KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS AND RESEARCH ISSUES By M. ALAVI* AND D. LEIDNER** 99/34/MKT * Orkand Professor of Information Systems, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. ** Associate Professor of Information Systems at INSEAD, Boulevard de Constance, 77305 Fontainebleau cedex, France. A working paper in the INSEAD Working Paper Series is intended as a means whereby a faculty researcher's thoughts and findings may be communicated to interested readers. The paper should be considered preliminary in nature and may require revision. Printed at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.