Factors Driving Knowledge Creation among Private Sector Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

The Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) [Tenth Plan] mentioned that in a quest to move from a middle income nation to high income nation, it is crucial for Malaysia to focus on innovation and knowledge-based growth. Despite the increasing attention focused upon knowledge management, particularly in the area of knowledge creation/innovation in Malaysia, organizations have yet to achieve the desired level of knowledge creation. Therefore, this study aims to determine what factors will influence knowledge creation among private sector organizations in Malaysia. This research examined how these four factors - organization culture (sharing culture), organization structure (restrictive structure), Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and Human capital-influences knowledge creation. The social system within the organization which includes knowledge sharing culture and human capital were found to positively influence the extent of knowledge creation. A restrictive organization structure had unexpected effect on knowledge creation whereas ICT was found to be only an enabler and not a driving factor.