Pursuing sustainable development with knowledge management in public sector

Abstract

Purpose Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly becoming critical to public sector organizations as it is to private sector organizations. This is because public sector organizations are increasingly held accountable for their actions and are forced to move away from traditional bureaucratic approaches to more managerial ones. For instance, public sector is facing pressure to improve its operational efficiency such as productivity, lead time and expenditure. Similarly, it is also facing pressure to improve its transparency, trust, reliability and accountability, which are key elements of sustainable development (SD). The purpose of this study therefore is to understand the intricate relationship between KM processes, operational efficiency and SD in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach A framework consisting of eight constructs (knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge capture, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, operational efficiency and SD) and their underlying items was developed through an extensive literature review. Using 383 usable responses collected through a structured questionnaire from the UAE public sector, the constructs and framework were first validated and then the current level of implementation/achievement of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD was assessed along with the hypothesized relationships between the constructs. Findings The findings show that KM processes had a positive and significant direct impact on operational efficiency and SD. Also, operational efficiency was found to strongly mediate the relationship between KM processes and SD. Practical implications The findings are expected to help UAE public sector organizations devise strategies and policy interventions to align and improve their KM processes for achieving operational efficiency and SD. Public sectors looking to focus on SD must focus on KM processes and strive to improve stakeholder engagement, which is a vital aspect of SD. Originality/value Integration of KM processes, operational efficiency and SD has not been attempted previously and hence constitutes the novelty of this work.