There are three obvious reasons why knowledge management (KM) is imperative to
the Malaysian HEIs. First and foremost, HEIs by nature are knowledge-intensive
organisations where they are recognised to be in the knowledge business (Cronin and
Davenport, 2000; Goddard, 1998) since knowledge production, distribution and
application are ingrained in the institution (Ho et al., 2008). Knowledge, in this case, is
both an HEI’s main production factor as well as its final product (Goddard, 1998).
Second, the unprecedented growth of HEIs, in which the numbers have more than
doubled after 1996, compelled with the increasing intakes by institutions, both public
and private, have driven stiff competition among them for academics and students,
both locally and abroad. Third, the recent issues of quality of courses offered by
various HEIs have been a great concern to the nation. This is evident from the drop in
ranking of some top institutions in Malaysia. As such, by considering both the
resource- and knowledge-based views, proper management of knowledge can act as a
strategic tool for these HEIs to remain and/or gain competitive advantage.