Abstract

Purpose – Even if the notion of knowledge management (KM) has been introduced more than three decades ago, the application of this concept in the context of small firms has still not been sufficiently explored. The relatively few contributions, however, agree on the fact that small companies do not manage knowledge the same way as their larger counterparts. In order to fill this gap, the present paper aims to the investigate the if and how different aspects of knowledge management in small enterprises offering knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) – such as: type of adopted KM practices, barriers to KM implementation and use – are related with some characteristics of the companies such as: their size, the business sector they belong, the kind of adopted strategic knowledge approach followed. Specifically, paper examines some features of KM in companies belonging to various KIBS sectors (ICT, architectural and engineering services, professional services, R&D services and marketing and communication services) in Poland. The findings are based on a quantitative survey conducted among 104 small companies of this type. Investigated KM-related aspects were: the role played by knowledge and KM, the KM practices adopted, the factors that have hindered the adoption of such practices, the way they are used. KIBS companies were investigated because knowledge and its management are vital for their operations and they are perceived as intensive users of KM tools and practices. The findings of the survey show that the approaches to KM followed by small KIBS companies results to be rather differentiated. Concerning the factors that influence the KM approach adopted by the individual company, the size and the kind of followed strategy help in explaining the differences between companies more than the sector of belonging. In particular, the size seems to act as a constraint (in terms of number of adopted practice and of role of promoters) while the kind of strategy as an enabler (a more reflected strategy is connected with a greater number of adopted practices). The study offers food for thought about KM features in the KIBS sector and moreover, it contributes to a better understanding of KM in small enterprises. The knowledge presented in the paper may be of use to managers and owners wishing to better understand their KM practices and implement more suitable solutions.

Authors (3)