Futures studies methods for knowledge management in academic research

Abstract

The management of academic knowledge is a relatively young area of attention. Higher education entities accumulate a great deal of knowledge and the management of this asset is more than ever crucial for the strategic alignment. Hence, this paper aims at showing that knowledge management in academic research should work hand in hand with futures studies to develop and foster a strategic orientation. For this purpose the knowledge management model by Probst et al. (1998) with its eight building blocks serves as a framework. The focus of this paper lies on the processes of knowledge goals and knowledge identification and it is suggested that the futures studies methods monitoring, scenario technique and forecasting are suitable to complement knowledge management methods within academic research due to their ability to identify and concentrate information and knowledge relevant to the future.