Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to review research on knowledge management in small and
medium-sized enterprises to identify gaps in the current body of knowledge, which justify future
research directions.
Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of a systematic review of 36-refereed empirical
articles on knowledge management and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Findings – The areas of knowledge management implementation, knowledge management
perception, and knowledge transfer are relatively well researched topics; whereas those of
knowledge identification, knowledge storage/retention and knowledge utilisation are poorly
understood. Given the prevalence of small and medium-sized enterprises there is a strong need for
more research on this important topic. The future research directions proposed by the authors may help
to develop a greater understanding of knowledge management in small and medium-sized enterprises.
Research limitations/implications – By only using the ProQuest database this study may not have
allowed a complete coverage of all empirical articles in the field of knowledge management in small and
medium-sized enterprises. Yet, it is believed that the findings provide a valuable understanding of the
current situation in this research field. The study proposes a number of future research directions, which
may stimulate more intensive research in this important field.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic
has previously been published in academic journals.
Keywords Knowledge management, Small to medium-sized enterprises, Systematic review,
Entrepreneurship, Research
Paper type Literature review