Knowledge management capabilities in social enterprises
type: CreativeWork
description: Many studies have researched how organisations can benefit from Knowledge Management (KM). Critical factors, models and frameworks for successful implementations of KM have informed practitioners in different industries and countries. However, there is still a need for exploring other dimensions of KM as well as its application in different contexts. Further empirical evidence and operationalisation, which assure successful implementations, is also needed to improve not only companies but also society in general. Building on that observation, this study presents conceptual and empirical evidence to support the view that KM, understood as an organisational capability, improves organisational performance of the under-researched and increasingly important Social Enterprises (SEs). These, normally micro and small organisations, are gaining worldwide attention and importance as they address, following business principles, crucial social and environmental problems and provide more sustainable solutions. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of empirical evidence of how these organisations operate, perform and scale up. The study supports this view by developing and empirically testing a model named Knowledge Management Capabilities in Social Enterprises (KMC-SE), which is the main contribution to knowledge of this study. The model describes the organisational pre-conditions and the knowledge activities that can develop Knowledge Management Capabilities (KMCs), which then have an impact on SEs’ performance. A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods’ research design was followed to test the model with empirical evidence from 432 SEs in the UK. The evidence suggests that current KMCs account for up to 20% of overall improvements in SEs’ performance, based on a year-to-year comparison. Moreover, the KMC-SE Model proposes new insights in the traditional way of approaching KM and KMC development, highlighting (a) the important role of human and cultural factors, giving less emphas…
abstract: Many studies have researched how organisations can benefit from Knowledge Management (KM). Critical factors, models and frameworks for successful implementations of KM have informed practitioners in different industries and countries. However, there is still a need for exploring other dimensions of KM as well as its application in different contexts. Further empirical evidence and operationalisation, which assure successful implementations, is also needed to improve not only companies but also society in general. Building on that observation, this study presents conceptual and empirical evidence to support the view that KM, understood as an organisational capability, improves organisational performance of the under-researched and increasingly important Social Enterprises (SEs). These, normally micro and small organisations, are gaining worldwide attention and importance as they address, following business principles, crucial social and environmental problems and provide more sustainable solutions. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of empirical evidence of how these organisations operate, perform and scale up. The study supports this view by developing and empirically testing a model named Knowledge Management Capabilities in Social Enterprises (KMC-SE), which is the main contribution to knowledge of this study. The model describes the organisational pre-conditions and the knowledge activities that can develop Knowledge Management Capabilities (KMCs), which then have an impact on SEs’ performance. A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods’ research design was followed to test the model with empirical evidence from 432 SEs in the UK. The evidence suggests that current KMCs account for up to 20% of overall improvements in SEs’ performance, based on a year-to-year comparison. Moreover, the KMC-SE Model proposes new insights in the traditional way of approaching KM and KMC development, highlighting (a) the important role of human and cultural factors, giving less emphas…
author: Granados Ortiz, M.L.
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:02:22Z
provider: University of Westminster
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Westminster

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.34737/8yqqx