The foundations of knowledge management

This short text is an edited transcript of a talk on the foundations of knowledge management given in May 2012 at ESG UQAM during the 5th annual conference of the Association en Gestion des Connaissances dans la Société et les Organisations.
In the first section, we explore the ontological foundations of knowledge management, asking the question: what is this reality we're trying to manage? This initial exploration lifts the veil on the indefinite variety of meanings encompassed by the concept of knowledge and, from there, on the complexity and scope of the territory that knowledge management would have under its control.
The second section is devoted to the sociological foundations of knowledge management, linking the very idea of knowledge management to the context of modernity that characterizes contemporary society.
Finally, the last section explores the epistemological foundations of knowledge management in the fields of management theory and administrative practice. While the exploration of the field of theory reveals the diversity of epistemological projects embodied in knowledge management theories, the exploration of the field of practice lifts the veil on the constructed nature of the knowledge that should be managed.