Explores Knowledge Management Research Articles

Knowledge Management in Saudi Universities and Its Utilization for Financial Resource Development: A Survey and Applied Study at Najran University

Purpose: The study aims to explore knowledge management in Saudi Universities and its use in enhancing financial resources from the perspectives of leaders and faculty members at Najran University. Methodology: A descriptive-analytical documentary approach and a field survey were used with a questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of (78) leaders, faculty members, and assistants at Najran University. Findings/Conclusions: Results indicate that knowledge management at Najran University is highly practiced overall. However, the survey shows limited investment of knowledge in financial resource development. Significant gender-based differences were found, favoring females, while no differences were observed based on college, job position, or experience. There remains a significant gap between knowledge management and its use in increasing university resources. Practical Implications: A strategy is needed to leverage intellectual capital in resource development by promoting innovations, utilizing patents, and research centers, transforming knowledge into commercial products, and establishing effective global marketing partnerships. Originality/Value: This study fills a theoretical literature gap and offers practical solutions to convert theoretical knowledge into economic commodities that benefit society, aiding in diversifying funding sources for Saudi, Arab, and developing country universities.

Exploring Knowledge Management System Success Factors: Evidence from an Indonesian State-Owned Enterprise Corporation

Exploring Knowledge Management System Success Factors: Evidence from an Indonesian State-Owned Enterprise Corporation

Exploring Knowledge Management in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Exploring Knowledge Management in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Exploring knowledge management from a software engineering perspective

Context: The knowledge domain of software engineering (SE) gradually expands due to fast emerging technologies and complex organisational processes. The software industry represents a special focus of interest from a Knowledge Management (KM) perspective, as it is characterized by high employee turnover, a high level of outsourced projects, and an accelerated pace of technology innovations. Knowledge management can substantially influence SE knowledge's life cycle, contributing to better structuring of organisational processes of knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge sharing. Reflecting on the trends for SE automation with artificial intelligence tools, KM approaches can enable companies and professionals to reconsider the future of SE work. Purpose: The present research aims to identify and investigate how implementing knowledge management principles and processes within the software engineering domain can facilitate the future transformation of software-related jobs. Based on a conceptual model, built upon the literature review, the paper analyses the quantitative data, collected from 91 software experts. Evaluating the impact of both organizational and domain types of SE knowledge, the discussion evaluates the unique value-adding SE processes along with models of how to explore AI applications to automate the SE domain. Results: The outcomes of the analysis identify the models of structuring knowledge management processes in SE both within the technological domain and organisational layers. The discussion section establishes suitable KM methods and approaches for supporting SE job transformation. It identifies the main knowledge management integration practices, demonstrating how combining KM with AI-based innovations may change the SE knowledge flow, improving substantially SE activities like onboarding new team members, monitoring software documentation, version control, and error tracking.

Exploring knowledge management enablers for blockchain-enabled food supply chain implementations

PurposeWith the advent of new technologies, the integration of blockchain-enabled food supply chain (FSC) implementations is on the rise. Considering the multilateral, comprehensive and complex nature of the whole blockchain-enabled FSC implementation process, understanding knowledge management (KM) practices will add value. Prior literature shows that only a few studies have focused on this topic. As such, this study aims to identify and establish key KM enablers for blockchain-enabled FSC implementations.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a qualitative research approach. By conducting 22 in-depth interviews with experienced blockchain implementation experts in FSC contexts, this study provides interesting insights for academics and practitioners.FindingsThe results of the analysis highlighted eight critical KM enablers that directly influence blockchain-enabled FSC implementations. They include external enablers (i.e. regulation and market competition) as well as internal enablers (i.e. people – organizational learning, strategy and leadership, culture, information technology, organizational infrastructure, processes and activities).Originality/valueThis study is one of the few studies that identify KM enablers for blockchain-enabled FSC implementations. Considering the novelty of decentralized blockchain implementations in FSC and its importance in transforming silo-based knowledge exchange to a decentralized operational structure, this study attempts to identify factors that increase the efficiency of blockchain implementations in FSC contexts.

Knowledge management initiatives for achieving sustainable development goal 4.7: higher education institutions’ stakeholder perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore knowledge management (KM) initiatives for achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 4.7 and to investigate enablers and barriers to insert KM to prepare higher education institutions (HEIs) ready to contribute to SDGs’ performance. At the end, this paper provides a practical perspective of KM initiatives for higher education for sustainable development (HESD).Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study. It applies a descriptive-interpretative-qualitative approach. The analysis is based on the opinions collected from 170 HEIs’ stakeholders. Discussions among participants have been organized through zoom meetings, telephone interviews and focus group discussions in three phases. In the first phase, a total of 113 informants took part in the discussion on various dates. In the second phase, 10 interviews were conducted with university officials using three open-ended questions; and in the third phase, three focus group discussions were organized to interact about the effectiveness of the Masters in Business Administration in Global Leadership and Management programme and curriculum with teachers, students and the programme initiators.FindingsFrom the analysis of stakeholders’ views, it appears that Nepalese HEIs have yet to move forward with integrating KM activities into their aims, structure and functions to address the government’s policy guidelines applicable to maximizing SDG’ performance. A KM cultural framework that values intellectual capital is urgently needed to fill the knowledge-doing gap for the benefit of society. HEIs appear to require multidisciplinary teaching, learning and research methods to play a civic role in society. They have to improve their rules and regulation, develop a boundary-spanning structure from a conventional structure and apply KM initiatives to support achieving SDGs’ performance. Understanding and inculcating these initiatives in the academic programmes could provide a value-adding higher education in the country.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is entirely based on the perspectives of stakeholders in higher education. So, understanding their points of view and perspectives may have resulted in vague explanations. Furthermore, because the setting of Nepal’s HEIs differs from that of developed countries, the results should only be interpreted in Nepalese contexts.Practical implicationsThis paper acknowledges the gaps and complexities in Nepalese HEIs from the standpoints of HEIs’ leaders, teachers and students for the application of KM initiatives to reform HEIs, with HESD in consideration, and enhance SDGs’ performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is the first of its kind in the context of Nepal, exploring KM initiatives for SDGs. It provides a new perspective on KM and comprehends KM initiatives in the case of Nepalese HEIs transformation into HESD for achieving SDG 4.7.

Network Nirvana: Managing Knowledge in the Postmodern Organization

Knowledg-the insights, understandings, and practical know-how that we all possess, is the fundamental resource that allows us to function intelligently. The present day challenges of an organisation makes it imperative for them not to rely upon the age old way of remaining competitive in the market necessitating the knowledge creation and consistent innovation. Over time, considerable knowledge is also transformed to other manifestations as these transformations result in cumulated expertise and, when used appropriately, increased effectiveness. Knowledge is one, if not the, principal factor that makes personal, organizational, and societal intelligent behavior possible. Given the importance of knowledge in virtually all aspects of daily and commercial life, knowledge must be managed effectively to ensure that the basic objectives are attained to the greatest extent possible. In this context, knowledge management in organizations must be considered from different perspectives-business, management and operational perspectives, with different horizons and purposes. This paper tries to explore knowledge management (KM) in the postmodern organisation covering genesis of the concept of KM, its components and its relevance and successful application of the concept of KM in organizations.

Developing sustainable business models: local knowledge acquisition and tourism lifestyle entrepreneurship

Tourism lifestyle entrepreneurs’ (TLEs) businesses are associated with sustainable business models (SBMs) due to a link to the place. This link is a source of essential local knowledge that provides differentiation, competitiveness, and sustainability. Given the importance of local knowledge to SBMs, this article explores knowledge management by examining how TLEs acquire and integrate knowledge as well as its effects on innovativeness and self-efficacy. We use a sequential mixed-methods approach in which we first conducted a qualitative study with four in-depth semi-structured interviews with TLEs, followed by a quantitative study through a survey of 115 TLEs, and third we conducted another qualitative study based on four semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that entrepreneurial communication has a significantly positive and direct effect on both the innovativeness and self-efficacy of TLEs. A community-centered strategy has a positive influence on innovativeness and self-efficacy but via the indirect effect of entrepreneurial communication. Local knowledge assimilation plays a mediating role between the acquisition of local knowledge and innovativeness and self-efficacy. These findings provide a general understanding and framework about how TLEs link the elements of an SBM to greater innovativeness and self-efficacy.

Exploring knowledge management in a Lean Six Sigma organisation

Exploring knowledge management in a Lean Six Sigma organisation

Exploring knowledge management within teams from a social capital perspective: a literature review

Abstract: We live in an economy based on knowledge where the socialization that takes place through relation networks is the key in the construction of this knowledge. The aim of this research is to explore the state of the art of Knowledge Management in teams inside organizations and in conjunction with the theory of Social Capital. To achieve the proposed aim, a systematic review of literature, using thirty three articles – thirty with empirical research and three theoretical articles – was carried out. The academic contribution is the understanding of the operation of Social Capital and Knowledge Management in teams that make use of agile methods in carrying out work. The technical contributions for team and project managers are presented through consolidation of factors that were identified or supported by the research as influencing performance, learning, and improvement of processes, among others.

Exploring knowledge management in a Lean Six Sigma organisation

This study aims to explore a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) case study and understand different bearings of knowledge management onto the LSS organisation. The relevant literature review gave a preliminary reference to focus on various terms of knowledge, critical success factors and knowledge processes. The methodology belongs to the genre of case study research, specifically the grounded theory and data collection via triangulation. In the case study, six terms of knowledge were distinguished and the critical success factors are derived from LSS organisation culture, people and leadership. Knowledge processes are classified into knowledge creation, sharing and preservation. Structured training intensifies the application of LSS knowledge. Knowledge creation is primarily performed through LSS projects. Knowledge preservation provides proper repository channels and benchmark for future projects. This work contributes to research by bridging the prominent elements in the perspective of LSS organisation and crystallises them through a structured illustration of actual examples.

Importance of Knowledge Management at Water Utilities

Water utilities face continuous challenges with the changes of operational environment, aging personnel, and related tacit knowledge of employees. This article explores knowledge management at one Finnish utility and points out knowledge sharing in daily tasks. It highlights how employees interpret knowledge and tacit knowledge and their sharing. Qualitative inquiry was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 61 employees (65% of personnel) in 2004 and 33 in 2013 (47%). Knowledge management was regarded as a personal, individually controlled property. Value was one obstacle to the unwillingness to share knowledge and tacit knowledge. Positive change between 2004 and 2013 was seen in the interpretation of tacit knowledge: being something that is recorded in your own head only. Tacit knowledge was daily shared with the closest coworkers. As a strategic asset, knowledge should be managed at water and wastewater utilities as further development needs crucial understanding of previous procedures and practices.

Exploring knowledge management perspectives in smart city research: A review and future research agenda

There is a growing body of literature calling for work on the emerging role of smart cities as information hubs and knowledge repositories. This article reviews the existing smart city literature and integrates knowledge management perspectives to provide an overview of future research directions. By demonstrating the multi-stakeholder relationships involved in smart city development, it takes a crucial step towards looking into the role of knowledge management in future smart city research. Eighty-two peer-reviewed publications were analyzed covering smart city studies in various research domains. The systematic review identifies five different themes: strategy and vision, frameworks, enablers and inhibitors, citizen participation, and benefits. These themes form the basis for developing a future research agenda focused on knowledge sharing and co-learning among cities via three research directions: socio-technical approaches, knowledge sharing perspectives and organizational learning capabilities. The paper also proposes a series of knowledge-driven policy recommendations to contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Knowledge management in consultancy-involved process improvement projects: cases from Chinese SMEs

Knowledge management (KM) is considered as an effective strategy to improve organizational performance. In its application to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), resource constraints mean that exploitation of knowledge from external sources is often needed. This study explores practical KM issues encountered by Chinese SMEs when working with management consultants to introduce new business improvement practices. A comparative case study is conducted focusing on two consultancy-involved process improvement projects in Chinese manufacturing SMEs. The case results suggest a clear KM strategy is needed at the outset of the project and SME managers and employees need to play a proactive role in the learning and adoption of new knowledge. The research is novel in that it is the first study to explore knowledge management and the notion of liminality within the context of consultancy-involved Chinese SME improvement projects. The paper culminates with two research propositions that require further empirical study.

Exploring knowledge management in agile software development organizations

Knowledge represents a sustainable asset for innovative firms and specifically software industries working in unpredictable environments. Until the late 90’s, the most widely used software development approaches advocated extensive documentation and traceability. The emphasized knowledge is mainly explicit. However, with the dynamics of progress of technologies and the market changing demands, extensive planning and documentation are quickly becoming obsolete. As such, more flexible methods, called agile methods, have gained popularity. These methods value collective learning and close collaboration between team members. To this day, little research has shown how agile software development supports knowledge management initiatives. This research helps fill this gap by reviewing the related work on agile software development by focusing on and examining knowledge management initiatives in agile organizations. We developed a theoretical model of knowledge management in agile environments. Our findings highlight the way knowledge management is embedded in agile practices, including continuous communication, iterative development, knowledge repositories and engineering practices. It also emphasizes the importance of knowledge management in Information Technology development organizations.

Knowledge management as a strategic tool for human resource management at higher education institutions

Background: Higher education institutions (HEIs) the world over are beginning to recognise the importance of knowledge management; however, such institutions are still in their formative stages of addressing, evaluating and implementing the benefits of knowledge management with particular reference to human resource management (HRM). Knowledge management is a viable means through which HEIs could gainfully capitalise on their intellectual and social capital. Objectives: This study explores knowledge management as a strategic tool for HRM in HEIs. Specifically, the dimensions such as organisational culture, organisational performance, technology, management support and the institutions’ mission and vision will be evaluated to understand knowledge management within HEIs. Method: Using a cross-sectional survey design, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to 91 individuals representing senior, middle and junior human resource managers at selected HEIs in South Africa, Mauritius and India. The study investigated the impact of policies, systems and processes that the HEIs implemented in support of knowledge management and knowledge sharing. Results: A total of 91 human resource practitioners responded to the survey, the majority of whom were male (56%). Respondents from the different countries have similar perceptions regarding the issues that encourage knowledge generation and knowledge sharing (p = 0.209), and how characteristics of their institutions compare with those applicable to learning organisations (p = 0.422). Respondents disagreed to differing extents across countries that organisational or departmental structures, political interference, communication channels between employees and command and control procedures retarded knowledge generation and sharing (p = 0.001). Respondents from the different countries have differing perceptions regarding the speed at which knowledge is transferred (p = 0.000), the reliability of the knowledge that is transferred as well as the extent to which decisions can be made in using the available knowledge (p = 0.000), the ease with which knowledge is transferred in their context (p = 0.016), the transfer of tacit knowledge in their organisations (p = 0.000), whether individual employees use personal knowledge as a source of power (p = 0.025) and the role of the information and communications technology (ICT), infrastructure in knowledge creation and sharing (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The results provide convincing arguments to support the integration of HRM and knowledge management initiatives in HEIs. Whilst the HRM function at HEIs has demonstrated that it has the capability and resources to implement knowledge management initiatives, the results reflect that much ground needs to be covered to realise the full benefits of this endeavour. The study confirms that an effective knowledge management strategy for HRM that is aligned to the organisation’s strategic objectives is imperative for HEIs in South Africa.

Exploring knowledge management practices in third-party logistics service providers

PurposeThis paper aims to explore knowledge management (KM) practices implemented by third-party logistics service companies (3PLs) and the main barriers slowing down the adoption of such practices.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological approach used in this paper is based on a multiple case study analysis involving a set of 3PLs operating in Italy and Sweden. The empirical analysis has explored the KM practices used by 3PLs and the main barrier hindering their adoption.FindingsIn spite of some adoption, the findings suggest that 3PLs are not sufficiently realizing the full potential of KM. The evidence also indicates that there is a link between the type of 3PL company (in terms of the breadth and complexity of the services supplied) and the sophistication of KM tools adopted.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a research point of view, further research should focus on the validation of the link between the number and sophistication of KM tools used and the breadth of services supplied. Further research should also focus on exploring how KM can support 3PL companies in enhancing their performance.Practical implicationsFrom a practical point of view, the findings may help the management of 3PL companies to take a more strategic approach to KM and thus its contribution to the firms’ overall goals. Additionally, it is critical to conduct a careful analysis of current and future KM needs to identify the most suitable KM solutions linked to the specific characteristics of the business in which 3PLs operate.Originality/valueThis study provides fresh insights into the adoption of KM practices in logistics service organizations. The findings advance the limited body of knowledge regarding this topic and contribute to the further development of the study of KM.

Gauging the impact of knowledge management practices on organizational performance – a balanced scorecard perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to explore knowledge management (KM) literature to understand the relationships among different KM practices and organizational performance (OP) in terms of the four balanced scorecard (BSC) outcomes, i.e. learning and growth, internal process, customer satisfaction and financial performance, as a measure of OP.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles has been carried out of theoretical and empirical articles to understand the linkages between KM practices and OP, accessed mainly through sources, such as ProQuest, EBSCO host, Google Scholar and other e-databases. Measures of OP have also been extracted from the literature and grouped under the four BSC outcomes to gauge the gravity of the effect. An integrated conceptual framework helps to explore the relationship between the said variables.FindingsThis study provides a conceptual model of the effect of various KM practices on different aspects of OP measured through BSC. It contributes to organizations by helping them understand the importance of integration of the KM efforts to obtain desirable results. It will, for the first time, put the entire organization in perspective and help managers draw a bigger picture to understand the overall effect of KM practices.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the KM practices shortlisted for this research are extensive but the list may not be exhaustive. Second, the model is not empirically proved. Findings of the study would help in creating a roadmap to enhance performance by a successful implementation of KM practices.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to KM literature by adding the fact that KM practices not only affect learning and growth perspective of an organization but also have far-reaching effects on OP in terms of customer service perspective, internal process perspective and financial perspective.

Knowledge Management Process-Oriented Strategy for Healthcare Organizations

This article explores Knowledge Management (KM) practices among doctors and nurses in Malaysia. A total of 59 interviews were conducted with doctors and nurses from two hospitals. The data analysis employed in vivo coding and process coding techniques. The findings suggest a process-oriented strategy for managing knowledge among doctors and nurses in a clinical work environment. The development of this strategy can help the healthcare workers and management to evaluate and further improve their current KM practices. Additionally, this article adds another KM strategy to the literature that is tailored to supporting healthcare organization. Future studies may want to replicate the proposed strategy in different settings such as other clinical or non-clinical departments within the hospital, other public or teaching hospitals or private hospitals.

Solid Knowledge Management – The ingredient companies need for performance: A Romanian insight

The paper explores knowledge management (KM) through the accounting and auditing field, emphasizing the authors’ research results designed to examine the Romanian firms’ perspective on KM. The authors strive to understand how the audit firms manage their knowledge aiming at providing quality services with added value. The important changes in auditing and accounting standards and national regulations and the dynamic of the profession in the Big Data era determine the need of a continuous process of information gathering and storage next to the increase of accountants and auditors’ expertise and skills. The investigation revealed an insufficient understanding of KM concept and lack of focus on KM process implementation, this being the consequence of the numerous small and medium accounting and auditing firms, limited investments in IT tools for audit and KM purposes and insufficient training on KM issues. The paper contributes to the KM and auditing literature by demonstrating the need to urgent the implementation of KM systems in Romanian audit firms and providing suggestions in this regard.