Impact of Knowledge Management on Employee Work Performance: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) has become critical in today’s highly competitive, uncertain, and rapidly changing business environment. The objective of this study is to measure the effects of knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and knowledge retention) and knowledge management approaches (social networks, codification and personalization) on job satisfaction and examines how they increase employees’ work performance. A theoretical model based on KM processes and approaches is proposed. It is empirically tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) and partial least squares (PLS) of survey data collected from employees of the King Fahd National Library in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The analysis showed that there is a significant and positive impact of KM processes and approaches on job satisfaction and work performance. Knowledge sharing, knowledge retention, codification and personalization approaches have significant impacts on job satisfaction, and knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation and a social network approach have no significant impacts on job satisfaction. Managers are advised to implement KM activities in their organizations to improve knowledge worker performance and the welfare of employees at work. This is the first study that theoretically examines the effect of knowledge management processes and knowledge management approaches on ‘soft’ human issues such as the job satisfaction and work performance of individual employees in an academic library.