APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ADOPTION IN SERVICE INDUSTRY

The service industry has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the world economy, making higher contributions to the global output and employment. As the information age moves into the knowledge economy, that knowledge management has become an important point for discussions on mechanisms to facilitate service industries acquiring greater competitive advantage based on the production, distribution and use of information. Knowledge management is a device of strategies and practices that used in organizations which is primarily important for the growth of service industries. Within the service industry, it is increasingly being acknowledged that knowledge management can bring about the much needed innovation and improved business performance the industry requires. David Gurteen (1998), defines knowledge management as set of organizational design and operational principles, processes, organizational structures, applications and technologies that helps knowledge employees dramatically leverage their creativity and ability to deliver business value, while Robinson et al. (2005) perceive the notion of knowledge management as a vehicle for continuous improvements of organizational performance. This study highlights on the best practice application of knowledge management adoption in the service industry include Academia, Insurance, Hospitality & Tourism, Public Transport and Financial Services. These service industries enjoy the benefits from having organised knowledge management programs in the form of improving business decisions, increasing efficiency and productivity, increasing customer satisfaction and enhancing service quality. Thus, the growing interest in knowledge management stems from the realization that in the knowledge era, organizational knowledge is a strategic corporate asset that needs to be garnered, retained, updated, disseminated and applied to future organizational problems.