Knowledge management: how to foster creation and flow Available to Purchase

The purpose of this article is to help managers and scholars understand the state‐of‐the‐art in knowledge management (KM) and how it is likely to develop further. The paper draws on many examples and original research to outline a conceptual framework describing the evolution of KM. KM is presently limited because the nature of knowledge makes it difficult to actually “manage.” Instead, the field is moving toward an organic form of management focusing on three main concepts: “e‐organizations” that automatically integrate all information and knowledge, “self‐organizing systems” composed of small entrepreneurial units that draw out creative knowledge from the bottom up, and “corporate communities” that use stakeholder knowledge to improve strategy. Managers should develop these organic organizational forms because they encourage the natural creation and flow of knowledge more effectively.