DOI: 10.4018/IJKM.2019040101 International Journal of Knowledge Management Volume 15 • Issue 2 • April-June 2019 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 1 Knowledge Management in the Dark: The Role of Shadow IT in Practices in Manufacturing Shahper Richter, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Lena Waizenegger, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Melanie Steinhueser, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland Alexander Richter, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand ABSTRACT The voluntary use of private devices by employees without the formal approval of the IT department, commonly termed Shadow IT, is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. In this article, the authors study the role of private smartphones (and related applications like WhatsApp) in knowledge- intensive practices in the manufacturing domain. With an in-depth case study based on data gained from observations and interviews, the authors are able to empirically illustrate why workers use their private smartphones (contrary to company guidelines) and how they find significant gains of productivity by using the forbidden applications. This study gives rich insights into the rise of Shadow IT in a manufacturing context which takes place in a self-organised way without knowledge of the management. KeywoRDS Knowledge Management, Manufacturing, Private IT, Shadow IT, Worker-Centric INTRoDUCTIoN Knowledge management can be defined as a systematic and integrated management strategy that develops, transfers, transmits, stores, and implements knowledge so that it can improve efficiency and effectiveness of workers in an organisational setting (Dahiya, Gupta, & Jain, 2012). Many studies have shown how information technology (IT) can help to effectively coordinate these knowledge management practices (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). This leads to numerous positive organizational outcomes such as enhanced communication and higher levels of participation among staff members, efficiencies in problem solving and time-to-market, more favourable financial performance, and improved project team performance (Donate & de Pablo, 2015). However, what happens when the context of IT shift from organisation-approved IT to IT that is privately owned the workers and not officially aligned with the organisational processes?