The impact of knowledge management systems on innovation. An empirical investigation in Kuwait
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-12-2017-0089 |
| Date | 13 August 2018 |
| Pages | 388-403 |
| Published date | 13 August 2018 |
| Author | Ahmed Elmorshidy |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems |
The impact of knowledge
management systems
on innovation
An empirical investigation in Kuwait
Ahmed Elmorshidy
Department of Management Information Systems,
Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hawally, Kuwait
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aimsto examine and validate the effect of knowledge managementsystems (KMS) on
innovation.
Design/methodology/approach –Survey data from 392 employees working in private and public
organizations in the state of Kuwait were collected and used to test the proposed research model and
hypothesesthrough structural equation modeling.
Findings –This study finds that systemquality, information quality and service quality of KMS have a
positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system, and in turn, they have a
positive effect on actual use of KMS which leads to net benefit represented in an increased innovation for
employeeswho use the KMS. Employees (usersof the system) indicated that the use of thesystem helped them
to improve their work, comeup with new ways to conduct work, discover new solutionsto solve problems,
accomplishmore complex tasks in less time and communicatein a better way with other employees.
Practical implications –The findings of this study analyzed the elements of KMS that influence
innovationin public and privateorganizations at the individual level. This should be helpful forthe designers
of KMS to focus on those success factor elements when building KMS, which should make it easy for
individualsto acquire knowledge, use it, share it and thusbecome more innovative and successful in the work
they do and the decisionsthey make. The study also shows a positiverelationship between usefulness, ease of
use and attitude toward using KMS. Developers of KMS should also takethese guidelines in consideration
when designinga responsiveKMS.
Originality/value –Both knowledge and innovationare considered as crucial sources for sustaining the
competitive advantage for organizations. However, despite this, knowledge management (KM) and
innovation have established themselvesas separate fields and distinct areas of research. However, although
KM has a strong relationship with innovation, it is unclear if the research literature in these two fields
converge. There is a lack of research studies that deal with interrelation of KM and innovation in
organizations.This study is among the first to attempt to fill this gap by empirically investigatingthe effect of
KMS on innovationin both private and public organizationsin the state of Kuwait.
Keywords Innovation, Technology acceptance model, Information systems success model,
Knowledge management systems, Effect of knowledge management on innovation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Companies today are under intense completion for survival and success. Therefore,
innovation is becoming a necessary driving force for existence andsuccess and is not being
viewed as a luxury anymore. In a knowledge-based era, knowledgehas been regarded as a
critical resource that gives rise to competitive advantages, and effective knowledge
management (KM) becomes a competitive necessity (Wu et al.,2015). Both knowledge and
VJIKMS
48,3
388
Received25 December 2017
Revised22 March 2018
Accepted26 May 2018
VINEJournal of Information and
KnowledgeManagement Systems
Vol.48 No. 3, 2018
pp. 388-403
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5891
DOI 10.1108/VJIKMS-12-2017-0089
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2059-5891.htm
innovation are considered as the crucialsources for sustaining the competitive advantage of
a company (Xu et al., 2010). Knowledge is seen as being essential to innovation in the
traditional and most recent research. However, despite this, KM and innovation have
established themselves as separatefields and distinct areas of research. However, although
KM has a strong relationship with innovation,it is unclear if the research literature in these
two fields converge (Boyes,2016).
Some studies theoretically examined the relationship between KM and innovation
(Girniene, 2013;Xu et al.,2010; Boyes, 2016). This study empirically attempts to fill the
research gap and examines and validates the effect of knowledge management systems
(KMS) on innovation by combining two well-established theoretical mode: technology
acceptance model (TAM) (Davis,1989) and information systems (IS) success model (DeLone
and McLean, 2003). Survey data from 392 employees working in private and public
organizations in the state of Kuwait were collected and used to test the research model and
hypotheses throughstructural equation modeling.
The results and findings of this research should have important implications at both
theoretical and practical level.At the theoretical level, it will fill a research gap that exists in
the relationship between KMS and innovation, as each filed was previously studied
separately. At the practical level, the finding of this study should provide helpful insights
for designers and developers of KMS about the best way in which KMS can facilitate
extraction, use and share of knowledge by the end users’and thus impact their innovation
and success.
Today, knowledge is the main source of innovation in a knowledge-based economy.
Creation of innovations depends on the gained knowledge and its commercialization and
transformation into productive knowledge. Efficient management of productive knowledge
results in innovation development in organizations. There is a lack of research studies that
deal with interrelation of KM and innovation in organizations. There was a preliminary
overview of the aspects, which could be related to KM activities and the process of
innovation creation. The most important aspects of KM and innovation interrelation
mentioned in the scientific research are the process of creatingideas, fundamental methods
of learning, knowledgeand KM processes in creation of innovations (Girniene,2013).
This paper starts by reviewing literature that leads to the development of the research
hypotheses pertaining to how innovation can be affected by the information quality (IQ),
system quality (SQ),service quality (SVQ), perceived ease of use (PEU),perceived usefulness
(PU), attitude (ATT), behavioralintention (BI) and actual use (AU) of the system. The paper
then discusses the research methodology including the research model and sampling. The
research results and finding are then provided and analyzed. The conclusion section at the
end of the paper discusses theoretical contributions, implication for practice, the limitation
of the study and recommendationsfor future research.
Literature review and hypotheses development
Information quality
Nworji (2013) investigated the factors that contribute to successful database application
implementation, using TAM. He confirmed that IQ has a positive impact on PU and PEU.
Hsiao et al. (2013) examinedfactors of accepting pain management decision support systems
by nurse anesthetists. The results showed that IQ significantly affected PU and PEU.
Aljukhadar and Senecal (2015) investigated the determinants of an organization’s website
ease of use and the moderating role of producttangibility. They found that IQ of the website
is the strongest determinate of the PEU and PU of the website. Hermann-Petrin (2012)
examined the factors that lead to physicians’adoption of electronic health record systems.
Impact of
knowledge
management
systems
389
To continue reading
Request your trial