Contextual factors affecting knowledge management diffusion in SMEs
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2014-0232 |
| Pages | 1415-1437 |
| Published date | 07 October 2014 |
| Date | 07 October 2014 |
| Author | Hsiu-Fen Lin |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Contextual factors affecting
knowledge management
diffusion in SMEs
Hsiu-Fen Lin
Department of Shipping and Transportation Management,
National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose – Based on the knowledge management (KM) perspective, innovation diffusion theory and
technology-organization-environment framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research
model to investigate the influence of technological (information technology (IT) support and IT
effectiveness), organizational (top management support, sharing culture, and reward system) and
environmental (competitive pressure) contexts on the two-stage KM diffusion (KM adoption and
implementation) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach – Data gathered from 119 SME senior managers (including owner,
vice president, and business manager) in Taiwan were employed to test the relationships between the
research model constructs using the partial least squares approach.
Findings – The results showed that technological, organizational, and environmental factors have
different effects on KM adoption and implementation stages. Specially, IT support has the strongest
effecton KM adoption stage, while sharingculture has the strongest effecton KM implementation stage.
Practical implications – IT support continues to be positively related to the level of KM
implementation after adoption. KM diffusion requires managers to invest time and effort to link
specific IT support and knowledge-based work activities, since effective IT deployment for KM can
help SMEs move toward a knowledge society,whic h is vital in the contemporary knowledge economy.
Originality/value – Theoretically, the findings of this study contribute to empirical research on
contextual factors that influence KM diffusion using a broad data set rather than a few isolated SME
cases. From the managerial perspective, given the importance of KM diffusion in modern SMEs and
also in the future, the findings of this study are designed to enable owner-managers and practitioners
to understand how SMEs KM diffusion is influenced by contextual factors, and how the effects may
vary across different stages.
Keywords Small and medium enterprises, Knowledge management diffusion
Paper type Research p aper
1. Introduction
Since small and medium enterprises (SMEs) generally lack the resources of larger
firms, it is crucial that they for mulate knowledge management (KM) activities
(Cantu et al., 2009; Coyte et al., 2012; Edvardsson and Durst, 2013; McAdam and Reid,
2001). KM activities involve the creation, capturing, sharing, and utilization of
knowledge to enhance the impact of knowledge on the performance of SMEs (Du rst
and Edvardsson, 2012; Soon and Zainol, 2011). To facilitate the participation of SMEs
in knowledge-intensive activities, SMEs will be encouraged to create market value
through knowledge exploitation in novel circumstances via effective management of a
highly qualified workforce (Swart and Kinnie, 2003). In most countries, the majority of
firms are SMEs; they have a critical role in driving economic growth, employment and
wealth creation. For example, in Taiwan, SMEs represent around 97 percent of all
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 114 No.9, 2014
pp. 1415-1437
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-08-2014-0232
The author thanks Mr. Yu-Chi Chen for his great help in this study’s empirical data collection.
1415
Knowledge
management
diffusion in
SMEs
enterprises, contributing up to 60 percent of Taiwan’s gross domestic products,
78 percent of the total employment and 17 percent of the total exports of the country
(Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2011). Henc e, it is vital for the Taiwanese SMEs to
upgrade and transform into knowledge-intensive industries to maintain their
competitiveness and facilitate Taiwan’s continuous growth (Lee et al., 2008).
KM highlights the continuous reconfiguration of firm knowledge-based assets,
and adapts to changing market conditions to achieve organizational renewal and
innovativeness. Thus, KM diffusion is necessary because of environmental changes such
as diversification of KM strategy, increasinglyglobalized competition, limited useful life of
knowledge, and the dynamics of both product and service innovations (Greiner et al.,
2007). In this study, KM diffusion defines as a series of stages from firm initial evaluation
of KM activities, to their formal adoption, and finally to such activities becoming
institutionalized as daily activities throughout the organization. The KM diffusion
literature tends to focus on large firms (Lee and Kim, 2001; Lin, 2007, 2011a; Xu and
Quaddus, 2012). However, fundamental differences between large firms and SMEs mean
that findings of studies on KM in large firms cannot be fully applied to SMEs (Cantu et al.,
2009; McAdam and Reid, 2001; Wong, 2005). Research on KM diffusion in SMEs remains
limited, and more research is needed to better understand this phenomenon (Chan and
Chao,2008;Chonget al., 2014; Durst and Edvardsson, 2012; Massa and Testa, 2011).
The need for SMEs to facilitate KM diffusion originates from several salient
reasons. While SMEs might be constrained by insufficient financial and human
resources, their know-how and knowledge are the most crucial of the resources they
may have or use (DeSouza and Awazu, 2006). Promoting KM diffusion thus is
particularly crucial in SMEs, as knowledge is the most imp ortant resource in such
organizations (Dotsika and Patrick, 2013). Additionally, compared to large enterprises,
SMEs generally have flat and flexible organizational structures, elastic and adaptable
processes, and strong innovation potential (Hudson et al., 2001; Wong and Aspinwall,
2004). These characterist ics endow SMEs with organizational flexibility and
adaptability that is critical to successful KM diffusion (Cantu et al., 2009). Finally,
increasing competitive pressure forces SMEs to rethink their existing competitive
strategies. Indeed, knowledge and its management are considered the most valuable
sources of growth and competitiveness (Salojarvi et al., 2005). Scholars have
emphasized that the advantages of KM to SMEs mostly related to cost reduction,
improved decision making, and increased productivity, market share, innovation, and
profitability (Lee et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2010). Consequently, it is worth examining
key enablers for the stage-based KM diffusion in SMEs.
Previous studies had proposed that two aspects should be considered in examining
KM diffusion in SMEs (Lee et al., 2008; Massa and Testa, 2011; Palacios-Marques et al.,
2015; Wong and Aspinwall, 2005). First, most studies focus on assessing the linkage
between contextual antecedents (such as strategy and leadership, culture, technology,
reward system, and competitive pressure), and a single stage of KM diffusion in SMEs,
such as KM adoption decisions (Fink and Ploder, 2009; Nunes et al., 2006; Wong, 2005),
KM implementation (Alegre et al., 2013; Cantu et al., 2009; Durst and Edvardsson,
2012), and KM effectiveness (Lee et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2010). KM diffusion goes
through a series of stages, starting from the initial evaluation of KM projects by an
SME at the pre-adoption stage, and progressing through the adoption decision, and
finally to formal implementation (post-adoption stage). The literature reviewed by Lee
and Kim (2001) and Lin (2007) also stated that stage-based KM diffusion analysis
would provide insights to help understand KM diffusion over time.
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