The implication of knowledge management practices for organisational performance

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the awareness of knowledge management in organisations. The research seeks to identify the importance that organisations give to knowledge management practices and to highlight the benefits derived from adopting knowledge management. Furthermore, this research aims at discovering whether organisations make effective use of knowledge management for enhancing organisational performance. The awareness and use of talent management in relation to knowledge management is also explored. This research is exploratory and adopts a phenomenological stance, to gain new insights on the phenomena being studied. Qualitative research was the most suitable research method for the purpose of this study, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with middle and top management of Maltese organisations active in the service industry. The findings show that organisations are aware of knowledge management and its benefits, together with its importance for organisational performance. Knowledge management is adopted by all the participants’ organisations and is considered essential for growth and survival, for boosting operational processes, for enhancing organisational performance and for achieving competitive advantage. However, organisations can make more effective use of knowledge management and talent management. Furthermore, knowledge on both practices can substantially improve. In this respect, recommendations include investing in information technology and improving knowledge management practices. External sources of knowledge can be used more effectively. Most importantly, it is recommended that organisations need to engage more in both knowledge management and talent management learning, to enhance their employees’ knowledge on such practices and be able to benefit more from such practices.