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The purpose of this paper is to investigate KM practices that may be in place in the higher education institutions (HEIs) and whether the KM practices are made known to the employees for improving the teaching and learning environment provided at the Malaysian higher education institutions.

Data were collected using a personal administrated method made available to private higher education institutions academic members in five states with 30 or more employees. A total of 1,100 survey questionnaires were handed out, out of which 273 were collected and were usable (24.8 per cent response rate). The sample was checked for response and non-response bias. Results were tested using SPSS application and questionnaire tools.

It was essential to establish the knowledge management (KM) capacity in key areas such as the ability to recognise experts within the institution, leadership’s innovation, knowledge sharing and knowledge acquiring work culture, and technology usage. KM tools and techniques would help the institutions to meet their competitive goals; therefore, it is vital for HEIs to create KM awareness among the employees.

Similar to most studies, it is anticipated that the participants’ awareness of KM practices at their HEIs is very high. The samples were collected to evaluate the general view of KM awareness and how participants perceived KM practices. The total samples received for this study were expected; however, they were sufficient to study the impact.

This paper provides support for the importance of KM practices and employees awareness at HEIs to enhance innovation and performance teaching and learning environment.

This paper is one of the first papers to find empirical support for the role of KM practices at HEIs. Further, the positioning of KM practices as a competitive tool can be considered as an influential factor to competitive advantage.