Factors influencing knowledge creation in organizations, a literature review

Abstract

During the last decades, the amount of knowledge has been increasing remarkably and its importance for organizations has been acknowledged. Knowledge has been accepted as the most critical resource for a competitive advantage and in addition, when new knowledge is created, it can be manifested in new ideas, skills and probably even better understanding, which results in improvements in where ever the new knowledge is used in organizations. A considerable amount of research has been conducted in studying individual factors that influence knowledge creation, however, less attention has been paid in integrating these views. This thesis aims at providing that big picture.

This paper identifies factors, which have been linked to influencing knowledge creation in organizations, by reviewing the previous literature. The results of the literature review are synthesised and integrated and they show that only a few individual-related factors are linked to knowledge creation whereas social factors and the role of the organization is major. This work provides a synthesis of the causalities behind knowledge creation and based on this study; organizations can better focus their resources on activities that truly foster knowledge creation.