Title: Japanese 5S principles and knowledge management practice in the context of small industries in the islands of Indonesia

Authors: Muslim El Hakim Kurniawan; Gatot Yudoko; Mursyid Hasan Basri; Aang Noviyana Umbara

Addresses: School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia ' School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia ' School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia ' School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia

Abstract: Indonesia, which comprises of more than 17,500 islands, has an ongoing problem with small firms on its islands. The drawbacks are issues of low competitiveness, one-person show management and limited resources. Previous research highlighted the significant root cause as knowledge management is not widely applied. However, few researchers discussed knowledge management with island entrepreneurs which had become a gap. Employing an in-depth interview on small firms located on the islands, this paper tried to compile a theory-building method. The findings offered a novel insight into envisioning an affordable knowledge management system that features cultural development and innovation. This paper also discussed the secret recipes for staff turnover cure and shared knowledge for the pitfall of knowledge cure. This paper argues the importance of an affordable and applicable KM culture in the small industries as a recommendation for policymakers and island entrepreneurs.

Keywords: knowledge management; island; entrepreneur; small-medium industries; SMIs; 5S; Indonesia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKMS.2021.116408

International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 2021 Vol.12 No.3, pp.302 - 323

Received: 21 Oct 2019
Accepted: 23 Sep 2020
Published online: 22 Jul 2021 *

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