Managing Knowledge in Organizations: An Integrative Framework and Review of Emerging Themes

An integrative framework is provided for organization the literature on knowledge management. The framework has two dimensions. The knowledge management outcomes of knowledge creations, retention, and transfer are represented along one dimension. Properties of the context within which knowledge management occurs are represented on the other dimension. These properties, which affect knowledge management outcomes, can be organized according to whether they are properties of a unit involved in knowledge management, properties of relationships between units or properties of the knowledge itself. The framework is used to identify where research findings about knowledge management converge and where gaps in understanding exist. The article discusses mechanisms of knowledge management and how those mechanisms affect a unit's ability to create, retain, and transfer knowledge. Emerging themes in the literature on knowledge management are identified.