Information technologies and human behaviours as interacting knowledge management enablers

Abstract

Today's competition demands an unprecedented learning capability from organisations. Subsequently, knowledge management has become essential. Information Technologies (IT) are one of the major knowledge management initiatives fostered by organisations, but they are not sufficient as enablers of learning capability. Knowledge resides in human minds and, therefore, employee behaviours and interpretative abilities are key factors to knowledge management. Accordingly, this paper takes a comprehensive view of knowledge management by analysing how IT must interact with specific human behaviours in order to enhance them as enablers for the development of a learning capability. Data from 111 companies are the point of departure of the empirical analysis, which is based on structural equation modelling estimation. Results imply that there is consistent evidence of the superiority of the proposed interaction. Consequently, firms need to create a fit between their technological and human systems.