scholarly journals KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM SERBIAN BANKING SECTOR

Author(s):  
Vesna Stojanović-Aleksić ◽  
Jelena Erić Nielsen ◽  
Aleksandra Bošković

Knowledge management is necessary in order to face the contemporary challenges in banking industry, related to hyper-competition, market differentiation and improvement of business performance. It involves several phases, and the paper focuses on the knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. Also, a brief insight into the features of an organizational culture that supports knowledge management is provided. The goals of the research are to determine the levels of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge-supporting organizational culture, in the Serbian banking sector. After the literature review, a survey was conducted and data was processed with a statistical method. The paper contributes to the literature both in the fields of banking management and knowledge management. The findings may be useful to bank managers, because the importance of knowledge management in banks is highlighted and practical guidelines for the improvement of less developed aspects of knowledge creation and sharing are provided.

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 1543-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Stojanović-Aleksić ◽  
Jelena Erić Nielsen ◽  
Aleksandra Bošković

Purpose Being mindful of the importance of organizational structure and organizational culture for knowledge management in companies, the purpose of this study is to investigate the organizational prerequisites for creating and sharing knowledge. The goals are to determine whether and to what extent the attributes of organic structure contribute to the creation and sharing of knowledge and to show that an organizational culture which supports knowledge stimulates the processes of knowledge creation and sharing. Design/methodology/approach The data for the empirical study was obtained through a survey of 150 respondents, employed in 30 companies from several industries, in the Republic of Serbia. The questionnaire was adapted to the needs of the study and was developed based on the theoretical knowledge and findings of several previous studies on processes of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. A regression method was used to test all hypotheses. Findings The results show that both the organic structure and the organizational culture that support knowledge have positive effects on knowledge creation, while knowledge sharing is positively influenced only by the knowledge supporting culture of an organization. Originality/value This study contributes to organization studies and knowledge management theory because of the holistic approach taken with regards to the issue involved and the fact that it takes into account a large number of the significant characteristics of organizational structure and culture that are relevant to knowledge management processes. The findings could prove useful to managers when structuring an organization and shaping its culture to enhance knowledge management.


Author(s):  
P. A.C. Smith

Although knowledge management (KM) is often proposed as a viable means to enhance business performance by facilitating knowledge creation and sharing, there is serious concern that it frequently fails to deliver on its promise (Despres & Chauvel, 2000; Fuller, 2001; Newell, Scarbrough, Swan & Hislop, 1999; Pietersen, 2001; Brown & Duguid, 2000; Storey & Barnett, 2000). Smith and McLaughlin (2003) posit that KM’s lacklustre performance can often be traced to non-rational emotion-based “people-factors” that negatively influence interpersonal relationships, and that are ignored during typical KM implementation. These authors argue that the success of any significant change initiative, including KM, will be critically dependent on understanding, and improving as necessary, the collaborative characteristics of the organisation’s culture. This article adopts the notion that effective KM is largely people-centric, and that communities of practice (CoPs), when suitably grounded, provide a practical framework for assisting in the development of appropriate “people-factors” and the nurturing of collaborative relationships. It builds on the work of Smith and McLaughlin (2003) by proposing an extension of their approach that helps ensure the presence of a truly collaborative culture in the target community.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Hussain Shah ◽  
Nevena Rahneva ◽  
Rizwan Ahmed

This paper reports on knowledge management (KM) practices in the customer service and lending departments of one of Bulgaria's top retail banks and investigates how KM processes can be further improved. The Bank's KM activities have been studied using observations, interviews and informal discussions for data collection. Findings were compared and contrasted with existing literature in similar contexts. Although rudiments of knowledge sharing are evident from the KM activities in different departments of the bank, the limitations such as resistance to change of the implemented KM systems are impeding the effectiveness of the knowledge management process. More training and incentives are needed to increase knowledge creation and sharing. Moreover, a clearly articulated KM strategy along with success criteria and commitment and support from senior management is needed. There is a severe lack of knowledge management studies in Bulgarian context in general and Bulgarian banking sector in particular. The authors' findings will potentially help in improving knowledge sharing practice as well as provide a valuable insight into knowledge management related issues in the Bulgarian context. The findings from this research can be useful to companies from Eastern Europe and other regions in improving their knowledge sharing practice.


2016 ◽  
pp. 1702-1718
Author(s):  
Mahmood Hussain Shah ◽  
Nevena Rahneva ◽  
Rizwan Ahmed

This chapter reports on knowledge management (KM) practices in the customer service and lending departments of one of Bulgaria's top retail banks and investigates how KM processes can be further improved. The Bank's KM activities have been studied using observations, interviews and informal discussions for data collection. Findings were compared and contrasted with existing literature in similar contexts. Although rudiments of knowledge sharing are evident from the KM activities in different departments of the bank, the limitations such as resistance to change of the implemented KM systems are impeding the effectiveness of the knowledge management process. More training and incentives are needed to increase knowledge creation and sharing. Moreover, a clearly articulated KM strategy along with success criteria and commitment and support from senior management is needed. There is a severe lack of knowledge management studies in Bulgarian context in general and Bulgarian banking sector in particular. The authors' findings will potentially help in improving knowledge sharing practice as well as provide a valuable insight into knowledge management related issues in the Bulgarian context. The findings from this research can be useful to companies from Eastern Europe and other regions in improving their knowledge sharing practice.


Author(s):  
Harish C. Chandan

In today's globalized world, gathering Competitive Intelligence (CI) and using it strategically to gain a competitive edge has become a necessity. Integrating knowledge management and CI helps firms to respond quickly to changing business conditions. Organizational culture, ethics, and emotional intelligence influence knowledge sharing which enhances CI scanning. Employees, knowingly or unknowingly, can become the weakest link in a firm's efforts to protect business intelligence. There is reluctance in the organizations to address the issues of ethical and legal means to gather CI. Corporate espionage is a silent, enigmatic threat to the competitive position of firms and nations. Annual losses to corporate espionage are estimated to be US$300 Billion. A 3-step strategy of prevention, detection, and remediation helps to combat corporate espionage.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1264-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Biloslavo ◽  
Mojca Prevodnik

Knowledge management is a set of purposeful activities led by management in order to enable and support generation, storage, transfer and application of knowledge within an organization so as to create value and improve the organization’s effectiveness. The effectiveness of these activities is in a large part dependent on organizational culture, which can support or impede the two-way social process of learning and knowledge sharing between individuals, groups, organizations, and artifacts. This chapter discusses the fundamentals of organizational culture and knowledge management, their definitions, components, and processes. Specifically, the study presented is focused on how different types of organizational culture, as defined by the competing values framework, might be related to the iterative processes of knowledge generation, storage, transfer, and application in higher education.


Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Croteau ◽  
Marc Dfouni

This chapter presents the results obtained after reaching a consensus among 100 knowledge leaders on their critical issues. These issues include the perceived knowledge management benefits and obstacles, the knowledge leaders’ roles and skills, as well as the technologies they used for implementing knowledge management initiatives. Using a Web-based Delphi method, the results indicate that an increase in internal knowledge sharing is judged to be the most significant of all perceived knowledge management benefits. Their most important role is to foster a knowledge sharing culture in their organization in order to overcome the most important obstacle: organizational culture. They also suggest that the key abilities they should possess are those of strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Finally, portals and information retrieval engines are found to be the most widely used technologies to develop and/or implement knowledge management initiatives.


Author(s):  
I. T. Hawryszkiewycz

The chapter identifies the three major components of knowledge sharing and creation within enterprises as a combination of place, community and process. The way these are combined will depend on the particular goal and enterprise structure. The chapter then claims that computer support systems must provide user driven methods to easily integrate these components to fit in with organizational culture and knowledge goal. It then describes a way to provide this kind of environment.


Author(s):  
Somayeh Asghari ◽  
Sahar Targholi ◽  
Ali Kazemi ◽  
Saeed Shahriyari ◽  
Lila Rajabion

Purpose Competitive intelligence (CI) collects data through the distribution of knowledge to make decisions in a competitive environment. To better comprehend the concept of CI, the purpose of this paper is to determine the role of effective factors (knowledge sharing, competitor information, information technology (IT) and organizational culture) and their impact on CI. In addition, the paper provides a conceptual framework for determining the practical factors on CI. Design/methodology/approach For evaluating the elements of the model, a questionnaire is considered. Questionnaires were reread by specialists with significant experiences in the CI field. For statistical analysis, the SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.2 software package is also used. Findings Findings from the study showed the validity of the model for a CI assessment. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the competitor information significantly influenced CI. In addition, the obtained results implied that IT has a significant and positive influence on CI. The effect of organizational culture on CI also proved to be positive and significant. Research limitations/implications This paper makes significant contributions for both researchers and practitioners; however, the authors determine some limitations, which are as follows: First, the authors showed the result in a single region. It cannot be assured that the results are generalizable to other areas. Second, because of time and financial constraints, the authors gathered the data using a sample from a single location. Third, the use of variables to depict CI may be not exhaustive. The authors, therefore, encourage future research to study these CI dimensions. Practical implications This study meaningfully contributes to the knowledge and literature by focusing more on CI, examining other significant aspects and applying advanced statistical analysis method. Also, current research results suggest practical implications for marketing practitioners and managers who implemented tools and made strategic plans to enhance the organization’s performance. From a practical perspective, the statistical results support the crucial role of the following factors: IT, competitor information, organizational culture and knowledge sharing on CI. Originality/value Experts in the area of knowledge management, CI and strategic management can use this study to gain a competitive advantage based on knowledge and information resources. Organizations must have knowledge management function and CI to support the strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayan M. Al-Abdullat ◽  
Amr Dababneh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the positive effect of organizational culture on knowledge management (KM) by clarifying the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the banking sector in Jordan. The study was conducted on Jordanian banks to develop the organizational culture concept to be reflected in the bank activities. The population of this study consists of junior and senior customer service and administrative employees working at Jordanian banks in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach The sample of this research is purposive one because the research cannot get a list containing names of customer service employees for privacy reasons. Various statistical tests were employed to test the research hypotheses. The study utilized two statistical packages – Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and SPSS-AMOS – for analyzing the data. Findings The development of organizational culture at banks in Jordan is still not stable and efficient. This may be affected by the management style and teamwork spirit in Jordan and other factors related to bank culture and how it will be reflected in customer service. The creation and application of KM at banks in Jordan is still modest. Knowledge is mainly shared internally within the bank with little efforts dedicated to soliciting knowledge from the external environment including customers. The job satisfaction at banks in Jordan is still modest. Originality/value The purpose of this study is to investigate how the organizational culture can improve job satisfaction for efficient work knowledge. The relationship between organizational culture and KM of organizational members is developed and analyzed herein by proposing a mediating role of job satisfaction. Few research papers have focused on job satisfaction and its mechanism contributing to individual effectiveness in the Jordanian market, and many ignored the benefits of KM and value of culture in many sectors.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document