Knowledge Management Resource, Strategy, and Performance: A Test of Contingency Model

지식경영 자원, 전략, 그리고 성과: 상황모형의 검증

Increasing competitive pressure, the constantly accelerating transformation of the economy, and a stronger focus on value creation have initiated the search for sustainable sources of competitive advantage in organizations. In this context, the concept of treating organizational knowledge as a valuable strategic resource has become quite popular recently. Knowledge has become the most critical component in the struggle for sustained competitive advantage and knowledge management (KM) has also been described for its possible role in creating sustainable competitive advantage. In order to examine the contingency between KM resources, KM strategies, and KM performance of organizations, a contingency model of KM, which is based on resource-based theory as well as knowledge-based theory, is developed from the information systems and strategic management literature in order to assess the following questions: (i) What KM resources affect the organization's KM strategies? (ii) Is there a relationship between KM strategies and organizational performance enhanced by KM? A detailed exploratory analysis of survey responses from 79 Korean companies provides the following significant findings: (i) This study found support for the proposed contingency model of KM; (ii) The organization's KM strategies are determined by social resources and its capabilities; (iii) An organization with a culture-based KM strategy is more likely to enhance organizational KM performance than an organization with a technology-based KM strategy.