In Search of Alternative Metaphors for Knowledge; Inspiration from Symbolism

Authors

  • Daniel Andriessen
  • Marien Van Den Boom

Keywords:

knowledge, knowledge management, metaphors, symbolism

Abstract

Conceptual metaphors play a vital role in our ability to think in abstract terms like knowledge. Metaphors structure and give meaning to the concept of knowledge. They hide and highlight certain characteristics. The choice of metaphor when reasoning about knowledge is therefore of vital importance for knowledge management (KM). This paper explores the possibility of introducing new knowledge metaphors to the field of KM. Based on a 'wish list' of characteristics of knowledge they want to highlight, the authors choose to explore the Knowledge as a Journey metaphor as a new metaphor for knowledge. This results in new insights regarding knowledge sharing, acquisition, retention, and innovation.

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Published

1 Jul 2009

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2009)

Section

Articles

License

Open Access Publishing

The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Maangement operates an Open Access Policy. This means that users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, is that authors control  the integrity of their work, which should be properly acknowledged and cited.