Knowledge management and the practice of knowledge sharing and learning at work: a case study

Abstract

This article offers a critique of knowledge management. The critique is empirically based on the case study of a Danish software production company's (A‐Soft) knowledge management strategy of implementing an information technology (IT) tool known as ‘knowledge centre’ (KC). The article argues: (1) the discourses on knowledge and learning informing KC and everyday practice are incompatible. KC conceptualizes knowledge as a resource that can be stored and retrieved from databases, and learning as an individual acquisition. The company's existing practice of knowledge sharing and learning seems better conceived from a situated and embodied perspective, seeing knowledge as an enactment inseparable from action, and learning as social participation. (2) The management's preoccupation with implementing technological solutions for codifying, archiving, and creating global access to information is conflicting with the practitioners' focus on seeking context‐rich information through collegial networks. Moreover, it is suggested that cultivation of a culture where viable communities of practice and collegial networks can flourish may be more important than technological advancement. (3) The strategy of exercising knowledge management through control and ownership invokes a discourse that threatens to subjectify the employees as replaceable resources in a lifelong learning imperative.

Notes

Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Nobelparken, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, DK‐8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Email: [email protected]

A‐Soft's Knowledge Centre Group was established to develop and implement A‐Soft's knowledge centre strategy. The Knowledge Centre Group was broadly represented, put together by software developers, human resource staff, mid‐level managers, and one board member.