Individual Knowledge Management Research Articles

Impact of knowledge management on knowledge worker productivity: individual knowledge management engagement as a mediator

ABSTRACT The current research intends to develop and test a multidimensional model of knowledge management using second-order psychometric constructs and determine whether individual knowledge management engagement mediates the knowledge worker productivity. Data was collected using structured questionnaires, and 411 final samples were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results show that knowledge worker productivity is positively impacted by the knowledge management factor. The research also discovered evidence of an interaction between knowledge management and knowledge worker productivity that is mediated by individual knowledge management engagement. The theoretical conclusion of the research is that this multidimensional knowledge management model is suitable for gauging knowledge worker productivity in developing nations as well as industrialised ones, and it may also be applied to other service sectors. This study demonstrates a clear relationship between knowledge worker productivity and individual knowledge management engagement which will the practitioners to create efficient knowledge management strategies.

Knowledge-oriented leadership and workers' performance: do individual knowledge management engagement and empowerment matter?

PurposeDrawing upon social cognitive theory (SCT), the authors aimed to examine the relationship between supervisors' knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) style and knowledge workers' performance. The authors further investigated the conditional indirect effects of KOL on workers' performance through knowledge management (KM) engagement at different levels of workers' empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a time-lagged field survey and collected data from 212 knowledge workers and their 72 supervisors working in 15 knowledge-intensive firms across Pakistan.FindingsThe results showed that supervisors' KOL positively affected knowledge workers' performance both directly and through KM engagement. Similarly, the effect of KM engagement on workers' performance was stronger for those who experienced higher levels of empowerment. Finally, the indirect effects of KOL on workers' performance through KM engagement were stronger for higher levels of empowerment.Originality/valueThe study provided theoretical implications, specifically in a non-Western work context where KOL is relatively less explored. Additionally, the authors examined the concept of empowerment, using SCT, as a boundary condition, providing evidence for empowerment as a contingency factor that fosters employees' performance.

Knowledge-sharing hostility, knowledge manipulation, and new product development performance.

New product development is an important driver of sustainable enterprise development. It is necessary to promote the knowledge sharing of heterogeneous individuals such as design, technology, market, and sociologists. This paper discusses the influence of negative individual knowledge management from the perspective of knowledge-sharing hostility and knowledge manipulation on the performance of new product development. To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 438 employees in China. The results show that although knowledge manipulation contributes to individual innovation performance, it has an inverted U-shaped curve relationship with the team's product development performance. The hostility of knowledge sharing induces knowledge manipulation, which indirectly influences the performance of new product development. The coordination flexibility of R&D teams positively moderates the impact of knowledge manipulation on new product development. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Knowledge management models and the innovativeness of high-tech companies – the case study

The article discusses the problem of the significance of knowledge management in contemporary enterprises. The timeliness of research problems in relation to this issue is confirmed by a comprehensive literature review. The article attempts to define individual knowledge management models and to define the essence of knowledge management in enterprises. These considerations have been extended with innovation which is crucial for 21st century companies. The publication covers empirical research of selected high-tech companies. This sector has been selected due to a noticeable lack of studies in this area. The research method used in the empirical part of the paper is a case study. Two high-tech companies operating in the IT industry have been selected. It has been essential to distinguish the criteria for selecting high-tech companies in the study. The objective of the conducted comparative analysis has been to examine what knowledge management model is used by the specified enterprises and what concept of innovation they have selected. The results of the conducted analyses indicate that enterprises take similar actions. Most of all, this is conditioned by the specificity of the sector and industry in which they operate. The subject matter of the publication is important and up to date, it covers two fundamental components of the operation of contemporary enterprises since both knowledge management and innovation constitute a constantly expanded scientific issue.

Role of knowledge management processes within different stages of technological innovation: evidence from biotechnology SMEs

ABSTRACT Managing technological innovations in the knowledge-intensive and dynamic biotechnology industry involves the effective application of knowledge. Knowledge management has been shown to improve technological innovation capabilities, thus indirectly contributing to sustainable competitive advantage. This paper views knowledge management from a process capabilities perspective and aims to understand its role within the technological innovation process in biotechnology sector in the Netherlands. Through a qualitative and exploratory research design including 15 biotechnology case interviews, three general roles of knowledge management processes were identified: a key role, a supporting role, and a complementary role. The roles depend on the innovation phase. Four propositions are introduced and shed more light on the role of each individual knowledge management process with respect to the different innovation phases. Understanding how these processes work throughout the innovation process will provide insight for organisations on how to use knowledge management effectively to improve the innovation process performance.

The Effect of Intellectual Capital on the Individual Performance and Knowledge Management Among Experts of Agricultural Extension in the Arab World

The current research aims to: 1) measure the intellectual capital (IC) among agricultural extension experts in the Arab world using the Intellectual Capital Assessment Tool (ICAT), 2) measure individual performance of respondents, 3) measure knowledge management (KM) among respondents using the Knowledge Management Assessment Tool (KMAT), and 4) determine the impact of IC on the individual performance of respondents, and 5) determine the impact of IC on KM among agricultural extension experts in the Arab world. Data were collected through an electronic questionnaire form from 90 experts representing 7 Arab countries, which are Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Egypt, during January 2021. According to results of the study, the mean value of respondent' perceptions for IC, individual performance, and KM are 73.37%, 71.7%, and 63.7% of the total scores, respectively. There is a significant correlation relationship at the probability level 0.01 between the scores expressing all dimensions of IC and all dimensions of the individual performance and KM. The results also indicate that both organizational and social capitals explain about 43.1% and 34.7% of the variance of respondents' individual performance, also, both organizational and human capitals explain about 68.2% of the total variance in total KM, so that study could reject about 18 of the thirty statistical hypotheses. Finally, some conclusions and recommendation are provided.

Does Individual Knowledge Management in Online Education Prepare Business Students for Employability in Online Businesses?

Business education has been currently challenged by the fast introduction of online learning platforms for students enrolled in higher education who had been previously used only face-to-face interaction, raising questions about the sustainability of online education. This new learning environment creates a different path for students managing their knowledge, who, due to the influence of online experiences, could develop different skills with different outcomes for their chances of employment. This study analyses knowledge management of business students in an online education setting to discover its influence on students’ perception of both their general employment chances, and specifically in online businesses. To conduct the study, we opted for a quantitative research design based on a questionnaire applied between November and December of 2020, which resulted in valid responses from 256 Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree students. In line with the research hypotheses, correlation, reliability tests and logistic regression were used to perform data analysis. The results clearly indicate that students’ perception of their employment chances depend on the increasing score of knowledge acquisition, knowledge revision, conceptual change and knowledge application, independently and under the action of control variables. Additionally, knowledge application proved to be an important determinant for students’ perception of their employment chances in online businesses.

Peer knowledge sharing and organizational performance: the role of leadership support and knowledge management success

PurposeThis study aims to focus on a particular type of intra-organizational knowledge sharing that is referred to as peer knowledge sharing. This paper examines how peer knowledge sharing impacts firms’ financial and innovation performance, and the mechanism through which such a relationship is realized. The study also evaluates the extent to which leadership support acts as a key antecedent to peer knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on social capital theory and a knowledge-based view of firms, a theoretical model and related hypotheses are presented for testing. A survey design methodology is used to collect data and test the model. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypothesized relationships based on data collected from 330 knowledge workers in various service-based organizations in Turkey.FindingsThe results indicate that the extent of employees’ engagement in knowledge sharing behavior with their peers and their managers’ leadership support exert a positive impact on organizations’ knowledge management success, which, in turn, can affect organizations’ innovation performance positively and, subsequently, their financial performance. Leadership support of the immediate manager is found to be an important factor that contributes to the respondent’s peer knowledge sharing behavior. The proposed model’s invariance testing between male and female respondents revealed that peer knowledge sharing’s contribution to knowledge management success may be different in the two groups.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to extant research on knowledge sharing by specifically focusing on peer knowledge sharing and reinforcing leadership support’s importance on knowledge sharing. The study also highlights the importance of knowledge management success as an important mediator necessary for linking individual knowledge management behaviors, such as peer knowledge sharing, with organizational performance.Originality/valueKnowledge sharing is a topic of continuing interest for organizational researchers, yet limited empirical research has been conducted that links individual-level, intra-organizational knowledge sharing to organizational performance. This study examines this linkage and provides empirical support for this relationship, while simultaneously pointing to an important type of knowledge sharing that occurs within organizations, referred to as peer knowledge sharing.

PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK INDIVIDU, MOTIVASI KERJA, DAN MANAJEMEN PENGETAHUAN TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI DINAS PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DAN DESA PROVINSI SULAWESI TENGGARA

This study aims to determine and analyze the effect of individual characteristics, work motivation and knowledge management on employee performance at the Office of Community Empowerment and Villages of Southeast Sulawesi Province. This research approach is quantitative. The population in this study was 77 employees of the Office of Community Empowerment and Village of Southeast Sulawesi Province, and all of them were made respondents. The data collected was analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) using the SmartPLS M3 2 program package.The analysis shows that individual characteristics have a positive and significant effect on performance, meaning that the better the individual characteristics of employees will improve performance. Work motivation has a positive and significant effect on performance, which shows that the better employee motivation will improve performance. Knowledge management has a positive and significant effect on performance, which shows that the better management of existing knowledge will improve employee performance.

Strateški razvoj ljudskih resursa - manevar za buduće kompetencije

The changing role and function of Human Resource Development professionals due to social, economic, political and technological alterations lead the way for strategic HRD practices in organizations. In this current world of industrialization, this term relates to the achievement of competitive benefits by aligning organizational goals and priorities with structured and future-oriented activities. A study on strategic HRD lends a hand to eliminate the hitches of an organization by rational planning and people development with a focus on predictability and consistency. This research not only enlightens the implication of strategic activities but also it strengthens individual creativity, knowledge management, career planning, and individual competencies amongst employees in industrial sectors. It highlights on the employee perception about these SHRD practices of companies, which is a fundamental factor for the employee contentment, performance, and for the necessity of socio-technical systems. Accordingly, the study is focused at Dubai, U.A.E., in the shape of "Strategic Human Resource Development - A manoeuvre for future competencies" with a sample size of 300 from various companies by quantitative and qualitative analysis. Accordingly, it has been statistically confirmed that four independent variables show a positive relationship with strategic HRD activities. Along with this, it identifies the extent to which the HRD and its related work-life factors are provided by the selected companies. The result of the survey generated a key model and a framework for SHRD by creating a valuable contribution to the organization in facing the future challenges.

Individual knowledge management engagement, knowledge-worker productivity, and innovation performance in knowledge-based organizations: the implications for knowledge processes and knowledge-based systems

The literature on the knowledge management relatively ignores an important concept, the individual knowledge management engagement-the degree to which a knowledge worker is involved with the knowledge management-related activities. This concept is imperative for nurturing the productivity of knowledge workers, knowledge management architecture effectiveness, and innovation. Therefore, this study proposes the mediating role of knowledge-worker productivity between individual knowledge management engagement and innovation. The data were collected from the 330 knowledge workers of IT sector of Pakistan and analyzed using the SmartPLS 3 Version 2.6. The results indicate the partial mediation of knowledge-worker productivity between the individual knowledge management engagement and innovation. The results suggest the pivotal role of individual knowledge management engagement in increasing the innovation and knowledge-worker productivity in the knowledge-based organizations.

Knowledge Acquisition, Knowledge Application, and Innovation Towards the Ability to Adapt to Change

The objective of article is to provide important empirical evidence to support the role of individual knowledge management processes and separate innovation types within firms. Specifically, knowledge acquisition and knowledge application are analyzed and empirically tested in relation to product and process innovation as well as business performance. The results support the direct impact of product and process innovation on business performance. In addition, the results show the indirect effect of knowledge acquisition and knowledge application on firm business performance through product and process innovation. Although KM represents a complex concept of knowledge management in a firm and can contain more processes, this article confirms that KM processes individually contribute to the innovation and indirectly on business performance. Besides, it confirms mediating effect of innovation between both knowledge acquisition and knowledge application and organizational business performance. In addition, most of the similar studies have been focused on the developed Western countries.

Empowering production workers with digitally facilitated knowledge processes – a conceptual framework

Recent digital advancements, including social software, mobile technologies and augmented reality, offer promising opportunities to empower knowledge workers in their production environment by leveraging their knowledge processes, decision-making skills and social interaction practices. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for empowering workers in industrial production environments with digitally facilitated knowledge management processes. The framework explores four concrete facets of digital advancements that apply to a wide range of knowledge processes and production strategies in manufacturing companies. Each of these advancements are capable of supporting one specific facet of the individual knowledge management processes of workers; knowledge transfer, discovery, acquisition and sharing. The study contributes to the production research community by aligning emerging digital technologies and current trends in advanced manufacturing environments to benefit workers and improve job satisfaction, efficiency and productivity. The paper also contains suggestions about developing innovative solutions for production environments that support workers with digital technologies for flexible production.

Realisation of the Knowledge Management Process in Study - related Performance of Academic Departments

The context of knowledge management determines the following research question: how theoretical constructs of knowledge management are realised in the performance of academic departments? The research aim is to identify the implementation of study-related knowledge management process at academic department.
 The empirical research is based on the case study strategy. After targeted selection of cases, in-depth interviews were carried out at two academic departments, where groups of experts had been identified. The collected data were processed by criterion-based analysis. The Department X possesses expertise in education and methodological competence in curriculum construction and study process realisation; study-related processes of collective and individual knowledge management are articulated by study-related terminology and informal identification of knowledge in the process of social interaction dominates here; unfortunately little coordination is given to the acquisition, dissemination, creation, storage and application of knowledge.
 The Department Y informally reduces the study-related knowledge to the concept of professionalism and knowledge of the study programme content; methodological competence of designing and implementing a study programme (module) is referred to as developing. In this context, the need for knowledge acquisition is realised by attracting external expert knowledge. At this Department, the process of study related knowledge is not systemic and strongly coordinated; individual not collective efforts prevail.
 Summarising the analysis of the two case-studies, it is evident that a formalized system of knowledge management has not been yet created and implemented in the departments. However, the educational and subject-related competences of the department lead to unintentional knowledge management process that is naturally taking place through the process of studies management with the prevailing non-formal activities of organizational knowledge identification, acquisition, creation, dissemination, storage and application.

Research on Construction and Application of Individual Knowledge Management Maturity Evaluation Model

Individual knowledge management is basic component of organizational knowledge management, and the maturity of individual knowledge management has a significant impact on organizational knowledge management. This research introduces scientific idea of capability maturity model into individual knowledge management, building corresponding assessment criteria combined with features of individual knowledge management, and constructing an individual knowledge management maturity model with gray comprehensive evaluation method. In the fourth part of this paper, the validity of the model has been verified by applying the model on an instance. This research is made in order to provide references and suggestions on improving the level of individual knowledge management in knowledge-based organizations.

Impact of Knowledge Management Practices on Task Knowledge

Organizational level studies of knowledge management have been hampered by the lack of measures of individual level knowledge management practices and outcomes that can be used as success criteria to determine whether, or to what degree, specific organizational knowledge management practices enhance individual knowledge creation, sharing, and application at the individual level. This paper explores how the knowledge management practices of individuals are related to the task knowledge they use to complete their work processes. The measures presented can be used as one way to evaluate the success of organizational knowledge management practices. Specifically, the paper explores the individual practices of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application and how these practices are related to the task knowledge (conceptual, contextual, and operational knowledge) of individuals. A model of the relationships among knowledge management practices and task knowledge components is proposed and tested. Structural equation modeling is used. Results suggest that engaging in knowledge creation enhances an individual’s task knowledge through the practices of sharing and applying knowledge. Knowledge sharing and application enhance operational knowledge indirectly through changes in conceptual and contextual knowledge.

Modelling personal knowledge management

The management of knowledge demonstrates a substantial amount of literature focused at organisational level with the management of people and the development of their skills and knowledge often determining success or failure. However, with increased pace and the use of more informal approaches in workplace communication through modern technologies, success is often determined by the individual knowledge management (KM) of the employees themselves indirectly providing organisational benefits. This article proposes a model for this personal KM, relating traditional organisational KM theory to individual knowledge acquisition and management processes. The influences of peer and hierarchical communities to the personal KM process are also discussed.

Investigating acceptance toward mobile learning to assist individual knowledge management: Based on activity theory approach

Mobile devices could facilitate human interaction and access to knowledge resources anytime and anywhere. With respect to wide application possibilities of mobile learning, investigating learners’ acceptance towards it is an essential issue. Based on activity theory approach, this research explores positive factors for the acceptance of m-learning systems. In the research, we developed an m-learning system for learners’ knowledge management and invited 152 participants who knew how to use the m-learning system then report on their experience. The results show that enhancing learners’ satisfaction, encouraging learners’ autonomy, empowering system functions, and enriching interaction and communication activities have a significant positive influence on the acceptance of m-learning systems.

Knowledge management and the performing arts industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline one innovative Australian initiative to harness creative, often intangible, knowledge, and reap the benefits of the intellectual capital of dance artists both during and post performing careers – the project Securing Career Opportunities and Professional Employment (SCOPE) which has been running for the last three years in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).Design/methodology/approachUnlike much of the work in the field of knowledge management that concentrates on individual organization knowledge management processes and practices, this paper takes an industry‐sector‐wide perspective, utilizing written, and oral data sources.FindingsInternational focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and knowledge management has led to a growing recognition of the role of the creative industries for our post industrial economic well being. Dance plays a central role as a unique way of knowing and learning, with both intrinsic and instrumental value. Whilst there is diversity among dance artists, one unifying feature is short careers as performers. Having amassed an array of special attributes and competencies that are beneficial, it is crucial for artists to manage the knowledge gained through their training and careers in order to sustain and reap the benefits of their intellectual capital. The creative value of dance artists' capabilities can be a beacon in the link between creativity and economic outcomes. SCOPE is especially innovative as, unlike other programs, it moves beyond the notion of a transition program to emphasizing that of career development and sector knowledge management.Originality/valueThe research case study approach contributes to a fuller understanding of a very under researched area – first, that of management in the performing arts; and second, in knowledge management within an industry sector.

A Model of Interrelationships Among Individual Level Knowledge Management Success Measures

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. 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 for defining and measuring knowledge management success at the individual level.