Knowledge Management Awareness within Young Companies with Growth Ambitions : a qualitative case study

Abstract: A strategy for knowledge in business can prove to be important for business growth. Objective: This study aims to elucidate the knowledge of knowledge of two young companies with growth ambitions. A company was production oriented in a smaller city in central Sweden, the other company was a consulting firm in Stockholm. Method: The study is a qualitative case study inspired by (Eisenhardt, 1989). The material is 11 semi-structured transcribed interviews, and notes from the field study. The interviews are analyzed sentence by sentence. The results show a weak company awareness of Knowledge Management connection to company growth and sustainability. At baseline implementation none of the companies had a deliberately chosen strategy for knowledge management. The result also shows that employees have a desire for transparency in knowledge and sees personal development as an advantage of knowledge management