The intellectual core and impact of the knowledge management academic discipline

• Published in: Journal of knowledge management Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 137 - 155
• Main Authors: Serenko, Alexander, Bontis, Nick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kempston Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2013; Emerald Group Publ. Ltd
• Subjects: Boundaries; Citation analysis; Classification; Competition; Construction; Documents; English language; Inquiry method; Investigations; Knowledge management; Methodology; Outlets; Scholarly publishing; Science; Scientists; Scientometrics; Social sciences; Studies; Subject fields; Relevance; Scientometrics; Research work; Citation analysis; Journals; Academic research; Knowledge management; Languages; Books; Reference discipline
• ISSN: 1367-3270; 1758-7484
• DOI: 10.1108/13673271311300840

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to explore the intellectual core of the knowledge management (KM) academic discipline in order to test whether it exhibits signs of a reference discipline; and to analyze the theoretical and practical impact of the discipline.Design methodology approach - The most influential articles published in the Journal of Knowledge Management were selected and their cited and citing works were scientometrically analysed.Findings - The KM discipline: builds its knowledge primarily upon research reports published in the English language; successfully disseminates its knowledge in both English and non-English publications; does not exhibit a problematic self-citation behavior; uses books and practitioner journals in the development of KM theory; converts experiential knowledge into academic knowledge; is not yet a reference discipline, but is progressing well towards becoming one; exerts a somewhat limited direct impact on practice; and is not a scientific fad.Practical implications - KM researchers need to become aware of and use knowledge published in non-English outlets. Given the status of KM as an applied discipline, it is critical that researchers continue utilizing non-peer reviewed sources in their scholarly work. KM researchers should promote the dissemination of KM knowledge beyond the disciplinary boundaries. The issue whether KM should strive towards becoming a reference discipline should be debated further.Originality value - This study analyzes the KM field from the reference discipline perspective.