Title: Knowledge management as an organisational innovation: an absorptive capacity perspective and a case study

Authors: Abdelkader Daghfous

Addresses: American University of Sharjah, School of Business and Management, P.O. BOX 26666, Sharjah, UAE

Abstract: The global economy is in the midst of sweeping economic and social transformations, where knowledge has replaced physical labour and natural resources as the key source of sustained growth. At the organisational level, a knowledge advantage is widely considered a sustainable source of competitive advantage. However, managing knowledge requires a complex combination of new tools, infrastructures, processes, strategies, and their coexistence and integration with the existing ones. Whether at the top of a CEO|s agenda or considered a faddish practice, knowledge management (KM) is both compelling and overwhelming. This paper examines the implementation of KM from an absorptive capacity perspective. A case study is presented to illustrate how the framework can be used to assess the importance of an organisation|s familiarity with KM principles, techniques, and strategic value; and whether it has the required learning capabilities to successfully adopt and implement KM.

Keywords: knowledge management; absorptive capacity; case study; information technology; knowledge creation; knowledge codification; knowledge transfer; knowledge application.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2004.005501

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2004 Vol.1 No.4, pp.409 - 422

Published online: 12 Oct 2004 *

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