Talking about Knowledge with Human Resource Practitioners

In all that has been written about organizational knowledge in recent years, the voices of organizational actors have rarely been heard. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored how Human Resource (HR) professionals talked about knowledge in relation to their practice within large organizations. They talked about areas of knowledge, the importance of knowledge and the use of knowledge in practice. The data enable us to examine the complex relationship between knowledge and practice, which variously reflects both broader occupational and specific organizational influences. Our findings provide useful insight into the application of existing theoretical ideas about knowledge. We also highlight areas that are as yet insufficiently addressed; particularly consideration of the co-existence of different constructions of knowledge, the purposes these may serve beyond the traditional view of knowledge as enhancing operational business processes and consideration of the role of affect in knowledge processes.