Exploring the Knowledge Management Phenomenon in Russia: A Stakeholders’ Perspective

Abstract

The question of whether knowledge management (KM) models are contextually universal has been extensively addressed by research and practice. For over a quarter of a decade management scholars and practitioners have tested the universal validity and applicability of KM practices and technological tools in different settings, primarily focusing on the idiosyncrasies of the national and/or organizational culture profiles. Recognizing the cultural biasness of knowledge-related processes, they have explored the role of the country context in the efficiency of management interventions and investigated the potential effect of the national culture on an organization’s ability to manage high potentials and build innovation capabilities via the adaptation and integration of relevant KM practices. Though the contemporary discourse on the feasibility of the culture-of-the-model approach in these fields is at the point of animation, the context-specific enablers of the emergence and legitimization of KM in countries that do not follow the Western or Eastern management tradition are not explicitly studied, which significantly limits one’s understanding of the nature and role of KM in firms from particular clusters of countries. In particular, KM in Russia is at the stage of formation – it remains underdeveloped in this context, despite different stakeholders, inter alia, management consultants, executives from local governmental and non-governmental organizations, representatives of the teaching / scientific communities, and managerial talents from KM-adjacent fields, acknowledging the role knowledge and knowledge-related systems play in the creation and maintenance of sustainable competitive advantage. We therefore aim at analyzing the KM phenomenon in Russia through the lens of stakeholders’ theory and investigating the country-specific peculiarities of KM emergence, development and acceptance.