Introduction to the Special Issue: Knowledge Management Models and Theories

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) is a discipline which is based on a diverse set of reference disciplines (Holsapple and Wu, 2008; Serenko and Bontis, 2013). The editors trace the eld of KM back to its mid-20th century emergence from the elds of economics, business, arti cial intelligence, cognitive science and linguistics. Since those early days, a rich set of knowledge related models and theories have appeared in the literature (Heisig, 2009). In 2015, KM as a discipline has clearly entered a new phase. There is an emerging educational foundation, and there is increasing adoption among diverse types of organisations. While some challenges remain, KM is a discipline whose value is acknowledged by organisations and individuals. As evidence of its growing recognition as an academic and professional discipline, KM has a core set of peer-reviewed journals (Serenko and Bontis, 2009), and there are acknowledged thought leaders (Serenko and Bontis, 2004), established and recurring conferences (Serenko et al., 2009), and academic programs (Ruth et al., 2003; Chaudhry and Higgins, 2003; Al-Hawamdeh, 2005; Bontis et al., 2006; Bedford, 2013), standards (Kelleher and Levene, 2001; Coviello et al., 2002; Global Knowledge Economics Council, 2002a, 2002b, 2002c; Standards Australia International, 2003a, 2003b; Comit e Europ een de Normalisation, 2004; Standards Australia International, 2004; European Foundation for Quality Management, 2005; Standards Australia International, 2005; Deutsches Institut fur Normung, 2006a, 2006b; Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, 2009; Standards Institution of Israel, 2011; Deutsches Institut fur Normung, 2012) and theories (Grant, 2002; Heisig, 2009). There are both challenges and opportunities in the future of KM. First, emerging disciplines, particularly those which are transor interdisciplinary, present opportunities for testing new ideas and practices. Problems, models, methods and theories look di®erent at the boundaries of disciplines. There is a need to continuously examine and align new ideas with the foundation. Second, the growth of the knowledge economy and a knowledge society has incentivised organisations to learn more about and experiment with KM ideas and practices. These ideas and practices emerge from business and industry rather than from academia, and provide new perspectives from which to review our core models, methodologies and theories. Third, there are signs that the historical evolution of disciplines may be changing given an increasingly knowledgeable workforce, widespread access to ideas, and affordable access to technology. Historically, a discipline emerged around a core set of theories, progressed through design and development, and ultimately produced practical methods and practices. Today, disciplines may emerge around common practices, promote design principles based on practice, and as a nal stage explore underlying theory. This is the case with KM where a strong set of practices emerged in the 1990s around technology, at the same time the core theories and models were emerging. Fourth, KM methods and practices are increasingly referenced in other disciplines and economic Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, Vol. 14, No. 4 (2015) 1502002 (4 pages) #.c World Scienti c Publishing Co. DOI: 10.1142/S0219649215020025 January 27, 2016 5:46:50pm WSPC/188-JIKM 1502002 ISSN: 0219-6492 FA1