Designing a maturity model for analyzing information and knowledge management in the public sector

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki Jääskeläinen ◽  
Virpi Sillanpää ◽  
Nina Helander ◽  
Riikka-Leena Leskelä ◽  
Ira Haavisto ◽  
...  

Purpose This study aims to report the design and testing of a maturity model for information and knowledge management in the public sector, intended for use in frequent monitoring, trend analysis and in-depth analysis of the contemporary information and knowledge management practices of an organization. Design/methodology/approach A design science approach was used to develop the proposed model. Creation of the model was based on an extensive literature review. Testing of the model was implemented as a survey receiving 37 responses from nine organizations organizing and purchasing public services. Findings The study presents four alternative profiles for an organization’s status, novice, experimenter, facilitator and advanced exploiter, and investigates the differences between these profiles on the basis of the empirical data gathered. The model was found to be both a valid and practical way to determine the state of an organization’s information and knowledge management and identify development needs. Research limitations/implications Testing was conducted in the Finnish public sector and further studies applying the model could be implemented in other countries. The model presented was designed specifically for the public sector and more research is needed to test its applicability in the private sector. Originality/value Maturity models are useful when evaluating information and knowledge management status in an organization, and beneficial for improving organizational performance. The proposed maturity model combines the fields of knowledge management and information management and contributes to the literature with an overarching maturity model that includes a dimension of satisfaction with the organizational maturity level. While many earlier models originate from the consultancy business, the model presented here was also designed for research purposes and tested in practice.

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sultan Ali Al Ahbabi ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Singh ◽  
Sreejith Balasubramanian ◽  
Sanjaya Singh Gaur

PurposeThe application of knowledge management (KM) is critical to public sector firm as it is to private sector firm. However, despite its significance, the academic enquiry of KM in public sector is at its nascent stage. This forms the motivation of the present work; this paper aims to analyze and understand the intricate relationship between KM processes and public sector firm performance in terms of operational, quality and innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive KM processes–performance framework consisting of seven constructs (four constructs of KM processes and three constructs of KM performance) and their underlying factors was developed through an extensive literature review. The employee perceptions of these seven constructs were captured on a five-point Likert scale using a country-wide survey in the UAE public sector. The 270 valid responses captured were then used to first validate the KM framework and then test the hypothesized relationships between KM processes and KM performance.FindingsThe findings show that all four KM processes (knowledge creation, knowledge capture and storage, knowledge sharing and knowledge application and use) had a positive and significant impact on operational, quality and innovation performance of public sector in the UAE.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings confirm the validity and reliability of all the seven constructs and their underlying factors and the assessment framework. Overall, this study fills a gap in the literature about applying/implementing a KM framework for the public sector and therefore significantly contributes toward the theoretical advancement of the field. However, the study does acknowledge the use of perceptual measures of individual employees as a limitation instead of more objective measures to capture the impact KM processes on KM performance.Practical implicationsThe strong and significant impact of KM processes on firm performance is expected to provide the impetus for practitioners and policymakers to implement and leverage from KM processes and improve firm performance in the public sector.Originality/valueA comprehensive development, validation and assessment of a KM framework for the public sector has not been attempted previously anywhere, let alone UAE, and hence constitutes the novelty of this work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahid Razzaq ◽  
Muhammad Shujahat ◽  
Saddam Hussain ◽  
Faisal Nawaz ◽  
Minhong Wang ◽  
...  

Purpose Knowledge management in the public sector is relatively an ignored avenue of research and practice that has recently been given attention. Knowledge management initiatives in the public sector are now not limited to the developed countries anymore. The public sectors of various developing countries including Pakistan have developed knowledge management functions to address the problems of low organizational commitment (higher turnover rates) and knowledge-workers’ performance. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediation role of organizational commitment in the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-worker performance. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered from 341 knowledge workers of the public sector health department of Punjab Province, Pakistan, where knowledge management unit initiative has been taken. It was then analyzed using the structural equation modeling. Findings Organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-work performance. Practical implications The public sector policy makers are strongly advised to implement knowledge management units and practices in order to enhance knowledge-work performance as well as organizational commitment. Originality/value First, the model on the mediating role of organizational commitment has never been examined before. Second, the data collection from the public Health Department of Pakistan, a developing country, is relatively rare because the public sector knowledge management studies have mostly been conducted in developed countries. Finally, this study extends the literature on knowledge management in the public sector that is the developing theme in knowledge management discipline while adding knowledge management as a toolkit to enhance knowledge-workers’, organizational commitment and knowledge-work performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Shea ◽  
Syed Aktharsha Usman ◽  
Sengottuvel Arivalagan ◽  
Satyanarayana Parayitam

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically examine knowledge management (KM) practices as a moderator in the relationship between organizational culture and performance. The effect of four types of organizational culture on organizational performance was studied. In addition to direct effects, most importantly, KM practices as a moderator in strengthening the culture-performance relationship were empirically examined. Design/methodology/approach A carefully crafted survey instrument was distributed and data was collected from 1,255 respondents from 10 information technology companies in India. After checking the psychometric properties of the instrument, this paper performs hierarchical regression to test hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that: cooperative culture, innovative culture, consistent culture and effectiveness culture were all positively and significantly related to organizational performance; KM practices were positively and significantly related to organizational performance, KM practices moderate the relationship between various dimensions of organizational culture and organizational performance. Research limitations/implications As with any survey-based research, the present study suffers from the problems associated with self-report measures. These are common method bias and social desirability bias. However, this study attempts to minimize these limitations by following appropriate statistical techniques. Practical implications This study contributes to both practicing managers and the literature on KM and organizational culture. The study suggests that managers use KM practices, which are all-pervasive and very important for improving organizational performance. The results highlight the importance of implementing KM practices in organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights into the importance of KM practices in achieving sustained competitive advantage by achieving organizational effectiveness. To the knowledge, the importance of KM practices is underemphasized in organizational culture research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherine Farouk ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen

PurposeResearch about ethical governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the United Arab Emirates is still in its infancy. This study aims to explore the public sector employee’s perception toward ethical climate, codes of ethics and CSR and its impact on organizational performance. This research sheds light on the link between formalized ethical procedures and employee responses including CSR, organizational engagement and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 426 middle-level public sector employees in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that an ethical climate is an important organizational component, and that the incorporation of effective codes of ethics and CSR initiatives is desired. Perceptions of public sector employees are positively influenced by the organization’s ethical climate and CSR activities, which in turn affect organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides managerial insights for improving the ethical climate and CSR within the public sector context in the United Arab Emirates.Practical implicationsThe study offers implications for public sector employers and points out that public sector employers should formulate policies to boost the ethics and CSR environment at workplace to attain competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by being one of the first to study organizational ethical climate and CSR within a Middle Eastern public sector context and offers implications for theory and practice.


Author(s):  
Antonio Juan Briones Penalver

Objectivism has given the domain, rationality, definition, and purpose that are commonly attributed to information and knowledge management, as well as the definitions of the concepts of information, knowledge, communication, and learning. Objectivism does not provide a theoretical foundation to information management; the question that arises is whether subjectivism may or may not offer a compelling alternative. Finally, the answer is no because the subjectivist rarely pays attention to what the fundamental lines of private organizations are and pays attention increasingly to the public sector, in the realization of economic value. Thus, there is no other way but to combine objectivism with subjectivism in a comprehensive approach of integrated information management. However, this chapter illustrates the differences between the philosophical principles of thought.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsenah Al Yami ◽  
Mian M. Ajmal

Purpose Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly becoming critical to public sector organizations as it is to private sector organizations. This is because public sector organizations are increasingly held accountable for their actions and are forced to move away from traditional bureaucratic approaches to more managerial ones. For instance, public sector is facing pressure to improve its operational efficiency such as productivity, lead time and expenditure. Similarly, it is also facing pressure to improve its transparency, trust, reliability and accountability, which are key elements of sustainable development (SD). The purpose of this study therefore is to understand the intricate relationship between KM processes, operational efficiency and SD in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach A framework consisting of eight constructs (knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge capture, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, operational efficiency and SD) and their underlying items was developed through an extensive literature review. Using 383 usable responses collected through a structured questionnaire from the UAE public sector, the constructs and framework were first validated and then the current level of implementation/achievement of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD was assessed along with the hypothesized relationships between the constructs. Findings The findings show that KM processes had a positive and significant direct impact on operational efficiency and SD. Also, operational efficiency was found to strongly mediate the relationship between KM processes and SD. Practical implications The findings are expected to help UAE public sector organizations devise strategies and policy interventions to align and improve their KM processes for achieving operational efficiency and SD. Public sectors looking to focus on SD must focus on KM processes and strive to improve stakeholder engagement, which is a vital aspect of SD. Originality/value Integration of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD has not been attempted previously and hence constitutes the novelty of this work.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Liu ◽  
Pramila Rao

Purpose – This research paper aims to showcase current knowledge management (KM) practices via social media that is being adopted by organizations in India and China. India and China are considered leading economies in today’s global market. Any understanding of management practices in these countries will help practitioners in doing businesses in these nations. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper analyzes KM practices in India and China using an in-depth analysis of the extant literature to provide a comparative perspective of KM policies in these two economies. This paper has used a wide range of scholarly and non-scholarly databases from ABI Global Inform to Business Source Complete to Google Scholar among others. Findings – This research offers valuable insights into characteristic KM trends followed by Indian and Chinese firms. This paper also highlights different approaches adopted by these two cultures in managing their KM practices. The study also provides hypotheses that can be tested by potential scholars. This paper also offers theoretical models to understand this concept better. Practical implications – This paper also provides implications for practice by identifying guidelines for global managers. These frameworks might serve as preliminary parameters for practitioners planning to establish KM practices in India and China. Originality/value – This paper compares and contrasts KM practices in one of the two largest BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies which have not been addressed in the literature before. It also combines two theoretical frameworks from different fields (information technology and human resource management) providing a richer viewpoint on the subject.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Alvarenga ◽  
Florinda Matos ◽  
Radu Godina ◽  
João C. O. Matias

Digitizing public services is, at the moment, an essential necessity for numerous governments around the world. An improved government through digitization will not only have a growing effect on businesses, but it will also be able to intensify citizen engagement and push for economic growth. During the last 10 years more countries have progressively begun to provide digital services to their citizens. Therefore, in order to address this development, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the digital government literature in order to describe the aspects of digital transformation in the public sector and how it is related to knowledge management. In this study the methodology is quantitative and it is based on a review and a survey made with the main goal being the estimation from several collected data on how the digital transformation process in the Public Administration takes place and what its relationship is with knowledge management. The review study is based on articles found on Scopus database and it addresses the role that digital government research plays in the theory and practice of knowledge management. In the survey study, 54 employees working for the services of the two governmental areas of the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment were surveyed. The results show that the research on the theme is still at an exploratory stage due to the lack of studies relating digital government to knowledge management effectiveness in the public sector. The results also show that the success of digital government seems to be related with the quality of the organizations’ knowledge management, complementing each other for significant improvements in the public sector. In terms of originality, this study aims to contribute and stimulate data-driven discussions regarding the impacts of the digital transformation in the public sector and their relation with the implementation of knowledge management practices. The results offer insights into future research needs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Giampaoli ◽  
Massimo Ciambotti ◽  
Nick Bontis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the link between knowledge management practices, problem-solving processes and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses survey data from 112 leading Italian companies. To test the structural relations of the research model, we used the partial least squares method. Findings Results show a strong relationship between knowledge management practices and intermediate activities of creative problem solving and problem-solving speed. In addition, creative problem solving has a direct impact on both organizational and financial performances, whereas problem-solving speed has a direct effect only on financial performance. Research limitations/implications The focus on top Italian firms limits the generalizability of results. Practical implications This study provides empirical evidence of the importance of knowledge management practices for problem-solving activities and firm performance. Originality/value The present paper fills an important gap in the extant literature by conceptualizing and empirically testing the relationship between knowledge management, problem-solving processes (creative problem solving and problem-solving speed) and firm performance. This study is the first ever to study these relationships within the Italian context.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stavros Sindakis ◽  
Audrey Depeige ◽  
Eleni Anoyrkati

Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of knowledge management practices in supporting current and emerging passengers’ and customer needs, aiming to create value. Specifically, the research examines the importance of customer-centred knowledge management in the delivery of innovative services and practices in the public transport sector, promoting the role of interactions between mobility stakeholders and travellers. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is developed and supported by the background literature on customer-centric knowledge management approaches, business model innovation, as well as on inter-organisational and network co-operations. Findings – Results show that the development of sustainable innovation and technologies in the transport sector requires knowledge management practices, which enable the access to knowledge about users’ needs, the mapping and evaluation of innovative knowledge, the promotion of knowledge-based innovation through collective approaches, as well as the acquisition and integration of new knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The conceptual framework developed in the paper remains limited to a theoretical understanding. Further research should empirically examine knowledge issues related to the intangible character and intellectual capital intensiveness of innovation in the transport sector. Practical implications – Researchers, public transport companies and public transport authorities are expected to benefit from this research, by developing mechanisms for customer-centred knowledge management, which is found to lead to innovative services and practices in the public transport sector. Another practical implication regards the adoption of knowledge management practices, leading to technological innovations in public transport, and advancing the level of sustainability in transport systems. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the development of a customer-focussed knowledge management framework, which provides a novel perspective of value creation in an attempt to engage researchers and practitioners from the transport industry in the conceptualisation and development of innovative solutions.


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