Abstract

The last decade has witnessed a significant increase in discussions about the different dimensions of knowledge and knowledge management (KM). Many factors have contributed to the emergence of KM including globalisation, a highly competitive business environment and the proliferation of information technology (IT), among others. The aim of this paper is to explore the role and contribution both of IT and people involvement in the field of KM. There is much confusion in the literature, and in organisations, as to the respective roles of IT and people within KM practices. The involvement of people is not new but, for many, KM technologies are unfamiliar and still evolving. This imbalance has led to the danger that organisations could spend large amounts of time, money and resources on inappropriate mechanisms either/both on IT based or/and people involvement. The paper begins with a review of different IT and people roles in KM and then reports the findings of in-depth interviews of selected UK car manufacturing organisations, carried out with the purpose of establishing what mechanisms are being used in these organisations to support KM implementation. In conclusion, the paper advocates the integrated use of IT and people involvement in KM practices as being crucial for successful implementation.