A Paradigmatic and Methodological Examination of KM Research: 2000 to 2004

Abstract

This study addresses a long-standing and well-recognized problem in KM research, namely the lack of a cumulative tradition. This problem is addressed by an intensive and critical review of the knowledge management literature that identifies gaps and recommends how these should be filled. KM articles are classified by research paradigm, research methodology, and research interest (technical, practical, and emancipatory). The survey methodology is intensive. Leading journals that publish significant knowledge management research are identified. All articles relevant to knowledge management, organizational learning, and organizational memory for the five-year period 2000-2004 are surveyed and classified by multiple reviewers. The key finding is that inquiry in KM is starkly unbalanced. Overuse of the positivist paradigm and its dominant research method (sample survey) prevents the exploitation of the highly relevant insights available via the use of the interpretivist and critical pluralist paradigms and the field study method.