Mapping the future of KM through Earl's KM taxonomy lens

Abstract

This paper chronicles exploratory research about the use of content analysis to guide the future knowledge management research agenda. The responses of 35 international knowledge management experts answering a question about the future of knowledge management were considered. The interviews, which were created as part of a different project, are freely available online. This secondary data was analyzed using a series of content analysis techniques to determine which elements of Michael Earl’s knowledge management taxonomy were most prevalent. A dictionary of terms reflecting Earl’s taxonomy was created. The top three schools that emerged were the engineering, cartographic and systems schools, all of which belong to the high-order category technocratic. A series of qualitative comments are included to expand on the quantitation results and with a view to stimulating future research.