Knownet Lab - Research Group on Organization Design, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Networks, Industrial Clusters, and Computer-Mediated Communication

	What is Knowledge Management	Knownetlab and Knowledge Management


	Knowledge Management, that is the ability to activate, improve and co-ordinate different competencies coherently with business requirements, has become a priority in modern organisations. This necessity is in part due to the transformation that organization are facing, from fordist to post-fordist structures. In fordist organisations, individual competencies and training are considered marginal issues, as standardisation and efficiency are the main organisational goals. However, the increasing complexity of the business environment today forces organisations towards the adaptability of strategies and towards the flexibility of structures. Organisations should be able to activate and integrate internal and external knowledge in order to cope with the increasing variety and variability of the environment. Moreover globalisation of activities and structures increases the spreading of knowledge at a world-wide level. This problem can undermine the effective and efficient management of core competencies of organisations. In this scenario, the issue of Knowledge Management has overwhelmingly been included in the agenda of change managers.				KnownetLab applies a relational approach to knowledge management: the exchange and integration of knowledge among organizational members should be investigated and supported through the analysis of social and organizational networks where these phenomena occur. The main aims of Knownetlab in this area are two: (i) analysis and promotion of knowledge exchange through the investigation of knowledge networks; (ii) knowledge mapping, that is the representation of the actual distribution and the perceived distribution of knowledge and skills across organizational members (Cognitive Knowledge Network). The latter allows to draw members’ perceptions on where knowledge resides and to whom people actually refer in order to acquire new competencies. The accuracy of Cognitive Knowledge Networks is a critical factor for Knowledge Management because it permits to make explicit “who knows what” and “who knows who knows what”. Basing on this accuracy people are able to activate knowledge exchange effectively and timely. The adoption of Knowledge Management Systems, therefore, should be integrated with an intervention on organizational and social networks which enhances the motivation and ability to find, communicate and exchange knowledge Knownetlab members were involved in international research projects in this area and applied innovative research methods such as simulation models and social network analysis. Knownetlab analysed knowledge and innovation diffusion both at organizational and inter-organizational levels.

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