Knowledge management and the vision machine: Paul Virilio and the technological constitution of knowledge

Abstract

Knowledge management has become an influential discourse within the field of management studies. Even though there are several competing perspectives and views of the notion of knowledge and its use in organization, there is relatively little emphasis on the relationship between the use of technological systems and the constitution of knowledge. This paper suggests that the writing of Paul Virilio, a though-provoking French social and cultural theorist, may serve as a source of influence in a more active engagement with understanding the relationship between technology and knowledge. Drawing on two studies of knowledge in use in organizations, one in the domain of the juridical system and the other in new drug development in pharmaceutical industry, the paper points at the importance of integrating technologies into the analysis of how knowledge is produced.