The Implementation of Knowledge Management Practices: A Theoretical Perspective Including both Cooperation-based Analysis and Conflict-based Analysis
Keywords:
Knowledge Management Practices, IT Professionals, Cooperation-based Analysis and Conflict-based Analysis, Qualitative Research ApproachAbstract
This paper explores how knowledge management practices are implemented in everyday IT professionals’ jobs based on a theoretical perspective, including both cooperation-based analysis and conflict-based analysis, which has been relatively marginalized by the existing knowledge management literature. To fill this gap, 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with IT professionals from different organizations, and a thematic analysis approach was adopted to analyze the qualitative data. The results reflect that, in order not to experience a complete loss of autonomy as well as to keep a certain degree of compliance with management rules and regulations, IT professionals continually adjust their behavior to maintain a delicate balance between cooperation-based activities and conflict-based activities, which take place iteratively and simultaneously respond to management control. This result contributes to the existing literature by proposing a new theoretical model and expanding the applicable scenarios of the existing theory.
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