1. Popper, 1994, p. 18. While I do not fully agree with this opinion and view definitions as one means of clarification, I do agree with Popper that explaining things by examples can lead to a better understanding than simply providing definitions (Popper, 1994, p. 19 ).
2. See for example Lim et al. 1999.
3. This distinction seems true for many typical “representatives” of the two disciplines. It does, of course, not apply to all scholars or practitioners active in the two fields. There are many knowledge management `activitists’ with positivistic mind-sets, and there are quality management advocates who stress the socially constructed nature of managerial challenges.
4. For alternative definitions and their implications see also: Reeves, C.A., and Bednar, D.A. (1994) Defining Quality: Alternatives and Implications, in: Academy of Management Review,19, no. 3, pp. 319–445.
5. See Evans & Lindsay, 1999, glossary.