Knowledge management factors, resources, processes and knowledge sharing behaviour of polytechnic lecturers

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of knowledge management (KM) processes on human resource management’s (HRM’s) performance in family-owned organizations. Therefore, a model is proposed to explain the core processes of KM and their effects on HRM's performance.Design/methodology/approachA field study is conducted based on data collected from family-owned companies in Turkey. The survey instrument is a self-administered questionnaire composed of 36 questions in total. There are three demographic questions, 18 questions aim to investigate KM processes and 15 questions aim to investigate HRM practices.FindingsThe results show that KM processes have significant positive relationships with HRM performance. Among the processes of KM, knowledge generation (KG) is found to have the most significant effect. This study shows that KM processes are enhancing HRM performance in family-owned organizations.Research limitations/implicationsFirst of all, it is conducted on family-owned companies. Hence, the results may change based on types of organizations. Second, convenience sampling was used in data collection. The majority of data were collected through HRM departments who were available, reliable and easy to access. Despite many advantages of this sampling technique on major disadvantage is lacking clear generalizability. For this reason, it is presumed that HRM awareness is high in the selected participants. Different sampling methods may lead to different results. Thus, for future research, it would be useful to make cross-cultural and cross-sectorial studies to compare the business cultures and to find more accurate outcomes related to KM and HRM implementations.Originality/valueNowadays, most of the family-owned companies are well aware of the statement that both KM and HRM have significant positive impacts on organizational outcomes. This research's findings indicate that KM processes enhance HRM performance in family-owned organizations. Therefore, family-owned organizations should pay more attention on KM processes and the linkage between KM and HRM in order to obtain better HRM results.

Knowledge management factors, resources, processes and knowledge sharing behaviour of polytechnic lecturers

The purpose of this study was to explore the specificities of the relationship between knowledge management (KM) processes and the potential and realized absorptive capacities in the context of a knowledge-based view. The paper advances our understanding of the contributions of knowledge management processes and the potential and realized absorptive capacities in small- and medium-sized family firms. We draw on case studies of two small- and medium-sized family businesses operating in different industries. Our results show that the choice of the KM approach and the family business characteristics determine the extent to which a family firm is successful in managing its knowledge processes and absorptive capacity. Moreover, the results indicate that family businesses are impacted by their own characteristics, such as the fact that they do not dissociate between the personalities of the owners and the business, and are context-specific. Since the focus of this research was limited to KM processes and absorptive capacity, it would be beneficial for future research to investigate the mechanisms that enable firms to manage their potential and realized absorptive capacities and the extent to which they generate dynamic capabilities through KM processes. Further studies of the impacts of family business characteristics on the firm’s success in managing knowledge resources are also recommended.

PurposeConstructed upon knowledge-based view theory, this study investigates the influence of internal marketing (IM) on knowledge management (KM) processes in higher educational institutes (HEIs) in China and Pakistan. The study investigates the direct link between KM processes and organizational performance and indirect links via knowledge workers' productivity (KWP).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from HEIs in China and Pakistan, and 784 survey responses were reported from academic and administrative staff (HEIs).FindingsThe result revealed that IM has a significant impact on KM processes, and KM processes impact organizational performance via the partial mediating effect of KWP in China, Pakistan and the overall sample. The multi-group analysis confirmed the substantial differential effect of KM processes on KWP in culturally different HEIs.Originality/valueA lack of research establishes the inter-relationship between KM enabler (IM), KM processes, KWP and organizational performance in culturally diverse environments. This is one of the initial studies that examine the relationship between IM, KM processes, KWP and organizational performance in HEIs. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by conducting an in-depth empirical examination of IM, KM processes, KWP and OP in culturally diverse environments (i.e. China and Pakistan).Key PointsThis research examines the influence of internal marketing (IM) on knowledge management (KM) processes by using knowledge workers' productivity (KWP) as a mediator between knowledge management (KM) and organizational performance.Through the partly mediating effect of KWP, it was discovered that IM considerably influenced knowledge management processes and organizational performance in China, Pakistan and throughout the sample.The multi-group analysis indicates that KMPs have a statistically significant influence on KWP.

The study aimed to identify the applications and processes of knowledge management as a strategic instrument to reduce the risks facing business organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through a study of the opinions of experts. The study used the content analysis method, in addition to the Delphi method. The sample consisted of 12 experts in business organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was used as an instrument for collecting information by preparing a standard list. The study reached a set of results, namely, the preparation of the least frequent factors, the percentage of which is less than (25%), due to the limited impact of these factors on the applications and processes of knowledge management as a strategic instrument. The results of the first round showed that there is a clear discrepancy in the approval or disapproval of experts on the basic list of elements of knowledge management applications and processes as a strategic tool in business organizations (first round). The results of the study showed that all knowledge management factors and processes that were evaluated by the experts participating in the Delphi method obtained a percentage of more than (90%). Based on the results, the researcher recommended developing a strategy that identifies the capabilities of business organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with developing organizational plans to determine the quantitative assessment of risk factors in knowledge management projects in business organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through a statistical analysis of factors, in addition to working on developing a formal structure for a knowledge management strategy and identifying the future needs of business organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to face the risks of potential knowledge management projects.

PurposeThis study explores how strategic human resource practices enhance the competitive capability of differentiation and cost-effectiveness by leveraging knowledge resources in Indian IT/software organizations. It examines the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) processes in the relationship between strategic HR practices, competitive differentiation and cost-effectiveness capabilities.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire survey collected data from 380 knowledge workers in 25 IT/software and consultancy firms. The authors checked data reliability and validity by conducting exploratory factor analysis in SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. The authors evaluated hypotheses using path analysis in structural equational modeling in AMOS.FindingsStrategic HR practices significantly and positively affect KM processes and competitive capabilities-differentiation and cost-efficiency. Both strategic HR practices and KM processes have a closer association with differentiation than cost-effectiveness. Knowledge management processes significantly and positively mediate between strategic HR practices and competitive capabilities. The mediation is more substantial in predicting differentiation than cost-effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsIt is a cross-sectional study with a constrained capacity to predict accurate causal inferences; The authors call for future studies with longitudinal design and objective measures. Further studies are required to explore the impact of various strategic HR configurations on KMP to understand how different routes stimulate a particular competitive strategy. This conceptual framework can be validated across different industry types and sizes.Practical implicationsThis study provides practical insights to HR and knowledge managers regarding devising HR and KM processes to accomplish the goals of differentiation and cost-effective, competitive strategies. This study highlights that leveraging human capital for effective KM is crucial for gaining a competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the strategic HR and KM literature by exploring the mediating role of KM processes in enabling strategic HR processes to enhance differentiation and cost-effective, competitive strategies. It provides original empirical evidence from knowledge-intensive IT/software consultancies, particularly in India's emerging economy. It indicates the current state of HR practices adopted for optimum utilization of knowledge resources and the importance of differentiation strategy for Indian knowledge-intensive IT/software firms.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of knowledge management (KM) processes in enhancing competitive strategies of differentiation and cost-effectiveness and its impact on innovativeness in knowledge-intensive service organizations (KISOs) in India.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 293 employees working in Indian KISOs through a questionnaire survey. After checking for reliability and validity of data, this study tested the hypotheses by structural equation modeling using AMOS 26.FindingsThe results show that KM processes have a significant and positive relationship with competitive strategy and innovativeness. Competitive strategy partially mediates the relationship between KM processes and innovativeness. These KM processes promote differentiation and cost-effectiveness, which in turn enhances innovativeness. A differentiation strategy has a stronger positive relationship with KM processes and innovativeness than a cost-effective strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's cross-sectional design limits its ability to establish a general cause–effect relationship. Even so, theoretically, the results corroborate the contingent view of KM in emerging economies such as India. The findings show the mediating role of competitive strategy on the relationship between KM and its processes with innovation and competitiveness – providing a better cost-effectiveness relationship and organizational differentiation capacity.Practical implicationsThis study suggests managers to adopt KM processes such as creation-sharing, acquisition and knowledge base enabling firms to be different and cost-effective than their competitors. This study provides evidence on how KISOs can leverage their innovativeness by using KM processes in congruence with its competitive strategy and gain competitive advantage.Social implicationsThis study emphasizes the development of KM processes in the management of KISOs, which contributes substantially to India’s economic growth via Gross domestic product and employment. On the social side, this study suggests to manage cultural issues in KM processes, arising because of presence of multi-cultural workforce and a high-power distance society.Originality/valueThis study bridges a research gap of previous studies providing empirical evidence regarding the mediating effect of competitive strategies in the relationship between KM processes and innovativeness. This study adds proof to the KM contingency view of firms, suggesting when KM processes are formulated to achieve competitive strategy; substantial benefits such as innovativeness can be realized. This study adds evidence from the emerging economy of India, where KISOs are increasingly creating value and employment.

The study aims to form and test a knowledge management model for universities, which made it possible to identify the most influential factors and their relationship with knowledge management processes. The sample of the study (N = 100) included members of the administrations of the United Arab Emirates universities, senior students (graduate students) and teachers. The data were collected based on a Google Forms questionnaire (65 questions). The model includes 6 main factors: leadership, organizational culture, organizational structure, human resources, information technology, measurement and control. It is assumed that the favourable influence of these factors will contribute to the effective implementation of the knowledge management process. Statistical analysis of the collected data was performed in SPSS and EViews. The model was verified with the help of the root-mean-square error of approximation. The factors "organizational culture", "human resources", "organizational structure", as the processes of creation, storage and use of information demonstrate the highest degree of compliance (value is 0.5 and below). Internal consistency was checked by calculating Cronbach's alpha (total Cronbach alpha is 0.97). To assess the existing relationships between the processes and factors of knowledge management, an analysis of Spearman's ρ correlation was performed (confidence level is 99%). The findings of the study show that the factor "organizational culture" has the greatest impact on the process of creating knowledge, and the factor of the organizational structure considerably affects knowledge management. It has been concluded that information technology is the least influential factor in the knowledge management process. The model demonstrates that the greatest influence of the “leadership” factor can be observed in the context of the process of applying knowledge. The validity of the model makes it possible to argue that it can be used as a public policy tool for the implementation of knowledge management initiatives in universities. The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that on the basis of the model described in the study, it is possible to perform a preliminary assessment of the knowledge assets of universities in order to improve the process of knowledge transfer in education and research. The model will provide university administrations with an opportunity to identify areas for improvement in order for the knowledge management process to be more effective, which ultimately should result in the creation of human capital that meets modern needs.

A knowledge life cycle has several knowledge management (KM) processes that differ from one model to another. Exploration and utilization of these processes on high levels require mapping them to the core business processes in an organization. A business process architecture (BPA) identifies these core processes and highlights their relationships. Riva method is a BPA approach that allows characterizing these key processes using essential business entities (EBEs). It also proposes a few steps to develop an organization's overall business process architecture (BPA). Matching the appropriate knowledge management (KM) processes to these steps clarifies KM’s role in business process modeling. In addition, it contributes to discovering gaps and developing business process modeling (BPM). The Riva-based Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) model has been suggested to map KM processes to Riva BPA steps. The model is divided into three phases, sequentially including the KM processes of exploration and identification, capturing and refinement, and creation and exploitation. The exploration and identification phase involves searching and discovering business scope resources (Riva step one). Capturing and refinement is the phase of extracting candidate EBEs, determining the EBEs, and filtering them into Units of Work (UOWs) (Riva steps two and three). Finally, creation and exploitation processes involve generating dynamic relationships among UOWs and transforming the UOWs diagram into the first and second-cut process architecture diagrams (Riva steps four, five, and six). A case study of a bank in Jordan will be applied to evaluate this model. A mixed-methods approach using structured and semi-structured interviews will be conducted with the bank financing team to measure KM processes’ involvement. Accordingly, the results are expected to identify which KM processes are more engaged to process architecture. It could also suggest using these KM processes as a benchmark to measure the achievement of each BPA step implementation in its domain.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study the application of knowledge management (KM) factors on customer relationship management (CRM) process in Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status organisations.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire survey was conducted on KM workers (customer service) in Malaysian MSC status organisations. Based on the extensive review of the current literature, eight KM factors were investigated to examine the application toward CRM process.Findings– The data, collected from 96 knowledge workers, suggest that KM process, organisational infrastructure and technology are three important predictors for effective CRM process.Practical implications– The practical implication of this paper could be useful for business managers who want to enhance organisational CRM through implementing KM practices to support their organisation’s KM efforts.Originality/value– This is one of the few papers to study the application of KM factors on CRM process in Malaysia.

The digitalization of knowledge management (KM) processes in organisations has led to significant improvements in organizational efficiency and collaboration. By leveraging technology such as cloud-based platforms and artificial intelligence, organisations can store and access vast amounts of data more easily, allowing employees to quickly find the information they need. Additionally, digitalization has enabled the automation of many KM processes, such as data analysis and information sharing. As a result, organisations can make better use of their knowledge resources and are better prepared to adapt to changing business environments. Overall, digitalization has played a vital role in transforming KM to a more dynamic technology-driven process. This special issue of the Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal (KM&EL) aims to generate interest in the impact of digitalization on companies’ KM processes, inform the broader research community of the significance of this topic, and establish a platform for discussing advancements and critical directions. Our objective is to gather researchers and professionals who are invested in advancing this field of study. Moreover, this represents the starting point for academicians and practitioners to examine ways to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of KM processes.

Due to the strong competition that exists among organisations and the rapid change in the business environment, knowledge has turned out to become a key source for organisations to enhance the competitive advantage. Integrating Knowledge Management (KM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process is a new research area, therefore, scientific research and literature around it remain limited. In addition, the impact of KM process on customer acquisition, retention, and expansion to improve customer satisfaction remains under study and report. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of KM integrated with CRM called Customer Knowledge Relationship Management (CKRM) Process depending on analysis of various models presented in KM and CRM. The main highlighting is laid upon the concepts of the concept of customer knowledge (knowledge about customer, knowledge for customer, knowledge from customer). Therefore, this paper contributes to the development of KM process (Knowledge Process about Customer, Knowledge Process for Customer, and Knowledge Process from Customer). The paper investigated how the companies in Jordan developed KM process to improvement the CRM process. Based on data collected from the company, results from analysis indicated that the KM process had a positive effect on CRM process.

PurposeSupply chain resilience and knowledge management (KM) processes have received increasing attention from researchers and practitioners. Nevertheless, previous studies often treat the two streams of literature independently. Drawing on the knowledge-based theory, this study aims to reconcile these two different streams of literature and examine how and when KM processes influence supply chain resilience.Design/methodology/approachThis research develops a conceptual model to test a sample of data from 203 Chinese manufacturing firms using a structural equation modeling method. Specifically, the current study empirically examines how KM processes affect different forms of supply chain resilience (supply chain readiness, responsiveness and recovery) and examines the moderating effect of blockchain technology adaptation and organizational inertia on the relationship between KM processes and supply chain resilience.FindingsThe findings show that KM processes positively affect three dimensions of supply chain resilience, i.e., supply chain readiness, responsiveness and recovery. Besides, the study reveals that blockchain technology adoption positively moderates the relationships between KM processes and supply chain resilience, whereas organizational inertia negatively moderates these above relationships.Originality/valueThis research linked the two research areas of supply chain resilience and KM processes, further bridging the gap in the research exploration of KM in the supply chain field. Next, this study contributes to supply chain resilience research by investigating how KM systems positively impact supply chain readiness, responsiveness and recovery. In addition, this study found a moderating effect of blockchain technology adaption and organizational inertia on the relationship between KM processes and supply chain resilience. These findings provide a reference for Chinese manufacturing firms to strengthen supply chain resilience, achieve secure supply chain operations and gain a competitive advantage in the supply chain. This studys’findings advance the understanding of supply chain resilience and provide practical implications for supply chain managers.

PurposeDrawing on the knowledge-based view (KBV), the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of collaborative culture (CC) on frugal innovation (FI). It also advances insight into the pathways for stimulating distinct aspects of innovation capacity by assessing the mediating effects of knowledge management (KM) processes and the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS).Design/methodology/approachBased on the data gathered from 430 participants from 80 Pakistani manufacturing and service firms, this study used structural equation modeling to evaluate hypotheses in the established research model.FindingsThe findings reveal that CC positively fosters the KM processes and different aspects of FI. The results indicated the positive direct impact of KM processes on frugal functionality (FF) and frugal cost (FC) while insignificant on the frugal ecosystem (FE). This study found partial mediation of KM processes on the relationship among CC, FF and FC, but the KM process does not mediate the relationship between CC and FE. The results also demonstrated that POS moderation enhances the impacts of CC on KM processes and FF while notably weakening the impacts of CC on FC and FE.Research limitations/implicationsTo understand the crucial role of knowledge capital in companies’ innovation capability, future research should examine the mediating function of KM capability (knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability) and moderating role of environmental turbulence in the relationship between CC and different aspects of innovation capability.Practical implicationsThis study significantly advances a better understanding of the relationship between CC and specific facets of innovation capacity by emphasizing the importance of driving the KM process and improving POS.Originality/valueThis study has contributed to the theoretical and practical efforts on KBV, emphasizing the critical importance of CC in fostering a conducive environment for KM processes and innovation.

The impact of knowledge management processes on information systems: A systematic review