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There is an increasing interest in the area of knowledge management (KM) within organisations and academia. Because of the emergent nature of the field there is a lack of classification of suitable knowledge management models to use in conducting further research, literature evaluation and organisational applications. This paper discusses the definitions and classifications of knowledge management, representing a wide spectrum of views from mechanistic to more socially orientated. An evaluative framework is established from which three knowledge management models can be critically discussed. Three KM model classifications are critiqued, namely knowledge category models, intellectual capital models and socially constructed models. Finally a modified KM model is tentatively suggested to act as a useful guide for further research and organisational application. This model takes a holistic approach to scientific and socially constructed knowledge, assuming the need for both emancipatory and business benefits from KM. The model represents KM as a highly recursive process, rather than sequential.

The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding and inter‐relationship of both the people and technical aspects of knowledge management. Studies in knowledge management indicate that there can be an over‐emphasis on technology to the exclusion of adequate people/quality planning, or, strong people/quality programmes from a knowledge perspective, hindered by inadequate enabling technologies. Understanding of these issues in practice and academia is currently hindered by a paucity of systematic empirical research, addressing the relationship between the cultural and technological aspects of knowledge management. A survey questionnaire was constructed and tested via a pilot phase. The questionnaire was then distributed to over 1,000 organizations, across three industrial sectors. The findings indicate that a strong relationship exists between KM and other organizational factors, namely organizational culture and internal technical culture. Further analysis of these elements revealed that factors internal to the organization are impinged upon by macro‐environmental elements.