Knowledge Risks in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Małgorzata Zięba; Susanne Durst; Martyna Gonsiorowska

Knowledge Risks in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This conceptual paper aims to identify, present, and analyse potential knowledge risks organizations face in external and dynamic crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Until only recently, many researchers and practitioners have perceived knowledge primarily as something positive. This view has changed recently with a growing number of studies highlighting risks related to knowledge. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as an additional triggering point which has brought several new knowledge risks. Research on knowledge risks, their consequences and potential ways of handling them is still only in its beginning and consequently rather fragmented. To address this situation, this paper is aimed to provide some theoretical insights into knowledge risks and their possible implications organizations are exposed to in an external and dynamic crisis such as the COVID-19 crisis. To reach this aim, this paper presents a continuation of the research by Durst and Zieba from 2018 related to knowledge risks and their potential outcomes. This present study reviewed the up-dated literature on knowledge risks and uses the taxonomy proposed in the paper by Durst and Zieba to identify and analyse knowledge risks organizations are exposed to in the COVID-19 pandemics. Hence, the paper does not only offer fresh food for thought for researchers dealing with the topic of knowledge risks in the COVID-19 crisis and ways of handling them.