The Influence of Knowledge Management on Learning in Government Organisations

Abstract

There has been a tendency for government organizations to become competitive due to instability in modern economies. Accordingly, Knowledge Management (KM) has been rapidly growing in the past decade as a source of influence on organisational development practices. In the past decade research approaches largely failed to show the importance of KM initiatives in creating synergy with other initiatives to an extent that would lead towards organizational competitiveness. This paper investigates whether KM holistically influences organisational learning, specifically in the context of the government sector. In order to understand the relationships between KM and organisational learning identified in the literature and increasingly used in practice, a quantitative survey approach was undertaken using a series of researcher-developed scales. Based on the literature review Organisational Learning (OL) was identified to be important in relation to KM, and a conceptual framework was designed to test the concept of the holistic influence of KM on organisational learning. Some 625 valid responses were collected from top and middle management from 54 government organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the model was statistically tested according to the research hypotheses by regression analysis then Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results reveal strong and significant correlations amongst organisational development practices. Even though the holistic influence of the model could not be confirmed, findings show positive KM influence on organisational development practices, thus KM is an essential factor for government organisations. As well as illustrating KM as an important source of influence, this study establishes a new direction that helps to integrate all governmental organisations’ initiatives in relevance to organisation development practice leading to better competitiveness. The research makes a novel contribution since it increases the probability of a holistic approach model that brings support for decision makers to enhance overall government organizations’ competitiveness. The scale developed for the model tested can be generalised and used as a self assessment tool for organisational practices in KM. The work sets a baseline for KM practices in the Government of Bahrain and similar GCC Governments that can act as a reference for researchers on KM, learning and competitiveness in emerging economies. The model needs further investigation in future research to explore the missing variables to make it “fit for purpose”. This concept of a holistic model needs to be further subjected to empirical investigation to explore its viability. The major limitation of this research is because it has addressed only the government sector in one country.