Knowledge management and organizational performance: an exploratory analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an exploratory investigation of the organizational impact of knowledge management (KM). Design/methodology/approach A search of the literature revealed 12 KM practices whose performance impact was assessed via a survey of business organizations. Findings KM practices were found to be directly related to organizational performance which, in turn, was directly related to financial performance. There was no direct relationship found between KM practices and financial performance. A different set of KM practices was associated with each value discipline (i.e. customer intimacy, product development and operational excellence). A gap exists between the KM…