Competence management in knowledge intensive organizations using consensual knowledge and ontologies Chris Kimble 1,2 & José Braga de Vasconcelos 3 & Álvaro Rocha 4 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract This article describes an architecture suitable for use in a competence management system for knowledge in- tensive organizations (KIOs). The underlying motivation for this work is to explore the practical problems of the use of codified knowledge in knowledge management systems (KMS) in KIOs. We explore some of the key issues associated with the use of tacit and codified knowledge in KMS, and describe an architecture based on an ontology-driven frame- work derived from collective and consensual knowledge that acts as a structure for a formal knowledge base. We describe, in outline, a prototype competence management system based on this architecture designed to support the management of competencies in a structured way. We conclude with some observations about our approach to the representation of knowledge in a KMS and its potential value to KIOs. Keywords Codified knowledge . Competence management . Consensual knowledge . Knowledge intensive organizations . Knowledge management . Ontologies . Tacit knowledge 1 Introduction In the field of knowledge management (KM), knowledge is frequently classified using the terms popularised by Nonaka. According to Nonaka, human knowledge can be classified into two types: explicit or codified knowledge, which refers to knowledge that is transmittable in formal, systematic lan- guage, and tacit knowledge that has a personal quality which makes it hard to formalize and communicate (Nonaka 1994). The management of knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge, poses particular problems for computer based knowledge management systems (KMS) that rely upon the use of codified knowledge to function (Kimble 2013a). Making a KMS work in enterprises such as consultancies, high-tech, and creative industries, collectively termed knowl- edge intensive organizations (KIOs), poses additional problems. KIOs are dependent on specialized knowledge and skills to develop their products and services and need to make the most effective use of the knowledge they have at their disposal (Janicot and Mignon 2012). To be successful, a KIO must exploit the knowledge held by a dynamic and constantly evolving group of specialists. The goal of KM in this context is to acquire relevant knowledge from these groups and distrib- ute it as quickly and efficiently as possible. While this type of organization might appear to be an ideal candidate for KM, problems arise because a significant part of that knowledge is tacit and, in addition, much of it is highly specific, collective and consensual knowledge. It is collective in the sense that is not the property of a single individual and may be embedded unseen in organizational routines. It is consensual because its value to the organization is decided upon by a specific group of people deal- ing with a specific problem relating to a specific set of circum- stances; furthermore, the consensus that forms the basis of its evaluation is transitory and may only last for a limited period. In this article, we describe, in outline, the underlying design and implementation of a prototype competence management system (CMS) for use in KIOs. Although we do not address it directly, our long term goal was to develop a scalable architec- ture to aid the management of tacit knowledge in organizations * Chris Kimble chris.kimble@chris-kimble.com 1 Kedge Business School, Marseille, France 2 MRM, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France 3 University Atlântica, Barcarena, Portugal 4 University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Inf Syst Front DOI 10.1007/s10796-016-9627-0