Concepts and Definitions
Despite the fact that the literature is relatively recent, it demonstrates
three clear phases of development beginning with the dominance of
information technologies and developing into the recognition of a
knowledge economy. The relative immaturity of the field is also re-
flected in the ongoing debate as to definitions of knowledge manage-
ment, as shown below.
History. The development of the literature can be categorized into
three phases (Sveiby 2001). The first phase was based on the role of
information technologies in enhancing productivity by managing the
rapid growth and availability of information. This was a product of
computing developments from the mid-60s onwards and led commen-
tators such as Drucker (1988) to develop the concepts of knowledge
work and worker. The second phase in the mid- to late-80s saw a shift
to a knowledge-based society that was beginning to be driven by markets
rather than production. This was also reflected in the literature with
Jafari’s (1990) call for a knowledge-based platform for tourism litera-
ture. This phase was customer-focused with knowledge leveraged to in-
crease awareness of markets and enhance service quality. Much of this
thinking was led by Senge’s (1990) publication on learning organiza-
tions, called ‘‘the fifth discipline’’ and strongly influenced by develop-
ments in Japan (Nonaka 1991; Nonaka and Takeuci 1995). It was in this
second phase that leading organizations were able to boost competitive-
ness by using knowledge management initiatives to release previously
untapped pools of know-how and practices. In tourism, these organiza-
tions included Singapore Airlines and British Airways (Ahmed, Lim and
Loh 2002). The third phase began in the mid- to late-1990s, continued
into the 21st century, and has the most to offer the tourism industry. In
this phase, knowledge became a resource as the information age
evolved into the knowledge economy directly based upon the produc-
tion, distribution, and use of information (Jones 2001; OECD 2001).
This economy is characterized by structural change as the new products
and innovations are brought about by technology development. This
has led to the employment of highly skilled labor as a means of compet-
itive advantage; an important issue for tourism where many of the
human resource practices mitigate against employment and retention
of highly skilled employees (Becherel and Cooper 2002). It is in this
phase that policy initiatives have begun to focus on the removal of bar-
riers to transfer and adoption, targeting enterprises by sector or size
(Archibugi et al 1999). According to the OECD, ‘‘policies which engage
human capital, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the growth process
alongside polices to mobilize labor and increase investment, are likely
to bear the most fruit over the long term’’ (2001:8). This is an impor-
tant new policy context for tourism if it is to be ‘‘a professional and
respected stakeholder in economic life’’ (Hjalager 2002:473).
The next phase of knowledge management will face a number of
challenges and developments as identified by King, Marks and McCoy’s
(2002) Delphi survey of its practitioners. They note that the future of
the field will be influenced by the ability to articulate and demonstrate
its strategic benefits, gain senior management support, evaluate and
identify organizations’ core knowledge, capture the tacit, and demon-
strate the long-term stability of knowledge requirements and security.
The above three phases were driven by a number of key influences.
Phase one was the realization of the importance of leveraging the intel-
lectual assets of an organization to enhance competitiveness. As tech-
nology has speeded up business processes, so tourism organizations
have to be in a position to respond quickly to the changing demands
of customers and suppliers, and to new opportunities and environmen-
tal needs (Coakes, Willis and Clarke 2002). As a result, learning curves
have shortened, product development cycles have accelerated, and
innovation has increased across all areas of tourism. Second, there is
no doubt that technology has been a key driver, initially through the
processing capability of computers and rapid transmission ability of
networks (Buhalis 2003). The Internet in particular has accelerated
the capabilities of knowledge management and reduced the price of
transfer (Applehans, Globe and Laugero 1999). Because all organiza-
tions have access to technology, it acts as a capability leveler with the
differentiating factor in competitiveness being knowledge and how
it is managed (Awad and Ghaziri 2004). Third, organizations have
re-engineered their structures to facilitate the development and shar-
ing of knowledge across an entity; this demands that it is well net-
worked and has an atmosphere of trust. This also has led learning
organizations to decentralize their decisionmaking structures (Appleh-
ans et al 1999) and create cross-functional teams. In the past, downsiz-
ing and re-engineering efforts have meant that much organizational
knowledge has been lost. Realization of this has prompted strategies
to reduce attrition. Organizations have also looked beyond their own
structures as globalization created opportunities for sharing, partner-
ships, and alliances with others in terms of knowledge-intensive prod-
ucts and transfer (Applehans 1999; Cooper and Wahab 2001).
Definitions. Although definitions of knowledge management are still
developing, Dosi, Nelson and Winter (2002) note that there is growing
agreement on its meaning. As would be expected, definitions reflect
the interest of their authors with a clear distinction between practitio-
ners and academics. The latter approach knowledge management as a
complex amalgam of disciplines and subjects, including information
technology, human resources, business management, organizational
behavior, and psychology. Denning (2000) describes it as comprising
multiple dimensions including strategy, communities of practice, help
desks, capture, storage, and dissemination of knowledge, taxonomies,
quality assurance, authentication procedures, budget incentives, and
knowledge measures (p.114).
In contrast, practitioners use knowledge management to leverage
within an organization in order to better achieve its objectives; and
so they define it as the art of creating value from intangible assets
(Liebowitz 1999; Nonaka 1991; Sveiby 2001). Practitioners create value
through a ‘‘process of capturing and making use of a firm’s collective
expertise anywhere in the business’’ (Awad and Ghaziri 2004:3). This is
done through ‘‘the coming together of organizational processes, infor-
mation processing technologies, organizational strategies, and culture
for the enhanced management and leverage of human knowledge and
learning for the benefit of the company’’ (Ahmed et al 2002:12).
The two approaches of the academic and the practitioner can be com-
bined to deliver the straightforward and clear definition of Davidson and
Voss to which the additional tourism emphasis can be added: ‘‘know-
ledge management is about applying the knowledge assets available to
[a tourism] organization to create competitive advantage’’ (2002:32).