A Model for Improved Knowledge Management Performance in Higher Education Institutions in Developing Countries: A Case of Zambia

Abstract

Knowledge management is an organizational process of creating a centralized knowledge source that enables acquiring, assimilating, distributing, integrating, sharing, retrieving and reuse of internal and external, explicit and tacit knowledge to promote innovation in the organization. Higher education institutions are not an exception and must be at the center of knowledge management practices as they are the major producers of a country’s workforce. The knowledge from individuals, systems and collaborations with other institutions can only be properly appreciated by way of having a well-executed knowledge management system in place. Whilst knowledge management is seen to be a very important practice to have in a higher education institution, in Zambia, knowledge management systems do not seem to be given the deserved importance and consideration by higher education institutions. The primary aim of this study is to propose a model that would assist with the knowledge management implementation process in higher education institutions in Zambia. Four higher education institutions were purposively selected to give an overview of the status of KM practice, namely: the University of Zambia, Mulungushi University, Chalimbana University and the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA). This study adopted a mixed method approach, that is, qualitative and quantitative research design for analyzing research questions and for effective interpretation of data from the questionnaire. Both online and hardcopy questionnaires were distributed among the respondents. IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 20 was used to analyze the data. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and inferential statistical tests (Pearson Chi-square) were used. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents have a good level of knowledge management awareness; however, it is not commonly practiced in the institutions. These institutions do not have knowledge management policies or strategies in place and there is no presence of a KM department. If there is one, probably on paper but not established nor practiced. The study proposed a model that would guide the adoption process of knowledge management practices in higher education institutions in Zambia, by highlighting some critical success factors from the four categories of CSF as proposed by the Heisig (2009) model.