Title: What do we know about knowledge reuse in organisations?

Authors: Susanne Durst; Helio Aisenberg Ferenhof

Addresses: School of Business, University of Skövde, Högskolevägen, 54128 Skövde, Sweden ' Department of Production Engineering and Systems, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Campus Trindade Florianópolis/SC, 88.040-900, Brazil

Abstract: This paper looks into knowledge that is 'wasted' in organisations, that is existing relevant knowledge that is not (re)used in business operations. Against the backdrop of today's business environment, a lack of knowledge application is not only costly but also dangerous. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review research on knowledge reuse (waste) in organisations to identify our current body of knowledge and gaps in the field justifying further research activities. In order to do so, the study consists of a systematic review of 52 refereed empirical articles on knowledge reuse in organisations. The topic seems to be a promising field for intensive research and offers a variety of future research avenues. Some ideas for future research are proposed in this study.

Keywords: knowledge; knowledge application; knowledge risk management; reusable knowledge; knowledge reusability.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2017.085060

Global Business and Economics Review, 2017 Vol.19 No.4, pp.420 - 447

Received: 30 Jul 2016
Accepted: 31 Oct 2016
Published online: 10 Jul 2017 *

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