Re-configuring the ‘M’ of Knowledge Management – a Push-Pull Metaphor

Two divergent thoughts (control vs. intrinsic motivation) appear in the extant literature regarding the management of knowledge workers. Such divergence misapprehends the inclusivity of the two perspectives that otherwise obfuscate a possibly more powerful synergy derived from a convergence of their respective theoretical roots. The current article attempts to consolidate a clearer focus out of the divergent roots by adopting a push-pull metaphor to develop a convergent model that demonstrates the synchronicity of the two viewpoints in substantiating the knowledge sharing behaviors of workers. The resulting management model levels the skepticism against the conventions surrounding the role of managerial control and breaks the hegemony of exclusive focus on intrinsic motivation as a means of fostering KM practices.