IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/jmbace/v25y2017i3p78-96n5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge Safety – Insights from the SME Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Zięba Małgorzata

    (Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Management and Economics, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland)

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the topic of knowledge safety, defined as the state of knowledge being safe from loss, leakage, attrition, oblivion, waste or theft. The paper first presents a theoretical background and review of previous studies on knowledge loss and ways of overcoming it, and then illustrates the topic of knowledge safety with ten case studies from the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector. Methodology: The paper is based on an analysis of Knowledge Management (KM) literature devoted to knowledge loss and its potential types in companies, and on the results of case study research. Knowledge safety was first defined and contrasted with other terms, and then examined in 10 selected SMEs. The research resulted in a clarification of what SMEs understand by the term of “knowledge safety” and what kind of measures they take to ensure it. Findings: As the analysis shows, the examined SMEs attribute diversified significance to the issue of knowledge safety. For some of them, such problem does not exist at all and they state that they can ensure knowledge safety in all aspects of their operations. Some companies perceive it mainly through the safety of the knowledge stored in electronic databases, while others link it with the human factor only. Research limitations: Research results are limited to ten companies operating in Poland. As such, they cannot illustrate the whole picture of the existing small or medium-sized companies. Research implications: The findings of both literature review and case study analysis indicate that there is a need to further examine the issue of knowledge safety by analysing the potential factors which may endanger knowledge safety and the methods to eliminate such risks. Practical implications: The paper examines important aspects of knowledge safety and provides guidelines on how it can be ensured by managers or owners of SMEs. Originality/value: The term of knowledge safety has been absent from the related literature so far. The paper defines it and explores both the theoretical and the practical aspects thereof. The paper also suggests further research possibilities in this area.

Suggested Citation

  • Zięba Małgorzata, 2017. "Knowledge Safety – Insights from the SME Sector," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 25(3), pages 78-96, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:jmbace:v:25:y:2017:i:3:p:78-96:n:5
    DOI: 10.7206/jmba.ce.2450-7814.203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.7206/jmba.ce.2450-7814.203
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.7206/jmba.ce.2450-7814.203?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rory Eckardt & Bruce C. Skaggs & Mark Youndt, 2014. "Turnover and Knowledge Loss: An Examination of the Differential Impact of Production Manager and Worker Turnover in Service and Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(7), pages 1025-1057, November.
    2. Pablo Martin de Holan & Nelson Phillips, 2004. "Remembrance of Things Past? The Dynamics of Organizational Forgetting," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1603-1613, November.
    3. Susanne Durst & Malgorzata Zieba, 2017. "Knowledge risks - towards a taxonomy," International Journal of Business Environment, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1), pages 51-63.
    4. de Holan Pablo Martin & Nelson Phillips, 2004. "Remembrance of things past? : The Dynamics of Organizational Forgetting," Post-Print hal-02312935, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gopesh Anand & John Gray & Enno Siemsen, 2012. "Decay, Shock, and Renewal: Operational Routines and Process Entropy in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1700-1716, December.
    2. Pierre-Xavier Meschi & Emmanuel Métais, 2007. "Expérience, oubli organisationnel et motifs de désinvestissement des acquisitions internationales:le cas des acquisitions françaises aux États-Unis (1988-2004)," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 10(4), pages 73-109, December.
    3. J-G Cegarra-Navarro & M-T Sánchez-Polo, 2008. "Linking the individual forgetting context with customer capital from a seller's perspective," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(12), pages 1614-1623, December.
    4. Yu Liu & T. Ravichandran, 2015. "Alliance Experience, IT-Enabled Knowledge Integration, and Ex Ante Value Gains," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 511-530, April.
    5. Linda Argote & Sunkee Lee & Jisoo Park, 2021. "Organizational Learning Processes and Outcomes: Major Findings and Future Research Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5399-5429, September.
    6. Brice Dattée & James Barlow, 2017. "Multilevel Organizational Adaptation: Scale Invariance in the Scottish Healthcare System," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(2), pages 301-319, April.
    7. Jennifer Oetzel & Chang Hoon Oh, 2021. "A storm is brewing: Antecedents of disaster preparation in risk prone locations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(8), pages 1545-1570, August.
    8. Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio Luis & Eldridge, Stephen & Roldán, José Luis & Leal-Millán, Antonio Genaro & Ortega-Gutiérrez, Jaime, 2015. "Organizational unlearning, innovation outcomes, and performance: The moderating effect of firm size," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 803-809.
    9. Wolfgang H. Güttel & Stefan Konlechner & Barbara Müller, 2012. "Entscheidungsmuster und Veränderungsarchitekturen in Wandelprozessen: Eine Dynamic Capabilities-Perspektive," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 64(6), pages 630-654, September.
    10. Velu, C. & Iyer, S., 2008. "The Rationality of Irrationality for Managers: Returns- Based Beliefs and the Traveller’s Dilemma," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0826, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    11. Fan, Terence & Schwab, Andreas & Geng, Xuesong, 2021. "Habitual entrepreneurship in digital platform ecosystems: A time-contingent model of learning from prior software project experiences," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    12. Wageeh A. Nafei, 2017. "The Impact of Organizational Forgetting on Knowledge Management: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Industry in Egypt," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(11), pages 193-205, November.
    13. Benedikt Schnellbächer & Sven Heidenreich, 2020. "The role of individual ambidexterity for organizational performance: examining effects of ambidextrous knowledge seeking and offering," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1535-1561, October.
    14. Kogan, Konstantin & El Ouardighi, Fouad & Herbon, Avi, 2017. "Production with learning and forgetting in a competitive environment," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 52-62.
    15. Cheryl Gaimon & Gülru F. Özkan & Karen Napoleon, 2011. "Dynamic Resource Capabilities: Managing Workforce Knowledge with a Technology Upgrade," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1560-1578, December.
    16. D. Mehta & Naveen K Mehta & Jitendra K. Sharma, 2011. "Knowledge Management in Economic Downturn: Indian Scenario," BRAND. Broad Research in Accounting, Negotiation, and Distribution, EduSoft Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 16-21, October.
    17. Bai, Xuan & Wang, Qingtao & Sheng, Shibin & Li, Julie Juan, 2021. "Cross-level interpersonal ties and IJV innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 618-630.
    18. Anupam Agrawal & Suresh Muthulingam, 2015. "Does Organizational Forgetting Affect Vendor Quality Performance? An Empirical Investigation," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 350-367, July.
    19. Garcia-Lorenzo, Lucia, 2020. "Organizational remembering as a trigger for cultural change: Exploring the episodic memories of a financial scandal," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    20. Shuochen Wei & Lifang Wang & Wenbo Jiang & Liwei Feng & Taiwen Feng, 2023. "How eco‐control systems enhance carbon performance via low‐carbon supply chain collaboration? The moderating role of organizational unlearning," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2536-2554, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:jmbace:v:25:y:2017:i:3:p:78-96:n:5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.