Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Storytelling is gaining recognition as areas of inquiry in management and organisation
theory, but it is difficult to ascertain to what extent it is useful for organisational knowledge
management. The thesis argues that although the existing literature on organisational
storytelling is focused on the knowledge sharing aspects of storytelling, it is also useful for
knowledge capturing. Whilst most knowledge management systems focus on explicit
knowledge, the capture of tacit knowledge, which is hard to identify and manage, is a major
challenge.
The thesis uses Becerra-Fernandez et al.'s knowledge management framework to establish the
requirements for knowledge management, and specifically highlighting the important role of
tacit knowledge in organisational knowledge processes. Thereafter the role of storytelling in
organisations is described by way of a literature review that includes the work of Snowden,
Denning, Boje and Czarniawska. The outcome of this review is to show that storytelling is an
informal process in organisations and that attempts to formalise it are still in its infancy.
The various insights about the role of stories in organisations are then mapped against the
requirements for knowledge management. It is shown that the storytelling literature almost
wholly concentrates on the area of knowledge sharing and less so in the areas of knowledge
discovery, capture and application. Since knowledge capture involves the externalisation of
tacit knowledge and because tacit knowledge is more easily expressed in narrative form, it is
argued that storytelling can also contribute to knowledge management as a way to capture
knowledge. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Stories en vertellings word toenemend erken as areas van ondersoek in bestuurs- en
organisasieteorie, maar dit is moeilik om te bepaal tot watter mate dit bruikbaar is vir
organisatoriese kennisbestuur. Die tesis argumenteer dat, hoewel die bestaande literatuur oor
organisatoriese stories gefokus is op stories as die oordrag van kennis, dit ook bruikbaar mag
wees vir kennis-formalisering. Terwyl die meeste kennisbestuursisteme op eksplisiete kennis
gefokus is, is die formalisering van versweë kennis, wat moeilik is om te identifiseer en
bestuur, 'n groot uitdaging.
Die tesis steun op Becerra-Fernandez et al. se kennisbestuursraamwerk om so die vereistes
vir kennisbestuur te bepaal en spesifiek die belangrike rol van versweë kennis in
organisatoriese kennis prosesse uit te stippel. Daarna word die rol van stories in organisasies
beskryf deur middel van 'n literatuur-oorsig wat die werk van Snowden, Denning, Boje en
Czarniawska insluit. Die uitkoms van die oorsig is dat storie-vertelling in organisasies
hoofsaaklik 'n informele proses is en dat pogings om dit te formaliseer nog in die beginfases
is.
Die verskeie insigte oor die rol van stories in organisasies word dan teen die agtergrond van
die kennisbestuursvereistes geinterpreteer. Daar word getoon dat die storievertellingsliteratuur
amper uitsluitlik konsentreer op die area van kennis-oordrag en minder
so in die areas van kennis ontdekking, -formalisering en -toepassing. Omdat kennis
formalisering met die eksternalisasie van versweë kennis gepaardgaan en omdat versweë
kennis makliker in narratiewe vorm uitgedruk kan word, word daar geargumenteer dat storievertelling
ook tot kennisbestuur kan bydrae lewer as 'n manier om kennis te formaliseer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/86353 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Mamabolo, Kgothatso Anna |
| Contributors | Maasdorp, Christiaan Hendrik, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | vii, 105 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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