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Knowledge Management (KM) is a growing area of interest in the business world. Organisations have enthusiastically adopted the idea that knowledge has become strategic resource and the principal basis for gaining a competitive advantage. The enthusiasm has attracted the management theorist and practitioner to the contemporary field of KM. While it is frequently claimed that effectively managing knowledge is important for organisations, it raises the issue of how the role of KM practices can benefit organisations. The main aim of this research is to gain a deeper understanding into the role of KM in adding value within a United Kingdom (UK) light vehicle manufacturing industry focusing on the car manufacturing industry and to propose a conceptual framework which explores interrelated mechanisms of KM practises.

Knowledge Management (KM) is a mystifying and multidimensional concept. Although recognised as a discipline since the mid 1990's, KM continues to produce controversial debate amongst academics and practitioners from a variety of backgrounds. The competing schools of thought in the KM field stimulate fragmentation, which has led to the development of a wide variety of KM strategies and approaches. The literature review reveals that the majority of organisations consider KM to be strategically important, yet at the same time the majority of KM initiatives fail. One of the most fundamental reasons for the high failure rate in KM initiatives seems to be a distinct lack of focus and direction. There isn't enough attention paid to the specific objectives that each organisation is trying to deliver with the support of KM. It is often assumed, mistakenly, that managing knowledge simply pays off in the long term. These observations provide strong indication of the need for goal-oriented thinking in KM. This notion is reinforced by lessons learnt from a pilot KM initiative that follows conventional KM thinking and, ultimately, fails. In response, the Goal-Oriented Knowledge Management (GOKM) methodology is proposed, which focuses on organisational goals and combines various KM approaches according to context and objectives. GOKM is applied, evaluated and refined via three case studies at the Danwood Group, HSBC Bank and HBOS Bank. An overall evaluation of GOKM is presented, based on five key criteria (bottom-line results, added value, flexibility, usability and durability). In addition, the impact of GOKM in each participating organisation is measured against specific criteria that are set by senior management. The research has shown that GOKM has significant potential to be applicable in a wider context and this thesis makes a sizable contribution to the development of goal-oriented KM theory.