Date of Award

Summer 7-26-2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Computer Information Systems

First Advisor

Dr. Veda C. Storey

Second Advisor

Dr. Richard Baskerville

Abstract

Despite the promise of knowledge-based view of the firm (the current kernel theory of the field of knowledge management) for achieving sustainable competitive advantage for a firm through management of the organizational knowledge, there is no evidence that the traditional knowledge management has been able to provide theoretical and practical guidelines towards that strategic goal. The purpose of this study is to accomplish this strategic goal of knowledge management by presenting a new kernel theory for the field of knowledge management. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s practice theory, “practice-based view” of the firm proposes an alternative view to the concepts of knowledge, and knowledge management. Achieving sustainable competitive advantage is the ultimate purpose of the field of strategic management, in which resource-based view and industrial organization theories compose its two major paradigms. These theories of strategic management use (internal and external) structural properties of the context of practice of the firm as their source of strategy development. Practice-based view, however, identifies knowledge as the main source for strategy development for the firms. Accordingly, practice-based view identifies the (internal and external) structural properties of the context of the firm as particular aspects of knowledge it uses in its strategy development. Additional aspects of knowledge considered in practice-based view include the social, cultural, and political aspects of knowledge identified and explained in practice-based view of the firm. Therefore, this study would also introduce practice-based view as an alternative kernel theory for the field of strategic management.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/12567685

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