Knowledge Management in the Software Industry: Creating Value Through Knowledge Application

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-270
Author(s):  
Arunima Kambikanon Valacherry ◽  
P. Pakkeerappa

The software industry being highly knowledge-centric in terms of technology, process and people has been focusing on knowledge management strategically for the past two decades. Although the processes of knowledge creation and sharing are well researched, knowledge application is not well addressed. This study identifies project knowledge application and management support for knowledge application as the dimensions of knowledge application creating value to knowledge management in the software industry. Through a structural equation modelling approach, the relationships of management support for knowledge application, project knowledge application and effective knowledge management are tested. The findings show that the management support for knowledge application has an indirect effect—higher than a direct effect—on effective knowledge management through project knowledge application. The empirical study done on data collected from 540 software professionals of 170 National Association of Software and Services Companies-listed software companies proves the significance of knowledge application through management support and projects on effective knowledge management. But the role of management support is not as strong as project knowledge, and hence the organizations could enhance their culture of management support. The dimensions of knowledge application create value for people and process in software organizations by developing an environment of openness, collaboration and creativity, in addition to creating better response to changing environments which will help organizations to achieve the benefits of lean-agile software and system developments at scale.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Son Thanh Than ◽  
Cung Huu Nguyen ◽  
Thang Quang Tran ◽  
Phong Ba Le

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of knowledge sharing (KS) and two specific types of innovation on competitive advantage in Vietnamese firms. Based on using structural equation modeling (SEM) and survey data collected from 225 participants, the findings reveal that KS directly and indirectly affects firm’s competitive advantage through the mediating role of innovation speed and innovation quality. The findings stress the important role of building a positive climate to stimulate employees for sharing knowledge aimed at improving firm’s innovation capability, and sustaining competitive advantage. Future research needs to explore the relationship between three components of knowledge management namely knowledge acquisition, KS, and knowledge application, innovation, and specific aspects of competitive advantage (such as low cost advantage, differentiation advantage, and time advantage) to provide deeper the mechanism of how specifics aspects of knowledge management connected with firm’s certain types of competitive advantage through innovation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1366
Author(s):  
Julio C. Acosta-Prado ◽  
Oscar H. López-Montoya ◽  
Carlos Sanchís-Pedregosa ◽  
Ulpiano J. Vázquez-Martínez

The literature suggests that innovation allows organizations to reach a desirable level of sustainability. There is evidence to support the role of knowledge management (KM) as well as management capability (MC) in producing a sustainable approach at organizations. Furthermore, organizations commonly achieve sustainable practices through corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, the health sector is increasingly implementing CSR strategies, although with a narrow understanding of the factors to success. Hence, trends lead to asymmetric growth between organizations. This study aims to examine the mediating role of KM in the relationship between MC and innovative performance (IP) in 331 Health Provider Institutions (HPIs). The research reflective model was assessed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). According to the results, MC has a positive effect on IP, MC has a positive effect on KM, and KM has a positive effect on IP. Likewise, KM significantly mediates the relationship between MC and IP. Our findings support the importance of KM in addressing MCs in HPIs as it enables innovative practices to address CSR goals to achieve a sustainable impact. Moreover, this study contributes by expanding KM to contexts that are not usually studied, such as health in a South American country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 08010
Author(s):  
Rabiah Eladwiah Abdul Rahim ◽  
Nor’ashikin Ali ◽  
Juraifa Jais

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing research community participation and open innovation through the mediating role of absorptive capacity from the lens of Resource Based View and Dynamic Capability perspectives. Based on a survey of 115 senior engineering faculties from three research universities in Malaysia, this study applies the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate the research model. The findings demonstrate that top management support has a major impact on research community participation. The findings also suggest that absorptive capacity mediates the association between research community participation and open innovation capability. This study provides a theoretical basis on the resources and capability that are pertinent for open innovation. From a practical perspective, the relationships among research community participation, absorptive capacity, and open innovation suggest how universities can promote research community participation and assess their absorptive capacity to achieve open innovation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1757-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Buenechea-Elberdin ◽  
Josune Sáenz ◽  
Aino Kianto

Purpose This study aims to analyse the complementary role of structural and relational capital (as the outcomes of codification and personalisation knowledge management strategies) in renewal capital and innovation in high- and low-tech companies. Design/methodology/approach The primary data, which were collected through a structured questionnaire from 180 Spanish companies, are analysed using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares. Findings Overall, the study offers three fundamental findings. First, it demonstrates the outstanding role of renewal capital as an intellectual capital (IC) component; second, it provides a conceptual analysis of the connection between knowledge management strategies and IC; and third, it highlights the necessity of considering the technological level of the firm as a contingency variable affecting the IC–innovation relationship. Research limitations/implications The study has three apparent limitations: The sample of firms is restricted to Spanish companies, data concerning the main study variables were collected from only one person at each firm, and not all of the possible components of IC were included in the research model. Practical implications Business practitioners can find useful guidelines for making efficient use of knowledge resources when boosting innovation performance, depending on the technological level of their firms. Originality/value Although many studies have tried to disentangle the IC–innovation connection, this study is unique, as it considers knowledge management strategies, a novel combination of IC components and the level of technological sophistication in the same analysis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sugunah Supermane

Purpose Education institutions persist by transforming leadership skills to manage their knowledge resources efficiently as well as enhance the lecturer’s teaching and learning innovation capabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether knowledge management plays a role of mediator between transformational leadership and teaching and learning innovation in teacher education. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the primary data from 359 teacher educators across Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all the samples, and the collected data was analysed using structural equation modelling approach. Findings The data analysis indicated that knowledge management did not play the role of a mediator in this study because the direct effect of transformational leadership on teaching and learning innovation was stronger than the indirect effect of transformational leadership through knowledge management. Practical implications From the aspect of implications on the practice, it was suggested that all lecturers and head of departments attend clinical training and workshops on knowledge management to further understand the knowledge management processes that could enhance the quality of teaching in teacher education institutes. Originality/value This study is perhaps the first study to investigate the role of knowledge management as a mediator between transformational leadership and teaching and learning innovation in teacher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Chux Gervase Iwu ◽  
Abdullah Promise Opute ◽  
Olayemi Abdullateef Aliyu ◽  
Chukuakadibia Eresia-Eke ◽  
Tichaona Buzy Musikavanhu ◽  
...  

Call centers play a significant role in the operational dynamics of different types of businesses. This is especially the case because a call center agent’s demeanor can impair or engender customer satisfaction, which has ramifications for business patronage. Unfortunately, the pressures associated with the role of the call center agent have made staff attrition a norm in the industry. While this does not augur well for the call center or the organizations that they serve, the role of possible antecedents in the equation of staff attrition in South African call centers remains largely unexplored. Using a structural equation modeling approach, this study examined the interconnections between customer orientation, knowledge management, job satisfaction, and employees’ intention to quit. Additionally, the mediating influence of job satisfaction on the association between customer orientation and knowledge management of the intention to quit is examined. This study found significant relationships between knowledge management, customer orientation, and job satisfaction and the dependent variable (intention to quit). In addition, this study establishes that the extent to which job satisfaction may mediate the influence on the intention to quit hinges on the organizational element considered. Two factors limit the extent to which the findings from this study can be generalized. First, this study focused on the call center setting in South Africa. Second, convenience sampling was used in this study. This study points to critical operational practices that call center managers can embrace toward enhancing job satisfaction and reducing intention to quit propensity. Using structural equation analysis, we contend that call centers in the South African setting would effectively address staff attrition if appropriate organizational practices are endorsed toward ensuring employee job satisfaction.


Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşe Günsel ◽  
Serdar Bozkurt ◽  
Özge Mehtap

Purpose In the hyper-dynamic business world of today, innovation has become the lifeblood of organizations. Knowledge management (KM) is widely considered an essential antecedent of innovation. However, very little empirical research has specifically addressed how KM is nurtured as support for innovation from a behavioral point of view. This paper aims to operationalize the characteristics of a fitting context – in terms of top management support, organizational rewards and mutual trust – and to clarify the role of organizational context on knowledge management strategies (KMS) and ultimately on firm innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach By studying 98 surveys from 23 companies from Technology Fast 50 list, based on using the partial least squares method, the authors find that this organizational context has a significant impact on the formulation and implementation of KMS. Findings Organizational/behavioral context has significant effects on the formulation and implementation of KMS as well as firm innovativeness. The results also demonstrate that the tacit KMS has a crucial impact on firm innovativeness. Originality/value From a behavioral perspective, this study empirically examines the role of organizational context (top management support, organizational rewards and mutual trust), KMS and firm innovativeness in a holistic manner in Turkey, a developing country. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no researcher has undergone those relationships in literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9791
Author(s):  
Shiaw Tong Ha ◽  
May Chiun Lo ◽  
Mohamad Kadim Suaidi ◽  
Abang Azlan Mohamad ◽  
Zaidi Bin Razak

Knowledge management (KM), a process of acquiring, converting, applying, and protecting knowledge assets, is crucial for value creation. The purpose of this research is to empirically test the relationship between KM processes (knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, knowledge application, and knowledge protection), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and firm performance. Data were collected from 159 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia using a cross-sectional survey. This research uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and WarpPLS version 7.0 to test the model. The results show that three of four KM dimensions: knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, and knowledge protection are positively related to performance. Moreover, EO has been found to moderate the relationship between knowledge application and performance positively.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-198
Author(s):  
Houcine Meddour ◽  
Oussama Saoula ◽  
Abdul Halim Abdul Majid ◽  
Mohamed Abdellatif Abu Auf

Purpose: This paper examines the relationship between top management support and knowledge transfer and sharing in Multimedia Super Corridor MSC status organizations, using trust as a mediator. A theoretical model was tested through a survey carried out by 132 middle managers in MSC status organizations in Malaysia. Methodology: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. Results: The obtained results show that the top management support will facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing. Implications: The empirical evidence confirmed that the direct and indirect relationships between top management support, trust and knowledge transfer, and sharing were found to be fully supported, including the relationship between trust and knowledge transfer and sharing. Finally, trust fully mediates the relationship between top management support and knowledge transfer and sharing.


Author(s):  
Rocco Agrifoglio ◽  
Concetta Metallo

The chapter aims to provide an overview of the role of social media for knowledge management in tourism industry. Respect than traditional tools, the social media penetration within such industry is growing thanks to opportunity for travelers and travel professionals to access critical tourism knowledge everywhere and every time. Prior research has mainly focused on how social media are changing the tourism industry, while it is lacking enough the contribution of these technologies to managing touristic knowledge. This chapter seeks to shed light on how social media support knowledge management, with particular attention to knowledge creation, sharing, and preservation processes, in tourism industry. In particular, while knowledge creation and sharing process have attracted the attention of scholars, knowledge preservation via social media seems be still in its infancy stage.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document