A Taxonomy and Proposed Codification of Knowledge and Knowledge Systems in Organizations

This paper proposes a hierarchical taxonomy of knowledge and knowledge systems (KS) in organizations. The taxonomy is based on four criteria: structure (how knowledge is designed and what it contains); purpose (what is the knowledge for); function (what the knowledge does); and disciplinary content. Each criterion is further classified into distinct types of knowledge. The hierarchical taxonomy is then codified by means of a numerical system which serves to identity each type and unit of knowledge, down to the elemental knowledge nugget. The paper describes the taxonomy and the system of codification, and discusses issues of calibration and validation. The advantages and limitations of the taxonomy are also discussed. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.