Knowledge management and the competitive strategy of the firm

Purpose Knowledge management (KM) has emerged as a strategy to improve organizational competitiveness. Our purpose is to identify the relationship between KM and the firm's competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach We review the existing literature on KM and strategy formulation. We utilize the resource‐based view approach as a lens for fitting KM with strategic planning. The concept of strategy and KM integration is introduced. Findings We relate KM strategies to business strategy through a thorough review of the literature. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate the circumstances under which KM can create a sustainable competitive advantage within the framework of the RBV. Another area involves the investigation of the degree of integration between the competitive strategy and KM strategy. Practical implications A very useful source of information for practitioners to refine their thinking about KM and the firm strategic resources. It offers the practitioner a framework for understanding strategy concepts while illustrating how we can derive business results from KM. Originality/value This paper offers practical help for corporate executives and practitioners embarking in a KM initiative or program.