Abstract
This study investigated the complementary effect of three orientations of knowledge management (KM) strategy on firm performance: external and internal, explicit and tacit, and exploratory and exploitive. We propose a theoretical framework for examining the synergistic effects of KM strategy on firm performance, and the moderating effect of organizational structure. The complementary effect among these orientations of KM strategy was studied. To test our framework, we conducted a survey with a sample of 345 Chinese firms that had applied a KM strategy. The empirical results show that: (1) different KM strategy orientations complement each other, and this complementarity is an essential link in the relationship between KM strategy and firm performance; (2) the direct effect of each orientation of KM strategy on firm performance is not significant; (3) a centralized organizational structure moderates the relationship between KM strategy and firm performance, thus the more centralized is the organizational structure, the stronger is the positive impact of the complementary effect of KM strategy on firm performance; and (4) the moderating effect of formalized organizational structure in the relationship between KM strategy and firm performance is not significant.
Highlights
The knowledge-based view sees firms as institutional arrangements that create, integrate and apply knowledge [1]
As knowledge management (KM) strategy has become a concern for many firms, a critical question has arisen: How does KM strategy affect organizational performance? Previous studies examined this issue in three ways
By building contingency models of KM strategy, prior research has argued that contingency factors such as environmental contexts play a significant role in the effects of KM strategy on performance outcomes [14,15]
Summary
The knowledge-based view sees firms as institutional arrangements that create, integrate and apply knowledge [1] (pp. 159–178). The knowledge-based view sees firms as institutional arrangements that create, integrate and apply knowledge [1] From this perspective, firms’ knowledge and knowledge management (KM) are major factors in explaining differences in performance among firms [2,3], and create sustainable competitive advantages for companies [4]. Some scholars identify the factors that affect KM effectiveness or organizational effectiveness through different KM strategies [5,6,12,13]. By building contingency models of KM strategy, prior research has argued that contingency factors such as environmental contexts play a significant role in the effects of KM strategy on performance outcomes [14,15]
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