Strategic knowledge management: theory, practice and future challenges

Abstract

Theoretical background The current knowledge economy requires companies to create new business structures and new concepts for the management of its resources to remain competitive. The latest approaches to strategic management (Ferreira et al., 2016) tend to consider strategic alliances (as sources of knowledge) and intellectual capital (human, structural and relational capital) as the main sources for a sustainable competitive advantage. In an increasingly globalized world, the survival of business management depends on their organizational intelligence, which is the result of information and knowledge systems they have, the skills of its employees and how they relate to its stakeholders (Durst and Edvardsson, 2012). Strategic knowledge management (SKM) relates to the processes and infrastructures organizations use to attain, create and share knowledge for formulating strategy and making strategic decisions (Zack, 2002). A knowledge strategy defines the overall approach an organization intents to take to align its knowledge resources and capabilities to the intellectual requirements of its strategy. A strategic attitude is necessary to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. From a practice perception, businesses are seeing the prominence of managing knowledge if they are to persist competitive and grow. Consequently, several firms everywhere are starting to dynamically manage their knowledge and innovation (Ferreira et al., 2015). Knowledge does matter, but the question is when, how and why? (Carayannis and Campbell, 2009). Today, knowledge matters further and in forms that are not always predictable or even controllable. Knowledge systems are so highly complex, dynamic and adaptive (Carayannis and Campbell, 2009). Numerous views on knowledge are discussed in several different scientific areas, such as strategy, management, organization theory literature and philosophy. Different views on knowledge lead to different conceptualizations of (strategic) knowledge management. Our starting point is knowledge as a strategic resource. This is in accordance with the business strategy theory, specifically the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. The main proposition of the RBV is that competitive advantage is based on valuable and unique internal resources and capabilities that are costly to imitate for competitors (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991). We refer to SKM as a capability pertaining to knowledge creation, knowledge organization and storage, knowledge transfer and knowledge applications which enhances a firm's ability to gain and sustain a competitive advantage (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Ferreira et al., 2016; Heisig et al., 2016). A knowledge-based view of the firm states that these resources and capabilities are knowledge-related and knowledge-intensive resources and capabilities (Grant, 1997). Some questions can be raised:

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