IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nup/jrmdke/v1y2013i1p71-85.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ignorance Management

Author

Listed:
  • John ISRAELIDIS

    (Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, UK)

  • Russell LOCK

    (Department of Computer Science, Loughborough University, UK)

  • Louise COOKE

    (Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, UK)

Abstract

This paper identifies an alternative perspective on Knowledge Management (KM) in multinational organisations by definition of the concept of Ignorance Management.Furthermore, this paper discusses the dificulties employees face in understanding and comprehending what they need to know to do their jobs, and what implications this can have within global technology intensive environments. The focus is given in particular on multinational organisations where innovation and new knowledge is essential to both shortterm opportunistic value capture and long-term business sustainability. Hence, this paper discusses why managing ignorance is essential for maintaining a strategic knowledge sharing culture within multinational organisations. Furthermore, it develops a novel theory on the nature of knowledge and ignorance while making the distinction between knowns and unknowns as well as between consciousness and ignorance. The theoretical findings have been applied to technology intensive and innovative environments. A case study is explored within the paper, based on findings from one of the largest military contractors in the world, which employs over 100,000 people across the globe. The paper adopts an interpretative philosophy, using the primary strategy of qualitative research. In addition, due to the complexity of the topic, a mixed methods approach has been used for the data collection process. Moreover, participatory action research is undertaken to study individuals’ actions in a particular context and improve organisational strategies and KM practices. The study shows that managing ignorance and adaptiveness in multinational organisations is becoming increasingly important. Thus, the critical question is not just managing what is known but also trying to find ways to manage the unknown. This viewpoint of acknowledging ignorance, if successfully incorporated within a company’s KM strategy, will not only facilitate and enhance knowledge storage and transmission processes but will also undoubtedly play a vital role when referring to a company’s eficiency, productivity and overall performance.

Suggested Citation

  • John ISRAELIDIS & Russell LOCK & Louise COOKE, 2013. "Ignorance Management," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 1(1), pages 71-85, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nup:jrmdke:v:1:y:2013:i:1:p:71-85
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.managementdynamics.ro/index.php/journal/article/download/4/4
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.managementdynamics.ro/index.php/journal/article/view/4/4
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    2. Modica, Salvatore & Rustichini, Aldo, 1999. "Unawareness and Partitional Information Structures," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 265-298, May.
    3. Joseph F. Porac & Howard Thomas & Charles Baden‐Fuller, 1989. "Competitive Groups As Cognitive Communities: The Case Of Scottish Knitwear Manufacturers," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 397-416, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Philippe Baumard, 1996. "Organizations in the Fog: An Investigation into the Dynamics of Knowledge," Post-Print hal-03230959, HAL.
    2. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4638 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. William C. Bogner & Pamela S. Barr, 2000. "Making Sense in Hypercompetitive Environments: A Cognitive Explanation for the Persistence of High Velocity Competition," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 212-226, April.
    4. Lu, Jinfeng & Dimov, Dimo, 2023. "A system dynamics modelling of entrepreneurship and growth within firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3).
    5. Olunifesi Adekunle Suraj, 2016. "Managing Telecommunications for Development: An Analysis of Intellectual Capital in Nigerian Telecommunication Industry," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-30, March.
    6. Soufiane Mezzourh & Walid A Nakara, 2009. "Governance and innovation : A Knowledge-based approach [La gouvernance de l'innovation : une approche par la connaissance]," Post-Print halshs-01955966, HAL.
    7. Mark Bergen & Margaret A. Peteraf, 2002. "Competitor identification and competitor analysis: a broad-based managerial approach," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(4-5), pages 157-169.
    8. M. Max Evans & Ilja Frissen & Anthony K. P. Wensley, 2018. "Organisational Information and Knowledge Sharing: Uncovering Mediating Effects of Perceived Trustworthiness Using the PROCESS Approach," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(01), pages 1-29, March.
    9. Chris Kimble & José Braga Vasconcelos & Álvaro Rocha, 2016. "Competence management in knowledge intensive organizations using consensual knowledge and ontologies," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1119-1130, December.
    10. Maurizio Zollo, 1998. "Strategies or Routines ? Knowledge Codification, Path-Dependence and the Evolution of Post-Acquisition Integration Practices in the U.S. Banking Industry," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 97-10, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
    11. Duniesky Feitó Madrigal & Alejandro Mungaray Lagarda & Michelle Texis Flores, 2016. "Factors associated with learning management in Mexican micro-entrepreneurs," Estudios Gerenciales, Universidad Icesi, vol. 32(141), pages 381-386, December.
    12. David Vallat, 2015. "Une alternative au dualisme État-Marché : l’économie collaborative, questions pratiques et épistémologiques," Working Papers halshs-01249308, HAL.
    13. Gaviria-Marin, Magaly & Merigó, José M. & Baier-Fuentes, Hugo, 2019. "Knowledge management: A global examination based on bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 194-220.
    14. Christoph P. Kiefer & Pablo Del Río González & Javier Carrillo‐Hermosilla, 2019. "Drivers and barriers of eco‐innovation types for sustainable transitions: A quantitative perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 155-172, January.
    15. Matt Grimes, 2010. "Strategic Sensemaking within Funding Relationships: The Effects of Performance Measurement on Organizational Identity in the Social Sector," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(4), pages 763-783, July.
    16. Carroll, Charles, 1998. "Interdependence and the social structure of rivalry," Research Report 98B24, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    17. Martin Meier & Burkhard Schipper, 2014. "Bayesian games with unawareness and unawareness perfection," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 56(2), pages 219-249, June.
    18. Ahammad, Mohammad Faisal & Tarba, Shlomo Yedidia & Liu, Yipeng & Glaister, Keith W., 2016. "Knowledge transfer and cross-border acquisition performance: The impact of cultural distance and employee retention," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-75.
    19. Arkadiusz Kijek & Tomasz Kijek, 2019. "Knowledge Spillovers: An Evidence from The European Regions," JOItmC, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-15, September.
    20. Liuan Wang & Lu (Lucy) Yan & Tongxin Zhou & Xitong Guo & Gregory R. Heim, 2020. "Understanding Physicians’ Online-Offline Behavior Dynamics: An Empirical Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 537-555, June.
    21. Anders Melander & Tomas Mullern & David Anderssson & Fredrik Elgh & Malin Löfving, 2022. "Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Collaborative Research—in Dialogues We Trust," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 655-677, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nup:jrmdke:v:1:y:2013:i:1:p:71-85. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Cristian-Mihai VIDU (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fmsnsro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.