Applying the knowledge creation model to the management of indigenous knowledge research

Abstract

In present-day society, the need to manage indigenous knowledge is widely recognised. However, there is a debate in progress on whether or not indigenous knowledge can be easily managed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of using knowledge management models like knowledge creation theory in the management of indigenous knowledge. The paper defines knowledge creation as a process that stems from accumulating information, while knowledge transfer refers to “the transfer of knowledge to places and people, where it is needed to be used to fulfil some activity or task”.

This paper presents the literature which was used to review and to explore previous studies in the IK and knowledge creation Model (KCM) particularly on the possibility of using knowledge creation theory to inform the management of indigenous knowledge. Despite criticism of KCM, the model/theory can potentially be applied to link tacit and explicit knowledge and by extension IK through four modes of the knowledge creation: socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation as revealed in the wide use of the model in knowledge management in society and organisations.

Keywords: Knowledge creation theory, indigenous knowledge, ICTs, knowledge management