The Influence of Knowledge Management on Managing Organizational Risk
Emanuel Lauria, Dr. Traron Moore, Dr. Connie O’Brien, Dr. Rebecca Staunton, Subhashish Samaddar

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of knowledge management and its relationship to the management of risks that organizations encounter. In this research, we have selected cyber risk in the utility industry as a surrogate for organizational risk. Using publicly disclosed secondary data that includes information on cyber risk, we explored for evidence of what role, if any, investment in knowledge management (KM) plays in the management of risk. Methodologically, we employed a textual analysis of the Item 1A section of annual 10-K reports. We found manifestations in the disclosure data of risk management (RM) and KM, and also investment in KM activities. Further, we show that KM and RM coalesce in the firm as a unified risk – response – resolution sequence, in which investment in KM influences RM mitigation. Our research supports the assertion that “RM is KM”, and offers a response to the issue of how KM can contribute to enterprise risk management.

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