A formal knowledge management ontology: Conduct, activities, resources, and influences: Research Articles

  • Authors:

  • C. W. Holsapple;K. D. Joshi

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Management, Carol M. Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0034;School of Accounting, Information Systems and Business Law, College of Business and Economics, P.O. Box 644750, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 991164-4750

  • Venue:
  • Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
  • Year:
  • 2004

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Abstract

This article describes a collaboratively engineered general-purpose knowledge management (KM) ontology that can be used by practitioners, researchers, and educators. The ontology is formally characterized in terms of nearly one hundred definitions and axioms that evolved from a Delphi-like process involving a diverse panel of over 30 KM practitioners and researchers. The ontology identifies and relates knowledge manipulation activities that an entity (e.g., an organization) can perform to operate on knowledge resources. It introduces a taxonomy for these resources, which indicates classes of knowledge that may be stored, embedded, and/or represented in an entity. It recognizes factors that influence the conduct of KM both within and across KM episodes. The Delphi panelists judge the ontology favorably overall: its ability to unify KM concepts, its comprehensiveness, and utility. Moreover, various implications of the ontology for the KM field are examined as indicators of its utility for practitioners, educators, and researchers. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.