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This paper assesses the role of collaborative knowledge building in the co-creation of artifacts in the knowledge management field.

Fifty-eight papers published in six knowledge management-related journals were analyzed. The framework for analysis included 13 codes. Studies were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods.

Findings showed that several factors influenced the co-creation of artifacts in collaborative knowledge building. At the micro level, individual motivation, capabilities and reflexivity seemed to play a central role in co-creation processes. At the meso level, teamwork and shared understanding were identified as two key major factors. At the macro level, structural, behavioral and cognitive factors were identified; they included organizational rules and workplace setting, organizational culture and learning and memory. Managerial agency, characteristics of artifacts and knowledge brokers and boundary spanners also seemed to have an influence at the inter-organizational levels of analysis.

This study has limitations related to scope of contribution, covered time span (17 years) and restrictions in journal subscriptions.

The study will help managers understand the intricacies of collaborative knowledge building practices to increase organizational overall effectiveness and performance.

This study is a first attempt to systematically assess the role of collaborative knowledge building in the co-creation of artifacts, and therefore, it represents a primary reference in the knowledge management field. It proposes some initial propositions that can guide future empirical studies.

The purpose of this study is to provide a granular description of how organizational members construct common knowledge practices in the context of organizational meetings.

A longitudinal interpretative case study methodology was used to collect data from a US-based organization involved in an information system implementation project.

Findings revealed that during meetings common knowledge was constructed through four practices of discernment, compliance, reconstruction and expedition. Findings also revealed that these four practices were influenced by intervening conditions such as calibration challenges and scenario-sharing tools.

The findings of this study have research implications related to common knowledge construction and co-participation practices in the context of organizational meetings. This study has limitations related to statistical generalizability that have been mitigated through a holistic approach to case study methodology that favors analytical generalizability of research findings.

This study provides managers with recommendations that suggest a more strategic use of meetings as useful organizational contexts that may help construct common knowledge practices and shared understanding.

This study contributes to current theorizations of common knowledge by providing an in-depth understanding of the construction of common knowledge practices in organizations. This study also sheds some light on the strategic role of organizational meetings to manage knowledge in project-based organizational contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of artifacts in the knowledge management field in the past 18 years (1997-2015) and to identify directions for future research.

The authors conducted a systematic literature review of 101 articles published in seven journals retrieved from EBSCO and Google Scholar online research databases. The framework for analysis included 13 codes, i.e. author(s), title, year of publication, typology, theoretical lens, categorizations, methods for empirical work, relevancy, level of analysis, keywords, findings, research themes and future research directions. Codes were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods.

The findings lacked cumulativeness and consistency in the current knowledge management debate. Empirical works outnumbered conceptual contributions by two to one, and the majority of papers focused at the organizational level of analysis. Knowledge management systems, knowledge sharing and digital archives were the major research themes connected to artifacts, together with other closely aligned concepts such as learning and online learning, knowledge transfer and knowledge creation.

This study has temporal and contextual limitations related to covered time span (18 years) and journals’ subscription restrictions.

This paper is a first attempt to systematically review the role of artifacts in knowledge management research and therefore it represents a primary reference in the knowledge management field. It provides directions to future theoretical and empirical studies and suggestions to managerial practices.

In today’s hyper‐competitive environments, generation and dissipation of knowledge can no longer be understood from within the boundaries of formal organizational mechanisms. Previously, researchers have studied knowledge management based on formal mechanisms; however, few have examined the role played by informal mechanisms. In this paper, we examine the roles of informal network players in knowledge integration and discuss their effects on competitive advantage. For researchers, our paper provides testable propositions and a future research agenda. For practitioners, our paper shows how informal network players influence an organization and offers human resource management implications.

To draw management and scholarly attention to two missing capabilities in a knowledge management program: segmentation capability and destruction capability.

An opinion paper based on consulting and research experiences of the authors.

Organizations that consider the two missing capabilities have witnessed significantly improved knowledge management programs compared with when the capabilities were missing from their agenda. In addition to the two missing capabilities, the third capability – protection capability – may need due attention.

The two missing capabilities can be further investigated as important constructs. The two capabilities complement and augment their peer capabilities (creation, transfer, storing, retrieving and applying). The intricacies of the missing capabilities and the known capabilities need to be further studied.

If an organization neglects the two capabilities, the benefits of their knowledge management program will be limited. Organizations can cultivate the two missing capabilities effectively and efficiently by following the suggestions of the paper.

This is the first paper that discusses the two missing knowledge management capabilities exclusively and connects their role and importance to known capabilities.

Managing knowledge is a critical capability for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to master because it helps them leverage their most critical resource. Organizational knowledge is the most salient resource at the disposal of SMEs in terms of availability, access, and depth. Successful SMEs are those who can leverage their knowledge in an effective and efficient manner, so as to make up for deficiencies in traditional resources, like land, labor, and capital. The purpose of this article to to discuss five peculiarities about knowledge management practices at SMEs.

The article draws findings from a nine‐month investigation of knowledge management practices at 25 SMEs.

The research discovered that SMEs do not manage knowledge the same way as larger organizations. Viewing SME knowledge management practices as scaled down versions of the practices found in larger organizations is incorrect. SMEs have understandable resource constraints, and hence have to be creative in working around these limitations in order to manage knowledge.

The paper sheds some light on peculiarities in SME knowledge management practices, which will hopefully entice scholars and practitioners to follow‐up with more detailed research undertakings.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the mechanisms of organizations managing innovation outsourcing to business partners. In a business environment characterized by the development of deep, niche expertise in a particular domain, business partnerships can provide a source of innovative rejuvenation by outsourcing the innovation to business partners who have complementary skills and expertise. This paper addresses a critical challenge which the organizations are currently facing: how do you manage outsourcing of innovation to business partners effectively while maintaining your strategic competitiveness?

Exploratory multiple case studies of over 30 innovative European and US companies were done. It involved 50 semi‐structured interviews with senior executives from research and development, product management, information technology, and marketing.

The paper identifies three complementary models of managing outsourcing of innovation to business partner: acquisition, strategic alliances, and open source (OS). Based on these, a three‐dimensional “Co‐Innovation Space” is proposed that can help in analysis and planning of current and future innovation projects.

Although the research is carefully designed, it is an exploratory study and has the limitation of generalizability of the findings. Nevertheless, findings from multiple case studies from diverse organizations shed a light to current innovation and strategic alliance literature.

Partnerships can open the door to multiple knowledge sources. Accessing and integrating information from these sources can greatly enhance knowledge base of organizations and can help fuel sustainable innovation. The models proposed in this study provide a lens to examine existing innovation project portfolios and/or to plan for future innovation programmes.

This study is probably among few to study such a large, diversified, and geographically scattered group of organizations. Although exploratory and preliminary, this makes the findings of the study insightful.

The aim of this paper is to research the practice of knowledge management (KM) in not-for-profit (NFP), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to identify gaps in the current body of knowledge. Previous work has been conducted in small, medium and large enterprises; however, NFP SMEs have been underexamined. Given the prevalence of NFP, SMEs’ further research is warranted.

Using a case study methodology, this research advances previous KM work (Hume and Hume, 2008). Based on previous work in SMEs, KM and the application to NFP organizations, this work offers a set of propositions related to strategic development of KM in NFP organizations with multiple data sources across hierarchical levels sought and analyzed within each of the case studies. This process provided data variation. Collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. The paper supports analysis with the use of Leximancer 3.0 and offers a unique approach to qualitative research using textual and narrative analysis.

This paper explores the definition of knowledge, the importance of knowledge planning, capture and diffusion and offers development in NFP SMEs. The paper concludes by introducing the link between KM and internal marketing to address the importance of cultural and social issues of “me” which are central to knowledge capture, renewal and sustainable KM in NFP organizations. The paper introduces socialization strategies and informal knowledge capture specific to the transient, volunteer and permanent employee mix in NFP organizations and introduces the notion of understanding the significance of social mission to employees and volunteers in the embodiment of KM.

This study has aimed to access all empirical articles in the field of KM in SMEs. To ensure the consideration of the advancement in wireless, mobile computing technology and smartphones as KM support, articles from 2005 onwards were primarily sought. This search restriction has limited the role of earlier works in the research. It is arguable that the sample cases may not offer a comprehensive coverage of all NFP firms, with the qualitative approach further limiting the generalization of the findings.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, KM has been applied specifically in very few NFP SME firms, with scant exploration of the constructs of socialization, social mission and informal knowledge structure in NFP considered or previously published in academic journals.