{"title":"Motivations for the initiation of knowledge management activities in times of routine and emergency","authors":"Maayan Nakash, D. Bouhnik","doi":"10.1108/ajim-10-2022-0458","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThis research seeks to understand, for the first time, what motivates knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs) to initiate knowledge management (KM) activities in times of routine and emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic was placed at the center as a case study of an extreme crisis.Design/methodology/approachBased on the adoption of the qualitative-constructivist paradigm, the study was conducted among 52 KM professionals through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method, according to the principles of the grounded theory approach.FindingsThe findings reveal that opportunities and risks are two types of catalysts which accelerate KM efforts in times of routine and emergency respectively. Due to KM’s support of the transition to flexible employment during COVID-19, the authors show that this field experienced real growth and prosperity in the “new normal.” KM initiatives were promoted during the COVID-19 crisis in light of gaps in retention, sharing, accessibility and development of knowledge.Originality/valueGiven that knowledge risks are a field with fragmented understanding, the results contribute to understanding the importance of risk management related to knowledge in times of crises and turmoil. The authors call for incorporating this niche into the overall risk management of the organization, while adopting a holistic and long-term perspective of KM. Furthermore, the authors uncover KM’s position in KIOs during the global pandemic. The paper proposes food for thought regarding informal knowledge sharing in virtual environments typical of the “Corona routine”.","PeriodicalId":53152,"journal":{"name":"Aslib Journal of Information Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Aslib Journal of Information Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ajim-10-2022-0458","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
PurposeThis research seeks to understand, for the first time, what motivates knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs) to initiate knowledge management (KM) activities in times of routine and emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic was placed at the center as a case study of an extreme crisis.Design/methodology/approachBased on the adoption of the qualitative-constructivist paradigm, the study was conducted among 52 KM professionals through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method, according to the principles of the grounded theory approach.FindingsThe findings reveal that opportunities and risks are two types of catalysts which accelerate KM efforts in times of routine and emergency respectively. Due to KM’s support of the transition to flexible employment during COVID-19, the authors show that this field experienced real growth and prosperity in the “new normal.” KM initiatives were promoted during the COVID-19 crisis in light of gaps in retention, sharing, accessibility and development of knowledge.Originality/valueGiven that knowledge risks are a field with fragmented understanding, the results contribute to understanding the importance of risk management related to knowledge in times of crises and turmoil. The authors call for incorporating this niche into the overall risk management of the organization, while adopting a holistic and long-term perspective of KM. Furthermore, the authors uncover KM’s position in KIOs during the global pandemic. The paper proposes food for thought regarding informal knowledge sharing in virtual environments typical of the “Corona routine”.
期刊介绍:
Aslib Journal of Information Management covers a broad range of issues in the field, including economic, behavioural, social, ethical, technological, international, business-related, political and management-orientated factors. Contributors are encouraged to spell out the practical implications of their work. Aslib Journal of Information Management Areas of interest include topics such as social media, data protection, search engines, information retrieval, digital libraries, information behaviour, intellectual property and copyright, information industry, digital repositories and information policy and governance.