Reading List 

The amount of literature about KM is growing exponentially as practitioners and academics try to grapple with the challenging issues inherant in such a complex and interdisciplinary field as Knowledge Management. We've tried to compile a list of the most influential pieces of the KM literature; the articles and books listed in the bibliography are the classics in KM.  We also know that KM pracitioners are busy people, and so we've also selected a few great quick-reads to get you up to speed. 

Our Top Picks

1. Experience the outstanding Karl Erik Sveiby's online learning module: "Knowledge Management...the Karl Erik Sveiby Way". It's a great introduction to the concepts of intangible assets and knowledge flows.
   
   
2. Philip C. Murray, Editor-in-Chief, KM Briefs and KM Metazine has put together a five-part article addressing such issues as KM terminology, KM enabling technologies, and roles of KM workers. Read "New Language for New Leverage" for his insights into the field.
   
   
3. Sveiby's FAQ on Knowledge Management may also be useful in answering some basic KM-related questions. 
   
   
4. California Management Review, published by the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, published an issue in Spring of 1998 dedicated to "Knowledge and the Firm." We highly recommend reading it from cover to cover, but in the interest of time you may want to just read the Introduction by Robert E. Cole for an outstanding overview. Read the Table of Contents before deciding whether to order the issue.
   
   
5. Harvard Management Review has also put together a special Knowledge Management issue, with eight articles.  Read a brief description or order your copy.
   
   

6. Read "If Only We Knew What We Know" by O'Dell, Carla S; Essaides, Nilly; and C. Jackson, Jr. Grayson. Free Press. c 1998
   Abstract: O'Dell and Grayson are, respectively, the president and the founder and chairman of the American Productivity and Quality Center, a 300-member, nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas. In 1992, when the Center's International Benchmarking Clearinghouse began to search for best practices among its members, it discovered to its surprise that many of its members had found numerous examples of "unknown and unshared knowledge" in their very own organizations. This finding led to research on why knowledge and practices failed to transfer even in organizations that were noted for innovation. The authors report on this research and offer recommendations for taking advantage of internal best practices. They identify three barriers to internal knowledge transfer, explain which three value propositions are best-suited for harnessing internal knowledge, and describe the four "enablers" that facilitate transfer. They also provide case studies and offer a detailed methodology for "making best-practice transfer and knowledge sharing a mainstay of your company."

Bibliography

The books and articles listed below delve deeper into the most important issues in Knowledge Management today. We've sorted the list  into seven categories - General/Introductory  KM; Knowledge Creation & Learning; Knowledge, Information Systems, and Technology; Customers as Knowledge Assets; KM in Practice; Research Directions.

If you'd like more books and articles to choose from, refer to The Knowledge Management Resource Guide and  Karl Erik Sveiby's own online Library.  They have a fairly robust list of books which have also been broken down into subject categories. 

General/Introductory  KM [top] 

Allee, Verna. �12 Priniciples of Knowledge Management.� Training and Development, Nov. 1997, v.57:11, p.71. 

Albert, Steven and Keith Bradley. Managing Knowledge: Experts, agencies and organizations. Cambridge University Press, 1997. 

Auster, Ethel and Chun Wei Choo, eds. Managing Information for the Competitive Edge. New York, Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. 1996. 

Brown, John Seely and Paul Duguid. "Organizing Knowledge."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

California Management Review: Special Issue on "Knowledge and the Firm." v. 40:3 (Spring 1998) 
Abstract:  At the U.C. Berkeley Forum on Knowledge and the Firm, leading academics and knowledge practitioners from Japan, the U.S, and Europe discussed their understandings of organizational knowledge and how firms can influence its creation and use. The meeting brought to the surface a diversity of goals, assumptions, and vocabularies-most notably a contrast between the aim of nurturing the process of knowledge creation and that of managing and measuring knowledge use. By exploring both common ground and differences, participants began to weave a knowledge context: a fabric of varied and mutually illuminating ideas about approach and value knowledge work than any single point of view could provide.(*)  Read the Introduction by Robert E. Cole or view the Table of Contents.

Cohen, Don with David E. Smith, Larry Prusak and Richard Azzarello. Managing knowledge for business success /. New York, NY : Conference Board, c1997. 26 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. 

Cohen, Don. "Toward a Knowledge Context: Report on the First Annual UC Berkeley Forum on Knowledge and the Firm." In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Davenport, Thomas, and Lawrence Prusak. �Blow up the Corporate Library.� In Managing Information for a Competitive Edge, Ethel Auster and Chun Wei Choo, Eds. Neal-Schuman Press, 1996. 

Davenport, Thomas H., Laurence Prusak. Working knowledge : how organizations manage what they know / Boston, Mass : Harvard Business School Press, c1998. 
Abstract: The definitive primer on knowledge management, this book serves as the hands-on resource of choice for fast companies that recognize knowledge as the only sustainable source of competitive advantage. Drawing from their work with more than 30 firms, the authors examine how all types of companies can effectively understand, analyze, measure, and manage their intellectual assets, turning corporate knowledge into market value. Working Knowledge considers such key questions as: --What key cultural and behavioral issues must managers address to use knowledge? --What are the best ways to incorporate technology into knowledge work? --What are specific knowledge skills? --What does a successful knowledge project look like--and how do you know whether it has succeeded? --What measures and milestones can managers use to evaluate knowledge? In the end, say the authors, the human qualities of knowledge--experience, intuition, and beliefs--are precisely the most valuable and most difficult to manage and maximize. Applying the insights and practices of Working Knowledge is every manager's first step on the road to long-term success.(*) 

Davenport, Thomas H. , Laurence Prusak. Information Ecology : Mastering the Information and Knowledge Environment.New York :Oxford University Press, 1997. 
Abstract: Thomas Davenport proposes a revolutionary new way to look at information management which takes into account the total information environment within an organization. Citing examples drawn from his own extensive research and consulting, including such major firms as AT&T, American Express, and IBM, Davenport illuminates the critical components of information ecology, providing a quick assessment survey for managers to see how their operations measure up. (*) 

DiMattia, Susan and Norman Oder. �Knowledge Management: hope, hype, or harbinger?� Library Journal, Sept. 15, 1997 v.122:15, p.33. 

Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management (Harvard Business Review Series). 
Abstract: Knowledge management-the way companies generate, communicate, and leverage their intellectual assets-has only recently emerged as the information economy's essential source of competitive advantage. The Harvard Business Review was among the first to identify the importance of knowledge management, and now the cutting-edge thinking and practical applications that are defining the field are conveniently close at hand in this timely and authoritative collection. 

Koulopoulos, Thomas, Wayne Toms, Richard A. Spinello, Wayne D. Toms. Corporate Instinct: Building a Knowing Enterprise for the 21st Century.
Abstract:  Written by one of the nation's best-known technology consultants, this book presents a set of management and technology tools to help manage an organization's shared knowledge and cultivate its intellectual assets. Drawing on interviews with 350 companies from across the economic spectrum, Corporate Instinct offers a detailed road map for developing your own corporate instinct and a comprehensive context for understanding how and why this sixth sense offers enduring competitive advantage. Filled with insights on revamping a corporation's culture, structure and core competencies for the 21st century, this book offers a blueprint for a business which focuses on innovation, not administration. (*) 

Prusak, Laurence, editor. Boston : Knowledge in organizations. Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997. 

Prusak, Laurence and Liam Fahey. "The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Ruggles, Rudy. "The State of the Notion: Knowledge Management in Practice."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Special Libraries Association. Knowledge Management: A New Competitive Asset. State of the Art Institute, 1997. 

Stanat, Ruth. The Intellegent Corporation: Creating a Shared Network for Information and Profit. American Management Association, 1990. 

Teece, David J. "Capturing Value from Knowledge Assets: The New Economy, Markets for Know-How, and Intangible Assets."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Knowledge Creation & Learning [top] 

Cohen, Wesley M and  Levinthal, Daniel A.  �Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation.�  Technology, Organizations, and Innovation Administrative Science Quarterly v35, n1  March, 1990 p.128. 
Abstract: In this paper, we argue that the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends is critical to its innovative capabilities. We label this capability a firm's absorptive capacity and suggest that it is largely a function of the firm's level of prior related knowledge. The discussion focuses first on the cognitive basis for an individual's absorptive capacity including, in particular, prior related knowledge and diversity of background. We then characterize the factors that influence absorptive capacity at the organizational level, how an organization's absorptive capacity differs from that of its individual members, and the role of diversity of expertise within an organization. We argue that the development of absorptive capacity, and, in turn, innovative performance are history - or path-dependent and argue how lack of investment in an area of expertise early on may foreclose the future development of a technical capability in that area. We formulate a model of firm investment in research and development  R&D , in which R&D contributes to a firm's absorptive capacity, and test predictions relating a firm's investment in R&D to the knowledge underlying technical change within an industry. Discussion focuses on the implications of absorptive capacity for the analysis of other related innovative activities, including basic research, the adoption and diffusion of innovations, and decisions to participate in cooperative R&D ventures. 

Leonard, Dorothy and Sylvia Sensiper. "The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Group Innovation."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Nonaka, Ikujirao and Noboru Konno. "The Concept of "Ba": Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Nonaka, Ikujirao. Organizing innovation as a knowledge-creation process: a suggested paradigm for self-renewing organization [Berkeley, Calif. : Center for Research in Management, University of California, Berkeley, 1989] 

O'Dell, Carla and C. Jackson Grayson. "If Only We Knew What We Know: Identificaiton and Transfer of Internal Best Practices."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Von Krogh, Georg and Johan Roos, eds. Managing Knowledge: Perspectives on Cooperation and Competition. London, Sage Publications Ltd. 1996. 

Von Krogh, Georg. "Care in Knowledge Creation."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Ware, James and Peter Dogeoy. �Knowledge Work and Information Technology.� Working Paper #98-WP-1028 (PDF), February 1998. Fisher Center for Management and Information Technology, Berkeley, CA. 

Knowledge, Information Systems, and Technology [top] 

Carter, Jo. �Managing knowledge: the new systems agenda.� IEEE Expert v7, n3  June, 
1992,  p.3. 
Abstract: Knowledge is the most valuable asset possessed by most corporations, and is to be found in several places: policy manuals, strategic plans, market analyses, proposals, case histories, service manuals, training materials, the minds of employees and other repositories that may be costly to replace. Knowledge represents about 70 percent of corporate costs in the form of research, design, development, marketing and service. Management controls focus mainly on physical assets, which make up only 30 percent of costs. This results in knowledge assets as an untapped opportunity. In the 1990s the corporations that fully capture and deploy knowledge assets will be ahead of the competition. Staying competitive requires attitude adjustment, physical asset management, and knowledge management. The knowledge management problem can be addressed with artificial intelligence and expert system technologies; however, a more comprehensive knowledge system that accommodates knowledge in several forms, such as text, video, rules, cases, procedures and human expertise, is needed. 

Locke, Christopher. �Making knowledge pay: Creating a culture of shared Understanding� Byte v17, n6  June, 1992 p.244. 
Abstract: An overview to a special section on managing information examines ways in which knowledge can be distributed across an organization and turned into a valuable commodity. One basic knowledge sharing tool is the modem, which can allow the user not only to share knowledge across a company but to tap into on-line conferencing systems such as the Well. Concept-oriented information retrieval systems such as Verity's Topic allow the construction of semantic networks, which allow a user to navigate a concept along relational linkages and request documents on relevant subjects. Given the increasing number of multivendor, multiplatform networks, software products that provide vendor-independent integration of information are a must. The ultimate solution may be the Standard Generalized Markup Language, an International Standards Organization standard. 

Customers as Knowledge Assets [top] 

Davenport, Thomas H. and Philip Klahr. "Managing Customer Support Knowledge." In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Glazer, Rashi. "Measuring the Knower: Towards a Theory of Knowledge Equity."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

KM in Practice [top] 

Lincoln, James R., Christina L. Ahmadjian, and Eliot Mason. "Organizational Learning and Purchase-Supply Relationships in Japan: Hitachi, Matsushita, and Toyota Compared."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Powell, Walter W.  "Learning from Collaboration: Knowledge Networks in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Hargadon, Andrew B. "Firms as Knowledge Brokers: Lessons in Pursuing Continuous Innovation."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Nonaka, Ikujiro and Hirotaka Takeuchi. The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of  innovation. New York : Oxford University Press, 1995 
Abstract: An inside look at Japanese businesses considers case studies from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, and 3M; examines two types of organizational knowledge--explicit and tacit--and reveals the results of the Japanese focus on tacit knowledge. The authors contend that Japanese firms are successful because they are innovative--and not merely masters of imitation as some think--and because they create  new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. (*) 

Research Directions [top] 

Holthouse, Dan. "Knowledge Research Issues."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Miles, Grant, Raymond E. Miles, Vincenzo Perrone, and Leif Edvinsson. "Some Conceptual and Research Barriers to the Utilization of Knowledge."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 

Teece, David J. "Research Directions for Knowledge Management."  In California Management Review: Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm. v.40:3 (Spring 1998) 
 
 
 

* Abstract from The Net Intelligence Bibliography http://net-intelligence.net/bookstore.html