Knowledge management and its impacts on organisational performance: An empirical research in public higher education institutions of Vietnam

Abstract

Studies that acknowledge the association between knowledge management (KM) and organisational performance (OP) are replete in extant literature. However, there are few of them providing empirical evidence of this relationship especially in academia. Multiple conjectures are made about this little-known relationship. This paper aims to explore the impacts of KM on OP in the public higher education institutions (HEIs) of Vietnam. Results of the studies were generated based on survey data collected in 30 universities located in three regions of Vietnam during 2017 by means of structured questionnaire. The hypothesised relationships between KM and OP are tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings of the research showcase that KM does exert its impacts but not on all dimensions of OP in the public HEIs of Vietnam. Besides adding to the literature on performance management in academia by demonstrating the impacts of KM as a managerial tool for increasing OP, the paper also presents measurement dimensions with specific scale items measuring KM and OP of a HEI. Avenues for future research are also recommended. © 2019 World Scientific Publishing Co.