This is the latest in the series of Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap books. Its topic is knowledge management. It is indeed very short. It can be read cover-to-cover within a few hours, and as all chapters are about 20 pages long, and written in an engaging, easily accessible style, they can be read individually in 20–30 minutes. For such a short book, it succeeds in giving a reasonably good overview of the academic topic of knowledge management. Each chapter is well focussed on a particular topic, and can be read as a self-contained, independent essay. The first three chapters give an introduction to foundational issues, including why knowledge management has become a popular topic, the academic discipline in which the topic is located, and how it links to the topics of information management and learning, and the nature of management, knowledge and knowledge management. The next three chapters are focussed on particular types of knowledge process that can be managed, the acquisition, transfer and retention of knowledge, innovation processes and the creation of knowledge, and the relatively neglected topics of ignorance, forgetting and unlearning.
While I have a number of critical comments about the book, in general terms I enjoyed reading it, and it succeeded in giving a succinct introduction to many of the key issues, authors and concepts in the domain of knowledge management, from the linkage between knowledge, data, information and wisdom, through the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge to Nonaka and Takeuchi’s theory of knowledge creation and communities of practice. In fact, the range of topics examined is such that it is impossible to summarize them all here. While the book engages seriously with the intellectual ideas and concepts discussed, it is written in an accessible style, which I think students would find appealing, and which makes the book accessible to anyone not familiar with the topic of knowledge management. Another positive aspect of the book is that it is not narrowly focussed on outlining mainstream perspectives, and does not simply summarize and dryly describe the key issues, authors and concepts. Instead, it locates the ideas discussed in a broader, critical perspective, which locates the issues in their social and historical context. Thus, the discussion of the growth of interest in knowledge management begins by talking about Egyptian hieroglyphics before getting on to the contemporary knowledge economy, and the chapter on innovation and knowledge creation begins by discussing the nature of creative industries. A good indication of the book’s willingness to engage in topics at the margins of mainstream debate in knowledge management is the fact that a whole chapter is devoted to the topics of ignorance, forgetting and unlearning. A persuasive argument is developed for the benefit organizations can derive from acknowledging and embracing ignorance, and engaging in processes of unlearning, as they can ultimately be a source of innovation and creativity.
The first of my two main criticisms of the book is that some topics which I think important are neglected. The second is that, because of the size/space constraints of the book, discussion of some topics feels too brief to be adequate. In terms of neglected topics, this may well reflect my personal interests and focus, but I would have liked more discussion on the challenges of sharing knowledge across cultural boundaries, as well as on issues of power. More generally, discussions are typically focussed at the level of the organization, which to some extent neglects individual/worker-level perspectives, such as how factors like trust, conflict and organizational culture may shape their willingness to engage in knowledge management activities. In terms of the brevity of debate, examples include the discussion on Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge creating theory (1995), and the chapter on ignorance. Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge-creation theory is a complex and sophisticated model. Discussing it adequately in a few brief pages is challenging. Equally difficult is developing a detailed, complex argument about the nature of ignorance, and the benefits that organizations can derive from managing it. But these criticisms and concerns relate to the fundamental purpose and character of the book, which is intentionally to provide a brief overview of a topic. To address these concerns effectively would result in the book losing its key distinctive features. However, a simple improvement which would not threaten the book’s brevity would be listing further reading at the end of each chapter rather than in a single, generic list at the end of the book.
A final comment on this book (and all the other books in this series) relates to who the target audience is. This is something that is just not clear. The book is not really targeted at knowledge management academics, who are likely to know the issues under discussion and who may be frustrated by the brevity with which they are discussed. And the book’s format and style hardly make it suitable to be the core textbook for courses on knowledge management. Coverage of issues is patchy, and detail limited. Still, the number of books in the series suggests that Sage must be content with sales generated. For me, the book is useful as a source of secondary reading on my knowledge management courses, for students who want a quick overview of the topic.
School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University
D.Hislop@123456lboro.ac.uk
© 2016, Donald Hislop
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08109028.2016.1207862