Applying autopoiesis to knowledge management in organisations
Abstract
Purpose
Autopoiesis has been applied to many different fields. One area, however, where little work has been done is the application of autopoietic theory to knowledge management. The paper aims to provide a direct comparison between the theory of autopoiesis with aspects of knowledge management, specifically social constructivism.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory of autopoiesis was broken down into easily comparable sections. The theory of social constructivism in relation to knowledge management was then described, followed by a comparison of the two.
Findings
Strong correlations were discovered between autopoiesis and knowledge management, specifically that the cyclical nature of organisational learning and its ability to self‐reproduce the components of its system suggest that it is in some respect an autopoietic entity. However, serious flaws between the two approaches were discovered also.
Originality/value
This paper is the first in‐depth application of autopoiesis to knowledge management and the study of organisations.
Keywords
Citation
Jackson, T.W. (2007), "Applying autopoiesis to knowledge management in organisations", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 78-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270710752126
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited