Purpose – The paper aims to foster a better understanding of knowledge management (KM) benefits by integrating the qualitative findings of prior research under a multilayer conceptual framework. Design/methodology/approach – A meta-synthesis approach was conducted by adopting “Noblit and Hare’s” seven-step method. Findings – A breakdown structure for KM benefits which encompasses 3 “macro benefits” at Level 1, 7 “benefits” at Level 2 and 44 “micro benefits” at Level 3. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is that this research does not provide criteria and measures to assess the benefits of KM. Practical implications – Organizations which intend to invest in KM can obtain a better insight about outcomes and benefits of implementing KM initiatives. This study will provide those organizations which have already invested in KM with some ideas to evaluate their KM efforts qualitatively. Originality/value – Based on available data, this study is the first of its kind that has identified the benefits of KM in three layers. Also, the number of KM benefits identified in this study is greater than that of any previous research.