Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Knowledge management (KM) has become an important topic among many organisations in the last decade. While various factors inform an organisational decision to initiate KM, many organisations are equally confronted with a number of barriers during KM implementation. This research aimed to analyse relevant literature of public and private organisations in relation to the factors that drive the development and adoption of KM initiatives and the barriers to KM implementation. The thesis is made up of six chapters. Chapter 1 dealt with the background of the study, introduction to the problem, and the relevance of the study. In Chapter 2, case studies on the driving factors for knowledge management initiatives in public and private organisations were discussed. Similarly in Chapter 3, case studies on barriers to knowledge management implementation in public and private organisations were examined. Chapter 4 discussed the research methodology as well as description of literature searched. Chapter 5 examined the findings of chapter 4 and further discussion was made. Finally, in Chapter 6 the conclusion of the study was made based on the findings and discussion. The research adopted the qualitative meta-analysis methodology which was considered robust enough to create an understanding into the many factors and barriers related to KM initiatives in public and private organisations. 40 case studies each for factors and barriers were retrieved from well-known academic databases and examined. The findings revealed that the topmost motivating factor for both public and private organisations to start KM was the need to improve processes. Similarly, ‘organisational culture’ and ‘poor and/or inadequate technology infrastructure’ were the two key barriers to KM in both public and private organisations. It can be concluded that the key factors for starting KM and the implementation barriers are similar for both public and private organisation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die afgelope dekade word Kennisbestuur as 'n belangrike onderwerp in organisasies beskou. Terwyl daar verskeie faktore is wat organisasies dryf om kennisbestuur inisiatiewe te implementeer, is daar ook heelparty obstruksies wat hierdie projekte kompliseer. Hierdie tesis analiseer relevante literatuur oor publieke en private organisasies met betrekking tot hierdie faktore en obstruksies. Die tesis bestaan uit ses hoofstukke. Hoofstuk 1 verskaf agtergrond oor die navorsingsprobleem en bespreek die relevansie daarvan. In Hoofstuk 2 word die faktore wat kennisbestuur inisiatiewe dryf ondersoek deur middel van die hersiening van gevallestudies. Hoofstuk 3 behels 'n soortgelyke ondersoek na die obstruksies wat met hierdie inisiatiewe geassosieer word. Hoofstuk 4 bespreek die navorsingsmetodologie en verduidelik die uitvoer daarvan waarna die bevindinge in Hoofstuk 5 uiteengesit word. In Hoofstuk 6 word gevolgtrekkings gemaak en bespreek. Die studie behels 'n kwalitatiewe meta-analise van die dryffaktore en obstruksies wat met kennisbestuurprojekte gepaard gaan. 40 Gevallestudies uit akademiese joernale word ontleed vir beide faktore en obstruksies. Bevindinge toon dat die belangrikste faktor wat kennisbesuur in beide publieke en private organisasies dryf die behoefte is om prosesse te verbeter. Publieke en private organisasies deel ook dieselfde sleutel obstruksies, naamlik “organisatoriese kultuur” en onvoldoende “tegnologiese infrastruktuur”. Dit blyk dus dat daar nie daadwerklike verskille tussen publieke en private organisasies bestaan wat kennisbestuur inisiatiewe betref nie.