Scaling the fractal plain: towards a general view of knowledge management

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore coherence across key disciplines of knowledge management (KM) for a general model as a way to address performance dissatisfaction in the field.Design/methodology/approach – Research employed an evidence‐based meta‐analysis (287 aspects of literature), triangulated through an exploratory survey (91 global respondents), to gather data on the drivers for KM. The paper attempts to demonstrate self‐similarity across six key KM disciplines using fractal theory as a data analysis tool.Findings – Appear to demonstrate self‐affinity between key disciplines in the field of KM. This provides a strong signpost for future research in the field when attempting to address practitioner dissatisfaction in performance.Research limitations/implications – The paper cannot determine importance, or value of the factors discussed. The meta‐analysis allows us to determine the existence of the identified functions and enablers. Limited representation of literature from outside the ...