**3.1 Technological approach of knowledge management**

Taking into account our researches and observations, we can say that technological approach of KM is the most widespread. Considered from the point of view of the information system, knowledge is implicitly treated as an object independently of the person who creates and uses it. It is a positivist approach that can be considered according to the cognitivist perspective of knowledge within organizations. In this perspective, knowledge exists as a "truth" that can be stored and transmitted.

Typically, the positivist approach considers knowledge independently of its links to the action and context of its implementation. As a result, it neglects the role of tacit knowledge. The same phenomenon is analyzed by [21] who states: The fact that we can possess knowledge that is unspoken is of course a common-place and so is the fact that we must know something yet unspoken before we can express it in words. It has been taken for granted in the philosophical analysis of language in earlier centuries, but modern positivism has tried to ignore it, on the ground that tacit knowledge was not accessible to objective observation (p. 306).

In the technological approach, the KM refers to information systems and databases. Emphasis is placed on the quality of the IT system to create and preserve knowledge in order to create value. Most often, the goal is oriented by the notion of knowledge management system (KMS). For instance, let us quote the definition [29]: "Knowledge management systems refer to a class of information systems applied to managing organizational knowledge. That is, they are IT-based systems developed to support and enhance the organizational processes of knowledge creation, storage, retrieval, transfer, and application."

Moreover, although authors are careful to propose a definition to distinguish between data, information, and knowledge concepts, when applications are addressed in terms of computer systems, these three concepts are rapidly declining in terms of data processing: knowledge being only a form of enriched data. This leads to the characterization and organization of knowledge according to a hierarchical vision of objects. Thus, the authors who join this perspective are mainly interested in the content of the knowledge of the organization. They focus on building and managing knowledge stocks.
