Issues related to knowledge in knowledge intensive organisations - a literature review

Abstract

The number of publications in the field of knowledge management is growing exponentially. There is a good amount of the literature published with respect to different aspects of knowledge intensive firms (KIFs). A good amount of literature is also available on different issues related to knowledge in different types of organisations. However, the literature addressing combined area of 'Knowledge issues' in KIFs is limited. The distribution of articles in these combined areas, based on year of publication, ranking of journals, comparative nature and countries in which studies were conducted, various aspects of knowledge-related effects and parameters causing such effects, indicates the interest among researchers, practitioners and policy-makers. But, it also highlights need of more studies in the years to come that widen the coverage of cause and effects related to different aspects of knowledge in KIFs. Also more studies from different countries, those related to clusters of KIFs and more comparative studies with that of Non-KIFs, have also become necessary. The paper aims to review different issues related to knowledge studied by researchers in the past, in a very specific context of knowledge intensive organisation and map those issues in structured categories, such that it will help in future research by identifying research gaps, relating to appropriate theories, conceptualising and empirically testing the new relations.