Bibliometric Review of Research on Knowledge Management and Sustainability, 1994–2018

Abstract

Even though Knowledge Management (KM) is already widely used in business and public sector organisations, it also has potentially important implications when applied to the concept of sustainability. This research review aimed to examine the topography of research on KM and Sustainability. A total of 3025 articles from 1994 to 2018 were selected and analysed using bibliometric analysis to identify the growth trajectory of this literature, identify influential researchers and documents, explore the intellectual structure of the knowledge base and identify topical trends. The review found a knowledge of moderate but rapidly growing size. Key authors and documents were identified who can serve as guiding references for scholars entering this field of sustainability studies. Author co-citation analysis yielded a network map visualising the intellectual structure of this knowledge base which consisted of four Schools of Thought: Knowledge Management for Sustainability, Socio-Ecological System, Sustainability Science, KM for Sustainability Application. Keyword analysis highlighted climate change, learning, communities of practice and socio-economic management as topical trends emerging in the research front of this knowledge base. As the first bibliometric review of the KM and Sustainability literature, the findings from this paper establish a baseline for scholarship in this field which can be as a benchmark as the field continues to evolve in the future.

The Sustainable Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Analysis and Future Trends

“…The method used was to perform a full search on the Scopus database, using a search string with the terms "corporate social responsibility" and "sustainability" to examine the subfields of the title, summary, and keywords over a period of 18 years, from 2001 to 2018 [131][132][133]. The sample of articles analyzed was obtained through a search within August 2019, which included only scientific articles, both in open and non-open access.…”

Does Social Capital Increase Innovation Speed? Empirical Evidence from China

“…Cultivating structural social capital can open channels and gates for acquiring different people and diverse thoughts that help accelerate the generation of new ideas [12]. Structural social capital also helps to reach not only new sustainability technology and inventions but also the information, knowledge, and resources necessary for sustainability inventions [16], which can save a lot of time on search and speed up the innovative process [63]. In addition, structural social capital plays an important role in firms establishing a deep knowledge of their suppliers, customers, and competitors, which can enable innovative products or services to be put on the market as fast as possible [51].…”

Development and Validation of a Knowledge Management Questionnaire for Hospitals and Other Healthcare Organizations

“…The developed questionnaire seems to be reliable, valid, and suitable to be used for studying the suggested nine dimensions of KM: perceptions of KM, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, knowledge synthesis and sharing, cooperation, leadership, organizational culture, and barriers. The developed questionnaire can help policymakers and hospital administrators collect information about KM processes in healthcare organizations and this can result in higher performance of health organizations.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2730 2 of 15 making them sustainable [7]. In the past, scientists insisted on the personal character of knowledge.…”

“…Sustainability 2020, 12, 2730 2 of 15 making them sustainable [7]. In the past, scientists insisted on the personal character of knowledge.…”