Can KM be used in a low technology environment
to assist traditional social structures in changing the
way knowledge is transferred? This paper suggests it
can. While applied in a Thai rural context, the
practical implication of this research is that any social
process that relies on a traditional, family based,
knowledge pass down approach (father to son, mother
to daughter, parent to child) can be maintained by
changing the knowledge transfer process to a more
social basis per Nonaka and Takeuchi [12] (in
particular by applying the socialization process). The
key to success is in creating local social structures to
replace broken family structures. This paper looks at
rural villages in Thailand where the youth are
migrating away from the rural villages to the
opportunities in the urban centers. The remaining
villagers are facing economic decline as the traditional
family structures are failing to pass knowledge to
villagers outside of the family. Researchers used a KM
Process Model that was based on the creation of social
“families;” groups forged on common interest in a
knowledge area. Each group identified knowledge
leaders and knowledge capture processes that led to the
creation of group specialized bodies of knowledge.
These bodies of knowledge served as replacement
knowledge repositories for traditional family
repositories and were made available to all in the social
group. The two villages where the KM Process Model
was piloted experienced economic success. This leads
to the conclusion that this research is successful in
helping to create economically sustainable rural
villages.