IDOM engineers a knowledge culture : Learning processes embedded in business

Purpose – Reveals how Spanish engineering company IDOM promotes people‐focused knowledge management, socialization and collective learning. Design/methodology/approach – Draws on interviews carried out by the authors. Findings – Highlights the importance of articulating a knowledge‐sharing culture throughout the organization, and the importance of management setting the right example. Practical implications – Puts forward the view that the assignment of individuals to a specific job is the most important managerial task for the development of individuals in a professional‐services company, as it is within the framework of the development of a specific project that the greatest possibilities of exchange of tacit knowledge occur. Originality/value – Shows knowledge‐management specialists how one organization has succeeded in achieving an open and co‐operative culture.