Handbook of Research on Knowledge Management: Adaptation and Context(Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)

This innovative Handbook widens our understanding of knowledge management, a field that has risen to prominence in recent decades. It collects contemporary insights from more than 30 contributors into the rich tapestry of knowledge management practices across a broad landscape of cultures and socio-political contexts. The contributors offer authoritative analyses to inform practical applications of knowledge management, along with provoking reinterpretations of its developmental potential to guide future innovation and research in this field.The starting point for discussion centers around establishing a common definition for knowledge management, a concept that has remained nebulous since its inception. Expert contributions examine the relevance of this common definition within various contexts, such as Buddhist organizations, law firms, the army and indigenous organizations. The contributors explore how knowledge management could be effectively applied in these very diverse contexts. Some contributors analyze the universality of Ikujiro Nonaka s concept of knowledge management. Other contributors suggest alternative definitions of knowledge management. While previous literature has primarily focused on how knowledge management is practiced currently, this Handbook sets out alternative visions and conceptualizations of knowledge management in diverse settings and is, thus, focused on how knowledge management ideally should be practiced in various contexts. This Handbook of Research on Knowledge Management will appeal as a point of reference for academics and students of business and management, business administration, sociology and organizational behavior. Practitioners, managers and business-owners alike will also find this an invaluable resource. Contributors: C. Abrahamson Löfström, A. Ahmad, E. Antonacopoulou, D.A. Blackman, O. Chang, D. Coldwell, D.J. Delgado-Hernández, J.S. Edwards, C. Filstad, A. Fried, T. Garavan, M. Glisby, P. Gottschalk, S. Harris, N. Holden, J. Hong, S.-W. Hsu, C. Mak, R. McDermott, D. McDowall, A. Mitra, K. Moon, E. Murphy, P.S. Myers, G. Neumann, P. Ngulube, F. O'Brien, A. Örtenblad, X. Ruan, A. Rynne, S.D Sarre, R. Snell, C. Stilwell, S. Talbot, E. Tandi Lwoga, E. Tomé, J. Van Beveren

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword John Van Beveren and Richard McDermott Preface Anders Örtenblad PART I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1. Introduction: Towards the Contextualization of Knowledge Management as a Research Field Anders Örtenblad 2. Previous Research on Knowledge Management in Various Contexts Anders Örtenblad 3. A Normative Model of Knowledge Management Effectiveness Paul S. Myers PART II: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN CONTEXT Section A: Industries and Sectors 4. Knowledge Management in Law Firms Cathrine Filstad and Petter Gottschalk 5. Knowledge Management in the Police Force Cathrine Filstad and Petter Gottschalk 6. The Australian Army’s KM Strategy: A Reflexive Organisational Approach to Knowledge Capture and Sharing Denise McDowall, Anita Rynne and Steven Talbot 7. Knowledge Management in Elderly Care Carina Abrahamson Löfström 8. Cross-cultural Knowledge Management in Collaborative Aacademic Research David Coldwell and Andrea Fried 9. Knowledge Management in Energy Sector Organizations John S. Edwards 10. Knowledge Management in Logistics Industry Organizations Eduardo Tomé and Gaby Neumann 11. Knowledge Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Navigating Informality and Resource Constraints Thomas Garavan, Fergal O’Brien and Eamonn Murphy 12. Knowledge Management, Context and Public Policy: Developing an Analysis Framework Deborah A. Blackman, Katie Moon, Stephen Harris and Stephen D. Sarre Section B: Religion and National Culture 13. Islamic Perspective of Knowledge Management Aini Ahmad 14. Buddhist Perspective on Knowledge Management Otto Chang 15. Knowledge Management Case Studies in Mexico David Joaquin Delgado-Hernández 16. Knowledge Management in China’s Organizations Amit Mitra and Ximing Ruan 17. Knowledge Management and Indigenous Organizations with Special Reference to Tanzania and South Africa Edda Tandi Lwoga, Christine Stilwell and Patrick Ngulube Section C: The Universality of SECI 18. Contextualizing Nonaka’s Ttheory of Knowledge in China: When Samurai Meets Bruce Lee Jacky Hong, Robin Snell and Carry Mak 19. The Nonaka-Takeuchi Model of Knowledge Conversion: A Discussion of Many Contexts of Japanese History and Culture Nigel Holden and Martin Glisby PART III: REFLECTIONS ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 20. On the Complexity of Knowledge Management given the Tacitness of Kknowledge in Organisations Thomas Garavan, Fergal O’Brien and Eamonn Murphy 21. Tensions and Extensions in Knowledge Integration and Dis-integration: Rethinking the Man-agement of Knowledge in Organisations Elena P. Antonacopoulou 22. Alternative Knowledge Management Shih-wei Hsu 23. Conclusions, A Contingency Mmodel of Knowledge Management and Recommendations for Further Research Anders Örtenblad Index

About the Author :
Edited by Anders Örtenblad, Professor of Work Life Science, University of Agder, Norway

Review :
‘I heartily recommend that those for whom the KM area is meaningful come at this volume hammer and tongs, challenge it, and make it groan. It merits that degree of respect.’ ‘The Handbook of Research on Knowledge Management Adaptation and Context ‘This knowledge management Handbook is an excellent addition to the knowledge management literature. As the Handbook is very international in its approach, it will be an excellent resource for international policy analysts wanting to know more about knowledge management and scholars and practitioners wanting to update and further extend their understanding of knowledge management in the international context.’ ‘Knowledge Management as a popular management movement is about 25 years old and unsurprisingly it has inspired many theories, practices and methods. So much so, that it is sometimes difficult to define what it stands for. The Handbook of Research on Knowledge Management is an interesting and innovative volume that has appealing features to add to the discussion. It is consistently interesting, has a very wide diversity of contributing scholars and practitioners and has several useful and informative chapters on actual knowledge practices and situations. It also offers historical reflections as well as its own contingency theory of how to best go about working with knowledge. All in all this Handbook is a fine and original contribution to the literature.’