Fire in the Records: The Dark Side of Knowledge Management

Abstract

This paper discusses the implications of buyers and sellers being influenced by the information they receive and how that impacts their decision-making process in the context of a high-value low-frequency transaction (HVLFT). Using an exploratory case study, we explore a dark dimension of knowledge where tacit or explicit knowledge has been lost, distorted, suppressed, misrepresented, or misappropriated resulting in ambiguity and increased risk in decision making. The case study focuses on the decision-making process and the information flow seen from the perspective of different stakeholders involved in a HVLFT. Based on this case study we propose, articulate, and apply a model that explicitly acknowledges the dark side of knowledge. Our findings suggest the need for the application of convergent technologies to ameliorate the risk and asymmetricity caused by the dark side of knowledge and enhance governance particularly in the context of HVLFT.