5. Discussion – what we do not know about knowledge management in small and
medium-sized enterprises
Based on the discussion above, it may be concluded that an initial understanding of
knowledge management in SMEs has been developed. The evidence provided above,
however, also reveals that this understanding is rather fragmented.
5.1 Knowledge management perception and knowledge management implementation
Both topics are highly researched, compared to the other issues analyzed. Yet what seems
missing is a distinction between the different types of SMEs, namely micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises. So far, both issues have been discussed from an overall SME
perspective; this approach, however is risky considering the heterogeneity found among
those firms (Curran and Blackburn, 2001). Thus future research should better incorporate
this aspect. Additionally, what sticks out is the lack of cross-country studies and the
prevalence of mono-country approaches instead. However, as there are different
country/region approaches to knowledge management (Takeuchi, 2001) those might be
useful to better understand how SMEs from different countries/regions of the world tackle the
challenges of KM.