| Title |
The Direction of Knowledge Management Research: Making the Research More Creative, Engaged and Relevant |
| ID_Doc |
66530 |
| Authors |
Olaisen, J; Revang, O |
| Title |
The Direction of Knowledge Management Research: Making the Research More Creative, Engaged and Relevant |
| Year |
2018 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
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| Abstract |
The purpose of this paper is analysing and comparing all the academic papers in the proceedings of the ECKM conference in Barcelona 2017. We classified the papers according to five chosen philosophy of science frameworks. The chosen frameworks are analytical tools accepted for all social sciences. The methods indicate the direction of the knowledge management research. The validity and reliability of this direction are secured in the variety of frameworks and by that an evaluation of each paper from five scientific perspectives. The analyses based upon an emphasis upon the knowledge, the problem or instruments indicate that most papers concentrate upon existing knowledge and accepted methodologies and less related to new problems. The results indicate a conference based upon as-is-knowledge and existing methodology and less upon new problems like sustainable businesses, regions, and societies. Most papers are concerned with what we already know and how to improve the existing situation. The papers are less concerned with what we do not know and the intuitive what we do not know that we know. There is by that little progress or accumulation of new knowledge. The researchers do not agree on a school of knowledge management or familiar paradigms or common perspectives. The theoretical foundation has a high degree of similarity across the papers. The construction of data or stories asking what is adequate or inadequate for a good business story or the criticism of research as acceptable versus nonacceptable is not dominating. Most papers analyze definitive concepts verifying existing research as valid and are to a smaller degree falsifying existing research as invalid. We classified most papers to be within an empirical paradigm, fewer papers within a materialistic paradigm and a clarified subjectivity paradigm. Most papers define themselves as objective and in harmony with existing results while some papers are in harmony with the existing results using subjective methods. We classified a few papers within a clarified subjectivity or an action paradigm. The research concepts are accordingly definitive and deductive explaining existing worldviews while much fewer are using sensitizing inductive concepts exploring and exploiting worldviews. The practical implication is to get more engaged research. To move ahead for better quality in the research it is necessary to break free from the tremendous empirical paradigm and the materialistic paradigm and move into the clarified subjectivity and action paradigm. Paradigmatic ecumenism will tend to a fiercer, but an idea-generating debate. This pluralistic approach might give more engaged research representing more sustainable societies and businesses. We propose a model for a more engaged, creative and relevant knowledge management research. |
| Author Keywords |
paradigms; concepts; perspectives; knowledge management; knowledge creation; knowledge accumulation |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH) |
| EID |
WOS:000684210700073 |
| WoS Category |
Business; Information Science & Library Science; Management |
| Research Area |
Business & Economics; Information Science & Library Science |
| PDF |
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