A Review of Knowledge Management Theory and Future Directions

Abstract

The focal point in the science of Management is to discover and formulate “laws of behavior” that will increase productivity. Nowadays, productivity depends on the ability of managers to create new knowledge and generate “smart” action. In the new economy, knowledge has become the primary factor of production and not machinery or financial capital as in the old industrial economy. Within the new business environment, a company's profitability depends, to a large extent, on its ability to learn and adapt. Learning ability has been proven to increase when organizations knowingly employ dynamic processes that help nurture, leverage and motivate people to improve and share their capacity to act. These processes encapsulate the notion of Knowledge Management (KM). Endeavoring to contribute in the development of managerial theory and KM theory in particular, this paper attempts to deliver two outcomes. Firstly, a historical account of KM theory identifies the current stage as the third phase of its development, whereby KM represents a social process. Secondly, the comprehensive literature review of KM provided proffers a new way of categorizing scholarly contributions into positivistic, interpretive with a resource-based orientation, interpretive with a knowledge-based orientation and organic approaches. Included are suggestions for theoretical avenues that may light the path for further development of this dynamic field. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.