Abstract
Organizations have managed information regarding knowledge of employees using processes such as codification, knowledge mapping, network analysis and personalization. Recently, personal knowledge registration (PKR) has become another way of managing this knowledge. Little is known about how organizations support PKR, and how PKR facilitates the flow of information and knowledge.
This paper examines how different information management professionals access and use PKR. It is a multiple case study, with 43 semi-structured interviews and an analysis of strategic documents. The purpose is to shed light on strategic intentions with PKR, its collaborative tasks and qualities. A conceptual model was built for this purpose. The aim is to better understand how PKR works and to examine how information on education, training and the skills of employees is managed in organizations.
The findings demonstrate that organizational strategies portray elaborate intentions regarding knowledge seeking and sharing, while less emphasis is put on knowledge registration or management. Interviewees expressed lack of appropriate actions to support PKR. Access and use of PKR is limited and the organizations still struggle to manage the PKR of their employees.
1. Introduction
Studies in knowledge management (KM), human resource management (HRM) and records and information management (RIM) are extensive and growing. Recently, personal knowledge registration (PKR) has become another way of registering and managing the knowledge of employees (Haraldsdottir, 2018). PKR has evolved from the disciplines of HRM, KM and RIM. The intention of PKR is to generate an overview of accumulated personal knowledge embedded in the employees (Gunnlaugsdottir, 2008b; Hase & Galt, 2011; Henttonen, Kianto, & Ritala, 2016; Macguire, 2005). The need to register intellectual capital has been addressed among human resource (HR) and training managers for some time (Delaney & Huselid, 1996; Haraldsdottir, 2018). The purpose of registration is to gain a better use of valuable knowledge, build interdisciplinary teams and to find instructors for in-house training, as well as for recruitment and development. The term personal knowledge registration and the abbreviation PKR is a consequence of this discourse.
7. Conclusion
The findings represent elaborate objectives regarding the education of employees and training in organizational strategies. These documents gave reason to believe that participating organizations considered knowledge of great value. Repetitive use of the term “knowledge” indicated an emphasis on developing the knowledge worker. Registration of knowledge, as in PKR, was however only described in one strategy out of six. Despite apparent lack of PKR use, expressed views and experiences of interviewed professionals and their positive perceptions towards PKR indicated that education and training, and the registration thereof, was considered urgent and economically significant for value creation in organizations.
