A Scrutiny of the Role of Knowledge Management in Employees’ Organizational Culture, Motivation, and Success

Abstract

Advances in information technology have swayed all of the aspects of human life in contemporary societies. Organizations constitute one of the major groups of the social entities, which have been influenced by technological developments. As a result, they have made an endeavor to acclimatize themselves to the above-mentioned advances in order to survive and to protect their competitive advantages. Among the technology-induced measures which have been taken by the organizations, strategic thinking has attracted considerable attention. This approach to manager empowerment focuses on the organization managers’ ability to integrate their creativity into their intuition in order to manage their organizations strategically. Nonetheless, the formulation and implementation of strategies depends on the managers’ ability to manage the knowledge of their organization. Consequently, the concept of knowledge management has been developed and has been characterized as the pivotal asset of the modern organizations. Considering the significant role of knowledge management in the amelioration of organizational performance, this chapter makes an attempt to expound on the relationship between knowledge management and employees’ organizational culture, motivation, and success.

1. Introduction

At the present time, all of the modern and urbanized societies are making an endeavor to acclimatize themselves to the advancements in the field of information technology. Among the various entities of the societies, organizations are considered to be the entities that have been extensively affected by the above-mentioned technological advances [1]. In general, organizations constitute the unified groups of people who make an attempt to achieve a specific set of predetermined objectives including the business-oriented objectives [2].

A close examination of the behavior of various organizations in the past decades highlights the fact that they have strived to take advantage of the most efficient technology-based management methods and techniques for ensuring their survival, dealing with the market-oriented challenges, and gaining competitive advantage [2]. The perusal of these methods shows that, most of them have focused on the stakeholders’ (e.g., managers and employees) insight into the factors in the success of the organizations [3]. More specifically, the organizations have given priority to their managers and staff members’ proper understanding of the determining factors in the survival and success of their developed and implemented plans [2]. Accordingly, they have informed these stakeholders about strategic thinking as one of the most efficacious techniques of organizational management in the era of information technology [3].

The concept of strategic thinking has been characterized in different ways. Mintzberg [2] provided a practical definition of this concept and argued that this kind of thinking refers to the process of integrating intuition into creativity for developing a unified and thorough understanding of the pertinent business. Likewise, Kashef et al. [4] noted that strategic thinking comprises the managers’ capability to predict the future on the basis of their background information and the dynamics of the environment and to formulate and implement efficient strategies for ensuring the survival and success of their organization in the market over the course of time. Accordingly, Kashef et al. [4] noted that strategic thinking has to be considered as the essential and functional prerequisite to strategic management.

Similar to the concept of strategic thinking, the construct of strategic management has been delineated in various ways. Rigby and Bilodeau [1] averred that strategic management encompasses the ongoing process of formulating plans, monitoring the implementation of the developed plans, and evaluating the effectiveness of the plans for ensuring the success of the organization. As they explained, in general, the organizations in different parts of the world have made an attempt to take advantage of the techniques of strategic management due mainly to their privatization and their intention to join the World Trade Organization. Likewise, Kashef et al. [4] pointed out that the above-mentioned reasons have prompted Iranian organizations to focus on the concept of strategic management in recent years. According to them, the organizations in Iran have realized that their access to organizational knowledge constitutes the essential prerequisite to effective strategic management.

The significant role of organizational knowledge in strategic management has been emphasized in the relevant studies in recent years (e.g., [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]). Kalseth [12] noted that managers need to have access to useful and up-to-date organizational knowledge in order to be able to develop a thorough understanding of their own responsibilities and to make and implement important and major decisions in an effective way. Considering this issue, he stated that the organizations have to consider knowledge management as the most integral aspect of their strategic management and have to apprise their managers of its critical role in the process of decision making.

A number of researchers (e.g., [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]) have made an endeavor to provide a clear and precise definition of the concept of knowledge management. Among these definitions, Kalseth’s [12] definition has proved to be a practical definition and has been used as a guide in the relevant studies. Kalseth [12] defined knowledge management as the endeavor of the organizations to take part in the continuous and uninterrupted process of gaining/creating, managing, sharing, and using collective knowledge in order to ameliorate the process of their decision making and to ensure their success in the competitive market.

Badriazarin et al. [18] pointed out that knowledge management has become one of the most essential aspects of strategic management in various organizations across the word due mainly to the fact that it enables them to maintain their long-term supremacy over their competitors in the market. As they explained, the organizations have changed their attitudes toward their main assets and have realized that state-of-the-art organizational knowledge and its efficient management constitute their invaluable assets. Likewise, Roos et al. [19] underscored the significant role of knowledge management as a type of intangible asset. As they explained, tangible assets constitute the physical and financial possessions of the organizations. On the other hand, intangible assets comprise the possessions that do not have a physical form. As a result, they may encompass the skills and knowledge of the staff members which are likely to increase the value of the organization in the future. Roos et al. [19] noted that knowledge management has proved to be one of the most important intangible assets of the organizations that have a noticeable impact on their ability to ensure their survival and to maintain their competitive advantage over the other organizations in the market.

Considering the above-mentioned discussions of knowledge management and its importance to the organizations in the era of information technology, the following section of this chapter expounds on the role of knowledge management in the employees’ organizational culture, motivation, and success.

2. Knowledge management in organizations

2.1 The role of knowledge management in employees’ organizational culture

An examination of the pertinent literature (e.g., [20]) highlights the fact that organizational culture has been defined in various ways. Schein [21] provided a practical definition of this concept. As he explained organizational culture encompasses a set of reasonable and valid assumptions that are made by the human resources of the organizations including their managers and employees based on their experiences and the challenges that are posed by the problems inside and outside the relevant organizations.

Likewise, Ravasi and Schultz [22] pointed out that, organizational culture encompasses the organization-related assumptions, which have a major influence on the behavior of the staff members in the organizations. According to them, these assumptions are considered to be the underlying principles of behavior in the organization. Consequently, the new members of the organization are provided with organizational-culture-based education in order to be able to adhere to the above-mentioned principles in a satisfactory way. As they concluded, the organizational culture of an organization determines the interaction patterns between its stakeholders and the degree to which the employees identify with it over the course of time.

Riches [23] argued that knowledge management has a profound impact on the employees’ organizational culture. As he explained, providing the employees with adequate information on knowledge management is likely to make them cognizant of the significant role of group cohesiveness and may promote interaction among the diverse departments of the organizations. Moreover, this kind of information can remind the employees of the necessity of consistency in the performance of their tasks and can result in the enforcement of strong discipline in the organizations. Likewise, Bhatt [24] pointed out that the employees’ understanding of knowledge management procedures has a beneficial impact on the establishment of their high standards of behavior and is likely to improve the efficiency of their pertinent organizations. Lastly, Herder et al. [25] noted that the employees’ thorough understanding of the dynamics of knowledge management in their organization encourages their innovation and prompts them to formulate and implement innovative plans that are closely aligned with the underlying principles of professional behavior in their relevant organization. As they concluded, apprising the employees of the central tenets of knowledge management is likely to have a profound impact on their motivation in their pertinent settings.

2.2 The role of knowledge management in employees’ motivation

In humanities, researchers have always been concerned with the motivation of individuals in various contexts including the occupational contexts. Radel et al. [26] defined motivation as the reason behind the individuals’ initiation, continuation, and termination of various behaviors at specific points in time. As they explained, motivation can be explained in terms of specific states that range from the strongest to the weakest states. As they concluded, the stronger states are likely to affect the individuals’ behaviors in a more noticeable way.

Likewise, Ryan and Deci [27] pointed out that motivation constitutes the reason for the individuals’ engagement in objective-oriented behaviors in the course of their life. They distinguished intrinsic motivation from extrinsic motivation on the basis of their nature. More specifically, as they pointed out, intrinsic motivation depends on the individuals’ internal factors and determines the degree to which a certain individual enjoys the performance of his/her relevant tasks and derives personal satisfaction from them. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation depends on the external factors and specifies the extent to which the individuals engage in various types of activities for gaining external advantages including rewards among others. According to them, extrinsic motivation may have a positive impact on the individuals’ task performance in occupational contexts. Nonetheless, it may result in their burnout over the course of time. As they concluded, the individuals’ intrinsic motivation is likely to have long-lasting beneficial impacts on their occupational performance in their pertinent settings.

Lastly, Wasserman and Wasserman [28] pointed out that the individuals’ motivation may have instrumental or integrative orientations. As they explained, instrumental motivation encompasses the motivational orientation that prompts the individuals to perform their tasks in order to achieve their objectives. On the other hand, they noted that integrative motivation refers to the motivational orientation that encourages individuals to perform their tasks in order to be able to identify with their relevant organization. They concluded that integrative orientation has proved to be more beneficial for improving the employees’ performance in their settings in comparison with the instrumental orientation.

Regarding the impact of knowledge management on employees’ motivation, Rizwan et al. [20] pointed out that the employees’ ability to strategically manage their organizational knowledge is likely to increase their intrinsic motivation in their relevant organization. As they noted, this issue stems from the fact that knowledge management gives the employees a deep sense of fulfillment and enhances their task-performance enjoyment. Likewise, Ekmekçi [29] noted that providing the employees with information on the knowledge management process makes them cognizant of the fact that their behavior and decisions are considered to be determining factors in the success of their organization. As he pointed out, this type of understanding enables the employees to take satisfaction from the performance of their tasks and improves their intrinsic motivation.

In addition, the employees’ knowledge management capabilities are likely to exert a profound impact on their motivational orientation in their relevant organization [30]. Rotenberry and Moberg [31] pointed out that involving the employees in the knowledge management procedure makes them aware of their consequential role in the survival and success of their organization and empowers them to realize the significant role of their organization in the society. As they explained, this issue prompts the employees to identify with their organization in a stronger way and to support its principles and policies. They concluded that, the employees’ integration into the process of knowledge management is likely to influence their success in their settings in a noticeable way.

2.3 The role of knowledge management in employees’ success

The concept of knowledge management has been introduced to the field of management in order to positively influence the performance of the staff members in different organizations [4, 32, 33]. Considering this objective, a number of researchers (e.g., [34]) have focused on the role of knowledge management in the employees’ success in the context of their organization. DeVitis and Rich [35] defined success as the condition in which an individual is able to satisfy his/her own or the other individuals’ expectations in an acceptable way. As they explained, the individuals’ success is assessed based on contextual criteria. Consequently, success is likely to be defined in various ways on the basis of the pertinent requirements in different contexts including the occupational contexts.

Mostafapour et al. [36] argued that knowledge management is one of the factors that may exert influence on the employees’ use of technological advancements in their organizations. As they explained, the employees’ knowledge about these advancements and their ability to use them in the process of task performance are likely to have a beneficial impact on their success in their occupational settings. Likewise, Rizwan et al. [20] noted that the engagement of the employees in the process of knowledge management encourages them to take advantage of various sources of information in order to gain knowledge about the dynamics of their organization and prompts them to use different types of technological advancements including various software in order to participate in the above-mentioned process in an effective way. As they concluded, these measures are likely to enable the employees to develop practical and technical skills which may have an advantageous impact on their success in the context of their organizations.

3. Conclusion

This chapter made an effort to expound on the role of knowledge management in the employees’ organizational culture, motivation, and success. It was noted that, at the present time, strategic thinking and strategic management constitute invaluable organizational assets and are likely to increase the value of organizations over the course of time. Moreover, it was pointed out that knowledge management is the most central aspect of strategic management and involves the process of gaining/creating, managing, sharing, and using collective knowledge in order to ameliorate the process of decision-making in an organization and to ensure its success. It was concluded that, involving the employees in the process of knowledge management is likely to have a beneficial impact on their organizational culture, motivation, and success in their relevant organizations.

Nomenclature list

information technology
instrumental orientation
integrative orientation
knowledge management
motivation
strategic management
strategic thinking
success
organization
organizational culture