Abstract
This position paper addresses the way knowledge is conceptualised in knowledge management (KM) literature and practice. Using the work of Lakoff and Johnson on metaphors it will show how people use metaphors to think and talk about knowledge. In KM literature at least 22 different metaphors for knowledge are used. Further research shows that these metaphors are primarily Western metaphors while in Eastern philosophy many other metaphors for knowledge are used. The choice of metaphors for knowledge has great influence about the way we think about KM. They determine what we diagnose as KM problems in organisations and what we develop as KM solutions. To illustrate this, this paper presents the results of an exercise set up to determine the effect of metaphors on KM approaches in which two challenging metaphors for knowledge were used: knowledge as water and knowledge as love.
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This position paper is the edited text of a keynote address delivered to the 8th European Congress on Knowledge Management 2007 held on 6 and 7 September in Barcelona, Spain.
Appendix
Appendix
Knowledge Management Metaphor Analysis Scoring Form
This list of metaphors for knowledge is taken from the data used for Andriessen (2006). You can apply it to identify the metaphors for knowledge used in papers and presentations. The list contains verbs related to knowledge and the underlying metaphor they derive their meaning from. The metaphors are grouped into categories. Some categories are divided into sub categories indicated behind each verb.Table A1
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Andriessen, D. Stuff or love? How metaphors direct our efforts to manage knowledge in organisations. Knowl Manage Res Pract 6, 5–12 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500169
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500169