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Foreword: Can Knowledge Management Survive?

The title of this foreword, “ Can Knowledge Management Survive? ” is perhaps rather
strange for this second edition of this leading textbook on knowledge management
(KM). However, as the KM fi eld has taught us to be “ refl ective practitioners, ” this
question is worth pondering.
Knowledge management has been around for twenty years or more, in terms of its
growth as a discipline. Even though the roots of knowledge management go back far
beyond that, is knowledge management generally accepted within organizations, and
is KM a lasting fi eld or discipline?
To answer the fi rst question, we can review some anecdotal evidence that suggests
KM is more widely accepted within certain industries than others. Over the years,
the pharmaceutical, energy, aerospace, manufacturing, and legal industries have
perhaps been some of the leaders in KM organizational adoption. In looking toward
the future, the public health and health care fi elds are certainly well positioned to
leverage knowledge throughout the world. And as the graying workforce ensues and
the baby boomers retire, knowledge retention will continue to play a key role in
many sectors, such as in government, nuclear energy, education, and others. So, KM
has permeated many organizations and has the propensity to propagate to others.
However, there are still many organizations that equate KM to be IT (information
technology), and do not fully grasp the concept of building and nurturing a knowl-
edge sharing culture for promoting innovation. Many organizations do not have KM
seamlessly woven within their fabric, and many organizations do not recognize or
reward their employees for knowledge sharing activities. It is getting harder to fi nd
the title of a “ chief knowledge offi cer ” or a “ knowledge management director ” in
organizations, suggesting two possibilities. The fi rst is that KM is indeed embedded
within the organization ’ s culture so there is no need to single it out. The second
proposition is that KM has lost its appeal and importance, so there is no need to
have a CKO or equivalent position, especially in these diffi cult economic times.