Power matters: the importance of Foucault’s power/knowledge as a conceptual lens in KM research and practice

Abstract

2015),"Development and validation of knowledge management performance measurement constructs for small and mediumIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Abstract Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to engage knowledge management (KM) researchers and practitioners with Foucault's power/knowledge lens as a way of thinking about and recognising the central role of power in organisational knowledge cultures. Design/methodology/approach -The empirical illustrations in this paper are drawn from two qualitative studies in different professional and institutional contexts (insurance and theatre work). Both studies used in-depth interviews and discourse analysis as their principal methods of data collection and analysis. Findings -The empirical examples illustrate how practitioners operate within complex power/knowledge relations that shape their practices of knowledge sharing, generation and use. The findings show how an application of the power/knowledge lens renders visible both the constraining and productive force of power in KM.Research limitations/implications -Researchers may apply the conceptual tools presented here in a wider variety of institutional and professional contexts to examine the complex and multifaceted role of power in a more in-depth way. Practical implications -KM professionals will benefit from an understanding of organisational power/ knowledge relations when seeking to promote transformational changes in their organisations and build acceptance for KM initiatives. Originality/value -This paper addresses a gap in the literature around theoretical and empirical discussions of power as well as offering an alternative to prevailing resource-based views of power in KM.

Michel Foucault: analysis of power relations in entrepreneurial and innovative initiatives in Brazil

“…As for the types of objectives which permeate the micro-relations of power, they are present in the partnerships, in the public policies induction, in the legislation exercise, in the public workers' position exercise, in the education institutionalization for work (surveilled education) (Foucault, 1979(Foucault, /2014, in the workers' responsibilities strategies, among others. Generally speaking, the relations of power are intrinsic and interdependent in the governmental system, and, at times, they are designed by individual interests, exercising relations of force in which the subjects act one over the others (Heizmann & Olsson, 2015) aiming at privilege maintenance, profit accumulation and authority operability.…”

“…The social roles about who rules and who is ruled have never been established, but they are somehow alternated and sometimes simultaneous (Revel, 2011). Therefore, as Michel Foucault opposes to the conception of power as locus, fixture and stabilization of an individual over the others, he deconstructs this notion and presents the concept of "power" as something fluid, disperse, relational, and which contains not only repressions but also resistances to its action (Heizmann & Olsson, 2015). According to Michael Foucault (1979/2014…”

The power in positionings: A Foucauldian approach to knowledge integration processes

“…We interpret the various responses to positioning as an exercise of freedom or as domination (Torfing, 2013) which illustrates the productive character of power (c.f. Heizmann and Olsson, 2015).…”

Knowledge Sharing and Power in the Event Workforce

“…Along with the employees' education, expertise and status (Davenport & Prusak, 1998), knowledge is the employee's asset -and means to influence -within the organization. Power theory can explain some of the problems that occur with knowledge sharing, where some employees perceive knowledge as a form of 'asset' that is of great value and needs to be controlled and monitored (Heizmann & Olsson, 2015).…”