Factors affecting effectiveness of knowledge management: A case of Bosnia and Herzegovina trade enterprises

• Author: Mirela Kljajić‐Dervić,Roberto Biloslavo,Šemsudin Dervić
• Published date: 01 April 2019
• Date: 01 April 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1570

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Factors affecting effectiveness of knowledge management: A

case of Bosnia and Herzegovina trade enterprises

Roberto Biloslavo

1

|Mirela Kljajić‐Dervić

2

|Šemsudin Dervić

3

1

Faculty of Management, Univerza na

Primorskem, Koper, Slovenia

2

Ekonomska fakulteta Bihać, Univerza v

Bihaću, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina

3

Ekonomski fakultet, Evropski univerzitet u

Brčkom, Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Correspondence

Roberto Biloslavo, Faculty of Management,

Univerza na Primorskem, Cankarjeva 5, Koper

6000, Slovenia.

Email: roberto.biloslavo@fm‐kp.si

The paper presents a conceptual model of factors affecting knowledge management

effectiveness and determines whether knowledge management exerts a positive

impact on business performance in trade enterprises of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Research data have been collected through a survey. The research sample was com-

posed of 317 Bosnian companies that employ from 10 to 600 employees. Collected

data were analysed by use of factor analysis and structural equation modelling. This

is the first research carried out to prove influence of some organisational factors on

knowledge management effectiveness in developing country such as Bosnia and Her-

zegovina by use of structural equation modelling. The research results suggest that

organisational culture mediates the impact of human capital, information technology,

organisational structure, and leadership on knowledge management effectiveness and

confirm the hypothesis that the latter influences financial and nonfinancial indicators

of business performance. The findings carry theoretical implications for knowledge

management literature as they extend the scope of research on knowledge manage-

ment from examining a set of independent organizational factors to examining a sys-

tem‐wide mechanism that connects organisational elements and knowledge

management effectiveness. The results of this study also provide a practical reference

for the business when the latter considers investment into knowledge management

system development, thus increasing their chance for success especially within devel-

oping countries.

1|INTRODUCTION

Although some authors (see Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Grant, 1996;

Holsapple & Joshi, 1999; Koulopoulos & Frappaolo, 1999; Nonaka &

Takeuchi, 1995; Skyrme & Amidon, 1997; Wiig, 1997) drew atten-

tion to knowledge as a key economic factor almost two decades

ago, knowledge as an element of management has become an area

of serious scientific studies mostly in the last 15 years (see Akhavan,

Jafari, & Fathian, 2006; Artail, 2006; Chenari, Nazem, & Safari, 2013;

Chong & Chong, 2009; Chourides, Longbottom, & Murphy, 2003;

Du Plessis, 2007; Robinson, Anumba, Carrillo, & Al‐Ghassani,

2006; Yang, 2007; Wang & Wang, 2016; Watanabe, Benton, &

Senoo, 2011; Zheng, Yang, & McLean, 2010). The ability to effec-

tively and efficiently manage knowledge is becoming increasingly

crucial in today's fast changing and data‐driven economy. Effective

management of organisations is critical during this turmoil years,

and knowledge management, if understood and applied properly,

may be a useful tool for business transformation as well as the key

to competitive advantage (Jennex, 2007).

Knowledge management enables an organisation to gain insight

and learn from its own experience, processes, and specific activities.

However, in order to accomplish this effectively, it is considered cru-

cial to identify factors that affect effectiveness of knowledge manage-

ment initiatives (Wang & Wang, 2016; Yeh, Lai, & Ho, 2006).

Knowledge management enablers support new knowledge develop-

ment within an organisation as well as its utilisation, sharing, and pro-

tection. They represent the basic building blocks of every process

carried out by the organisation in order to improve its knowledge

management. The aim of this study is to empirically study and test

the key factors affecting effectiveness of knowledge management

Received: 11 April 2018 Accepted: 18 April 2018

DOI: 10.1002/kpm.1570

98 Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Knowl Process Manag. 2019;26:98–109.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/kpm