Knowledge management in three financial organisations: a case study

The article is a report of an investigation of the current state of knowledge management implementation in three South African financial organisations. Two data collection methods were used, namely a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews with senior representatives of the organisations. Although some of the respondents felt that knowledge management is another fad, the majority of the respondents indicated that knowledge management is a major strategic imperative for staying competitive. They also regard their organisations as knowledge‐based businesses. Three‐quarters of the respondents reported that the most compelling reason for investing in knowledge management was increased value for customers. Although various barriers to knowledge management were identified, the results of the case studies indicated that knowledge management was seen as a new way to expose tacit knowledge, as well as a more effective way of creating and organising corporate knowledge.