Use Of Knowledge Management Systems Research Articles

The Effect of Organisational Culture on KMSs Usage, Knowledge Sharing & Organisational Effectiveness

This paper examines organisational culture as an antecedent of knowledge management systems (KMSs) usage and knowledge sharing, which in turn affects organisational effectiveness in the context of multinational corporations (MNCs). It demonstrates how organisational culture affects perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of KMSs that in turn influences knowledge sharing, which is hypothesised as the driver of organisational effectiveness in our conceptual model. The data were collected from a sample of 221 respondents via online questionnaire and analysed through employing PLS-SEM. The empirical results show that organisational culture positively affects the participants’ perceptions regarding the ease of use and particularly the usefulness of using KMSs. Furthermore, KMSs usage fosters knowledge sharing, and in turn organisational effectiveness. The findings extend existing knowledge through introducing organisational culture as an important determinant of KMSs usage, knowledge sharing and hence organisational effectiveness.

A framework to analyze knowledge management system adoption through the lens of organizational culture

AbstractAlthough, the knowledge management (KM)-culture research has helped to validate the importance of cultural values for companies' KM initiatives and provided insights into some important values, it still lacks frameworks and analysis outlining how specific types of cultural values might relate to Knowledge Management system (KMS) adoption and subsequent outcomes. In this paper, we provide a three-dimensional framework to help managers articulate how culture affects their unit's ability to create, transfer, and apply knowledge through KMS use. To illustrate the application of the framework, we also present an exploratory case study we have performed in an international organization in the area of development assistance and capacity development.

Knowledge management practicesin oil companies

The purpose of the study.In the economy of the 21st century, knowledge is the main source of obtaining sustainable competitive advantages of enterprises, and knowledge management (KM) is the main mechanism for ensuring and maintaining it. People and knowledge they possess, know-how, ability to innovate, trust relationships with customers and partners, and other intangible assets are becoming the most important sources of development for an organization. KM is traditionally carried out with the help of the following components: information technology, organizational processes and structures, corporate culture and people. In addition, there are complex tools of KM, which usually combine several KM components: a library of documents (knowledge base, corporate memory), communities of practice, lessons learned, etc. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the application of KM practices in companies in the oil industry of the Russian Federation.Materials and methods.This article used the analysis of secondary data sources, and also reviewed in detail two cases, describing KM in the activities of oil companies in Russia. In order to understand at what stage is the development of the knowledge management system (KMS) in oil companies of Russia it’s necessary to compare the use of KM tools in foreign and domestic practice, this paper is based on information, provided in open sources. Observations are formed and the most prominent examples of the use of KM tools are indicated.Results.The article provides an overview of KM tools, examples of their use in the oil and gas industries, and also examined the domestic practice of their use, based on cases of Russian oil companies. Examples of the use of KM tools, based on technologies and employees in foreign and Russian oil companies are pre-sented. On the example of cases of two well-known Russian oil companies, the stages of formation and de-velopment of knowledge management system in a company were considered, specific practices of KM, which appeared in companies at the respective stages of KMS development, were presented, as well as fea-tures of KM in each company.Conclusion.For a number of reasons, oil companies are advocates of the proactive use of KM systems. In the course of the analysis, the trends of KM in the oil sector of the Russian economy were identified: com-plexity of use, poor acceptance of innovations, not related to production/technological processes, the begin-ning of the emergence of a policy of active knowledge sharing, a move towards creating a flexible KM sys-tem. This article will draw the attention of Russian managers to the issue of knowledge management and other intangible assets and identify management practices that will help Russian companies to successfully develop and compete, based on their intellectual capital. The article will also be of interest for specialists in knowledge management and practitioners from related fields.

Knowledge content quality, perceived usefulness, KMS use for sharing and retrieval

PurposeFlock leadership theory explores how different collective learning capacities emerge when interacting individuals work through challenges. While research has link other leadership styles with knowledge management systems (KMS), studies examining flock leadership and KMS are largely lacking. This paper aims to investigate the nexus between flock leadership, knowledge content quality, perceived usefulness of KMS, KMS use for sharing and KMS use for retrieval.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data (n = 442) from health-care establishments in Jordan, the authors apply structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe results show the following: flock leadership influences knowledge content quality; knowledge content quality influences perceived usefulness of KMS; perceived usefulness of KMS influences KMS use for sharing and retrieval; and knowledge content quality and perceived usefulness of KMS mediates the link between flock leadership and KMS use for sharing and retrieval.Originality/valueExisting research considered KMS through a narrow lens, without consideration of the social context (collective capacities) that surrounds knowledge workers. This study responds to call for research concerning the motion that says technical and adaptive capacity are the underlying norm that configures flock behaviors. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The impact of knowledge management systems on innovation

PurposeThis paper aims to examine and validate the effect of knowledge management systems (KMS) on innovation.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from 392 employees working in private and public organizations in the state of Kuwait were collected and used to test the proposed research model and hypotheses through structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study finds that system quality, information quality and service quality of KMS have a positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system, and in turn, they have a positive effect on actual use of KMS which leads to net benefit represented in an increased innovation for employees who use the KMS. Employees (users of the system) indicated that the use of the system helped them to improve their work, come up with new ways to conduct work, discover new solutions to solve problems, accomplish more complex tasks in less time and communicate in a better way with other employees.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study analyzed the elements of KMS that influence innovation in public and private organizations at the individual level. This should be helpful for the designers of KMS to focus on those success factor elements when building KMS, which should make it easy for individuals to acquire knowledge, use it, share it and thus become more innovative and successful in the work they do and the decisions they make. The study also shows a positive relationship between usefulness, ease of use and attitude toward using KMS. Developers of KMS should also take these guidelines in consideration when designing a responsive KMS.Originality/valueBoth knowledge and innovation are considered as crucial sources for sustaining the competitive advantage for organizations. However, despite this, knowledge management (KM) and innovation have established themselves as separate fields and distinct areas of research. However, although KM has a strong relationship with innovation, it is unclear if the research literature in these two fields converge. There is a lack of research studies that deal with interrelation of KM and innovation in organizations. This study is among the first to attempt to fill this gap by empirically investigating the effect of KMS on innovation in both private and public organizations in the state of Kuwait.

TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION: DEVELOPMENT OF Q-EDGE KMS MODEL

Quality management system (QMS) and knowledge management system (KMS) are two management discipline that are widely used in organizations. The implementation and adoption of QMS is a continuous effort that helps organizations to improve their quality and performance. If adoption of QMS to improve organization’s quality, the purpose of KMS implementation in organization on the other hand as a platform and tools to support the management of knowledge activities. In view of the massive activities of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and repository of knowledge within higher education institution (HEI), the use of KMS will provide greater benefits to stakeholders within HEIs. Past studies have shown that both management disciplines (QMS and KMS) have positive impact towards organizations in term of costs reduction, work performance and business continuity. HEI are also facing with challenges and obstacles because of the growing demand like any other organization. Some of the major challenges faced by HEI such as rising costs of tuition fees, growing number of competition among colleges and universities and introduction of new learning methods and technologies. The purpose of this study is to conceptually explore and identify the needs and potential integration between QMS and KMS within HEI. Based on the discussion and findings, this research provides future direction for more research on two-management disciplines.

Knowledge Management Systems in the Polish Private, State and Foreign Owned Companies

The importance of knowledge management for enterprises increased significantly in the recent years. In this paper one element of knowledge management will be considered, namely knowledge management systems (KMS). The main purpose of this paper is to compare the level of use of KMS between Polish private and state owned companies as well as foreign owned enterprises of different size. To measure intensity of use of particular KMS technologies research questionnaire has been created. The sample was selected from Kompass Poland database and more than 1200 questionnaires have been collected. Statistical analysis of differences between target sections was conducted by Mann-Whitney U test. Overall analysis of results showed that foreign owned companies feature greater intensity of use of KMS functions than Polish state owned and private owned enterprises. Detailed results indicated that small and medium Polish private companies utilize discussed systems to a far lesser extent. Nevertheless, large private companies feature higher intensity of use of 4 out of 5 examined KMS than large state owned enterprises.

Knowledge management system use and job performance

This paper seeks to develop a better understanding of job performance in the context of a knowledge management system (KMS) implementation. This work adopts the context theorizing approach that inf...

Towards a New Framework Linking Knowledge Management Systems and Organizational Agility : An Empirical Study

The amount of data has exploded over the last ten years. Data is captured and shared from personal devices, transactional operations, sensors, social media and other sources. Firms should, thus, be able to explore the new opportunities and rapidly seize them by developing the corresponding capabilities. In our work, we focus on two emerging dynamic capabilities: Absorptive capacity and organizational agility. We propose a new theoretical Framework based on the previous literature linking the use of knowledge management systems and organizational agility by highlighting the mediating role of absorptive capacity. In addition, we carried out an empirical study based on a survey to support and validate the proposed Framework. The main findings of this study are presented.

The Role of Habit-Technology Fit on Employees’ Acceptance of Knowledge Management in Bangladesh

Achievement of KMS practice in a country can be determined by employee's acceptance of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) though exiting literature on the field of a knowledge management system has concentrated on various practices and implementation issues of the system in an organization. There is still a lack of a comprehensive review for the critical factors that influences on KMS adoption by the employee. This paper tries to identify the factors that lead to the acceptance of knowledge management systems by extended UTAUT model. The proposed research model is tested based on the data collected from 250 respondents through partial least square (PLS) method. The research findings showed that performance expectancy and effort expectancy have significant influence on behaviour intention except social influence. The empirical study also revealed that behavioural intention's key determined employees' use of KMS but facilitating condition does not determine employees' use of KMS. Moreover, the results confirm the importance of habit-technology fit on usage's behaviour of KMS. The findings of this study will enrich the KMS adoption literature and will also help Bangladeshi organization policy maker to take proper initiative to put emphasis on this specific area to motivate the Bangladeshi employee to adopt more KMS. As a result, employees can use KMS frequently.

The importance of knowledge management systems for service industry companies operating locally and internationally

This article aims to analyze the role of knowledge management systems (KMS) in knowledge processes taking place in particular types of service industry companies operating in Poland and checks the importance of these tools for such firms’ competitiveness in the current globalized world. This study distinguishes among companies that operate only locally (in Poland), and those that are on particular levels of internationalization process. This article is based on quantitative research in which 381 service industry firms were examined. The analysis show relatively large differences in the intensity of KMS usage among particular groups of service industry companies. These tools are especially intensively used by information technology (IT) and telecommunication as well as transport companies, and, in turn, less intensively by real estate as well as hotel and restaurant enterprises. Analysis has also shown that intensity of KMS usage among firms on any level of internationalization is considerably higher than among those operating locally. However, the most important finding is that intensive use of KMS in service companies is associated with being more competitive than those using KMS less intensely, and this difference is statistically significant.

A psychological empowerment approach to online knowledge sharing

The success of a knowledge management system (KMS) depends on knowledge sharing. Previous research has claimed that motivational factors can facilitate successful knowledge sharing as a proactive behavior. However, little research has examined what motivators lead to proactive knowledge sharing. By integrating a psychological empowerment perspective with job characteristics theory, this study examines the role of KMS user empowerment, as a specific type of psychological empowerment, in motivating this proactivity to explain employee knowledge-sharing behavior (i.e., contribution and seeking). The findings explain that KMS user empowerment is significantly associated with knowledge sharing, and the work environment (job significance, job autonomy, ease of KMS use, and KMS usefulness) enhances KMS user empowerment. This study contributes to KM research by introducing the concept of KMS user empowerment and demonstrating its role in regulating the proactive knowledge sharing. It also helps managers to promote knowledge sharing among employees in the context of KMS use.

A Nomological Network of Knowledge Management System Use: Antecedents and Consequences

A key objective of knowledge management system (KMS) implementations is to facilitate job outcomes, such as job performance and job satisfaction. Prior KMS research indicates many KMS implementations have failed to achieve their intended job outcomes, su

Knowledge Management System Use and Job Performance: A Multilevel Contingency Model

This paper seeks to develop a better understanding of job performance in the context of a knowledge management system (KMS) implementation. This work adopts the context theorizing approach that informs the conceptualization of KMS use and identification of contingency factors. Specifically, the literature on rich system use is adapted to develop the construct in the context of a KMS. The literature related to task, system, user, and leadership is also drawn upon to identify four contingency factors—task nonroutineness, perceived support for contextualization, absorptive capacity, and transformational leadership—that affect the KMS use and job performance relationship. The paper argues that rich use of a KMS positively affects job performance and the four contingency factors moderate this relationship. A mixed methods approach that includes a quantitative study (n = 1,441) among knowledge workers in seven business units of a large organization in the finance industry was used to validate the theoretical model. A follow-up qualitative study (n = 48) was conducted in one business unit to cross-validate the findings and explain unsupported findings. Data were collected from multiple sources (i.e., surveys, interviews, and system archives). The results largely supported the model. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Towards a New Framework Linking Knowledge Management Systems and Organizational Agility : An Empirical Study

The amount of data has exploded over the last ten years. Data is captured and shared from personal devices, transactional operations, sensors, social media and other sources. Firms should, thus, be able to explore the new opportunities and rapidly seize them by developing the corresponding capabilities. In our work, we focus on two emerging dynamic capabilities: Absorptive capacity and organizational agility. We propose a new theoretical Framework based on the previous literature linking the use of knowledge management systems and organizational agility by highlighting the mediating role of absorptive capacity. In addition, we carried out an empirical study based on a survey to support and validate the proposed Framework. The main findings of this study are presented.

Using knowledge management systems: A taxonomy of SME strategies

The paper aims to highlight the degree of diffusion and the intensity of use of knowledge management systems (KMSs) among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to propose a taxonomy that synthesises the strategies of using KMSs on the part of SMEs. Starting from a literature review on KMSs used by SMEs and from a focus group with consultants/researchers operating in the field of information technology in SMEs, an empirical investigation was designed, developed and conducted through semi-structured interviews involving 61 selected SMEs operating in high tech industries. The paper highlights three main issues regarding the use of KMSs. Firstly, SMEs adopt and use more intensively traditional tools (KM-Tools) rather than new and more updated ones that are generally cheaper and easier to use. Secondly, SMEs adopt and make more intensive use of practices (KM-Practices) that do not exclusively focus on the knowledge management process, but seek to adapt practices they already know to the requirements of knowledge management. Finally, the paper points out that there is a relationship of reciprocity between KM-Tools and KM-Practices: one reinforces the other and vice versa. The paper proposes a taxonomy bringing together SME strategies for using KMSs. Specifically, four strategies are identified: guidepost, explorer, exploiter, and latecomer.

When Does Repository KMS Use Lift Performance? The Role of Alternative Knowledge Sources and Task Environments

Despite a general consensus that use of information technology (IT) is an important link between IT investments and performance, the extant literature provides only a limited explanation as to when the use of IT lifts performance. We posit that the impact of knowledge management systems (KMS) usage is contingent on users' alternative sources of knowledge as well as their specific task environments. We investigate under what conditions repository KMS use leads to higher performance outcomes in a retail grocery context. We use a unique longitudinal dataset composed of objective measures of KMS use and sales performance of 273 managers over 146 weeks collected from a retail grocery chain. We obtain two main results. First, we find a diminishing impact of KMS use for managers who also use other sources of codified knowledge, namely physical or computerized alternative knowledge sources, whereas a complementary relationship seems to exist between KMS use and social sources of knowledge. Second, KMS use produces higher benefits for managers whose task environments require a greater volume of information and knowledge, but smaller benefits for those managers whose task environments demand rapidly changing information and knowledge. Our work contributes to both the IT business value and the KM literature by studying the contingent impact of IT usage while broadening the theoretical scope of the situated knowledge performance framework with a critical empirical test based on fine-grained objective and longitudinal data.

Modelling knowledge transfer: A knowledge dynamics perspective

The increasing complexity in design activities leads designers to collaborate and share knowledge within distributed teams. This makes designers use systems such as knowledge management systems to reach their goal. In this article, our aim is to investigate on improving the use of knowledge management systems by defining a framework for modelling knowledge transfer in such context. The proposed framework is partly based on reuse of existing models found in the literature and on a participant observation methodology. Then, we tested this framework through several case studies presented in this article. These investigations enable us to observe, define and model more finely the knowledge dynamics that occur between knowledge workers and knowledge management systems.

Leadership Social Power as a Component of KMS Success

This study investigated the relationships between a leader's of Leadership Social Power (LSP) profile and Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). Previous research has established that KMS success is positively impacted by leadership commitment to KMS, knowledge quality, and knowledge use. Yet how little we know about the constructs of leadership that may impact KM. The goals of this research focused on discovering how the manner in which leaders exert power – their LSP profile – influenced each of these KM success factors. This research was able to empirically demonstrate that LSP is a factor of that success and was able to effectively predict Leadership Commitment to KMS, Knowledge Content Quality, and Knowledge Use based upon predominate manner of Leadership Social Power used by the KM leaders.

Analyzing ICT Issues in Humanitarian Supply Chain Management: A SAP-LAP Linkages Framework

This study sets out to highlight the importance of information and communications technology (ICT) in the humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM) and to understand the present status of use of ICT in the HSCM in India. The study develops a situation-actors-process, learning-action-performance (SAP-LAP) linkages framework in order to analyse various learning issues related to enhancing the use of ICT in HSCM, particularly in the Indian context. The developed framework considers the inter-relationships amongst all elements of different components of the SAP-LAP framework by developing assessment, self-interaction and cross interaction matrices. The results suggest that strategic and proactive planning is essential in enhancing the use of ICT in HSCM. This may motivate the actors to introduce education or training programs to increase awareness around the importance of ICT in HSCM. These results also support the view that the role of government is crucial in enhancing the use of ICT in HSCM. An effective, transparent workflow policy, allied with the use of knowledge management system and donor commitment, would maximise the benefits of ICT and would further enhance the performance of the HSCM. This study is a pioneering attempt, containing a qualitative research foundation and reflective observation analysis, to assess various strategic issues used to enhance the use of ICT in HSCM in order to improve the efficiency of relief operations.