KMSA Imbizo 2025 - Submit papers by clicking here

 

25 - 27 August 2025

 

Dear KMSA Community, Knowledge Management Scholars, and Practitioners

 

It is our great pleasure to invite you to KMSA Imbizo 2025: Embedding Knowledge Management into Business Processes for Operational Excellence, which is being organised by Knowledge Management South Africa, and will be hosted in the beautiful Franschhoek, Western Cape on 25-27 August 2025.

 

About our Conference:

KMSA Imbizo has a rich history of fostering a collaborative space for knowledge management practitioners’ cutting-edge research, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and facilitating the exchange of innovative ideas. As a respected platform in the field of Knowledge Management (KM), our conference has consistently attracted leading academics, practitioners, and thought leaders from around the world.

 

This year, we are excited to delve into the theme of Embedding Knowledge Management into Business Processes for Operational Excellence, an exploration that promises to unearth fresh insights and spark dynamic conversations.

For organisations to achieve operational excellence, knowledge management must be seamlessly integrated into business processes. This integration helps in active participation whereby employees will be more likely to engage with and contribute to knowledge-sharing initiatives. Integrating knowledge management into business processes enhances their efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance, driving operational excellence. When knowledge management is deeply embedded within business processes it fosters collaboration and enables businesses to thrive. This may also assist in managing risks better as it helps identify and mitigate risks by providing lessons learned and best practices. This theme is motivated by the need to address the shortcomings in KM adoption. The lack of engagements in KM initiatives has led organisational misalignments, repeating the same mistakes such as departments duplicating efforts and projects experiencing delays.

 

While the following list of potential topic areas is not exhaustive it can guide prospective delegates towards the topics of interest for this year’s theme:

 

• Skills development of the knowledge manager

• Knowledge management initiatives towards operational excellence

• Collaborative and participative teams

• Learning organisations in support of knowledge sharing

• Bridging siloed organisations through knowledge management initiatives

• Knowledge ecosystems for integrated knowledge management

• Responsible knowledge management (rKM) towards inclusive and open communication

• Organisational culture and embedded knowledge management

• Risk management and knowledge-driven initiatives

•  Fostering innovation in/with knowledge management

• Evaluating knowledge value in business processes

• Empowering the C-suite with knowledge management

 

We are accepting abstracts for the practice track culminating in a collection of brief case studies, as well as a research track culminating in full papers for submission in a special issue. Please submit papers by clicking here

 

Practice track:

Please submit your proposed title and abstract of four hundred words for the practice track.

We would like to introduce the submission of business case studies as part of the dissemination of the knowledge presented at the conference in the practice track. If your presentation is accepted, you would be required to submit a 2–3-page case study highlighting the following about your presentation:

XSTAR[1] = Real-world learnings + Future unique/novel applications.

—X—executive summary

—S—situation, solution, significance

—T—theory, task

—A—analysis, action, awareness/alert

—R—results, recommendation, reflection (sharing LESSONS LEARNED and next steps).

 

With industry, it is important to keep in mind that practitioners need to protect company IP, therefore the XSTAR makes provision for confidentiality clauses. Examples of business case studies will be provided upon acceptance of the abstract. These case studies will be published on the KMSA website as part of the Resources.
 

Research track:

All submissions must be unpublished and not be under review elsewhere. All research submissions will go through a double-blind review process. Your submission will be assessed anonymously by at least two reviewers and managed by the academic program committee. Full paper submissions must be at most six thousand words and adhere to the author guidelines provided. Accepted full papers will appear in a special issue of a DHET subsidised journal.

 

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Important dates:

Deadline for abstracts: 15 May 2025

Deadline for full research paper submissions: 15 June 2025

Notification of full research paper acceptances: 15 July 2025

Camera-ready paper submissions: 30 July 2025

KMSA Imbizo 2025: 25-27 August 2025

 

For detailed guidelines on abstract formatting, please take note of the following:

Abstract: The abstract, written in English, should be no longer than 250 words and must be written in the past tense. The abstract should give a succinct account of the objectives, methods, results, and significance of the matter. The structured abstract for an Original Research article should consist of six paragraphs labelled Background, Objectives, Method, Results, Conclusion and Contribution.

• Background: Why do we care about the problem? State the context and purpose of the study. (What practical, scientific, or theoretical gap is your research filling?)

• Objectives: What problem are you trying to solve? What is the scope of your work (e.g. is it a generalised approach or for a specific situation)? Be careful not to use too much jargon.

• Method: How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? State how the study was performed, and which statistical tests were used. (What did you do to get the results?) Clearly express the basic design of the study; name or briefly describe the basic methodology used without going into excessive detail. Be sure to indicate the key techniques used.

• Results: What is the answer? Present the main findings (that is, because of completing the procedure or study, state what you have learnt, invented, or created). Identify trends, relative changes, or differences in answers to questions.

• Conclusion: What are the implications of your answer? Briefly summarise any potential implications. (What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem or gap identified in your motivation?)

• Contribution: What practical, scientific, or theoretical gap did your research filled? How do these insights link to the focus and scope of the journal? It should be a concise statement of the primary contribution of the manuscript; and how it fits within the scope of the journal.

Do not cite references and do not use abbreviations excessively in the abstract.

 

Author guidelines for paper submission, and other relevant information, will be posted once abstract approval have been communicated.
 

Organising Committee:

Dr Refiloe Mabaso (Conference Chair), Kelebogile Mosimege (KMSA Chair), Damien Sakoor (KMSA Deputy Chair), Prof Martie Mearns, Hein Spingies, Rethabile Ntlatleng, Lillian Santi, Thamsanqa Makamba, Thenjiwe Roda (Secretariat), Eileen Bayley (Secretariat).

 

Contacts:

For any programme enquiries: eileen@vdw.co.za

For all general enquiries: eileen@vdw.co.za

We look forward to your contribution and the valuable insights you will bring to the KMSA Imbizo. Your expertise and participation will enrich the discussions and collaborations that will shape the future of Knowledge Management. 

 

Sincerely,

Kelebogile Mosimege