What do people want, when they want knowl-

Questions in edge? Nothing more than this: something

strange must be converted into something
knowledge known [...] Is our need to know not just this
need for the known, the need to find something
management: defining that doesn't disturb us, between all the weird,
and conceptualising a the unusual, the dubious? Couldn't it be the
instinct of fear that leads us to know? Couldn't
phenomenon the cheering of him who knows, just be the
cheering over the feeling of a regained feeling of
safety? [..] The known is that which we are used
Roelof P. uit Beijerse to; and that which we are used to, is the hardest
to know, that is to say, to see as a problem, that is
to say, to see as strange, as far away, and outside
us ?
(Friedrich Nietzsche (1882), Die froÈhliche
Wissenschaft)

The author
Roelof P. uit Beijerse is a Researcher at EIM, Introduction
The Netherlands.
Background
The importance of knowledge management in a
Keywords
knowledge-based economy
Knowledge economy, Knowledge management, Since our economy has evolved over the last
Organizational performance couple of years from a managed economy into
an entrepreneurial economy (Audretsch and
Abstract Thurik, 1997), more commonly referred to as
This article examines and defines the main concepts in a knowledge-based economy (OECD, 1996),
knowledge management. Since our economy has evolved one of the main assets of companies has
over the last couple of years into a knowledge-based become their stock of knowledge. Where
economy, knowledge has become one of the main assets more traditional economies focused on land,
of companies. Knowledge can be defined as: information; labour and capital as their main production
the capability to interpret data and information through a factors, in the knowledge-based economy
process of giving meaning to these data and information; knowledge is becoming the primary produc-
and an attitude aimed at wanting to do so. In making tion factor on which competitive advantage
these factors productive knowledge management can be
rests. This macro-level observation has im-
defined as achieving organisational goals through the
plications at a micro-level; companies have to
strategy-driven motivation and facilitation of (knowledge-
deal with this emphasis on knowledge in their
)workers to develop, enhance and use their capability to
business. One way of doing this is through the
interpret data and information (by using available sources
of information, experience, skills, culture, character, etc.)
management of knowledge, which is one of
through a process of giving meaning to these data and the hottest issues in literature on management
information. Consultants and managers should ask at present. Authors like Peter Senge (1990),
themselves strategic, organisational and instrumental Peter Drucker (1993), Alvin and Heidi
questions regarding knowledge management to stay Toffler (1993), Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka
competitive in a highly dynamic and changing world. Takeuchi (1995), and in The Netherlands,
Dany Jacobs (1996) and Mathieu Weggeman
(1997) all emphasise the importance of deal-
ing intelligently with knowledge.
Purpose of this article
In this article the important concepts in
knowledge management are defined and the
process of knowledge management is con-
ceptualized. On that basis the questions
Journal of Knowledge Management
Volume 3 . Number 2 . 1999 . pp. 94±109 which play a role in knowledge management
# MCB University Press . ISSN 1367-3270 are formulated.
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The model and the questions serve two classical economic theory this labour power
purposes. In trying to answer them the meant an eventual stop to economic growth
manager or the consultant can: (SER, 1995). Now it is accepted that knowl-
(1) obtain an idea of the strengths and edge has spillover effects, which can lead to
weaknesses of an organization ± at a knowledge created by company X being used
strategic, organizational and instrumental by company Y, and ``spillovers from the
level ± with respect to knowledge man- existing stock of knowledge are crucial inputs
agement; and in the production of knowledge'' (Minne,
(2) become sensitized to the points for 1996). The resource-based theory thus leads
improvement in this field[1]. to the point of view that knowledge and
Another, more modest aim of this article, is to technology add value to economic processes,
offer an introduction into the highly interest- and it states that technology (i.e. knowledge)
ing field of knowledge management. I hope is the most important driver in economic
that this article will encourage the reader to growth (EIM, 1993). This value can be
think about the knowledge he or she does, but stimulated by companies, but it can also be
mainly does not, use, and that this will lead stimulated and subsidized by the government.
him or her to the most common human act of
asking questions. Knowledge is seen as a company's key
asset
Knowledge is thus seen as a company's key
The development of the knowledge- asset, or, as futurologists Toffler and Toffler
based economy (1993) put it: ``The real value of companies
like Compaq or Kodak, Hitachi or Siemens,
In classical economic theories, depends more on the ideas, insights and
knowledge was seen as external to the information in the heads of their employees
economic process and in the data banks and patents these
Over the last decades there has been a companies control than on the trucks, as-
continuous discussion between economists sembly lines, and other physical assets they
about the role technology and knowledge play
may have. Thus capital itself is now increas-
in economic growth[2]. This discussion fo-
ingly based on intangibles.''
cused on the question of whether these factors
play any role in economic growth. It seems
Western economies become more and
that those who gave a positive answer to this
more knowledge-intensive
question have won the plea. Knowledge is not
``Knowledge, as embodied in human beings
only widely seen as a key asset in companies.
(as `human capital') and in technology, has
It is, at the same time, becoming the most
always been central to economic develop-
important determinant of economic growth.
ment. But only over the last few years has its
In the classical theories of economic growth,
relative importance been recognized, just as
technological development was seen as
that importance is growing. The OECD
something that went on in an autonomous
economies are more strongly dependent on
way, outside economic processes. Economic
the production, distribution and use of
growth was explained only by the growth of
the world population (the quantity of labour knowledge than ever before'', says the OECD
power) and by the technological development in its study The Knowledge-Based Economy
(the quality of labour power). Hardly any (1996). In The Knowledge-Based Economy, the
attention was paid to the role played by OECD argues that politicians and policy
knowledge in all this. makers increasingly have to be aware of the
fact that contemporary society is an informa-
The resource-based theory of the firm tion society, and that the contemporary
has shown that investments in knowledge economy is a knowledge-based economy or
as a reproducible production factor lead has to be a knowledge-based economy. The
to economic growth OECD estimates that 50 percent of the GNP
The new resource-based theory of the firm of the largest OECD-countries is knowledge-
recognizes knowledge as a new reproducible based. It also observes an increasing part of
production factor. Investments in intangible export being knowledge-intensive, and it sees
assets can lead to economic growth without a continuing rise in researchers being
needing any extra labour power. In the educated.
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The most important source of wealth in reduction of unemployment on the one hand
the contemporary post-capitalist society and the payment of lower wages and the
is knowledge and information deterioration of a civil society on the other
Management guru Peter Drucker is very clear hand is fiction. Although this trade-off is an
in his conclusions when he analyzes this actual fact in the managed economy, in the
knowledge-based economy; his plea is pas- entrepreneurial economy this trade-off is no
sionately in favour of the importance of longer real. The heart of the difference
knowledge, and he says that the only ± or at between the managed versus the entrepre-
least the most important ± source of wealth in neurial economy is given in Table II.
the contemporary post-capitalist society is According to Audretsch and Thurik,
knowledge and information (Drucker, 1993). growth and the creation of jobs are hampered
He observes three fundamental changes in in most OECD-countries by the twin forces of
knowledge during the twentieth century (see globalization: ``On the one hand the advent of
Table I). First, there was the industrial new competition has come from low-cost, but
revolution where knowledge was being ap- relatively highly-educated and skill-intensive,
plied to tools, processes and products. Next, countries in Central and Eastern Europe as
there was the productivity revolution when well as in Asia. On the other hand, the
people like Taylor and Ford began to apply telecommunications and computer revolu-
knowledge to human labour. The revolution tions have drastically reduced the cost of
we see before us now is the management shifting not just capital, but also information
revolution in which knowledge is being out of the high-cost locations of Europe and
applied to knowledge itself. into lower-cost locations around the globe.''
This is not to say that the traditional This has put pressure on the managed
production factors of land and labour have economy and has led to the importance of
disappeared. They have merely changed knowledge in economic competition. Because
position. As long as there is knowledge, knowledge is uncertain as input and as out-
Drucker says, the other production factors are put, governments are forced to focus their
easy to obtain. Drucker sees the most policy on rebuilding their economies into an
important challenge of the knowledge-based entrepreneurial economy.
economy as being to find a methodology, a
discipline or a process with which information New kinds of ± ``soft'' and immaterial ±
can be made productive. knowledge become important
Dany Jacobs writes in his Het kennisoffensief
The managed economy has (to) become (1996) about four stages in the development
an entrepreneurial economy, which is of the knowledge-based economy, which
better equipped to deal with knowledge overlap to some extent. First, there is the
as input and as output stage of the increasing importance of infor-
Another approach to the rise of a knowledge- mation in which information and
based economy is given by the economists communication technology are being broadly
David Audretsch and Roy Thurik. In Sources applied. Owing to these technologies, it is
of Growth: the Entrepreneurial versus the Man-
Table II Main characteristics of the managed versus the entrepreneurial
aged Economy (1997), Audretsch and Thurik
economy
build a framework of which the main thesis is
that there is a fundamental shift going on in Managed economy Entrepreneurial
most OECD-countries from a managed economy
economy to an entrepreneurial economy. Input Land, labour and capital Knowledge
The argument of Audretsch and Thurik Output Manufactured products Knowledge
starts with their plea that the supposed trade- Features Certainty Uncertainty
off between the creation of jobs and the Easy to shift around Costly to transact
the world
Table I Revolutions in society Symmetric across Asymmetric across
First Second Third people people
Government Control Enabling
Revolution Industrial Productivity Management
Economy Economies of scale Economies of diversity
Application of Tools, process Human labour Knowledge
Industrial structure Large corporations Small enterprises
knowledge and products

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possible to organize processes in the company . an increased focus on the core compe-
more efficiently; the transport and exchange tencies of the firm which have to be
of information can go faster. Secondly, the coordinated, but letting go less relevant
knowledge-based economy is marked by a tasks;
shortening of the life cycle of products and . companies will increasingly have the work
technologies. As entrepreneurs use the tech- done by a flexible workforce, which leads
nological possibilities to offer their customers to a capricious, changing workforce,
a broader spectrum of products, these custo- which makes holding on to knowledge
mers use this variety to put emphasis on their and transferring knowledge all the more
individuality and to strengthen their identity. difficult (Kalff et al., 1996).
Competition by imitation therefore becomes
almost impossible. The advantages of knowledge
These changes accompany the development management
of the ``soft'' side of products becoming more The translation of these grand tasks at a
important. These soft sides demand an micro-level finds its beginning in knowledge
entirely new kind of knowledge; about management, recently a common topic of
changes in markets, tastes, values and life discussion. It is said that knowledge man-
style. This development is also closely related agement can enable companies to face the
to the third development, which is the complexities accompanying the emergence of
the knowledge-based economy. By managing
observed immaterialization of the economy.
knowledge, organizations can:
The economy has evolved from a supply-side
. improve efficiency;
economy to a demand-side economy where
. improve the market position by operating
the influence of consumers is greater. This
more intelligently on the market;
has led to the growing importance of mar- . enhance the continuity of the company;
keting, consumer research and product . enhance the profitability of the company;
design. These elements lead to a competitive . optimize the interaction between product
advantage for companies in the knowledge-
development and marketing;
based economy. The fourth development . improve the relevant (group)
with which Jacobs deals is the rising of the competencies;
network economy. These are human net- . make professionals learn more efficiently
works that are necessary to deal with an and more effectively;
economy in which specialization and the . provide a better foundation for making
combination of different forms of knowledge decisions like make-or-buy of new
are crucial. knowledge and technology, alliances and
merges;
The demands of the knowledge-based . improve communication between
economy knowledge-workers;
In the discussion about the knowledge-based . enhance synergy between knowledge-
economy it has so far become clear that its workers;
challenges lie in making information produc- . ensure that knowledge-workers stay with
tive (Drucker), in handling the uncertainty of the company;
knowledge in a globalized world (Audretsch . make the company focus on the core
and Thurik) and in coming to terms with the business and on critical company
growing importance of consumers and their knowledge.
individual wishes (Jacobs). In this knowledge-
based economy, organizations increasingly Knowledge management as ``one''
have to deal with such matters as: answer to these demands
. an increasing complexity of products and Research by the Dutch Knowledge Manage-
processes; ment Network showed that the average
. a growing reservoir of relevant knowl- company only uses 20 percent of the knowl-
edge, both technical and non-technical; edge that is potentially available in the
. increasing competition in an economy company. In addition, the Dutch Bureau of
with shorter product life cycles, in which Industrial Property has estimated that Dutch
case learning processes have to be trade and industry spend three billion guilders
quicker; on a yearly basis on reinventing things that
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already exist (Weggeman and Cornelissen, human resources, financial resources, raw
1997). These figures should suffice to em- materials, technological resources and infor-
phasize the importance of dealing intelligently mation. They lead to a certain performance
with the knowledge offered by the knowledge- such as goals, products, services, efficiency
based economy. As has already been stated: and effectiveness.
one way of doing this is through the man- A similar definition is found with Schieman
agement of knowledge. et al. (1989). They see management as a
process of determining goals, determining
policies, planning, organizing, activating
Managing knowledge employees and controlling processes, which
together lead to achieving goals. Schieman et
What is management?
al. notice that management is an activity that
The need for a clear definition of management
can be divided broadly into two activities:
Just as with every crucial concept that is the
(1) activities to determine strategies, i.e. goals
subject of human thought, the word man-
agement goes by many different definitions. A and policies; and
(2) activities to realize these strategies, i.e. the
philosopher once said ± in trying to make an
end to the endless discussion on what organization, the activation of employees
philosophy is or should be ± that philosophy and control of the processes.
should be defined as that which philosophers Management as people's business
do. Of course this ``solution'', though hu- Where Daft and Schieman et al. lay the
morous, did not satisfy the philosophical emphasis on the processes of management ±
world, and rightly so. To say that manage- of which people are an important part ±
ment is that which managers do, would be Reeves (1994) argues that the most important
partly right ± i.e. in a descriptive sense ± but thing in management is working with people.
for the greater part wrong ± i.e. in a According to Reeves, management is ``getting
prescriptive sense. A great deal of manage- things done through people. It is also deciding
ment is intuition, and a lot of success in what should be done and making sure that
management finds its basis in intuition
what is being done is worthwhile doing''.
(Rowan, 1989). However, when the aim is to
Reeves is not the only one who lays the
build a conceptual model of knowledge
emphasis more on people than on the
management, such a definition does not make
processes. Swieringa and Wierdsma (1990)
things very clear. It is therefore necessary to
notice that ``a key element in almost all
define management in a conceptually clear
definitions [of management] is that the key
way and examine some definitions of man-
function of management is: activating people
agement and see what the crucial aspects of
to show the required behaviour''. The direct
the term are.
activation of people, Swieringa and Wierdsma
Management as a process of planning, call leadership, while indirect activation ± by
organizing, leading and controlling developing an effective organization consist-
Daft (1993) defines management as ``the ing of strategy, structure, culture and systems
attainment of organizational goals in an ± is called management.
effective and efficient manner through plan-
ning, organizing, leading and controlling Four central elements in most definitions of
organizational resources''. In this definition, management
planning (defining goals for future organiza- When we look at these definitions of man-
tional performance and deciding on the tasks agement, there are four elements that seem to
and resource use needed to attain them), be important in defining management:
organizing (assigning tasks, grouping tasks (1) The first function of management is the
into departments and allocating resources to formulation of a strategy ± doing the right
departments), leading (the use of influence to things.
motivate employees to achieve the organiza- (2) The second function of management is
tion's goals) and controlling (monitoring making sure that this strategy is realized ±
employees' activities, keeping the organiza- doing things right.
tion on track toward its goals and making (3) The third element is that the organization
corrections as needed) are seen as the key is a tool in fulfilling these two functions
management functions. They are fed by (see Appendix 1).
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(4) A central ± fourth ± element in manage- Figure 1 Maslow's hierarchy of needs

ment ± which should not surprise us when
we look at what an organization is ± are
the people who manage and who are
managed. Management is people's busi-
ness.
Our definition
Having all this in mind we define manage-
ment here as follows:
Management is the strategy-driven motivation
and facilitation of people, aimed at reaching the
organizational goals.

The organizational resources that can be used

to reach this consist of the organizational
structure, the organizational culture and
Knowledge has to do with information ...
specific systems.
The basic human need for knowledge, how-
So far as clarifying the management con-
ever, says nothing about what knowledge is.
cept is concerned, the second concept which
Murray (http://www.ktic.com/topic6/
needs clarification when speaking of knowl-
13_term2.html) says for instance: ``Knowl-
edge management is, of course, the term
knowledge. edge is information transformed into
capabilities for effective action. In effect,
What is knowledge? knowledge is action.'' Something similar is
Focusing on key elements in knowledge posed by Den Hertog and Huizenga (1997)
What has been said on the term management, who define knowledge as ``a collection of
also holds true for the term knowledge, and information and rules with which a certain
maybe more so. One of the important function can be fulfilled''. This aspect of
discussions in the philosophy of knowledge is capabilities resulting from information is
the argument whether knowledge finds its something we also see at Weggeman (1997),
basis in perception and experience or whether but he adds some other aspects: ``Knowledge
it finds its basis in ratio and reasoning. This is a personal capacity that should be seen as
discussion has kept philosophers occupied for the product of the information, the experi-
over two millennia, and finds its origin in the ence, the skills and the attitude which
disagreement between the school of Aristotle, someone has at a certain point in time''.
the empiricists, and the school of Plato, the ... but is information ... plus ...what is under the
rationalists. We shall not focus on that tip of the iceberg
discussion here[3]. Instead of that, we shall As we see in all these definitions, knowledge is
present some definitions of knowledge and something more than information. Knowl-
see what the key elements of the concept are. edge is seen as a capability, as something that
Knowledge as a basic human need cannot be said, as information plus some-
As we saw in the quotation from Nietzsche at thing. A well-known distinction in this respect
the beginning of this article, knowledge can be is that between explicit and tacit knowledge.
seen as some basic need of human beings. It is This difference was first introduced by the
the need to structure the world around them, Hungarian chemist, economist and philoso-
to categorize it and to interpret it in certain pher Michael Polanyi. He stated that personal
ways. Basically it is the need to reduce or tacit knowledge is extremely important for
uncertainty in their lives. In one well-known human cognition, because people acquire
model in psychology which deals with human knowledge by the active (re)creation and
motives ± that of Abraham Maslow (1970) ± organization of their own experience (Polanyi,
different human needs and motives are 1966). In this respect, the knowledge that can
prioritized in order of importance in the lives be expressed in words and numbers is just the
of people (see Figure 1). According to tip of the iceberg (see Figure 2).
Maslow, safety is the second important need Whereas traditional epistemology[4] finds
of human behaviour, immediately after the its basis in knowledge creation as a result of
biological needs. the difference between objects and subjects ±
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Figure 2 Explicit knowledge is just the tip of the (2) Externalization. Personal or tacit knowl-
iceberg edge is made explicit in the form of
metaphors, analogies, hypotheses and
models, for example in language. One
usually finds externalization in the design
process when conversations and collective
consideration are used to boost this
design process. Nonaka and Takeuchi
find externalization the key process in
knowledge conversion because it is here
that from tacit knowledge new and
explicit designs are born.
(3) Combination. Notions are synthesized into
a knowledge system. People exchange
human subjects acquire knowledge of (on)
knowledge, and this knowledge is com-
human objects by processes of induction and
bined through documents, meetings,
deduction ± Polanyi states that people create
telephone conversations and the ex-
knowledge by becoming involved in the
change of information via media like
object. Tacit and explicit knowledge are computer networks. New knowledge can
complementary to each other, and in the also be created through the restructuring
creative actions of people they interact and of existing information by sorting, adding,
influence each other. A process model of combining and categorizing explicit
knowledge creation builds on the crucial knowledge. Combination is the kind of
presupposition that human knowledge is knowledge creation which we usually
created and enlarged by means of a social encounter in education and training.
interaction between tacit and explicit knowl- Examples of combination are knowledge
edge. This interaction is called a knowledge and information systems.
conversion. It is further important to note that (5) Internalization. A process in which explicit
this conversion does not take place within knowledge becomes part of tacit knowl-
individuals but between individuals ± within edge. This can happen through learning-
an organization (Nonaka and Takeuchi, by-doing, and documented knowledge
1995). can play a helpful role in this process.
Four kinds of knowledge creation Internalization can be seen when new
The interaction between tacit and explicit (knowledge-)workers ``relive'' a project by
knowledge can go in four different directions studying the archives of the project.
(Table III): Internalization can also be seen when
(1) Socialization. The exchange of experi- experienced managers or technicians give
ences whereby personal knowledge is lectures or when authors decide to write
being created in the form of mental the biography of an entrepreneur or
models. Examples of situations where this enterprise.
happens are master-fellow-relationships, Four different kinds of knowledge being created
on-the-job-training, trial-and-error-pol- The four kinds of interaction between tacit
icy, imitating others, constructive and explicit knowledge, i.e. the four ways of
brainstorm sessions, practising and train- creating knowledge, together form a kind of
ing, the exchanging of ideas and a lot of spiral which goes from socialization to ex-
talking. ternalization to combination to internalization
to socialization to externalization and so on.
Table III Four kinds of interaction between tacit and explicit knowledege
In the four different situations, four different
Into tacit Into explicit kinds of knowledge are being created, over
knowledge knowledge and over again (see Table IV).
From tacit knowledge 1 Socialize 2 Externalize We thus have four different kinds of
From explicit 4 Internalize 3 Combine knowledge. Of course there are many more
knowledge distinctions that can be made[5]; the main
Source: Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995 focus of all these distinctions, however, is that
between tacit and explicit knowledge. The
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Table IV Different kinds of knowledge being created When we look at these two definitions it
Into explicit becomes clear that knowledge management is
Into tacit knowledge knowledge somewhat more specific than management as
such. Whereas management focuses on mo-
From tacit knowledge 1 Socialize 2 Externalize tivating and stimulating people, knowledge
sympathized knowledge conceptual knowledge management focuses on a certain aspect of
From explicit 4 Internalize 3 Combine people, i.e. their knowledge.
knowledge operational knowledge system knowledge In trying to define knowledge management
Source: Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995 it is important to see what we regard as
knowledge, because it is this definition which
process model of knowledge creation which determines the way we look at knowledge
Nonaka and Takeuchi developed has the management (Allee, 1997). Let us look at
advantage that it is a dynamic model of some examples of how knowledge manage-
knowledge. We shall need that later in ment is defined by others.
conceptualizing the knowledge management Different definitions of knowledge management
process. Furthermore, as we shall see later on, Sveiby (http://www.sveiby.com.au/
the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledgemanagement.html) for instance
knowledge is crucial in dealing with the puts the emphasis on intangible assets when
management of knowledge. defining knowledge. He therefore defines
knowledge management as ``the art of creat-
Our definition
ing value from an organization's intangible
Having all this in mind, we define knowledge
assets''. Den Hertog and Huizenga (1997)
here as follows: emphasize the choice organizations have to
Knowledge is seen here as information; the make regarding their core competencies. With
capability to interpret data and information
these core competencies, companies can
through a process of giving meaning to these
data and information; and an attitude aimed at
distinguish themselves from others. The
wanting to do so. choice for certain core competencies Den
Hertog and Huizenga call ``the knowledge
New information and knowledge are thus ambition''. Thus, knowledge management
being created, and tasks can be executed. The according to them is ``using instruments to
capability and the attitude are of course the realize the knowledge ambition''.
result of available sources of information, Another good example of the link between
experience, skills, culture, character, person- the definition of knowledge and the way to
ality, feelings, etc. look at the management of knowledge is the
work of Mathieu Weggeman (1997). Central
What is knowledge management? to Weggeman's work is ``the knowledge value
Knowledge management is a specification of chain''. In the process of knowledge manage-
management as such ment, Weggeman distinguishes four
Now we know what knowledge is and we successive constituent processes (Figure 3).
know what management is. It is now time to First, the strategic need for knowledge
look at what it means to manage knowledge. needs to be determined. Second, the knowl-
We defined management as the strategy- edge gap needs to be determined. This is the
driven motivation and facilitation of people, quantitative and qualitative difference be-
tween the knowledge needed and that
aimed at reaching the organizational goals.
available in the organization. In the third
The organizational resources which can be
place, this knowledge gap needs to be
used to reach these, consist of the organiza-
narrowed by developing new knowledge, by
tional structure, the organizational culture
buying knowledge, by improving existing
and specific systems. Knowledge was defined knowledge or by getting rid of knowledge that
as the capability to interpret data and is out of date or has become irrelevant.
information through a process of giving Fourth, the available knowledge is dissemi-
meaning to these data and information. New nated and applied to serve the interest of
information and knowledge are thus being customers and other stakeholders. It is
created, and tasks can be executed. This important to notice that knowledge manage-
capability is the result of available sources of ment here does not refer to information
information, experience, skills, culture, char- technology only. Attention is also being paid
acter, personality, feelings, etc. to strategic, personal, organizational and
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Figure 3 The knowledge value chain

cultural aspects, which are at least as im- . Motivation and facilitation of (knowledge-)
portant as the technological side of the story. workers: knowledge management should
With this in mind, Weggeman defines be aimed at motivating and facilitating
knowledge management as ``arranging and (knowledge-) workers in their dealing with
managing the operational processes in the knowledge. It is something which cannot
knowledge value chain in such a way that be extorted. Motivation is the responsi-
realizing the collective ambition, the targets bility of management, facilitating is the
and the strategy of the organization is being responsibility of the (technological) staff.
promoted''. . Capability to interpret data and information:
giving meaning to data and information
Our definition to create knowledge is seen here as the
The definition of knowledge we developed core of the knowledge management pro-
here puts more emphasis on the importance cess. We are in agreement with authors
of tacit knowledge, and we see this as its such as Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) and
added value. Given our definitions of man- Van der Spek and Spijkervet (1996) when
agement and knowledge, we define they say that knowledge is a dynamic
knowledge management as follows. human process in which ``truth'' is
Knowledge management is achieving organiza- created. In other words, it is implicitly
tional goals through the strategy-driven stated that there is no such thing as one
motivation and facilitation of (knowledge-) truth and one possibility of knowing the
workers to develop, enhance and use their truth. This is not just a sophisticated
capability to interpret data and information (by philosophical discussion. It also holds
using available sources of information, experi- true for dealing with knowledge in a day-
ence, skills, culture, character, personality, to-day business. Knowledge should be
feelings, etc.) through a process of giving judged on its true merits. What is
meaning to these data and information. knowledge for company A can be worth-
less data (if at all) for company B.
Explaining the crucial concepts of our definition . Organizational resources: The organiza-
Let us look at the crucial concepts of this
tional resources which can be used to
definition in more detail:
motivate and stimulate people are as we
. Organizational goals: These organizational
saw in defining the organization ± the
goals can be anything that the organiza-
organizational structure ± and, as a part of
tion in question strives for. It can be
that, a knowledge infrastructure; the
increasing sales, making more profit or
organizational culture, including a certain
enhancing the competitive advantage. style of management; and certain systems
But it can also be better service for the and procedures.
customer, increasing the learning cap-
ability of the (knowledge-) workers or
having more job satisfaction.
. Strategy-driven: It is important that policy
A conceptual knowledge management
model
regarding knowledge management is
strategically reflected upon. A strategy Some building blocks
can be a benchmark against which the Various sources are used here to provide
policy can be tested. blocks to build the conceptual knowledge
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management model. Some of these sources Figure 4 The knowledge infrastructure

have already been dealt with ± we shall
recapitulate them briefly ± others will be
described somewhat more extensively in this
section.
Strategy and mission statement
The first building block is the fact that the
management process is strategy-driven. A
strategy is ``a general plan for the way the
company will deploy its competence and
resources in order to achieve overall goals''
(European Community, 1995). The strategy
of an organization is usually something that is
formulated for a short- and medium-term
period. In terms of knowledge management, of the organization. The knowledge policy
the strategy should result in some sort of determines what is to be learned, where
knowledge policy. learning will take place, who will learn and
Besides strategy, we can distinguish a when learning will take place. The culture of
mission statement or vision, which is formu- the organization determines above all the not
lated over a longer period of time. In a unimportant question of how learning will
mission statement an organization expresses take place.
what distinguishes it from other companies
and where it wants to go over a longer period Instruments: knowledge creation and learning
of time. Ideally the mission statement leads to The third important building block in
a shared vision (Ackoff, 1987) or a collective knowledge management is formed by the
ambition (Weggeman, 1997). instruments used to manage the tacit and
explicit knowledge. Different instruments can
Organization be used, not only to facilitate the knowledge
A second important building block is the
management process, but also to facilitate the
organization which is seen here as an instru-
important aspect of learning within organiza-
ment in knowledge management. In an earlier
tions. Van Heijst and Kruizinga (1998) for
section we saw that an organization consists of
instance distinguish different sources of
the elements strategy, structure, culture, style
learning. Each source has its own specific
of management, personnel and systems. The
element or instrument in the knowledge
structure of the organization is the result of
infrastructure (Table V).
the division of labour, tasks and responsibil-
In this article, we have chosen to classify the
ities in both horizontal and vertical directions.
instruments according to the interaction
An important part of the structure is the
between tacit and explicit knowledge on the
knowledge infrastructure. A knowledge in-
one hand, and the processes in the knowledge
frastructure is the sum of those organizational
value chain on the other hand. What results is
structures and guidelines, as well as technical
a clear chart in which every instrument which
and non-technical expedients, of which the
organization has disposal. These structures, is aimed at managing knowledge can be
guidelines and expedients support and facil- placed (see Table VI).
itate the learning process within the
organization. With them, the goals of the Table V Sources of learning in the knowledge infrastructure
organization are to be reached in the most
Source of learning Element in the knowledge infrastructure
efficient way (Van Heijst and Kruizinga,
1998). Experts ? Educational programme
The idea behind this model is (Figure 4) Competition ? Business intelligence
that a knowledge infrastructure ± which has as Customers ? Helpdesk
goal enabling the organization to learn in an Each other ? Informal meetings
optimal way ± has both a facilitating and an Organization ? Knowledge counter
organizational dimension. The knowledge Shop floor ? (Virtual) suggestion box
infrastructure is being fed by the knowledge Past ? Archive
policy of the organization and by the culture Research ? R&D department

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Table VI Chart of knowledge management instruments left to right, because this is also the temporal
Socialize Externalize Combine Internalize way in which the model should be used:
. It is important that views and ideas about
Determining
knowledge management in an organiza-
knowledge
tion start by looking at the market and the
gap
competition. It is crucial that the man-
Developing/
agement of the company knows what the
buying
market needs, what customers want and
knowldege
what the competition does.
Knowledge . On this basis, the management of an
sharing
organization should develop a long-term
Evaluating
vision in which the company expresses
knowledge
where it wants to go in the future.
Together with a long-term vision, the
In Appendix 2 we have added an entire list of
company should formulate a short- and
various knowledge management instruments medium-term strategy. This strategy says
which were found in an empirical study on 12 how certain set goals should be achieved.
SME-companies (Uit Beijerse, 1997). The long-term vision should ideally result
in a collective ambition which the mem-
A conceptual knowledge management bers of the organization share with each
model other. The medium-term and short-term
In this section a conceptual knowledge man- strategies should be laid down in some
agement model is developed. The model which kind of knowledge policy which is acces-
is presented here has had its first experience in sible to, and known by, all members of
diagnosing an organization which is planning to the organization.
introduce a policy in knowledge management . The core of the knowledge management
(Uit Beijerse et al., 1998). The results of this process is the instruments with which
experience were positive, in that the model learning is being stimulated and knowl-
seems to cover all the important aspects of edge is being managed. These
knowledge management. instruments are classified according to the
The model is shown in Figure 5. The kind of interaction between tacit and
important elements will be dealt with from explicit knowledge ± i.e. socialization,

Figure 5 A conceptual knowledge management model

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Table VII Examples of knowledge management instrumentsa

Socialize Externalize Combine Internalize
Determining knowledge gap Management by Intranet Internet Detachment
walking around
Developing/buying knowldege Traineeship Electronic R&D External training
boardrooms
Knowledge sharing Project teams Brainstorming Computer Cooperation with
networking others
Evaluating knowledge Informal evaluation Debriefing Benchmarking Reading reports
a
Note: A full list of instruments is given in Appendix 2.
These orginate from an empirical study on 12 SME-companies (Uit Beijerse, 1997)

externalization, combination and inter- organizational goals which were set dur-
nalization ± and the four main aspects of ing the ``strategic stage''. Of course, this is
the knowledge value chain ± i.e. deter- not a linear process. Goals will be
mining the knowledge gap (between constantly modified and updated. We
needed and available knowledge), devel- have therefore drawn a feedback loop
oping and/or buying knowledge, sharing which makes the organization aware of
knowledge and evaluating (the use of) possible corrections needed in the short-
knowledge. To make things somewhat and medium-term vision of the knowl-
clearer this is shown in Table VII.
edge policy.
. These instruments together form the
knowledge infrastructure of the organi-
zation, being the entire range of
instruments and systems which the The important questions in knowledge
organization wishes to use to stimulate management
learning and to manage knowledge.
The elements in this conceptual knowledge
. The knowledge infrastructure is part of
model all need attention when diagnosing and
the overall organizational structure. It is
implementing knowledge management.
important that this organizational struc-
Above all, they lead to some questions which
ture facilitates the knowledge
management practices. managers and consultants can and should ask
. Above and beyond the organizational themselves. These questions can be divided
structure and the knowledge infrastruc- into four main parts:
ture of the organization, is the culture of (1) questions regarding the strategy of the
the organization. A stimulating and mo- organization;
tivating culture ± for which rules are very (2) questions regarding organizational
hard to give[6] ± is an indispensable matters;
element in a successful knowledge man- (3) questions regarding the instruments used
agement policy. It is important that the in knowledge management; and
culture of the organization is focused on (4) questions regarding the output of the
the sharing of knowledge among (knowl- entire process.
edge-) workers.
In answering these questions, managers and
. An element closely linked to the organi-
consultants should get a feeling about the
zational culture yet worthwhile and
important issues in knowledge management
important enough to mention separately,
in their organization. Tailor-made solutions
is the style of management in the orga-
in implementing knowledge management in
nization. Despite the very personal
character of this element, it can be this respect cannot be given, because every
influenced to some extent. Like the situation requires its own specific solution.
culture, the style of management also has Through using the model and its questions,
to be stimulating and motivating and however, the main topics in knowledge
focused on sharing knowledge. management become clear. These are the
. When the process of knowledge manage- topics which can be the focus of possible
ment runs as it should run, it leads to the problems, or the source of potential solutions.
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Strategic questions development of knowledge based on the

(1) Does the management of the organization determination of the knowledge gap?
know what kind of market activities (4) Are there instruments within the organi-
competing companies undertake with zation which are specifically aimed at
regard to the development of knowledge? buying knowledge based on the determi-
(2) Does the management of the organization nation of the knowledge gap?
know what the core competencies of the (5) Are there instruments within the organi-
organization are in terms of knowledge zation which are specifically aimed at the
assets? sharing of the developed and bought
(3) Does the management of the organization knowledge among the (knowledge-)
have a long-term vision about the workers?
knowledge which will be needed in the (6) Are there instruments available with
future? Given this, does the management
which the use of knowledge is (con-
of the organization actively try to build a
stantly) monitored?
collective ambition regarding this?
(7) Are there instruments available with
(4) Does the management of the organization
which the use of knowledge can be
formulate short and medium-term stra-
evaluated?
tegies with regard to the acquisition,
(8) Are the instruments which are used to:
sharing and evaluation of knowledge? . determine the difference between the
Given this, has the management formu-
available and the needed knowledge;
lated a knowledge policy? . take make-or-buy decisions;
. develop knowledge;
Organizational questions
. buy knowledge;
(1) Does the organization have a knowledge
. share knowledge;
management-friendly organizational . monitor the use of knowledge; and
structure that facilitates the acquirement, . evaluate knowledge
the sharing and the evaluation of knowl-
in some way intertwined?
edge between (knowledge-)workers?
(2) Does the organization have a knowledge
Output
management-friendly organizational cul-
(1) Were the goals which were set ``at the
ture that motivates the acquisition, the
beginning[7]'' reached? If not, how
sharing and the evaluation of knowledge
should the knowledge infrastructure be
between (knowledge-)workers?
(3) Is the style of management within the changed to achieve these goals?
organization such that it stimulates the (2) Were these goals reached due to the use
acquirement, the sharing and the evalua- of instruments of knowledge manage-
tion of knowledge between (knowledge-) ment?
workers? (3) If so, what was the best practice in this
(4) Is there some kind of integrating knowl- sense, and what can we learn from that?
edge infrastructure within the
organization which secures the necessary
continuing steps to determine knowledge Notes
gaps, develop and buy knowledge, share
1 For this purpose, a list of different knowledge
knowledge and evaluate knowledge?
management instruments is added as Appendix 2.
These instruments were found in an empirical study
Instrumental questions on 12 SME- companies (Uit Beijerse, 1997).
(1) Are there instruments within the organi- 2 This dsicussion is described in more detail in Uit
zation which are specifically aimed at the Beijerse (1997).
determination of the difference between 3 That is done in Uit Beijerse (1996).
the available and the needed knowledge? 4 Epistemology is another word for the theory of
knowledge, and entails the philosophical examina-
(2) Are there instruments within the organi-
tion of the origins, the problems and the conditions
zation which are specifically aimed at
for acquiring knowledge and the processing of that
decisions regarding the make-or-buy of knowledge. Important questions in epistemology
knowledge? deal with problems regarding observation, con-
(3) Are there instruments within the organi- sciousness, memory, truth, doubt and the forming
zation which are specifically aimed at the of judgements.
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Roelof P. uit Beijerse Volume 3 . Number 2 . 1999 . 94±109

5 See for instance Uit Beijerse (1997) for an overview Murray, Ph.C. (not dated), ``Core concepts of knowledge
of different ways of looking at knowledge. management'', article on website http://www.ktic.-
6 As previously stated, an organizational culture is com/topic6/13_term2.html
determined by many factors, most of which are very Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995), The Knowledge-
hard to influence. The culture of an organization is Creating Company, New York, NY.
determined by factors such as the products or OECD (1996), The Knowledge-based Economy, Paris.
services, the location of the company, the size of Peters T. and Waterman, R. (1982), In Search of
the company, the legal form of the organization, the Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Com-
history of the company and the structure and the panies, New York, NY.
strategy of the company. Polanyi, M. (1966), The Tacit Dimension, Gloucester, MA.
7 Inverted commas are added because this whole Reeves, T. (1994), Managing Effectively: Developing
process is cyclical ± ans some times even chaotic ± Yourself Through Experience, Oxford.
by nature. Therefore, there is no real beginning. Reimann, B.C. and Wiener, Y. (1988), ``Corporate culture:
avoiding the elitist trap'', Business Horizons, March/
April.
Rowan, R. (1989 [1986]), The Intuitive Manager, Boston,
References MA.
Schieman, C.J., Huijgen, J.H. and Gosselink, F.J. (1989),
Ackoff, R.L. (1987), ``Mission statements'', Planning Beheersing van bedrijfsprocessen, Leiden/Antwer-
Review, July/August. pen.
Allee, V. (1997), ``Twelve principles of knowledge Senge, P. (1990), The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice
management'', Training & Development, November. of the Learning Organisation, New York, NY.
Athos, A. and Pascale, R. (1981), The Art of Japanese SER (1995), Kennis en economie, Den Haag.
Management, New York, NY. Spek, R. van der, and Spijkervet, A. (1996), Kennisman-
Audretsch, D.B. and Thurik, A.R. (1997), Sources of agement. Intelligent omgaan met kennis, CIBIT,
Growth: the Entrepreneurial versus the Managed Utrecht.
Economy, London. Sveiby, K.E. (not dated), ``What is knowledge manage-
Beijerse, R.P. uit (1996), Macht is Kennis. Over Sociologie, ment?'', article on website http://
www.sveiby.com.au/knowledgemanagement.html
Wetenschap en Samenleving, doctoraalscriptie
Swieringa, J. and Wierdsma, A.F.M. (1990), Op weg naar
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
de lerende organisatie. Over leren en opleiden van
Beijerse, R.P. uit (1997), Kennismanagement in het
organisaties, Groningen.
midden- en kleinbedrijf. Een state-of-the-art studie,
Toffler, A. and Toffler, H. (1993), War and Anti-War.
EIM, Zoetermeer.
Survival at the Dawn of the 21st Century, London.
Beijerse, R.P. uit et al. (1998), Kennis is kracht.
Watson, T.J. (1987 [1980]), Sociology, Work and Industry,
Strategische notitie over kennismanagement bij London/New York.
EIM, EIM, Zoetermeer. Weggeman, M.C.D.P. (1997), Kennismanagement. In-
Daft, R.L. (1993 [1988]), Management, Orlando, Fort richting en besturing van kennisintensieve
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Drucker, P.F. (1993), Post-Capitalist Society, New York, Weggeman, M.C.D.P. and Cornelissen, V.B.J. (1997),
NY. ``Kennismanagement'', HRM in de praktijk, Issue
EIM (1993), Kleinschalig ondernemen 1993. Dynamiek en article, nr. 8, Deventer.
ondernemersklimaat, EIM, Zoetermeer.
European Community (1995), The European Handbook of
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European Approach to Management Consultancy, Appendix 1
Dublin.
Giddens (1993 [1989]), Sociology, Cambridge/Oxford.
Heijst, G. van and Kruizinga, E. (1998), Kennisinfrastruc- It is worthwhile to say a few words on
tuur. De ruggengraat van de lerende organisatie, organizations here. A key element in defining
CIBIT, Utrecht. an organization seems to be its social char-
Hertog, F. den and Huizenga, E. (1997), De kennisfactor. acter. Daft (1993) for instance defines an
Concurreren als kennisonderneming, Deventer. organization as ``a social entity that is goal
Jacobs, D. (1996), Het kennisoffensief. Slim concurreren in
directed and deliberately structured''. Watson
de kenniseconomie, Alphen aan den Rijn/Diegem.
Kalff, P., Bouman, M., Holland, Ch. and van der Weele, E. (1987) says something similar, but he also
(1996), Kennismanagement in kleine en middel- focuses on the more structural aspects when
grote ondernemingen, TNO-STB, Apeldoorn. he defines formal organizations as ``social and
Lahey, B.B. (1986 [1983]), Psychology. An Introduction, technical arrangements in which a number of
Dubuque, IA. people come or are brought together in a
Maslow, A. (1970), Motivation and Personality, New York, relationship where the actions of some are
NY.
directed by others towards the achievement of
Minne, B. (1996), ``Investments in the creation and
diffusion of knowledge'', CPB Report, nr.4. certain goals''. Weggeman (1997) draws
Mintzberg, H. (1998), Mintzberg on Management, attention to the voluntary character of the
Amsterdam. institution: ``An organization [is] a collection
107
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Roelof P. uit Beijerse Volume 3 . Number 2 . 1999 . 94±109

of people of which most of them have chosen guidelines with which the work and the
to pursue a testable ideal or goal together''. cooperation of the (knowledge-) workers are
Last but not least, Mintzberg (1998) puts it as facilitated.
follows: ``Organizing means [...] collective Key aspects in organizations thus are their
action to fulfil a common mission, which is an social nature ± which finds its expression in
elegant way to say that a bunch of people the organizational culture ± the fact that it
came together under a recognizable name to usually is strategy-driven, the fact that is has a
produce certain services or products''. certain organizational structure and the fact
A well-known and broadly used organiza- that it uses certain systems to reach the goals
tional model (Athos and Pascale, 1981; Peters which have been set.
and Waterman, 1982; Weggeman, 1997;
Swieringa and Wierdsma, 1990) distinguishes
in the organization the elements strategy,
Appendix 2. Knowledge management
structure, culture, style of management,
instruments
personnel and systems. In an instrumental
sense, an organization therefore is a series of 1. Determining the knowledge gap
instruments. Management has four instru- . Develop knowledge information system.
ments to use to influence behaviour in such a . Organize meetings for knowledge sharing.
way that it focuses on that which the . Interview (knowledge-)workers.
economic environment wants or needs. These . Organize brainstorm sessions (for in-
instruments are strategy, structure, culture stance through using Group Systems).
and systems (see Figure A1). . Draw up an inventory of personnel and
In a strategic sense the important question their qualifications.
is how certain goals or targets of the organi- . Search for best practices.
zation are going to be achieved. This deals . Carry out knowledge mapping.
with determining the situation required or . Carry out case-studies into the own
about changing an existing situation. It also is organization.
about determining, changing or supplement- . Develop scenarios.
ing the means used to reach the ideal situation . Hire researchers and consultants.
(Schieman et al., 1989). Strategy is sometimes . Carry out strategic studies.
called the ``collective ambition'' of an organi- . Develop an intranet.
zation (Weggeman, 1997). The structure of . Install Internet.
the organization is what results from the . Detach personnel.
division of labour, tasks and responsibilities in . Assess customers.
both horizontal and vertical directions. Cul- . Assess markets.
ture is being defined as the revulsion of the . Manage by walking around.
values and opinions which the members of an . Manage by wandering around.
organization share with each other. These . Assess product developments.
values become manifest in shared symbols . Assess competition.
and patterns such as myths, rituals, stories,
anecdotes, legends and a special language 2. Developing and buying knowledge
(Reimann and Wiener, 1988; Giddens, . Carry out strategic technology study.
1993). Systems, lastly, are the procedures and . Carry out R&D.
. Install electronic boardroom.
Figure A1 An organizational model . Use external training.
. Use business intelligence.
. Install helpdesk.
. Carry out customer satisfaction research.
. Carry out market research.
. Draw up an inventory of the need for
training and education of personnel, both
strategically as well as personal.
. Develop training and education plan.
. Educate and train personnel.
. Learn from projects, for instance by
evaluating them.
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. Develop career paths for personnel. . Organize theme groups.

. Build a network of relations. . Stimulate teambuilding.
. Give personnel time to develop ideas. . Organize work meetings.
. Facilitate streams of information. . Install knowledge management system.
. Facilitate training-on-the-job. . Work with databases.
. Facilitate learning-by-doing. . Appoint an information broker.
. Facilitate job rotation. . Carry out internal audits.
. Create an open culture. . Debrief personnel.
. Send personnel to conferences. . Enhance communication between per-
. Give personnel time to read professional
sonnel (for instance by lunchbreak
literature.
. Organize seminars with external speakers. meetings).
. Obtain knowledge from customers.
. Facilitate job rotation.
. Obtain knowledge from suppliers.
. Organize autonomous work groups.
. Organize mentorship in units.
. Install an intranet.
. Organize mentorship between units.
. Facilitate exchanging of tasks.
. Look for traineeships. . Use video conferencing.
. Hire research and consultancy. . Use information technology.
. Organize detachments. . Facilitate internal detachment.
. Install (virtual) suggestion box. . Facilitate training-on-the-job.
. Buy knowledge and information hard- . Facilitate informal gatherings.
ware. . Organize cocktail hours.
. Monitor the environment (benchmarks). . Facilitate culture of deliberation.
. Manage networks. . Install electronic networks.

3. Knowledge sharing 4. Evaluating knowledge

. Archive projects. . Carry out internal audits.
. Use intervision. . Carry out external audits.
. Install computer networks. . Carry out (informal) project evaluations.
. Stimulate cooperation. . Interview suppliers.
. Make project- or fact-sheets. . Interview customers.
. Organize mentorship in units. . Carry out strategic studies.
. Organize mentorship between units. . Organize workshops.
. Install helpdesk. . Debrief leaving personnel.
. Install knowledge counter. . Use benchmarking.
. Look for traineeships. . Read reports.
. Organize task groups. . Use handbooks.

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