Conflicts around Knowledge Management: Connecting Complexity, Conflict, and Knowing to Support Knowledge-Focused Work

A meta-level focus on knowledge, articulated in the theory and practice of Knowledge Management and changing contexts of work in twenty-first century knowledge-focused organizations, offers new opportunities for Conflict Studies to contribute to organizational life. The New Sciences of Complexity, the emergent nature of embodied knowing, and personal knowledge practices connect to form a conceptual framework for thinking about working with conflict in knowledge-focused organizations.

Knowledgework is considered a form of identity formulation in which work practices and experiences shape practices of conflict and knowing. Exploratory interviews with practitioners and thought leaders in the field of Knowledge Management ground the theoretical work and provide a snapshot of conflicts around Knowledge Management initiatives as the current form of meta-level knowledge work. Engaging these conflicts by considering identity as a primary influence can lead to innovative practice and expand the contributions that Conflict Studies can make to these organizations in the future.