The CEOs view of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning: Technology- or Persons-centered? Results from an empirical study in Spain

In todays competitive landscape organizational learning and knowledge management initiatives are emerging of powerful sources of competitive advantage. In this paper, the researches report on the design and expected result of a survey on knowledge management, which has been designed putting special emphasis on the interplay between the technical and non-technical aspects of learning and knowledge management initiatives. Questionnaires have been sent to 1100 firms from 11 industries in Spain, in order to be able to conduct both intra- and inter-industry analysis. In addition, in order to enrich the results, in-depth interviews was going to be held with selected companies. This allowed the authors to report on (1) what knowledge management initiatives was planned and carried out, (2) the role of technology in these initiatives, (3) the role of non-technical aspects like career planning and human resource policies, (4) the perceived effectiveness of the initiatives, and (5) the main underlying causal dynamics at work.