Knowledge management and the dynamic nature of knowledge

Abstract Knowledge management (KM) or knowledge sharing in organizations is based on an understanding of knowledge creation and knowledge transfer. In implementation, KM is an effort to benefit from the knowledge that resides in an organization by using it to achieve the organization's mission. The transfer of tacit or implicit knowledge to explicit and accessible formats, the goal of many KM projects, is challenging, controversial, and endowed with ongoing management issues. This article argues that effective knowledge management in many disciplinary contexts must be based on understanding the dynamic nature of knowledge itself. The article critiques some current thinking in the KM literature and concludes with a view towards knowledge management programs built around knowledge as a dynamic process.