Validating knowledge creation factors for community resilience to disaster using structural equation modelling

Abstract

Knowledge has an important role in reducing disaster risk. However, at the level of policy and practice, this issue is rarely dealt with in a systematic and in-depth manner. Therefore, using an approach based on the Dynamic Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation of Nonaka (1994), this research intends to develop and analyse the structure of a new Knowledge Creation model to increase community resilience. This study used a cross-sectional design survey of 537 respondents who live in coastal cities in Indonesia. Data analysis was conducted using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method. The results of the model feasibility test show that the hypothesised pathway among the variables under study has a strong statistical significance. The variables are: i) knowledge assets; ii) ba; iii) Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination, and Internalisation (SECI); iv) enablers; v) disaster preparedness; and vi) community resilience. Therefore, this study concludes that the proposed Knowledge Creation for Community Resilience (KCCR) model provides a fairly good fit for empirical data. It is hoped that the KCCR model that has been developed in this study will be of use to education authorities and disaster management agencies, at both local and national levels, and particularly in influencing the planning and implementation of community preparedness in facing disasters. This research is expected to enrich studies in the field of knowledge management, especially in the public knowledge domain, in dealing with disasters and providing recommendations, for policymakers and practitioners to incorporate aspects of knowledge management into efforts to increase community resilience.