The impact of knowledge management systems on innovation

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine and validate the effect of knowledge management systems (KMS) on innovation. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 392 employees working in private and public organizations in the state of Kuwait were collected and used to test the proposed research model and hypotheses through structural equation modeling. Findings This study finds that system quality, information quality and service quality of KMS have a positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system, and in turn, they have a positive effect on actual use of KMS which leads to net benefit represented in an increased innovation for employees who use the KMS. Employees (users of the system) indicated that the use of the system helped them to improve their work, come up with new ways to conduct work, discover new solutions to solve problems, accomplish more complex tasks in less time and communicate in a better way with other employees. Practical implications The findings of this study analyzed the elements of KMS that influence innovation in public and private organizations at the individual level. This should be helpful for the designers of KMS to focus on those success factor elements when building KMS, which should make it easy for individuals to acquire knowledge, use it, share it and thus become more innovative and successful in the work they do and the decisions they make. The study also shows a positive relationship between usefulness, ease of use and attitude toward using KMS. Developers of KMS should also take these guidelines in consideration when designing a responsive KMS. Originality/value Both knowledge and innovation are considered as crucial sources for sustaining the competitive advantage for organizations. However, despite this, knowledge management (KM) and innovation have established themselves as separate fields and distinct areas of research. However, although KM has a strong relationship with innovation, it is unclear if the research literature in these two fields converge. There is a lack of research studies that deal with interrelation of KM and innovation in organizations. This study is among the first to attempt to fill this gap by empirically investigating the effect of KMS on innovation in both private and public organizations in the state of Kuwait.