Knowledge Management Process and Organizational Performance in SMEs

The benefits of knowledge management are recognized mainly for the large organization. Small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs can also achieve the real benefits of KM. This paper investigates the relationship between the KM process and the organizational performance of SMEs. The objective of this paper is to assess the KM process and its relationship to different components of organizational performance in small and medium enterprise application service providers in Thailand. A survey approach was used with a sample of 81 respondents. The results show that knowledge organization, and retention and knowledge utilization improve individual performance, product performance, and overall organizational performance. Only knowledge organization and retention increases process performance. Knowledge dissemination influences customer satisfaction and reputation and cost reduction. These results demonstrate the benefits of the KM practices on the organizational performance in SMEs.

[1]  Stephen McLaughlin.  Improving Supply Chain Performance through the Implementation of Process Related Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms , 2009, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[2]  Gilbert Probst,et al.  Managing Knowledge: Building Blocks for Success , 1999 .

[3]  Murray E. Jennex,et al.  Using Knowledge Management to Create Self-Reliant Communities in Thailand , 2010, HICSS.

[4]  Ravi Shankar,et al.  Survey of knowledge management practices in Indian manufacturing industries , 2006, J. Knowl. Manag..

[5]  Murray E. Jennex,et al.  Towards Measuring Knowledge Management Success , 2008, Proceedings of the 41st Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2008).

[6]  Naomi J. Brookes,et al.  Knowledge management benchmarks for project management , 2004, J. Knowl. Manag..

[7]  Mohd Syazwan Abdullah,et al.  Ontology-Based Applications for Enterprise Systems and Knowledge Management , 2012 .

[8]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Knowledge Creating Company , 2008 .

[9]  Uday R. Kulkarni,et al.  A Knowledge Management Success Model: Theoretical Development and Empirical Validation , 2006, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[10]  M. Gordon,et al.  PUBLICATION RECORDS AND TENURE DECISIONS IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1996 .

[11]  J. Liebowitz,et al.  Knowledge Organizations: What Every Manager Should Know , 1998 .

[12]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  A Model of Knowledge Management Success , 2006, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[13]  Selim Zaim,et al.  Performance of knowledge management practices: a causal analysis , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[14]  Torgeir Dingsøyr,et al.  An empirical study of an informal knowledge repository in a medium-sized software consulting company , 2003, 25th International Conference on Software Engineering, 2003. Proceedings..

[15]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  Organizational Memory , 1998, Proceedings of the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[16]  Adrian Demaid,et al.  Trans-organizational innovation: a framework for research , 1997 .

[17]  Kimiz Dalkir,et al.  Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice , 2005 .

[18]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  The critical success factors for ERP implementation: an organizational fit perspective , 2002, Inf. Manag..

[19]  Smiti Gandhi,et al.  Knowledge management and reference services , 2004 .

[20]  Elaine Aspinwall,et al.  An empirical study of the important factors for knowledge-management adoption in the SME sector , 2005, J. Knowl. Manag..

[21]  Eric Scherer.  The knowledge network: knowledge generation during implementation of application software packages , 2000 .

[22]  Tim Morris,et al.  Organisation and expertise: An exploration of knowledge bases and the management of accounting , 1998 .

[23]  S. Huin.  Managing deployment of ERP systems in SMEs using multi-agents , 2004 .

[24]  Vincent M. Ribière,et al.  An insight into knowledge management practices at Bangkok University , 2009, J. Knowl. Manag..

[25]  William J. Doll,et al.  A Model of Interrelationships Among Individual Level Knowledge Management Success Measures , 2009, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[26]  M. Hammer,et al.  How process enterprises really work. , 1999, Harvard business review.

[27]  Matti Vartiainen,et al.  Managing knowledge and knowledge competences in projects and project organisations , 2003 .

[28]  M. Lynne Markus,et al.  Toward A Theory of Knowledge Reuse : Types of Knowledge Reuse Situations and Factors in Reuse Success , 2022 .

[29]  Georg Disterer.  Management of project knowledge and experiences , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[30]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues , 2001, MIS Q..

[31]  Fenio Annansingh,et al.  Knowledge management issues in knowledge-intensive SMEs , 2006, J. Documentation.

[32]  Alan Gillies,et al.  Can Soft Systems Methodology Identify Socio-Technical Barriers to Knowledge Sharing and Management?: A Case Study from the UK National Health Service , 2008, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[33]  Alan Eardley,et al.  Innovative Knowledge Management: Concepts for Organizational Creativity and Collaborative Design , 2010 .

[34]  Robert M. Colomb.  Representation of Action is a Primary Requirement in Ontologies for Interoperating Information Systems , 2013 .

[35]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  Assessing Knowledge Management Success , 2005, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[36]  Michael Armstrong,et al.  Performance Management: Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines , 2000 .

[37]  Vincent Ribière,et al.  Critical attributes of organizational culture that promote knowledge management technology implementation success , 2004, J. Knowl. Manag..

[38]  Miklos Sarvary,et al.  Leveraging the Customer Base: Creating Competitive Advantage Through Knowledge Management , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[39]  William J. Doll,et al.  Research Report - A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the User Information Satisfaction Instrument , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[40]  Thomas Kalling,et al.  Knowledge management and the occasional links with performance , 2003, J. Knowl. Manag..

[41]  Timo Saarinen,et al.  An expanded instrument for evaluating information system success , 1996, Inf. Manag..

[42]  Uday R. Kulkarni,et al.  Knowledge Management Capability Assessment: Validating a Knowledge Assets Measurement Instrument , 2005, Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[43]  Dermawan Wibisono,et al.  A hybrid knowledge-based performance measurement system , 2008, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[44]  Abdus Sattar Chaudhry.  What difference does it make: measuring returns of knowledge management , 2003 .

[45]  Sari Salojärvi,et al.  Knowledge management and growth in Finnish SMEs , 2005, J. Knowl. Manag..

[46]  Murray E. Jennex,et al.  Knowledge Management/Organizational Memory Success and Performance Measurements , 2007, 2007 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'07).

[47]  Murray E. Jennex,et al.  The Relevance of Integration for Knowledge Management Success: Conceptual and Empirical Findings , 2009 .

[48]  Maria Mårtensson,et al.  A critical review of knowledge management as a management tool , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[49]  Rodney McAdam,et al.  SME and large organisation perceptions of knowledge management: comparisons and contrasts , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[50]  N. Bontis,et al.  Intellectual capital and business performance in Malaysian industries , 2000 .

[51]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  Knowledge strategy planning: methodology and case , 2003, Expert Syst. Appl..

[52]  C. Anumba,et al.  A CLEVER approach to selecting a knowledge management strategy , 2002 .

[53]  Elena Revilla,et al.  Learning capability and business performance: a non‐financial and financial assessment , 2006 .

[54]  V. Ribière,et al.  The relationship between improving the management of projects and the use of KM , 2008 .

[55]  Boonchom Srisa-ard,et al.  Developing a Knowledge Management Model for Self-reliant Communities , 2008 .

[56]  David J. Skyrme,et al.  The Knowledge Agenda , 1997, J. Knowl. Manag..

[57]  Kun Chang Lee,et al.  KMPI: measuring knowledge management performance , 2005, Inf. Manag..

[58]  OfekElie,et al.  Leveraging the Customer Base , 2001 .

[59]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  The Need for an Organizational Knowledge Management Strategy , 2003 .

[60]  Seokwoo Song,et al.  Work Unit's Knowledge Processing Style: An Empirical Examination of its Determinants , 2008, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[61]  Amrit Tiwana,et al.  An empirical study of the effect of knowledge integration on software development performance , 2004, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[62]  Heeseok Lee,et al.  An empirical investigation of KM styles and their effect on corporate performance , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[63]  Sarma R. Nidumolu.  The Effect of Coordination and Uncertainty on Software Project Performance: Residual Performance Risk as an Intervening Variable , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[64]  Ángel L. Meroño-Cerdán,et al.  Information technology and learning: Their relationship and impact on organisational performance in small businesses , 2006, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[65]  Murray E. Jennex,et al.  Towards a consensus knowledge management success definition , 2009 .

[66]  Wenpin Tsai.  Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance , 2001 .

[67]  Jina Kang,et al.  Testing impact of knowledge characteristics and relationship ties on project performance , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[68]  Einar Marnburg,et al.  Exploring Qualitative Differences in Knowledge Sources: A Study of Hierarchical Effects of Judgmental Confidence and Accuracy Performance , 2009, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[69]  Rafael E. Landaeta,et al.  Evaluating Benefits and Challenges of Knowledge Transfer Across Projects , 2008 .

[70]  Patrick Onions,et al.  Knowledge Management Governance , 2006 .

[71]  Sally K. Widener,et al.  Associations between strategic resource importance and performance measure use: The impact on firm performance , 2006 .

[72]  Elaine Aspinwall,et al.  Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment , 2004, J. Knowl. Manag..

[73]  Carys Siemieniuch,et al.  Organizational aspects of knowledge lifecycle management in manufacturing , 1999, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[74]  Murray E. Jennex.  Knowledge Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications , 2007 .

[75]  Vtt Publications,et al.  Knowledge Management Process Model , 2001 .

[76]  W. Currie.  A knowledge-based risk assessment framework for evaluating web-enabled application outsourcing projects , 2003 .

[77]  Uday R. Kulkarni,et al.  Knowledge management capability: defining knowledge assets , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[78]  Omar E. M. Khalil,et al.  Knowledge Management and organizational Performance in the Egyptian software Firms , 2007, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[79]  Jan Riezebos,et al.  Exploring the knowledge inventory in project-based organisations: a case study , 2005 .

[80]  P. Gamble,et al.  Knowledge Management: A State-of-the-Art Guide , 2002 .

[81]  Karl-Erik Sveiby.  A KNOWLEDGE-BASED THEORY OF THE FIRM TO GUIDE IN STRATEGY FORMULATION , 2001 .

[82]  Kai Mertins,et al.  Knowledge management : concepts and best practices , 2003 .

[83]  Jane E. Klobas,et al.  Knowledge management in small enterprises , 2000, Electron. Libr..

[84]  Kaweevisultrakul Tanin,et al.  IMPACT OF CULTURAL BARRIERS ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION: EVIDENCE FROM THAILAND , 2007 .

[85]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[86]  Roelof P. uit Beijerse.  Knowledge management in small and medium-sized companies: knowledge management for entrepreneurs , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[87]  Kevin C. Desouza,et al.  Knowledge management at SMEs: five peculiarities , 2006, J. Knowl. Manag..

[88]  S. Renukappa,et al.  Knowledge management for sustainable competitiveness in small and medium surveying practices , 2005 .

[89]  Mark Keil,et al.  Understanding software project risk: a cluster analysis , 2004, Inf. Manag..

[90]  David Mason,et al.  Knowledge Management: Current Issues and Challenges , 2004 .

[91]  Jenny Darroch,et al.  Knowledge management, innovation and firm performance , 2005, J. Knowl. Manag..

[92]  Marianne Bradford,et al.  Examining the role of innovation diffusion factors on the implementation success of enterprise resource planning systems , 2003, Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst..

[93]  Helen Hasan,et al.  Management styles and performance: a knowledge space framework , 2003, J. Knowl. Manag..

[94]  Thomas H. Davenport,et al.  Book review:Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak. Harvard Business School Press, 1998. $29.95US. ISBN 0‐87584‐655‐6 , 1998 .

[95]  Uday R. Kulkarni,et al.  Development and Validation of a Knowledge Management Capability Assessment Model , 2004, ICIS.

[96]  P. Buckley,et al.  Knowledge Management in Global Technology Markets , 2000 .