving processes which human beings carry out in communicating with each other and 'sharing' knowledge. The paper concludes that computer-based systems can be of benefit in knowledge-based activities, but only if we are careful in using such systems to support the development and communication of human meaning.

Keywords: Knowledge; management; Information; and; communication; technologies; Tacit; knowledge; Meaning; Communication; Knowledge-sharing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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