Sharing and Protecting Knowledge: New Considerations for Digital Environments

Abstract

As knowledge management (KM) practice increasingly moves onto the Internet, the field is changing. The Internet offers new opportunities to use knowledge assets, defines new types of knowledge assets, and readily spreads knowledge beyond the borders of the organization to collaborators and others. This potential is tempered, however, by new threats to the security of proprietary knowledge. The Internet also makes knowledge assets more vulnerable to competitive intelligence efforts. Further, both the potential and the vulnerability of knowledge on the Internet will vary according to the nature of knowledge assets (tacitness, complexity, appropriability). Those looking to practice KM must, more than ever, understand their knowledge assets and how to best employ them.