Knowledge management for competitive advantage during economic crisis

Due to the practical importance of knowledge in different contexts, whether natural or legal, it is generally accepted that knowledge management can be truly considered as one of the most essential requirements during economic crisis, which, in turn, plays a pivotal role in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Accordingly, the present book aims to draw attention to intellectual capital as well as knowledge assets within organisations, and share new theories, research findings and case studies to enhance understanding and collaboration in issues of knowledge management and human resource management. It includes 17 chapters contributed by more than 30 authors. In addition to providing readers with a variety of definitions, terms, concepts, notions, related literature and theoretical foundations concerning knowledge management, knowledge assets, organisational learning, creativity and so forth, this collection reports on some cases utilising and implementing knowledge management principles and practices into the culture of organisations, or to be precise, day-to-day working processes. For example, the role of intellectual capital in improving the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the electrical and electronics manufacturing sector, the importance of trust and organisational culture in knowledge management system building, the impact of knowledge assets management on the energy industry, the link between human capital and external knowledge acquisition, the challenges negatively affecting knowledge sharing and transfer, the major intellectual capital measurement and reporting models, the role of tacit knowledge in realising sustainable competitive advantage, capitalising knowledge within online communities, the linking between knowledge management and the development of a smart tourist destination, the contribution of human resources factors to innovation in service firms, the role of succession planning in coping with knowledge loss and securing the SMEs’ survivability and improving inter-organisational knowledge transfer in the public sector by formation of organisational silos are among the main studies examined. Regardless of the well-designed structure of the book, by taking a social–psychological–cultural–technological–managerial–economic approach, it reminds us that to get good governance and to create individual, organisational and social well-being, knowledge as a sine qua non must be managed. With its literary warrant, research methods, models, lessons and particularly, the balance between practical and theoretical aspects of knowledge management, the wisdom embodied in the collection emphasises that we must stop viewing knowledge management as a theoretical debate. By addressing and trying to alleviate real-world challenges, this impressive collection will be a useful resource for a wide variety of audiences, including policymakers, economists, managers, technology managers, librarians, students, professors and researchers.

Soodabeh Omidkhah

Islamic azad University Hamedan Branch, Iran