Frequency of Publication and Topical Emphasis of Knowledge Management Books versus Doctoral Dissertations: 1983–2005

Citation analysis was used to collect data on the annual frequency and topical emphasis of books and doctoral dissertations on Knowledge Management (KM) published during the period 1983–2005. Chi-Square was used to compare KM books versus KM dissertations on the basis of frequency of publication and topical emphasis. Cramer's Phi was used to interpret the derived Chi-Square values' effect levels. Regarding annual frequency of publication, there was no significant difference between books and dissertations. KM books and dissertations followed a pattern of annual publication frequency similar to patterns reported in the literature. Regarding topical emphasis, there was a significant difference between books and dissertations. The analysis also supported a taxonomy or categorization model for topical emphasis reported in the literature. Recommendations for further study included: (1) citation analysis comparing the annual publication frequencies and topical emphasis of KM books, dissertations, and journal articles; (2) a bibliographic study comparing the types of sources cited in KM books, dissertations, and journal articles; and (3) additional studies on the categorization of the topics covered in KM books, dissertations, and journal articles. The study findings reflect: (1) KM's recent emergence as a generally accepted field of study and (2) key topics or KM constructs that merit greater attention by theorists and practitioners.