Guest editorial: Intertwining of information systems and knowledge risk in the uncertain business environment

Abstract

The knowledge risk can be defined as the probability and severity of adverse effects associated with any activity engaging or related somehow to the knowledge (Durst and Zieba, 2019). The operational dimension of knowledge risks pertains to all the risks arising from an organization’s day-to-day operations and overall functioning, such as entering into collaborative agreements, outsourcing certain business functions or applying incorrect or outdated knowledge during business operations (Adar and Wuchner, 2005; Durst, 2019). It is important to actively manage knowledge risks while acknowledging that some of them cannot be eliminated (Adar and Wuchner, 2005; Durst, 2019). Knowledge risk management, however, provides ways to deal with knowledge at risk, such as knowledge loss – the result of personnel removed, for example, by turnover or death, or any other reason that the person is no longer part of the organization or cannot be reached. The literature on knowledge management emphasizes the positive aspects of the discipline; it hardly covers the negative aspects, such as when knowledge is misunderstood, repressed or misused for personal or organizational reasons (Burgin and Mikkilineni, 2021; Di Vaio et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2023). Thus, in completing the loop, knowledge risks and knowledge risks management need to be considered together rather than studied in silos. Furthermore, only a few studies attempt to explore the two together, and thus the literature on it remains fragmented primarily. Some studies have been conducted about knowledge loss (Norman, 2004; Parise, 2007; Schmitt et al., 2012); knowledge leakage (Ahmad et al., 2014; Annansingh, 2012; Mohamed et al., 2007; Parker, 2012); spillover effects (Fernandes and Ferreira, 2013); and privacy (Arshad and Ismail, 2018; Hernaus et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018; Khalil et al., 2022). Yet, studies combining knowledge risk, knowledge risk management and information systems (IS) with an uncertain business environment by considering the “people” and “processes” seem to be an under-researched area in the literature.