Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding Knowledge Management in Public Organizations through the Organizational Knowing Perspective: a Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

  • Published:
Public Organization Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aims to explore the phenomenon of KM within public organizations through the ‘organizational knowing’ perspective. It was conducted a systematic literature review by using two online databases: Scopus and WOS. A dataset of 123 publications was analysed through citation and co-citation analysis. Results have shown the existence of a network of the 42 most cited sources and 2 topic clusters. This paper contributes to the literature by presenting a comprehensive overview of KM within public sector organizations and leads to further reflections on the concept of organizational knowing as a central mechanism in the production and articulation of knowledge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahamson, E., & Rosenkopf, L. (1997). Social network effects on the extent of innovation diffusion: A computer simulation. Organization Science, 8(3), 289–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal, R., & Prasad, J. (1998). The antecedents and consequents of user perceptions in information technology adoption. Decision Support Systems, 22(1), 15–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrifoglio, R. (2015). Knowledge preservation through Community of Practice: Theoretical issues and empirical evidence. Springer.

  • Aguiari R., Di Nauta, P. (2012). Governing business dynamics in complex contexts. Mercati e Competitività, fascicolo n. 1, 39-59, Franco Angeli, Milano.

  • Alvino, F., Agrifoglio, R., Metallo, C., and Lepore, L. (2011). Learning and knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice: A case study. In A. D’Atri et al. Information Technology and Innovation Trends in Organizations, Springer, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  • Amayah, T. A. (2013). Determinants of knowledge sharing in a public sector organization. Journal of Knowledge Management, 17(3), 454–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, E. (2011). Knowledge management in public sector. Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 2(1), 165–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badinelli, R., Barile, S., Ng, I. C. L., Polese, F., Saviano, M., & Di Nauta, P. (2012). Viable service systems and decision-making in service management. Journal of Service Management, 23(4), 498–526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barile S., Di Nauta P., Iandolo F. (2016). La decostruzione della complessità. Studi MOA – Collana di Management e Organizzazione Aziendale, Editrice Minerva Bancaria, Roma.

  • Bass, C., & Lee, J. M. (2002). Building a business case for EAI. EAI Journal, 18–20.

  • Binz-Scharf, M. C., Lazer, D., & Mergel, I. (2012). Searching for answers: Networks of practice among public administrators. The American Review of Public Administration, 42(2), 202–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, S. N., Whisler, T. L., & The innovative organisation. (1967). A selective view of current theory and research. Journal of Business, 40(4), 462–469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackler, F. (1995). Knowledge, knowledge work and organizations: An overview and interpretation. Organization Studies, 16(6), 1021–1046.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolívar, M. P. R., Muñoz, L. A., & Hernández, A. M. L. (2012). Studying e-government: Research methodologies, data compilation techniques and future outlook. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 51, 79–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2000). Mysteries of the region: Knowledge dynamics in Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley edge, 16-45.

  • Brudney, J. L., & Seldon, S. C. (1995). The adoption of innovation by smaller local governments: The case of computer technology. American Review of Public Administration, 25(1), 71–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canestrino, R., Ćwiklicki, M., Di Nauta, P., & Magliocca, P. (2019). Creating social value through entrepreneurship: The social business model of La Paranza. Kybernetes, 48(10), 2190–2216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. D., & Henry, N. (1975). A symposium: Knowledge management. Public Administration Review, 35(6), 616–638.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cegarra-Navarro, J. G., Pachón, J. R. C., & Cegarra, J. L. M. (2012). E-government and citizen's engagement with local affairs through e-websites: The case of Spanish municipalities. International Journal of Information Management, 32(5), 469–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cong, X., & Pandya, K. V. (2003). Issues of knowledge management in the public sector. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 1(2), 25–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, S. D. N., & Brown, J. S. (1999). Bridging epistemologies: The generative dance between organizational knowledge and organizational knowing. Organization Science, 10(4), 381–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Culnan, M. J. (1987). Mapping the intellectual structure of MIS, 1980-1985: A co-citation analysis. MIS Quarterly, 11(3), 341–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davenport, E. (2002). Mundane knowledge management and microlevel organizational learning: An ethological approach. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(12), 1038–1046.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawes, S.S. (1996). Interagency information sharing: Expected benefits, manageable risks. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 377-394.

  • Dawes, S. S., Cresswell, A. M., & Pardo, T. A. (2009). From “need to know” to “need to share”: Tangled problems, information boundaries, and the building of public sector knowledge networks. Public Administration Review, 69(3), 392–402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devadoss, P. R., Pan, S. L., & Huang, J. C. (2002). Structural analysis of e-government initiatives: A case study of SCO. Decision Support Systems, 34, 253–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Nauta, P., Merola, B., Caputo, F., and Evangelista, F. (2015). Reflections on the role of university to face the challenges of knowledge Society for the Local Economic Development. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1–19.

  • Dixon, R. D., The behavioural side of information technology (1999) International Journal of Medical Informatics, 56 (1–3), pp. 117–123.

  • Ebrahim, Z., & Irani, Z. (2005). E-government adoption: Architecture and barriers. Business Process Management Journal, 11(5), 589–611.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farazmand, A. (2017). Governance reforms: The good, the bad, and the ugly; and the sound: Examining the past and exploring the future of public organizations. Public Organization Review, 17(4), 595–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, M. S., & Orlikowski, W. J. (2011). Theorizing practice and practicing theory. Organization Science, 22(5), 1240–1253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, M. S., Khademian, A. M., Ingram, H., & Schneider, A. S. (2006). Ways of knowing and inclusive management practices. Public Administration Review, 66(1), 89–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frambach, R. T., & Schillewaert, N. (2002). Organisational innovation adoption: A multi-level framework of determinants and opportunities for future research. Journal of Business Research, 55(2), 163–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuglsang, L., & Sørensen, F. (2010). The balance between bricolage and innovation: Management dilemmas in sustainable public innovation. Service Industries Journal, 31(4), 581–595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S. (2006). Organizational knowledge: The texture of workplace learning. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S. (2009a). Knowing and learning in practice-based studies: An introduction. The Learning Organization, 16(5), 352–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S. (2009b). Introduction: The critical power of the ‘practice lens’. Management Learning, 40(2), 115–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S., Nicolini, D., & Strati, A. (2007). The passion for knowing. Organization, 14(3), 315–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guillamón, M. D., Ríos, A. M., Gesuele, B., & Metallo, C. (2016). Factors influencing social media use in local governments: The case of Italy and Spain. Government Information Quarterly, 33(3), 460–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundolf, K., & Filser, M. (2013). Management research and religion: A citation analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(1), 177–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett, S. A., McAdam, R., & Beggs, V. (2008). An exploratory study of knowledge flows: A case study of public sector procurement. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 19(1–2), 57–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, N. L. (1974). Knowledge management: A new concern for public administration. Public Administration Review, 34(3), 189–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, M., & Adams, D. (2002). Knowing and skilling in contemporary public administration. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 61(4), 68–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irani, Z., Sharif, A., Love, P. E. D., & Kahraman, C. (2002). Applying concepts of fuzzy cognitive mapping to model: The IT/IS investment evaluation process. International Journal of Production Economics, 75, 199–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johannessen, J. A. (1994). IT and innovation: Identifying critical innovation factors. Information Management & Computer Security, 2(2), 4–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karahanna, E., Straub, D. W., & Chervany, N. L. (1999). Information technology adoption across time: A cross-sectional comparison of pre-adoption and postadoption beliefs. MIS Quarterly, 23(2), 183–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konsti-Laakso, S. (2017). Stolen snow shovels and good ideas: The search for and generation of local knowledge in the social media community. Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 134–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus, S., Filser, M., O’Dwyer, M., & Shaw, E. (2014). Social entrepreneurship: An exploratory citation analysis. Review of Managerial Science, 8(2), 275–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lam, W., & Shankararaman, V. (2004). An enterprise application integration methodology. IT Professionals, 6(1), 40–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambe, P. (2011). The unacknowledged parentage of knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 15(2), 175–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Y., Deschamps, F., Loures, E. D. F. R., & Ramos, L. F. P. (2017). Past, present and future of industry 4.0-a systematic literature review and research agenda proposal. International Journal of Production Research, 55(12), 3609–3629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liebowitz, J., & Chen, Y. (2003). Knowledge-sharing proficiencies: The key to knowledge management. In C. W. Holsapple (Ed.), Handbook on knowledge management 1: Knowledge matters (pp. 409–424). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., & Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Using public crowds for open strategy formulation: Mitigating the risks of knowledge gaps. Long Range Planning, 50(3), 397–410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marilena, C., Elena-Mihaela, I., Knowledge management in the public sector (2008) Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 17 (4), pp. 164–168.

  • Massaro, M., Dumay, J., & Garlatti, A. (2015). Public sector knowledge management: A structured literature review. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(3), 530–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIvor, R., McHugh, M., & Cadden, C. (2002). Internet technologies supporting transparency in the public sector. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 15(3), 170–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNabb, D. E. (2007). Knowledge management in the public sector: A blueprint for innovation in government. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melitski, J. (2003). Capacity and e-government performance. Public Performance and Management Review, 26(4), 376–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mergel, I. (2011). The use of social media to dissolve knowledge silos in government. The future of public administration, public management, and public service around the world, 1, 177–187.

  • Mergel, I., Lazer, D., & Binz-Scharf, M. C. (2008). Lending a helping hand: Voluntary engagement in knowledge sharing. International Journal of Learning and Change, 3(1), 5–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mergel, I.A., Schweik, C.M. and Fountain, J.E. (2009). The transformational effect of web 2.0 technologies on government. Social Science Research Network, (June 1), available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1412796.

  • Moon, J., & Bretschneider, S. (1997). Can state government action affect innovation and diffusion. Technology Forecasting and Social Change, 54, 57–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngulube, P. (2015). Trends in research methodological procedures used in knowledge management studies. African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science, 25(2), 125–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolini, D., Gherardi, S. and Yanow, D. (2003). Knowing in organizations: A practice-based approach. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., USA.

  • Norris, D. F. (1999). Leading-edge information technologies and their adoption: Lessons from US cities. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlikowski, W. J. (2002). Knowing in practice: Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing. Organization Science, 13(3), 249–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S., Radnor, Z., & Strokosch, K. (2016). Co-production and the co-creation of value in public services: A suitable case for treatment? Public Management Review, 18(5), 639–653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prescott, M. B., & Conger, S. A. (1995). Information technology innovations: A classification by it locus of impact and research approach. Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, 26(2–3), 20–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashman, L., & Hartley, J. (2002). Leading and learning? Knowledge transfer in the Beacon council scheme. Public Administration, 80(3), 523–542.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashman, L., & Radnor, Z. (2005). Learning to improve: Approaches to improving local government services. Public Money & Management, 25(1), 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashman, L., Withers, E., & Hartley, J. (2009). Organizational learning and knowledge in public service organizations: A systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(4), 463–494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiersgaard, N., Salvesen, H., Nordheim, S., & Pivrinta, T. (2005). EAI implementation project and shakedown: An exploratory case study. In Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’05) (pp. 1–10).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiavone, F. and Agrifoglio, R. (2012). Communities of practice and practice preservation: A case study. In M. De Marco, D. Te’eni, V. Albano, S. Za, Information Systems: Crossroads for Organization, Management, Accounting and Engineering. Springer.

  • Serenko, A., & Dumay, J. (2015). Citation classics published in knowledge Management Journals. Part I: Articles and their characteristics. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(2), 401–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. E. (2016). Knowledge by association: Communities of practice in public management. Public Administration Quarterly, 40(3), 655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strati, A. (2003). Knowing in practice: Aesthetic understanding and tacit knowledge. Knowing in organizations. A Practice-Based Approach, 53-75.

  • Themistocleous, M. (2004). Justifying the decisions for EAI implementations: A validated proposition of influential factors. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 17(2), 85–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Themistocleous, M., & Irani, Z. (2001). Benchmarking the benefits and barriers of application integration. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 8(4), 317–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagenaar, H. (2004). Knowing” the rules: Administrative work as practice. Public Administration Review, 64(6), 643–656.

  • Wiig, K. M. (2002). Knowledge management in public administration. Journal of Knowledge Management, 6(3), 224–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willem, A., & Buelens, M. (2007). Knowledge sharing in public sector organizations: The effect of organizational characteristics on interdepartmental knowledge sharing. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17(4), 581–606.

    Google Scholar 

  • y Gasset, J. O. (1961). History as a system: And other essays toward a philosophy of history (no. 122), WW Norton & Company.

  • Yao, L. J., Kam, T. H. Y., & Chan, S. H. (2007). Knowledge sharing in Asian public administration sector: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 20(1), 51–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, N., Zhao, X., Zhang, Z., Meng, Q., & Tan, H. (2017). What factors drive open innovation in China’s public sector? A case study of official document exchange via microblogging (ODEM) in Haining. Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 126–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric methods in management and organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business and Economics, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy

    Rocco Agrifoglio

  2. Department of Science and Technology, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy

    Concetta Metallo

  3. Department of Economics, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

    Primiano di Nauta

Authors
  1. Rocco Agrifoglio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Concetta Metallo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Primiano di Nauta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rocco Agrifoglio.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

None.

Ethical Approval

None.

Informed Consent

None.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Agrifoglio, R., Metallo, C. & di Nauta, P. Understanding Knowledge Management in Public Organizations through the Organizational Knowing Perspective: a Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Public Organiz Rev 21, 137–156 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00480-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00480-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation