Rocks in the Stream: An Exploration of Knowledge Flow Inhibitors within Organizations

This study analyzes the flow of knowledge within firms at the individual level. Managers participate in semi-structured interviews. Content analysis identifies factors that obstruct or modulate the flow of knowledge such as knowledge filtering and packaging. These must be understood in order to create more effective knowledge flow within organizations. Résumé : Cette étude analyse la circulation des connaissances dans les organisations au niveau individuel. Les gestionnaires participent à des entrevues semi-structurées. Une analyse du contenu identifie les facteurs qui entravent ou modulent la circulation des connaissances, comme le filtrage et l’intégration des connaissances. Ces facteurs doivent être compris de manière à créer une circulation des connaissances plus efficace dans les organisations. 1.0 Introduction As the field known as knowledge management matures, American industry has come to understand the value of knowledge. This is not to say that this understanding is universal or constant throughout the landscape of organizations, but it exists. One reason for this uneven acceptance of the value of knowledge might be the lack of a standard definition of knowledge. Popular definitions of knowledge center on its position at the top of the data – information – knowledge hierarchy (Davenport 1997). A more useful definition of knowledge is an understanding or set of justified beliefs about relationships among concepts relevant to a particular area (Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez and Sabherwal 2004). Further definition of knowledge must also include its creation through experience or study (Awad and Ghaziri 2004). Knowledge is also defined as containing a significant organization and synthesis component, specifically its ability to organize data, information, and prior knowledge for synthesis with pre-existing knowledge (Langlois 1983). With such wide ranging attributes, it is understandable that industry has a difficult time identifying knowledge explicitly. What is important is that industry can recognize the role knowledge plays in their operations and success. To fulfill this mission, the essential characteristics of knowledge must be understood within the context of an organization. To do this, we must recognize that as organizations vary, so do their policies on the use of knowledge, such as those governing its transmission and storage. We must also recognize that the manner in which an individual uses knowledge differs from the way an organization does (Mueller and Dyerson 1999). Therefore, to fully understand the knowledge aspects of an organization, we must understand how variation in organizational characteristics affect organizational knowledge and how individual knowledge affects, and is affected by, the organization’s knowledge policies.