Title: Knowledge management, absorptive capacity and organisational culture: a case study from Chinese SMEs

Authors: Weifeng Chen, Tally Hatzakis

Addresses: Brunel Business School, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK. ' Brunel Business School, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK

Abstract: Based on the analysis of an innovative medium sized enterprise from mainland China, this paper investigated the Knowledge Management (KM) issues by focusing on its KM enablers and process. This paper attempts to investigate how Chinese enterprises absorb knowledge from external sources; how they developed culture to facilitate Knowledge Management Processes (KMPs) and what major challenges they raise for the future by looking at the case study of a Chinese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The case study indicates that Chinese enterprises emphasised knowledge acquisition and the capacities of knowledge absorption, application, creation, sharing and integration as vital to sustaining competitive advantage for these firms. Corporative organisational culture also has significant impact on the KM in those enterprises.

Keywords: absorptive capacity; knowledge management; KM; knowledge acquisition; corporative culture; small and medium-sized enterprises; Chinese SMEs; China; organisational culture; knowledge creation; knowledge sharing; knowledge integration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKMS.2008.018798

International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 2008 Vol.2 No.3, pp.371 - 381

Published online: 18 Jun 2008 *

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