Motivational antecedents, employee engagement and knowledge management performance

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between organisational practices, employee knowledge management (KM) engagement and organisational KM performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a quantitative research approach, an online survey of 536 knowledge workers from multinational knowledge-based organisations located in Sri Lanka was carried out. The data were analysed with structural equation modelling.

Findings

Teamwork, reward structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are found to be motivational antecedents of KM engagement while, subsequently, organisational KM performance is affected by employee KM engagement.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are based on the use of five key organisational practices derived from the literature. Further research is needed to establish whether the findings extend to other organisational practices such as resourcing strategy, organisational culture and communication. Further, the sample for this research comprised knowledge workers in Sri Lankan organisations which limit the generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

Teamwork, rewards structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are organisational practices that foster employee KM engagement. Organisational practices and employee KM engagement are imperative for the organisational success of KM initiatives.

Originality/value

This research introduces the term KM engagement as the indicator of individual-level KM success and integrates the sequential linkage between individual-level KM outcomes (i.e. KM engagement) and organisational KM outcomes (KM performance) which has not yet been investigated.

Citation

Atapattu, M.M. and Huybers, T. (2021), "Motivational antecedents, employee engagement and knowledge management performance", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 528-547. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2020-0898