The rapid penetration of information and communication technologies has been the main factor responsible for significant changes in the overall business landscape. Knowledge management (KM) implementation and building of learning organizations have become vital assumptions for a company’s ability to compete in a knowledge society. However, in regards to these issues a lack of attention has been paid to universities as a specific type of organization. The essential problem to be addressed is the tendency of institutions of higher learning to keep knowledge to themselves, which has been proven by several authors. Therefore, questions such as, “Are businesses different from universities? or “What does it imply for the KM implementation efforts at universities?” are considered in the paper. The goal of the paper is to map the changes in today’s business environment, research differences between the functions and processes in businesses and academic institutions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and, based on these findings, propose a framework for knowledge management implementation focusing on a special type of academic institution – a teaching university. Consequently, this study can serve as a starting point for implementation of a student-centred approach to knowledge management.