Knowledge management practices in a public sector organisation: the role of leaders' cognitive styles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the cognitive styles of leaders on knowledge management practices in a public sector organisation in India. Design/methodology/approach – The data were gathered from 210 middle and senior managers who were employed in different projects across the country. Self‐reported questionnaires were administered to collect the data on the cognitive styles of leaders and knowledge management practices. Findings – The results of exploratory factor analysis showed three significant factors of cognitive styles – i.e. radical, innovative‐collaborator, and adaptor. The knowledge management questionnaire had five dimensions – i.e. KM process, KM leadership, KM culture, KM technology, and KM measurement. The results of regression analysis showed a negative impact of the radical and innovative‐collaborator styles, while the adaptor style had a positive impact on knowledge management practices. Research limitations/implications – This study was conducted in a large thermal power generation organisation in India. Hence, its generalisability is limited to other similar contexts. Public sector work norms and organisational size may influence the interpretation of the results. Practical implications – The results show the relevance of the adaptor style of thinking in promoting knowledge management practices, which is consistent with the prevailing public sector work norms in India, which do not support any radical changes in their ways of working and solving problems. Originality/value – This is an empirical study about the relationship between cognitive styles of leaders and knowledge management practices in the Indian work context, and no such study exists in the literature.