Today organizations have more and more to face the challenge of managing change as their environment evolves dramatically and rapidly. This study aims at investigating to what extent knowledge management can help organizations to take up this challenge effectively. It is based on a survey of 486 establishments in the French medical and social sector around the central hypothesis that knowledge management permits a rapid adaptation to the new constraints of a constantly changing environment in order to ensure the long-time survival of the organization. The results show that this hypothesis is indeed validated, although there are other factors, not investigates here, that play a role. Consequently it is of utmost importance for organizations to deploy knowledge management policies in order to ensure their continued existence.