Review of The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning and Sustainable Innovation by Mark McElroy

Purpose - This paper sets out to review Mark McElroy's article which looks at the new knowledge management.Design methodology approach - A critique of McElroy's work: The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning and Sustainable Innovation is presented.Findings - The new KM requires changes in traditional organizational practices: managers should defer to workers, creating optimal knowledge production environments; organizations should become open, broadly sharing the knowledge production process. The adoption of the new KM is critical to the organization's ability to remain competitive in the Knowledge Age.Originality value - The new KM falls somewhat short of McElroy's claim for it to be an implementation strategy for organizational learning, because of its limiting assumption that knowledge is a product. The theory of knowledge that supports the new KM does not adequately deal with knowledge and the knower, or with truth or wisdom. This theoretical weakness does not detract from the power or value of its insights; rather it renders problematic the placement of KM within the organization and the organizational relationship of managers and employees.