International Conference on Knowledge Management in Asia Pacific (KMAP 2004)
   Knowledge Management in the Global Environment: The Roles of Culture,
Industry and Government in Fostering a Knowledge Society        

        Knowledge has been described as a critical competitive asset of organizations. In the era of the knowledge economy, it is the possession of scarce, valuable, inimitable knowledge resources that support long-term superior organizational performance. There has been a shift of focus from the historically dominant theme of value appropriation to one of value creation. Knowledge, as intellectual capital of organizations, is the most valuable resource in the knowledge economy. The most important strategy in business is converting knowledge into intellectual capital and leveraging it for competitive advantage.

        KM research has mostly focused on knowledge and knowledge management within organizational boundaries. However, several related trends, including globalization, immigration, political and economic unification, and technological connectivity, suggest that a broader, more global perspective in KM research and practice is needed. An understanding of contextual factors, such as national KM policies, national culture, and industry characteristics and relationships are essential for the successful implementation of KM at the fractal levels of organization, industry, nation, and world. The aim of this conference is to bring a diverse range of scholars, policy makers and managers together to bring such these factors into closer focus to stimulate new directions in knowledge management and policy research and practice. This conference calls for papers that offer provocative, insightful, and novel ways of viewing KM from a wide variety of perspectives.

        The countries in the Asia-Pacific area have specific national cultures, economic characteristics, and knowledge management policies, which are quite different from other countries in this world. It is important to understand how these differences affect knowledge management processes. Meanwhile, the countries in this area are highly inter-dependent with each other for various business activities. This high degree of inter-dependency makes cross-culture studies of knowledge management even more critical.

        Therefore, the first international conference of KMAP is being initiated by the National Taiwan University to provide a communication platform for issues of knowledge management relevant to the Asian Pacific area. To assure this conference will become a regular event, an Association of Asian Pacific Knowledge Management will be created consisting of members who are researchers and practitioners of knowledge management from countries in this area. KMAP 2005 will be held in New Zealand, 2005.