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The critical success factors’ investigation during knowledge management implementation within SME enterprises: a Participatory Design opportunity

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Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) is currently an important driver to develop dynamic capabilities for businesses, on behalf of competitiveness. Nonetheless, some critical success factors are hampering KM implementation, such as a lack of a KM strategy, cultural aspects, leadership, and technology. In this paper, we focused on the KM implementation within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by exploring Participatory Design potential to KM implementation in SMEs, by focusing on information technology as a critical success factor and exploring some organizational culture characteristics that can help in this context. To achieve this goal, we conducted an ethnographic study in the real environment of a consulting firm which is starting its own KM project. Our results show that Participatory Design might be recommended to SMEs’ KM implementation, by taking advantage of already available, but underused technological tools.

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Cesumar Science, Technology, and Innovation Institute. No. 2021.

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Author notes

  1. Nelson Tenório and Danieli Pinto have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stricto Sensu Department, Cesumar University, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Amanda Carolina Teixeira

  2. Cesumar Institute of Science Technology and Innovation (ICETI), Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Nelson Tenório & Arthur Gualberto Bacelar da Cruz Urpia

  3. Faculty of Business and Economy of Cianorte, Cianorte, Paraná, Brazil

    Danieli Pinto

  4. Technological University of Troyes (UTT), Troyes, France

    Nada Matta

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  1. Amanda Carolina Teixeira
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Contributions

Amanda Carolina Teixeira: main writer and researcher. Nelson Tenório: writer, reviewer, and research leader. Danieli Pinto: writer and formatter. Nada Matta: reviewer and minimal sponsor. Arthur Gualberto Bacelar da Cruz Urpia: co-supervisor, reviewer, and minimal contributions.

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Correspondence to Nelson Tenório.

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This article is part of the topical collection “Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management” guest edited by Joaquim Filipe, Ana Fred, Jan Dietz, Ana Salgado and Jorge Bernardino.

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Teixeira, A.C., Tenório, N., Pinto, D. et al. The critical success factors’ investigation during knowledge management implementation within SME enterprises: a Participatory Design opportunity. SN COMPUT. SCI. 4, 25 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-022-01420-6

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