KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION Alexandra Zbuchea, Florina Pînzaru, Lucian Anghel National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania alexandra.zbuchea@facultateademanagement.ro florina.pinzaru@facultateademanagement.ro lucian.anghel@facultateademanagement.ro Abstract Universities face new challenges, due to evolutions in society, as well as in the academic world. They are places of learning, but also of research, of innovation, of capacity building as well as, increasingly more, of entrepreneurial progress. They are places where knowledge is developed in the scope of sharing. This knowledge is no longer available just to students and faculty, but also to the society through partnerships universities are developing with different types of third bodies: companies, research institutes, nonprofit associations or public organizations. Therefore knowledge management should be at the core of managerial practices and strategies. Despite this, the literature in the field of knowledge management does not pay much attention to specific strategies and processes in higher education, except when considering partnerships with companies, or referring to the developments in learning processes generated by the new technologies. The present paper investigates the specific processes of knowledge management in higher education, considered in the specific framework of projects involving student volunteering. The main aims are to understand how knowledge is assimilated by students and how it can become an important resource for higher education management. The research instrument used is in-depth interviews with students involved in organizational projects. The results show that although tacit knowledge valorized through socialization is extremely influential, organizing it as explicit knowledge increases the impact as well as the perceived experiences of students and further share of knowledge. Keywords: higher education, knowledge management, tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge JEL Classification: D80, D83 1. Introduction: theoretical background Increasingly more, organizations consider knowledge as an important resource. Its proper use leads to innovation, differentiation, competitiveness, therefore to increased performance (Uden et al., 2014). Knowledge management refers to a set of processes that involve all the members of an organization in analysis, dissemination, use and transfer of experiences, information and knowledge in order to generate value. Knowledge management is not so simple to implement. On one hand, various theories in the field show limitations of the alternative strategic approaches (Aldermark, 2009). On the other hand, since it depends on the inner relationships between the members of an organization, on organizational culture, the practical outcome highly depends on subjective and contextual factors. Even more, organizations should consider in a dynamic and interrelated way all forms of organizational knowledge: cognitive, emotional and spiritual (Brătianu, 2013). Knowledge management is based on cooperation, which could be difficult to attain in a competitive, diverse and many times antagonist environment. It is based on trust, also difficult to ensure in a competitive organization. Knowledge is valuable only as much as it is used. Organizations are successful primarily because of the skills and experience of their employees and the way they cooperate (Watson, 2003). The knowledge spread and development depends on the members of an organization, on how they relate to each other, but also on the communication infrastructure that facilitates the information flows. In this context, the internet and social networks could stimulate the share of knowledge both inside and outside organizations. Managing the employees as strategic-knowledge resources becomes vital for organizations (Patalas-Maliszewska, 2013).