Knowledge management: The magic is in the culture!

Knowledge management (KM) has been gaining recognition for improving customer responsiveness, fostering innovation, and leading generally to more efficient knowledge workers. Spending on KM initiatives is expected to increase substantially in the growth stage of the market over the next 5 years. Research indicates that since the KM concept emerged in the early 1990s, many ambitious KM initiatives have failed to achieve their full potential. Users and analysts are beginning to blame the limited success on overemphasis on technology. This article addresses the issue of human interaction and the role of corporate culture in implementing KM initiatives. The author makes specific recommendations for optimizing the KM environment and architecture.