KM and LIS: Explicit Knowledge

Explicit knowledge is a crucial component of Knowledge Management (KM), but it also intersects significantly with Library and Information Science (LIS). The distinction lies in KM’s broader scope and its application compared to LIS. Here’s why explicit knowledge is considered part of KM:

1. Holistic Knowledge Lifecycle in KM

• KM encompasses the entire knowledge lifecycle—creation, sharing, storage, and application. Explicit knowledge, codified and easily articulated (like documents, manuals, and databases) plays a key role in this cycle.
• KM focuses on integrating explicit knowledge into organizational processes, enhancing decision-making, innovation, and learning. It goes beyond just storing and organizing information to ensuring that this knowledge is effectively used and continuously updated.

2. Strategic Use of Knowledge

• In KM, explicit knowledge is strategically managed to improve organizational performance. KM involves transforming explicit knowledge into actionable insights, fostering collaboration, and promoting a knowledge-sharing culture.
• The goal is not just to organize and retrieve information but to use it as a strategic asset to solve problems, innovate, and maintain competitive advantage.

3. Contextual and Collaborative Emphasis

• KM places a strong emphasis on the context in which knowledge is applied and the collaborative processes through which knowledge is shared and developed. This involves understanding how explicit knowledge interacts with tacit knowledge (the unarticulated know-how) within communities of practice and organizational networks.
• LIS typically focuses more on the organization, classification, and retrieval of information, without as much emphasis on the dynamic interplay between explicit and tacit knowledge.

4. Dynamic Knowledge Flow

• KM addresses the dynamic flow of knowledge within and across organizational boundaries. It considers how explicit knowledge can be updated, improved, and disseminated to ensure it remains relevant and useful.
• LIS, while adept at managing explicit knowledge, traditionally emphasizes the static organization and archiving of information for retrieval rather than the ongoing utilization and transformation of that knowledge in a business or organizational context.

5. Knowledge Conversion Processes

• A key concept in KM is Nonaka and Takeuchi’s SECI model (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization), which describes how knowledge transforms from tacit to explicit and vice versa. Explicit knowledge is critical in this model, as it is often externalized from tacit knowledge and then combined and internalized within the organization.
• LIS typically focuses on the externalization and combination phases but does not extensively address the socialization and internalization aspects, which are central to KM.

Conclusion

Explicit knowledge is part of KM because KM focuses on the strategic, dynamic, and contextual management of knowledge to create value within organizations. While Library and Information Science plays an essential role in managing explicit knowledge, its focus is more on the organization, preservation, and access to information rather than the broader integration and application of knowledge within the organizational context that KM emphasizes.