On the Concept and Types of Knowledge

Knowledge is a concept that has gained importance in recent years because of the interest in knowledge management. One of the critical steps before embarking on any knowledge management initiative is to understand the concept of knowledge, so as to be able to identify the sources of knowledge in the organisation and to answer fundamental questions that will guide the design of knowledge management initiatives. Unfortunately, many practitioners rush headlong to roll out knowledge management in their organisations either without giving the object of management, i.e., knowledge, some thought, or with a narrow and parochial notion of knowledge. The objective of this article is to survey the concept of knowledge as seen from the perspective of scholars from various disciplines and to highlight the general and specialised typologies of knowledge. Only with a conceptual clarity of knowledge and an awareness of its various types can knowledge managers begin to craft effective knowledge management initiative for their organisation.