Knowledge management has become an organizational imperative for all types of corporate and governmental organizations. A key objective is to apply knowledge which resides within an organization to achieve the organization's goals most efficiently and cost-effectively. To implement knowledge management in organizations, different aspects from different disciplines have to be taken into account. Organizational aspects are required to define which knowledge should be captured and the way it is captured. A new knowledge-friendly culture has to be developed to support knowledge sharing and creation and to overcome the employees' fear that sharing of knowledge means loosing power. Finally, information technologies play a key role as enabling technology for knowledge management.

Successful knowledge management requires one critical ingredient: collective positive action to shape it, so that it properly contributes to the larger goal of achieving an added-value for organizations. Taking advantage of the potentially huge benefits of knowledge management will require significant changes in attitudes and practises among organizations and individuals. Fully exploiting the enormous potential benefits of successful knowledge management methodologies and tools requires a far more coordinated effort and a much wider overview than can possibly be achieved by individuals or single organizations acting alone. What is required is a platform which brings together an interdisciplinary group of organizations. Ideally, a group which does not only consist of organizations with a scientific background in information technologies, organization management and human resource management but also of companies which operate in knowledge-intensive market segments.