The Effects of R&D Knowledge Management Activities on R&D Performances

R&D 조직의 지식 경영 활동이 R&D 성과에 미치는 영향

According to knowledge-based view, knowledge is an essential strategic resource for a firm to retain sustainable competitive advantage. As knowledge is created and disseminated throughout the firm, the firm can enhance its capability to respond to new and unusual situations. Thus, a lot of companies actively manage their knowledge and intellectual capital. Especially, knowledge management (KM) activities in R&D organizations play a critical role in enhancing R&D performances such as innovation capability. In this regard, this study develops a theoretical model to examine the effects of R&D KM activities on R&D performance. The research model posits KM participation, knowledge management system (KMS) use, and community of practice (CoP) as the main activities of R&D KM. This study proposes that R&D shared knowledge quality and R&D KM satisfaction play a mediating role between R&D KM activities and its performance. The proposed research model was tested by using survey data collected from 248 employees in an R&D department. PLS (partial least squares) was employed for the analysis of the data. The findings of this study showed that R&D KM activities play a significant role in enhancing R&D performance. The findings revealed that R&D shared knowledge quality is not significantly related to R&D performance, while R&D KM satisfaction significantly influences R&D performance. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings were described.