Knowledge management for logistics service providers: the role of learning culture
| Date | 11 April 2016 |
| Published date | 11 April 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-06-2015-0262 |
| Pages | 584-602 |
| Author | Andrew L. Cooper,Joseph R Huscroft,Robert E. Overstreet,Benjamin T Hazen |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Knowledge management for
logistics service providers: the
role of learning culture
Andrew L. Cooper, Joseph R. Huscroft and Robert E. Overstreet
Operational Sciences Department, Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton,
Ohio, USA, and
Benjamin T. Hazen
Marketing and Supply Chain Management Department,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Knowledge management capabilities have proven to be key success factors for
organizations within our increasingly information-based economy. Although knowledge management
literature has a rich history, less is known about how an organization’s learning culture affects
outcomes realized via knowledge management initiatives. Moreover, there is a dearth of understanding
regarding how to successfully operationalize knowledge management activities in order to achieve
performance in the dynamic logistics and supply chain management environment. Rooted in
competence-based theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role that learning culture plays
with regard to knowledge management capabilities, human capital, and organizational performance at
logistics service providers.
Design/methodology/approach –This study uses survey data from 448 managers and covariance
based structural equation modeling to assess how knowledge management, learning culture, and
human capital influence organizational performance.
Findings –The results of this study indicate that knowledge management has a significant positive
relationship with learning culture and human capital. There was also an indirect effect of knowledge
management through learning culture on human capital and organizational performance.
Interestingly, human capital did not have a significant relationship with organizational performance
as hypothesized.
Practical implications –The results support the vital role that leaders and managers have in
creating a culture that is conducive to the success of knowledge management initiatives.
Originality/value –This study goes beyond the simple direct relationship between knowledge
management and personal and organizational outcomes that is usually examined by testing learning
culture as an important mediator.
Keywords Human capital, Knowledge management, Structural equation modelling,
Learning culture
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
An organization’s collective knowledge and competences have become critical assets in
improving organizational performance, increasing profitability, and ultimately creating
and maintaining a competitive advantage; however, the process by which knowledge
management affects organizational performance is not clear (Moustaghfir and
Schiuma, 2013). This uncertainty fuels the struggle of top managers in the public
and private sector when deciding how to best allocate limited resources. For continued
support and investment, knowledge management initiatives must demonstrate value to
stakeholders (Wong, 2005). To this end, research has shown that organizational
learning culture, a specific type of organizational culture that integrates organizational
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 116 No. 3, 2016
pp. 584-602
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-06-2015-0262
Received 30 June 2015
Revised 10 September 2015
2 October 2015
Accepted 8 October 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
584
IMDS
116,3
learning, is a critical success factor in knowledge management success (Bates and
Khasawneh, 2005; Ho et al., 2014; Pantouvakis and Bouranta, 2013; Zheng et al., 2010).
However, there is a dearth of research regarding how learning culture can aid
knowledge management efforts in obtaining organizational outcomes.
There is also a scant understanding regarding how knowledge management
activities support outcomes in the military logistics and supply chain management
environment. As noted by Ariely (2011), military knowledge management is a ma jor
resource at all levels and, accordingly, must be effectively implemented and managed
as a critical war fighting skill that could very well mean the difference between victory
and defeat. Military logisticians require knowledge management practices that aid
them in their learning and synthesis of information so as to make sound decisions, all
the while understanding the ramifications of those decisions on the entire enterprise
(Cherry, 2014).
Top military leaders understand the complexities of military logistics with regard to
knowledge management and human capital development. In 2008, the Department of
Defense Logistics Human Capital Strategy was released. This strategy recognizes the
need for logistics human capital to be aligned across the entire enterprise to include
new business rules, emerging enterprise management systems, and strategic goals
(Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2008).
However, there is a need to better understand how to successfully operationalize
knowledge management activities in order to achieve this objective. Therefore, this
research effort is focussed on the effect that learning culture, as indicated by top
military leader involvement, plays when logistics service providers seek to realize
increased performance and develop human capital via knowledge management efforts .
Prior research has often focussed on the main effect of knowledge management on
organizational performance, leaving little room for the larger understanding of how
other constructs may affect that relationship (Mills and Smith, 2011). This study
addresses this gap by developing and testing an integrated model that considers
learning culture as an important mediator of knowledge management outcomes.
In order to more fully understand the proposed model and underlying relationships,
a multi-theoretical approach is employed. The competence-based view of the firm is
adopted as the overarching theoretical lens, because it informs our understanding of
how a combination of assets, competences, and skills may represent a competitive
advantage for an organization. Additionally, in an effort to fully explore individual
relationships between the constructs, we also incorporate the knowledge-based view of
the firm and dynamic capability theory. In the following section, we provide a deeper
background on competence-based theory, and follow with the development of specific
hypotheses in Section 3.
2. Theory background
Competence-based theory suggests that an organization’s resources and capabilities
are what differentiate it from its rivals (Freiling, 2004; Freiling et al., 2008). Further,
organizations with resources and capabilities that are shown to be valuable, scarce,
superior, and complementarity may gain a marketplace advantage (Amit and
Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Collis and Montgomery, 2008; Hoopes et al., 2003;
Newbert, 2008). Therefore, the competence-based view of the firm focusses on the
ability of an organization to sustain the coordinated deployment of assets, capabilities,
and skills in ways to help it achieve a competitive advantage. This suggests that
organizations seeking improved performance must recognize and capture the dynamic,
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