Contextual factors affecting knowledge management diffusion in SMEs

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 1415-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiu-Fen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Diffusion Theory ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
It Support

Purpose – Based on the knowledge management (KM) perspective, innovation diffusion theory and technology-organization-environment framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research model to investigate the influence of technological (information technology (IT) support and IT effectiveness), organizational (top management support, sharing culture, and reward system) and environmental (competitive pressure) contexts on the two-stage KM diffusion (KM adoption and implementation) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – Data gathered from 119 SME senior managers (including owner, vice president, and business manager) in Taiwan were employed to test the relationships between the research model constructs using the partial least squares approach. Findings – The results showed that technological, organizational, and environmental factors have different effects on KM adoption and implementation stages. Specially, IT support has the strongest effect on KM adoption stage, while sharing culture has the strongest effect on KM implementation stage. Practical implications – IT support continues to be positively related to the level of KM implementation after adoption. KM diffusion requires managers to invest time and effort to link specific IT support and knowledge-based work activities, since effective IT deployment for KM can help SMEs move toward a knowledge society, which is vital in the contemporary knowledge economy. Originality/value – Theoretically, the findings of this study contribute to empirical research on contextual factors that influence KM diffusion using a broad data set rather than a few isolated SME cases. From the managerial perspective, given the importance of KM diffusion in modern SMEs and also in the future, the findings of this study are designed to enable owner-managers and practitioners to understand how SMEs KM diffusion is influenced by contextual factors, and how the effects may vary across different stages.

Knowledge management

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Shokri-Ghasabeh ◽  
Nicholas Chileshe
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Research Study ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Methodological Triangulation

Purpose – A research study has been undertaken at the University of South Australia to introduce application of lessons learned process in construction contractors ' bidding process in the context of knowledge management. The study aims to identify barriers to effectively capture lessons learned in Australian construction industry and how knowledge management can benefit from lessons learned application. Design/methodology/approach – The research study has been undertaken through conducting a “methodological triangulation” and “interdisciplinary triangulation”. This involved an extensive literature review of knowledge management, organisation learning, lessons learned and associated processes and administration of a questionnaire to a sample of construction contractors operating in Australia to elicit opinions on the main barriers to capturing lessons learned, practices such as existence and retention of documentation procedures. A total of 81 useable responses were received from 450 organisations. Response data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with correlation analysis to examine the strength of relationship among the barriers. Findings – The top-3 barriers to the effective capturing of lessons learned were “lack of employee time”, “lack of resources” and “lack of clear guidelines”, whereas, “lack of management support” was the least ranked barrier. The study established that despite the majority of the ACCs having formal procedures for recording the tenders submitted and their outcomes, only a minority actually retained the lessons learned documentation for each project. The larger contractors were found to be more aware of the importance of lessons learned documentation. A comparative analysis with previous studies also found a disparity in the ranking of the barriers. Research limitations/implications – The majority of the participants were small construction contractors in Australia. The reason is that the researchers were not aware of the contractors ' size prior to inviting them for participation in the research study. Second the findings may not generalize to other industries or to organisations operating in other countries. Originality/value – The findings of this survey help ACCs to understand the importance of lessons learned documentation as part of lessons learned implementation and identify the barriers to effectively document their lessons learned. The study provides insights on the barriers and proposes advocated solutions in form of drivers and enablers (critical success factors) of organisational learning capturing among the Australian construction contractors. By reviewing the current literature, “post-project reviews” and “lessons learned” as important elements of organisation learning knowledge transfer, are addressed. Finally, contribution of this study to knowledge and practice has been discussed in this paper.

Assessment of knowledge process capabilities toward project management maturity: an empirical study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Alghail ◽  
Liu Yao ◽  
Mohammed Abbas ◽  
Yahia Baashar
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Maturity Level ◽  
Knowledge Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The reasons behind the project management failure of higher education institutions (HEIs) have been researched for the past few years. One of the reasons is the lack of tools to integrate their knowledge process capabilities (KPC) with their project management (PM) to measure maturity by assessing these capabilities. Various project management maturity (PMM) models exist. Yet, there is a limited number of empirical studies that support the four integrations of KPC and PMM. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new heretical model, namely, KPC-knowledge management (KM) and evaluates a research model that includes the four KPC as an antecedent to PMM. Design/methodology/approach The suggested research model is assessed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Furthermore, the study's hypotheses were examined based on a sample of 352 respondents from the project management departments in 10 public universities in Yemen. Findings Analysis revealed that the derived PMM status could be benchmarked with the project management maturity model. Also, the study found that integrating the KPC into PM enables the institutions to perform critical tasks and value chain activities and enhance the PM maturity level as well. In contrast, if one of the capabilities does not positively impact PMM, it affects the maturity level of the entire project. Research limitations/implications The findings are obtained concerning data collected from public universities and represent the Yemeni context, limiting the generalization on a different geographical area. Also, this proposed model can be evaluated in a practical way like conducting a focus group, a set of interviews with specialists, a case study or action research. The qualitative research will help academics to validate our proposal for future research purposes. Practical implications The proposed approach may be adapted to the characteristics of organizations involved in projects as external performers (project-based organizations) and not just the HEIs projects. This study provides managers and policymakers with insights into assessing PMM and improving their organizational effectiveness when deciding which KPCs to focus on in the future. Social implications This study contributes to the current PM awareness in Yemen and facilitates its success using the knowledge processes capabilities in Yemen's HEIs. It encourages organizations to take this opportunity to revive the projects and achieve a maximum level of maturity. Originality/value This study provides new insights into two domains through the link between knowledge management and PM. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to empirically study the impact of the four KPC toward PMM. It enriches the theoretical perspective of PM. Also, it contributes to the literature on the success factor of KPC, which can be considered to improve organizational performance.

Top management support and knowledge sharing: the strategic role of affiliation and trust in academic environment

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Fung Lo ◽  
Feng Tian ◽  
Peggy Mei Lan Ng
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Management Support ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose Knowledge sharing, the most important process in knowledge management, enables knowledge-intensive organizations to foster innovations and to gain competitiveness. Universities, the best contemporary embodiments of knowledge-intensive organizations, nowadays face fiercer competition in the changing world. Knowledge sharing is the key for academic departments to gain competitive advantages through innovation. However, limited studies examined the relationships between top management support, knowledge sharing and affiliation and trust. Based on the literature review, this study developed a research model which aims to examine the relationship between top management support and knowledge sharing, and the mediating role played by affiliation and trust. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted in eight universities in Hong Kong. Data gathered from 109 professoriate staff (including chairs, professors and [research] associate/assistant professors) were used to test the four hypotheses in the research model with partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results showed that top management support has a positive impact on affiliation and trust, and that affiliation and trust also have a positive impact on knowledge sharing. However, this study showed an insignificant linkage between top management support and knowledge sharing. Therefore, this study confirmed the mediating role played by affiliation and trust. Practical implications Based on the results, this study provided recommendations on how academic management and knowledge management consultants increase the faculty members’ affiliation and trust, for instance, mentoring, performance appraisal system, social interactions and communication pathways. Originality/value The findings of this study contribute to the literature in two ways. First, affiliation and trust are two interplayed elements of team climate that should be considered together. Second, this study validates affiliation and trust as a full mediator between top management support and knowledge sharing.

Post-purchase behaviour from customer perceived value of mobile payment services

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Hsiung Hsiao
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Behavioural Intention ◽  
Mobile Payment ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Utilitarian Value ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Post Purchase

Purpose Mobile payment (MP), near field communication-based particularly, has become one of the future payment tools. This study aims to indicate the difference between consumer users and non-users by examining the effect of MP users’ perceived value on their satisfaction and on MP non-users behavioural intention. Once those MP users’ have achieved satisfaction, the study then investig ates how consumers bring about the need recognition and are more desirable to buy more products. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a research model, which examines the effect of consumer perceived value, including utilitarian value, technicality and perceived risk, on MP users’ satisfaction and MP non-users behavioural intention. In methodology, it adopts structural equation modelling to verify the proposed research model for empirical studies. The data set consists of 161 MP users and 277 non-users of consumers. Findings The findings show that consumers, both MP users and non-users included, are encouraged to improve utilitarian value if they are favourable to adopt MP services. Relatively, female users emphasize more on perceived risk, whilst male users emphasize more on technicality. Moreover, MP non-users and female users still have much concern about perceived risk such that they are inclined to avoid adopting MP services. Originality/value Past research has examined the adoption of MP services from the perspective of consumers with a focus on the perceived value, satisfaction and behavioural intention. However, only limited research examined the post-purchase evaluation of MP users. The study fills this gap by clarifying the difference between consumer users and non-users in the effect of MP users’ perceived value on their satisfaction and on their non-users behavioural intention.

Organisational Readiness for Knowledge Management

2014 ◽  
pp. 104-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani Shajera ◽  
Yousif Al-Bastaki
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Reward Systems ◽  
It Infrastructure ◽  
The Public ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
It Support ◽  
Research Findings

This study explores the factors that affect organisational readiness for Knowledge Management (KM). This chapter assesses the organisational readiness for KM at public sector organisations in Bahrain; furthermore, it utilises these findings to develop a guideline to enable the successful adoption and implementation of KM. A questionnaire survey was conducted at the public sector organisations in Bahrain. The research findings indicate that culture (collaboration, trust, and learning), structure (centralisation, formalization, and rewards systems), and IT infrastructure (IT support) all provide a sound basis for organisations to assess their readiness for KM. The results show that the public sector organisations in Bahrain vary in terms of readiness levels against the different variables. The findings are discussed and relevant recommendations are made with regards to KM adoption at the public sector organisations in Bahrain. The findings imply a need for intensified organisational and managerial commitment in order to promote collaboration, trust, learning, decentralisation, less formalisation, reward systems, and enhanced IT support at the public sector organisations in Bahrain. Implementation of these required changes in the public sector’s culture and structure will help in preparing the public sector and their awareness and readiness to implement KM. This study is among the first empirical works assessing organisational readiness for adopting KM. Moreover, this chapter has extended knowledge in KM, especially concerning the need for the consideration of organisational readiness before embracing KM. The most significant contribution of this chapter is that it provides an instrument for assessing organisational readiness. It serves as a guideline for leaders and helps them to ensure that essential preliminary factors and variables are promoted and covered when they start KM implementation within their organisations.

Knowledge management and social entrepreneurship education: lessons learned from an exploratory two-country study

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1984-2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Thomas Solomon ◽  
Nawaf Alabduljader ◽  
Ravi S. Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Offerings ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Usa

Purpose Social entrepreneurship courses are among the fastest growing category of course offerings to entrepreneurship students (Brock and Kim, 2011) because both high growth potential- and steady growth-social ventures can create value and help solve social issues effectively and efficiently. As knowledge disseminators, entrepreneurship educators are in prime position to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of students, which, in turn, increases their intentions to start a social venture and their ability to manage and grow their venture. Students gain an understanding about the role of entrepreneurship in addressing social opportunities, as well as knowledge related to starting, managing and growing social entrepreneurship ventures. This paper is divided into three parts. First, the authors broadly discuss the concept of social entrepreneurship. Second, the authors present an overview of the field of social entrepreneurship education (SEE) and its evolution. Finally, the authors supplement this review with an analytical examination of SEE, in which the authors present results of a cross-country analysis survey of over 200 entrepreneurship education programs in the USA and Canada. This paper aims to present information about: student enrollment in social entrepreneurship courses in comparison to other entrepreneurship courses; the frequency of offering social entrepreneurship courses and programs compared to other entrepreneurship courses and programs; and future trends in SEE. The results revealed a strong demand for social entrepreneurship from students, room for improvement in terms of the supply of course offerings, and a strong belief in the continued growth of social entrepreneurship. The authors conclude with suggestions about the future of SEE. Design/methodology/approach Analysis of secondary data derived from the oldest and most-frequently cited sources regarding entrepreneurship education in the USA and a novel data set examining entrepreneurship education in Canada. Both data sets were collected using an online self-report survey. Findings Demand for SEE continues to rise in both the USA and Canada. However, course and program offerings have not kept pace. Prominent trends in social entrepreneurship such as cross-campus programs and addressing the evolving demographics of students in higher education institutions need more attention. Originality/value A cross-cultural study of SEE that provides a high-level view of the state of the field today. In addition, the paper outlines the potential of the field of knowledge management for the future of SEE.

On the path towards open innovation: assessing the role of knowledge management capability and environmental dynamism in SMEs

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Martinez-Conesa ◽  
Pedro Soto-Acosta ◽  
Elias George Carayannis
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Environmental Dynamism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to shed light on the internal and external antecedents of open innovation (OI) in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a special focus on the role of knowledge management (KM) capability. The paper develops and tests an integrative research model which assesses the effect of internal factors on KM capability; the impact of organizational and external factors, namely, KM capability and environmental dynamism, on OI; and whether environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between KM capability and OI. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the knowledge-based view and the social exchange and the contingency theories, this paper develops an integrative research model which analyzes several relations between organizational antecedents of KM capability and its effect on OI by using covariance-based structural equation modeling on a data set of Spanish SMEs. Findings Results confirm that information technology-supported operations and commitment-based human resource practices have a positive and significant influence on KM capability. In contrast, results do not find support for the relationship between interdepartmental connectedness and KM capability, whereas both KM capability and environmental dynamism have a direct influence on OI. Originality/value This paper adds to existing research on OI, as it is the first study that addresses the critical role of KM capability for the implementation of OI.

Assessing the impact of knowledge management on total factor productivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mina Sami ◽  
Randa El Bedawy
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Total Factor Productivity ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Factor Productivity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Indicator ◽  
Percent Increase ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of knowledge management (KM) on the total factor productivity (TFP) at the organizational level in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach Using the novel available EC 2013 data set, which includes approximately 60,000 private organizations in Egypt, the paper explores the relationship between KM and TFP. For the purpose of dealing with endogeneity, the two-stage least squares econometric model has been implemented. Findings The study reveals that KM impacts positively the TFP of the Egyptian organizations. Conspicuously, each 10 percent increase in KM is associated with 9.3 percent increase in TFP. Originality/value The role of KM in the organizations has been under-researched globally, especially in Africa. This study contributes to the current literature by assessing the impact of KM on TFP, which represents the most comprehensive measure of the firm productivity; by implementing a novel instrumental variable in order to deal with endogeneity between KM and TFP; and by generating a more nuanced measure for the knowledge intensity that is not based on any financial indicator as in the most of the previous studies. Original findings can be highlighted from the paper as it demonstrates that the impact of KM is more important than proposed by the current literature. Conspicuously, the KM does not merely impact the customer satisfaction, the quality improvement and the profit margin, but it also impacts the TFP of the organizations.

Linkage between business sustainability and tacit knowledge management in MSMEs

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-494
Author(s):  
Parijat Upadhyay ◽  
Amit Kundu
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Medium Scale ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Medium Enterprise

Purpose The purpose of this study is to report the apparent linkage between knowledge management (KM) practices in a semi-structured sector and business sustainability. Micro, small and medium scale enterprises in developing economies are constrained by accessibility to resources and have not been able to reap the benefits of structured KM practices to fine-tune their business processes. Insights derived from business operations of such enterprises can be formalized into relevant knowledge creation. An effective KM can help in revival strategies for many traditional organizations like handloom that operate as a co-operative. Such business has come under immense challenges from new-age organizations in that particular sector. This study reports the brand revival and business sustainability journey of a handloom co-operative through effective knowledge assimilation and dissemination. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors have assessed the governance of small co-operative units in handloom and their supervision, which pose serious challenges for business sustainability. Their business data pertaining to productivity, sales and income for the period from 1997-1998 to 2015-2016 have been analyzed for business sustainability. A time-series analysis has been done on the above data set to track business sustainability of the handloom co-operative. The findings have been analyzed through a case-based study approach. Findings Over a period of one and half-decade, the handloom co-operative has been able to improve its product offering, which, in turn, led to the revival of the brand. Such transformation has resulted in revival of decades old brand through effective knowledge sharing, which is mainly tacit in nature. This case study based paper showcases that despite their inherent constraints, micro, small and medium enterprise organizations (many of which are semi-structured or unstructured in nature) can reap huge benefits by making efforts to put in place an effective KM mechanism. Originality/value There are very few reported studies, which have explored the linkage between tacit KM practices and business sustainability. Studies in context to a semi-structured small- and medium-scale enterprises are not available in published literature.

How does cluster location and intellectual capital impact entrepreneurial success within high-growth firms?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yama Temouri ◽  
Vijay Pereira ◽  
Glenn W. Muschert ◽  
Vikash Ramiah ◽  
Michael Babula
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Entrepreneurial Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cluster Membership ◽  
Growth Firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of intellectual capital and knowledge management in the entrepreneurial success of firms through a research model which is subsequently tested empirically.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilises the knowledge-based perspective to formulate three sets of hypotheses which the authors subsequently test in the empirical analysis on data derived from the Orbis database, which includes over 1-million data points from approximately 240,000 firms across 174 geographic subdivisions of economic regions in 14 European countries, from 2010 to 2013. The analysis utilises probit model regressions on the likelihood of becoming a high-growth firms (HGF), in the presence of a number of control factors including firm age, firm size, tangible assets, foreign ownership, competitiveness (via Herfindahl index), return on assets, industry sector and country location.FindingsFindings from our analysis suggest that investments in intangible assets and generating patents from research and development (R&D) efforts is positively related to the likelihood of becoming a HGF. In addition, cluster membership seems to be a positive influence on becoming a HGF, however the moderating impact of intangible investments and patents is less clear in clusters.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors highlight the mixed effects from cluster membership and the beneficial impact from intellectual capital and knowledge management in achieving high growth firm status.Originality/valueThe authors derive and test our research model, which outlines the interrelationship of the various factors leading to firms becoming high-growth firms. The results suggest that there may be further fruitful ground for future investigation in the intersections of knowledge management and intellectual capital concepts within entrepreneurial contexts.

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