The interaction between a knowledge management systems and the users requires well-adapted visualization tools with graphical formalization of knowledge. The formalization is often theoretically based on graph-models. Yet, the best associated visual representations use trees but may be more limited than those with graphs. This paper gives an introduction to Atanor, a knowledge management system, whose graphical model for visualizing knowledge is tree-based. However this approach entails vertex redundancies. Consequently, we develop a new approach based on a layered digraph to solve this problem. Finally, we draw a comparison on an industrial example showing the advantages of the new model.
In recent years, both practitioners and scholars alike have emphasized the importance of organizational knowledge and learning as a source of competitive advantage. In this connexion, the integration of information technologies to foster these organizational sources has gained considerable attention. However, especially due to the innate characteristics of tacit knowledge, its handling is deemed to be extraordinarily difficult. This results primarily from the fact that tacit knowledge can only be disseminated via intricate interpersonal processes. Socialization is viewed as an appropriate approach but to date this is regarded as incommensurate with most existing information technologies. In this paper we argue that corporate weblogs – i.e. personalized and informal Internet publications referring to corporate concerns – constitute a viable option to deal with this dilemma while incorporating the possibility to codify as well as personalize tacit knowledge. By illuminating how to transcend the traditional impasse, we intend to contribute to knowledge management research and practitioners alike.