This paper discusses the important differences between Information Management (IM) and Knowledge Management (KM). One of the key premises advanced in this paper is that tacit and explicit knowledge are not the same knowledge in a different state. The act of writing and making one’s knowledge available to others is in itself an act of learning and transformation of the nature of knowledge. In a general sense, it can be said that the “human element” is much more relevant from a KM perspective than from an IM perspective. Traditionally, IM has not taken into account how people learn, create, validate, codify, share knowledge and make decisions. Its focus has been on the manipulation of data and information. Conversely, KM, as a more recent discipline, has a much broader ambition. The goal of this article is to discuss not only how KM and IM are different or similar, but also how and why these two disciplines intersect. The risks involved in KM projects that do not clearly take these differences into account are also highlighted in this paper. The paper is based on a literature review and authors’ own experiences with KM initiatives.

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