Managing “Knowledge” in India: A Higher Education Perspective

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is a modern discipline that, in a few decades, has made its mark, appraised its significance and managed to get noticed by industry experts, practitioners, researchers and policy makers. In this context, this paper (i) maps critical success factors (CSFs) that drive the success of knowledge management process and practice in higher education institutions and similar communities of practice, (ii) combines existing research and sums up the findings of different studies on knowledge management in higher education, with major emphasis on Indian context, and (iii) suggest future research directions. In order to realize the above objectives, an intensive review of literature of published research on knowledge management in higher education institutions was performed. The key findings show that CSFs for successful implementation of knowledge management can be broadly categorized into four dimensions namely technological, human or personnel factors, senior management factors and organisational factors. These dimensions further have some more quantifiable elements. Further empirical research on these factors, in combination, must be done in the perspective of higher education system in India.