TM Strategies: Panacea to KM Ills and Challenges – A Reference to COVID-19

Introduction

Knowledge Management (KM) has been around since the 1990s. Talent Management (TM) has joined later, and if these two are positioned correctly, they could have synergistic effects. KM and TM both have their own knowledge transfer barriers and strategies respectively. Selection and repair of knowledge transfer mechanisms and barriers necessitate TM strategies. KM has several challenges; yet, TM strategies may provide enterprises with answers to the COVID 19 pandemic. COVID19, which began in Wuhan, China in December 2019, will have both short- and long-term repercussions on the global economy (Ali, 2019).

Employees’ skills, experiences, behavior, knowledge and cognitive abilities are identified as the talents in the organization (Al-Azzam & Al-Qura’an, 2018; Lewis & Hackman, 2006). Therefore, it is important to manage those talents. TM refers to the human procedures, practises, and methods used in HR-related activities, such as customer service, recruitment, selection and training, development, remuneration, and succession planning, as well as attraction, engagement, retention, and development of skilled personnel (Al-Azzam & Al-Qura’an, 2018). Both TM researchers and KM researchers have hardly addressed the strategies of integrating TM and KM for implementing TM strategies against KM challenges in the context of COVID 19 Pandemic. Positioning and integrating appropriately the TM strategies against KM challenges could derive huge benefits for the organizations. COVID 19 Pandemic has made the world environment volatile and complex (Ali, 2021; Kazemian and Grant, 2022). Numerous challenges of KM have emerged demanding TM strategies. Knowledge is transferred from one point to another through some vehicles. These vehicles are also called ‘channels’. Knowledge transfer encounters a number of barriers. Therefore, this chapter addresses the vital issues and challenges of KM in respect of Knowledge Transfer barriers and mechanisms as identified by Hasnain, Jasimuddin & Fuller-Love (2016) and makes an endeavor to materialize those with TM strategies as narrated by Whelan & Carcary (2011). These may be put in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. In the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, it is evident that KM and TM concerns are not sufficiently addressed in the literature. So this chapter sets the following objectives:

• (i)

  To review the literature on KM, particularly, knowledge, knowledge transfer, its mechanisms, and barriers.

• (ii)

  To develop TM strategies based on challenges in light of COVID19, with a reference to “Knowledge Transfer mechanisms” and “Knowledge transfer barriers”.

Knowledge transfer between and within organizations appears to be at the heart of strategy creation and research (Chaturvedi and Singh, 2021; van Wijk, Jansen and Lyles, 2008). Knowledge transfer aids in the addition of force (Hall, 2001) and value (Hogberg and Edvinsson, 1998) to an organization's existing knowledge. Several scholars (Chowdhury, Butel, Eraslan and Bakan, 2009; Albino, Claudio and Schiuma,, 1999; Argote and Ingram, 2000) have identified knowledge transfer to be a strategic factor in competitive advantage. Knowledge Transfer is the subject of transmitting knowledge between the parties., like a badminton game, where one party sends the shuttlecock to other and vice versa. In Knowledge Transfer, the behavior of one party affects the other one (Argote & Ingram, 2000). This chapter is presenting the sections in the following order: (i) Introduction (ii) Literature Review (iii) Methodology/approach (iv) Conclusion (v) Recommendations.