Knowledge management in a public organization: a study on the relationship between organizational elements and the performance of knowledge transfer

Relatively little study has been performed on knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the public sector, and even less in the developing countries. This paper investigates the relationship between organizational elements and the performance of knowledge transfer. Five main independent variables were identified – organizational culture, organizational structure, technology, people/human resources and political directives – and these were tested against creation of knowledge assets and knowledge transfer performance using the Spearman rank test. Tacit and explicit knowledge were also tested against knowledge transfer performance. To achieve an in‐depth empirical study, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development of Malaysia was chosen for a case study. The findings are based on replies to a questionnaire survey done from September to December 2001. The results reveal that there are significant relationships between some of the variables and either the creation of knowledge assets or the performance of knowledge transfer. Therefore, it is necessary for organizations to consider some of the elements that show a relationship between the tested variables in implementing a knowledge management strategy in an organization. However, certain variables that did not show any relationship should not be ignored totally, as they are still very important for some organizations.

[1]  Karl M. Wiig,et al.  Knowledge management in public administration , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[2]  Jan Streumer,et al.  Problems in Knowledge Management: A Case Study of a Knowledge-Intensive Company , 2001 .

[3]  L. Argote,et al.  KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: A BASIS FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN FIRMS , 2000 .

[4]  Jay Liebowitz,et al.  Knowledge Sharing Proficiencies: The Key to Knowledge Management , 2004 .

[5]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  Chapter 1 – A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation1 , 2000 .

[6]  Swee C. Goh,et al.  Managing effective knowledge transfer: an integrative framework and some practice implications , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[7]  Elaine K. Bailey,et al.  The value of knowledge and the values of the new knowledge worker: generation X in the new economy , 2002 .

[8]  L. Cohen,et al.  Research Methods in Education , 1980 .

[9]  Elizabeth A. Smith.  The role of tacit and explicit knowledge in the workplace , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[10]  Syed Omar Sharifuddin Syed-Ikhsan,et al.  Benchmarking knowledge management in a public organisation in Malaysia , 2004 .

[11]  William David Salisbury,et al.  Understanding the influence of organizational change strategies on information technology and knowledge management strategies , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

[12]  B. Rubenstein-Montano,et al.  A systems thinking framework for knowledge management , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

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

[14]  Dick Stenmark,et al.  Leveraging Tacit Organizational Knowledge , 2000, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[15]  Carl J. Dahlman,et al.  World development report 1998/1999 : knowledge for development , 1998 .

[16]  Silke Bender,et al.  The transfer of knowledge and the retention of expertise: the continuing need for global assignments , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[17]  Linda Levine,et al.  Integrating Knowledge and Processes in A Learning Organization , 2001, Inf. Syst. Manag..

[18]  Jeanne G. Harris,et al.  Knowledge Management Strategies That Create Value , 2001 .

[19]  M. Zairi,et al.  Building benchmarking competence through knowledge management capability ‐ An empirical study of the Kuwaiti context , 2001 .

[20]  Jürgen Kluge,et al.  Knowledge Unplugged: The McKinsey and Company Global Survey on Knowledge Management , 2001 .

[21]  Nancy M. Carlson,et al.  Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know , 2001 .

[22]  Golaleh Ebrahimpur,et al.  Experience vs expertise , 2001 .

[23]  Lisa Bradley,et al.  ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR , 2001 .

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

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

[26]  Jae-Nam Lee,et al.  The impact of knowledge sharing, organizational capability and partnership quality on IS outsourcing success , 2001, Inf. Manag..

[27]  D. Teece.  Strategies for Managing Knowledge Assets: the Role of Firm Structure and Industrial Context , 2000 .

[28]  L. Argote.  Group and organizational learning curves: Individual, system and environmental components , 1993 .

[29]  Thomas Clarke.  The knowledge economy , 2001 .

[30]  Pervaiz K. Ahmed,et al.  Learning Through Knowledge Management , 2001 .

[31]  Bodo B. Schlegelmilch,et al.  Taking the Fear out of Data Analysis , 1998, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[32]  D. Stenmark.  Leveraging Tacit Organisational Knowledge , 2001 .

[33]  W. Powell,et al.  The Knowledge Economy , 2004 .

[34]  Karlheinz Kautz,et al.  Knowledge, learning and IT support in a small software company , 2001, ECIS.

[35]  Linda Levine,et al.  INTEGRATING AND PROCESSES IN A LEARNING , 2001 .

[36]  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 .

[37]  Edward Major,et al.  Knowledge translation: a new perspective on knowledge transfer and foresight , 2000 .

[38]  I. Nonaka.  A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation , 1994 .

[39]  Linda Stoddart,et al.  Managing intranets to encourage knowledge sharing: opportunities and constraints , 2001, Online Inf. Rev..

[40]  Annette L. Ranft,et al.  Organizational Learning About New International Markets: Exploring the Internal Transfer of Local Market Knowledge , 2000 .

[41]  Carla O'Dell,et al.  Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing knowledge , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..