Knowledge management capacity and organizational performance: the social interaction view

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management capacity and organizational performance from the social interaction perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study employs a questionnaire approach. The sample for this study is drawn from the population of the top 5,000 Taiwanese firms listed in the yearbook published by the China Credit Information Service Incorporation. Regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 105 Taiwanese firms. Findings – The findings suggest that two assessments of knowledge management capacity, knowledge acquisition and dissemination, and the communication factor of social interaction are positively related to organizational performance. Further, social interaction has complementary or synergistic interaction effects with knowledge management capacity on organizational performance. Practical implications – Given the need for the use of knowledge management capacity as an enabler to improve organization outcome, firms need to be aware that social interaction would moderate the link between knowledge management capacity and organizational performance. Therefore, firms should pay special attention to formulate appropriate social interaction conditions under which knowledge acquisition and dissemination are most likely to enhance organizational performance. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature by theoretically developing a conceptual model and then empirically examining the relationships among knowledge management capacity, social interaction, and organizational performance.