Measuring Knowledge Management Outcomes at the Individual Level

Abstract

Extant literature has mostly focused on defining knowledge management success at an organizational or project level. The literature lacks a framework for measuring knowledge management success at the individual level. From a cultural perspective of knowledge management, individual knowledge, innovation and performance make organizations more productive. This research proposes a model of the interrelationships among individual level knowledge management success measures (outcomes) including conceptual, contextual and operational knowledge, innovation, and performance. The model is tested using a sample of 252 individuals engaged in managerial and professional knowledge work. The results suggest that conceptual knowledge enhances operational and contextual knowledge. Contextual knowledge also improves operational knowledge. Contextual knowledge is the key predictor of innovations that, along with operational knowledge, enhance work performance. The results provide a model (tool) for defining and measuring knowledge management success at the individual level. The implications of this success measurement tool for future empirical studies of organizational culture are discussed.