This study aims to address the fragmented and theoretically underdeveloped state of Knowledge Management (KM) research in social purpose organizations. While KM is critical for social purpose organizations, the existing literature is geographically biased towards high-income nations and lacks a cohesive framework to guide research and practice. This paper’s primary objective is to identify these critical research voids and propose a comprehensive model to advance the field.
A systematic review guided by the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews framework was undertaken, involving the analysis of 48 studies. RStudio and Excel were used to examine and synthesize bibliographic data. A revised conceptual model of integrated KM processes, adapted from Lettieri et al. (2004), is presented based on the findings.
The study’s analysis reveals significant gaps in the literature. Thematically, while knowledge sharing and creation are well-documented, there is a lack of research on critical processes like knowledge protection, knowledge retrieval, knowledge spillover, knowledge disconnection and counterproductive knowledge behaviours. The Theory, Context, Characteristics, Methods analysis highlights a lack of theoretical anchoring, contextual diversity and methodological robustness in existing studies. It identifies notable gaps through systematic analysis, offering a strategic roadmap for future inquiry.
Contextually, the field is dominated by studies from high-income countries and large organizations, limiting the applicability of findings to social purpose organizations in the global South and to smaller organizations. Methodologically, there is a heavy reliance on qualitative studies and a scarcity of longitudinal research.
This paper makes three distinct contributions. Firstly, it provides the first comprehensive map of the KM in social purpose organizations field using a rigorous hybrid review method that clearly outlines its intellectual structure. Secondly, it proposes a novel integrated KM process model tailored for social purpose organizations, offering a much-needed theoretical framework that synthesizes disparate KM activities. Thirdly, by systematically identifying key theoretical, contextual and methodological gaps, it provides a detailed agenda to guide a new generation of more inclusive and impactful research in the field.
