Challenges of managing knowledge in China

Knowledge Management (KM) is rapidly becoming an integral business function for many organizations as they realize that competitiveness crucially depends upon it. The purpose of the paper is to present an overview of challenges in the area of knowledge management in China. The paper describes the context and the contents of KM in broad terms. A key concept is the distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge: mobilizing and converting both types of knowledge into value to the customer in terms of fulfillment of customer needs is the ultimate objective of KM. The paper derives eight KM characteristics from a literature review. After a brief description of developments in China these characteristics are used to assess the situation in China with regard to KM. This assessment is based on literature as well as on experiences. The conclusions identify three main challenges of Knowledge Management in China, which are in the areas of: developing teamwork competencies, generating knowledge that benefits the organization, and customer focus.