Public sector knowledge management: A structured literature review

Purpose: This paper reviews and critiques the public sector knowledge management (KM) literature, offers an overview of the state of public sector KM research and outlines a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach: Articles published in KM journals are analyzed using a structured literature review methodology. The paper analyzes 180 papers published in 10 journals specializing in the field of KM. Findings: Public sector KM is a research area of growing importance. Findings show that few authors specialize in the field and there are several obstacles to developing a cohesive body of literature. Low levels of international co-operation among authors and international comparisons mean that the literature is fragmented. Some research topics and some geographical areas within the public sector theme are over-analyzed, while others are under-investigated. Additionally, academic researchers should re-think their methodological approach if they wish to make significant contributions to the literature and work towards developing research which impacts practice in conjunction with practitioners. Originality/value: The paper presents a comprehensive structured literature review of the articles published in KM journals. The paper’s findings can offer insights into future research needs.