Knowledge management

Knowledge management, or KM for short, is the way organizations handle what they know. It is a system that helps them collect, organize, share, and use knowledge to make better decisions, improve teamwork, and stay ahead of the competition.^[1] This knowledge can come in two forms: explicit knowledge, which is easy to write down or record (like reports or manuals), and tacit knowledge, which is harder to explain (like personal experience or skills you pick up over time).^[2][3] KM became more popular in the 1990s as computers and the internet made it easier to store and share information.^[4] Two important thinkers, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, created the SECI model, which shows how knowledge moves and changes in a company. The model includes Socialization (sharing experience with others), Externalization (turning ideas into written form), Combination (mixing different knowledge together), and Internalization (learning from what’s shared to build new skills).^[3]

The Knowledge Spiral as described by Nonaka & Takeuchi

Good knowledge management has several parts. First, companies need to get knowledge, such as by hiring experts or doing interviews. Then they need to store it in a place where it can be found later, like a company database. Next, they need to share it, using tools like training programs or team chats. Finally, they have to use it in real situations, like when starting a new project or solving a problem.^[5][6] For KM to work well, companies need leaders who support it, tools like search engines and document libraries, and a culture where people want to help each other. But KM can be hard to do if people are secretive with what they know, if the systems are messy, or if employees ignore ideas that did not come from their own team.^[7][8]

Companies use many tools for KM, including internal websites, chat apps, and even artificial intelligence that helps find the right information faster.^[9] These tools organize knowledge using tags and categories to make it easier to search. Some companies also do knowledge audits, where they check what information they have, what is missing, and how it is used.^[10] Many teams also form communities of practice, which are informal groups where people with similar jobs or interests regularly share tips and ideas.^[11]

KM is especially important in fields like healthcare, technology, defense, and space exploration. For example, NASA has a Lessons Learned Information System that collects mistakes and successes from past missions so future ones can go more smoothly.^[12] To check if KM is working, companies look at things like how quickly new employees learn their jobs, how fast problems are solved, or how often new ideas are created. It is also important for KM to follow rules about privacy, copyrights, and fairness. If companies do not manage information properly, they could break laws or lose people’s trust.^[13] In times of big change, like when employees leave or a crisis hits, KM helps keep the company running smoothly by making sure important knowledge is not lost. As more people work from home or in different time zones, companies are using cloud tools and online platforms to keep knowledge flowing. New methods, like Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) and agile knowledge-sharing in DevOps, show how KM is becoming more flexible and team-driven.^[14][15]