Organizational Culture and Knowledge Management Processes in the Pakistani Corporate Sector

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to examine the relationship of Organizational Culture and Knowledge Management Processes in the corporate sector of Pakistan. Another objective of the study was to explore the impact of management level on knowledge management processes. The research comprised of two studies. Study-I and Study-II, each with independent sample. In Study-I, an indigenous scale for Organizational culture was developed and validated. Twelve attributes of organizational culture were identified on the basis of literature review. After exploratory factor analysis, eight attributes of organizational culture were finalized to be tested in Study-II. The attributes included Attaining expertise for Innovativeness, Collaboration, Power Sharing, Peer Mentoring, Trust, Learning, Formalization and Autonomy In the same study, the Knowledge Circulation Process Scale was also adapted and validated. Five factors emerged after exploratory factor analysis and were named as Knowledge Capitalization, Knowledge Capturing, Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Transformation and Knowledge Transfer. Study-II was the main study and its purpose was to examine the effect of organizational culture on knowledge management processes. 813 managers from 50 organizations participated in the main study. Confirmatory factor analysis for the two measurement models showed good fit. The reliability values for Organizational Culture Scale (OCS) and Knowledge Management Processes (KMPS) , and their subscales were quite satisfactory. Organizational culture attributes of Collaboration, Trust and Formalization were found to have significant positive impact on Knowledge Creation and Knowledge Capturing. Collaboration and Power sharing were found to have a significant positive impact on Knowledge Transfer. The organizational culture attributes of Collaboration, Power sharing, Trust, Attaining Expertise for Innovativeness and Autonomy significantly