article

Free access

Knowledge management in China

Authors:

Glen R. Burrows,

Damon L. Drummond,

Maris G. MartinsonsAuthors Info & Claims

Communications of the ACM, Volume 48, Issue 4

Pages 73 - 76

https://doi.org/10.1145/1053291.1053322

Published: 01 April 2005 Publication History

All formats PDF

Abstract

China's high-priority effort to become a more knowledge-based economy and society means that knowledge management (KM) is increasingly important. For example, the timely transfer and use of business knowledge can provide a competitive advantage in practically any given industry. Despite its enormous promise in business and science, effective KM also faces formidable obstacles. Here, we explore the most notable ones in the China context.We have used surveys, interviews, focus groups, longitudinal case studies, and anecdotal information for more than a decade to develop an understanding of how knowledge is managed in China and its role in the country's drive for global competitiveness. KM in China is distinctive, constrained somewhat by technological limitations, but influenced more significantly by psychological factors (such as cultural values) among groups and social levels. Here, we describe the distinctive aspects of knowledge generation, documentation, transfer, and use that prevail in China today, highlighting the key factors influencing Chinese KM.

References

[1]

Choo, C.W. The Knowing Organization: How Organizations Use Information to Construct Meaning, Create Knowledge, and Make Decisions. Oxford University Press, New York, 1998.

Google Scholar

[2]

Chow, C.W., Deng, F.J., and Ho, J.L. The openness of knowledge sharing within organizations: A comparative study in the United States and the People's Republic of China. J. Mgt. Account. Res. 12, 1 (Winter 2000), 65--95.

Google Scholar

[3]

Cohen, D. Towards a knowledge context: Report on the first annual University of California, Berkeley forum on knowledge and the firm. Calif. Mgt. Rev. 40, 3 (Spring 1998), 22--39.

Crossref

Google Scholar

[4]

Davenport, T. and Prusak, L. Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1998.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[5]

KPMG Management Consulting. Knowledge Management Research Report (2000); www.kpmg.com.

Google Scholar

[6]

Martinsons, M.G. and Hempel, P.S. Chinese management systems: Historical and cross-cultural perspectives. J. Mgt. Syst. 7, 1 (First Quarter 1995), 1--11.

Google Scholar

[7]

Martinsons, M.G. and Westwood, R.I. Management information systems in the Chinese business culture: An explanatory theory. Inform. Mgt. 32, 5 (Oct. 1997), 215--228.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[8]

Martinsons, M.G. ERP in China: One package, two profiles. Commun. ACM 47, 7 (July 2004), 65--68.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[9]

Nisbett, R.E. The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently. The Free Press, New York, 2003.

Google Scholar

[10]

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. The Knowledge Creating Company. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., 1995.

Google Scholar

Cited By

View all

Sun YDing ZZhang Z(2023)Enterprise Social Media in Workplace: Innovative Use Cases in ChinaIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management10.1109/TEM.2020.299816070:7(2447-2462)Online publication date: Jul-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2020.2998160
Ward WGiven LSouthwell A(2023)Bridging intercultural communication divides: examining technology use by dispersed research teams working in South East AsiaCommunication Research and Practice10.1080/22041451.2023.22378129:4(377-393)Online publication date: 23-Aug-2023
https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2023.2237812
Chiu MCheng TLin C(2023)Driving Open Innovation Capability Through New Knowledge Diffusion of Integrating Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations in Organizations: Moderator of Individual Absorptive CapacityJournal of the Knowledge Economy10.1007/s13132-023-01315-815:1(3685-3717)Online publication date: 23-Mar-2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01315-8
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Knowledge management in China
1. Applied computing
  1. Computers in other domains
    1. Personal computers and PC applications
  2. Electronic commerce
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Computing / technology policy
    1. Government technology policy
  2. Professional topics

Recommendations

Knowledge Societies in China, Portugal, and Uganda

In September 2015, the United Nations UN Member States subscribed the Sustainable Development Goals SDG of the 2030 Agenda General Assembly 2015. This work makes an analysis on how Knowledge Societies can effectively contribute for the achievements of ...
Regional knowledge management: the perspective of management theory
Social Networks and Learning Environments

Knowledge management is one of the results of combination of management science and information science. Knowledge management has already established its own theoretical system, and has caught the attention of both theorists and practitioners alike. ...
Enterprise knowledge management model based on China's practice and case study

This study analyzes the situation of enterprise knowledge management in China based on the survey and data in terms of knowledge management recognition, knowledge management stages, knowledge management applications, integration of knowledge, motivation ...

Comments

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

Communications of the ACM Volume 48, Issue 4

Transforming China

April 2005

106 pages

ISSN:0001-0782

EISSN:1557-7317

DOI:10.1145/1053291

Issue’s Table of Contents

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 2005

Published in CACM Volume 48, Issue 4

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Request Permissions

Check for updates

Qualifiers

Article

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

69
Total Citations
View Citations
3,884
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)192
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)47

Reflects downloads up to 25 Dec 2024

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

View all

Sun YDing ZZhang Z(2023)Enterprise Social Media in Workplace: Innovative Use Cases in ChinaIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management10.1109/TEM.2020.299816070:7(2447-2462)Online publication date: Jul-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2020.2998160
Ward WGiven LSouthwell A(2023)Bridging intercultural communication divides: examining technology use by dispersed research teams working in South East AsiaCommunication Research and Practice10.1080/22041451.2023.22378129:4(377-393)Online publication date: 23-Aug-2023
https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2023.2237812
Chiu MCheng TLin C(2023)Driving Open Innovation Capability Through New Knowledge Diffusion of Integrating Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations in Organizations: Moderator of Individual Absorptive CapacityJournal of the Knowledge Economy10.1007/s13132-023-01315-815:1(3685-3717)Online publication date: 23-Mar-2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01315-8
Lissillour RRuel S(2022)Chinese social media for informal knowledge sharing in the supply chainSupply Chain Forum: An International Journal10.1080/16258312.2022.213000624:4(443-461)Online publication date: 6-Oct-2022
https://doi.org/10.1080/16258312.2022.2130006
Xie LNiu Y(2020)A systematic literature review of foreign MNCs’ knowledge transfer in ChinaAsia Pacific Business Review10.1080/13602381.2020.1815425(1-21)Online publication date: 17-Sep-2020
https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2020.1815425
Li JPerdikis NJasimuddin S(2019)An Empirical Study of the Role of Knowledge Characteristics and Tools on Knowledge Transfer in China-Based MultinationalsJournal of Global Information Management10.4018/JGIM.201901010927:1(165-195)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/JGIM.2019010109
Chen YMai YXiao JZhang L(2019)Improving the antinoise ability of dnns via a bio-inspired noise adaptive activation function rand softplusNeural Computation10.1162/neco_a_0119231:6(1215-1233)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1162/neco_a_01192
Chen LZhang XLi Z(2019)Understanding the Chinese information culture and its impact on it perceptionsInformation Technology & People10.1108/ITP-03-2018-0128ahead-of-print:ahead-of-printOnline publication date: 31-Oct-2019
https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-03-2018-0128
Ying SPatel CPan P(2019)The influence of peer attitude and inherent scepticism on auditors’ sceptical judgmentsAccounting and Business Research10.1080/00014788.2019.1686695(1-24)Online publication date: 21-Nov-2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.2019.1686695
Davison ROu CMartinsons M(2018)Interpersonal knowledge exchange in China: The impact of guanxi and social mediaInformation & Management10.1016/j.im.2017.05.00855:2(224-234)Online publication date: Mar-2018
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.05.008
Show More Cited By

View Options

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

PDF

eReader

View online with eReader.

eReader

Magazine Site

View this article on the magazine site (external)

Magazine Site

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Abstract

References

Cited By

Index Terms

Recommendations

Knowledge Societies in China, Portugal, and Uganda

Regional knowledge management: the perspective of management theory

Enterprise knowledge management model based on China's practice and case study

Comments

Information

Published In

Publisher

Publication History

Permissions

Check for updates

Qualifiers

Contributors

Other Metrics

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

Other Metrics

Citations

Cited By

View options

PDF

eReader

Magazine Site

Login options

Full Access

Figures

Other

Share

Share this Publication link

Share on social media

Affiliations