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Organizational factors to support knowledge management and innovation

Mario Javier Donate (Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Ronda de Toledo, Spain)
Fátima Guadamillas (Professor of Business Administration at the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Toledo, Spain)

Journal of Knowledge Management

ISSN: 1367-3270

Article publication date: 25 October 2011

10665

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how organizational factors such as cultural values, leadership and human resource (HR) practices influence knowledge exploration and exploitation practices and innovation via an empirical study.

Design/methodology/approach

From the knowledge‐based view of the firm, six hypotheses were established and statistically tested in a sample of 111 Spanish companies belonging to innovative industries. Survey methodology was used with the aim of gathering data regarding knowledge management (KM) practices and certain, related organizational aspects in firms.

Findings

This paper provides evidence of a moderating effect of knowledge‐centered culture, knowledge‐oriented leadership and knowledge‐centered HR practices in the relationship between knowledge exploration and exploitation practices and innovation outcomes of companies. In line with previous literature, it is suggested that although KM practices are important on their own for innovation purposes, when certain enablers – organizational factors to overcome human barriers to KM – are properly established, the innovation capacity of the firm can be more successfully exploited.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to high rate innovation industries. Future studies will include other industries and a more diverse sample of firms.

Practical implications

The results of this study suggest that managers should place attention on knowledge exploration and exploitation practices along with several organizational enablers in order to achieve high levels of innovation results for the company.

Originality/value

This paper provides new empirical evidence on the relationships between KM, organizational elements such as culture, leadership, HR practices, and innovation in a large sample of firms. To date, the empirical research of these relations has been mainly limited to descriptive case studies and there is thus a lack of empirical evidence with large samples of firms.

Keywords

Citation

Donate, M.J. and Guadamillas, F. (2011), "Organizational factors to support knowledge management and innovation", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 890-914. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673271111179271

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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