Knowledge organization by information technology consultants: Exploring and discovering the organizational aspect of knowledge management (China, Taiwan)

Organizing corporate knowledge is critical for corporations to have effective and successful knowledge management. However, the knowledge management literature was found to be lacking in attention to frameworks of knowledge organization. From the viewpoint of library and information science, this study investigates current practices of how IT consultants in consulting firms organize corporate knowledge. In particular, this study analyzes the methods of knowledge organization used by IT consultants in Taiwan to discover patterns and characteristics of organizing corporate knowledge.; A qualitative approach was used in this dissertation research. Interviews and observation were the primary methods in data collection. The major findings of the study are: (1) Consultants clearly differentiate knowledge from information, in spite of the vague definition of knowledge; (2) When speaking of the usage of a library, consultants view the KM system as their library. The actual setting of a library is not as crucial to consultants, in both the conceptual and practical sense; (3) Consulting firms use classification schemes that they call taxonomies; (4) Faceted analysis is used in consulting firms in organizing knowledge when consultants submit their knowledge pieces into the KM system; and (5) Resemblances exist between consultants' work in organizing corporate knowledge and librarians' work in organizing knowledge in general.; For future research, it is recommended to conduct studies in other knowledge-rich industries, with different-sized consulting firms, and across different cultures. Results can be compared to show similarities and differences with regards to knowledge organization. The main implication for practice is that organizations that want to adopt taxonomy is strongly advised to consider the theories and metadata creation techniques originated in the field of library and information science.