In 1969, Austrian-American writer Peter Drucker foretold a major societal and economic shift driven by knowledge. However, it would not be until the 1990s that scholars, managers, management consultants and policy-makers would herald the arrival of the knowledge economy, whereby goods and services depend not just on labour but on competencies, skills and ideas. As knowledge became recognised as the most valuable organisational and economic resource, the urge to manage it followed.
Management scholars, consultants and managers alike were quick to identify the main challenge of knowledge management. As long as knowledge resided in individual minds, it was hard for managers to control.
