International Journal of Advanced Engineering Application

Knowledge Management Practices, Organisational Learning Capability, and Firm Innovativeness: A Cross-National Study Across Six Economies

Author(s):Sofia Andersen, Adaeze Nwosu

Affiliation: Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Page No: 12-19

Volume issue & Publishing Year: Volume 3, Issue 6, 2026/07/01

Journal: International Journal of Advanced Engineering Application (IJAEA)

ISSN NO: 3048-6807

DOI:

Download PDF Cite this article

Abstract:
Knowledge management (KM) has transitioned from an IT-centric infrastructure discipline into a strategic organisational capability encompassing social, cultural, and structural dimensions that collectively determine how effectively firms create, share, retain, and apply knowledge to competitive advantage. Yet despite three decades of scholarly attention, the empirical relationship between specific KM practices and firm-level innovativeness remains poorly specified across cultural and institutional contexts, with most large-sample studies drawn from Western manufacturing environments that do not represent the full range of organisational environments in which KM investment is now occurring. This study examines the relationship between KM practices, organisational learning capability (OLC), and firm innovativeness across 1,002 firms in six economies — the United States, Germany, Japan, India, Brazil, and Nigeria — using cross-national survey data collected in 2021-2023 and validated through patent filing rates and new product revenue proportions as objective innovation proxies. Structural equation modelling identifies OLC as a full mediator of the KM practices-innovativeness relationship in knowledge-intensive sectors (IT, pharmaceuticals) and a partial mediator in capital-intensive sectors (manufacturing, retail). Knowledge sharing behaviour — measured at the team level — shows the strongest individual KM sub-practice effect on OLC (beta = 0.61, p < .001), substantially exceeding the contributions of codification strategy (beta = 0.38) and IT infrastructure investment (beta = 0.29). Firms in the highest KM maturity quartile achieve innovativeness index scores 48% above the lowest quartile, with effect sizes largest in Japan (d = 0.91) and smallest in Nigeria (d = 0.54), a differential attributed to institutional knowledge infrastructure gaps rather than cultural factors. These findings establish that knowledge sharing behaviour, not technological infrastructure, is the highest-leverage KM investment for innovativeness across diverse national contexts.

Keywords: Knowledge management (KM)

Reference:

• [1] Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107-136.
• [2] Argote, L., & Miron-Spektor, E. (2011). Organizational learning: From experience to knowledge. Organization Science, 22(5), 1123-1137.
• [3] Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1998). Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Harvard Business School Press.
• [4] Grant, R. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), 109-122.
• [5] Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• [6] Hurt, H. T., Joseph, K., & Cook, C. D. (1977). Scales for the measurement of innovativeness. Human Communication Research, 4(1), 58-65.
• [7] Jerez-Gomez, P., Cespedes-Lorente, J., & Valle-Cabrera, R. (2005). Organizational learning capability: A proposal of measure. Journal of Business Research, 58(6), 715-725.
• [8] Kruger, C. J., & Snyman, M. M. (2007). Formulation of a strategic knowledge management maturity model. South African Journal of Information Management, 9(3), 1-11.
• [9] Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford University Press.
• [10] Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-533.
• [11] Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., & Nonaka, I. (2000). Enabling Knowledge Creation. Oxford University Press.
• [12] Wang, C. L., & Ahmed, P. K. (2003). Organisational learning: A critical review. The Learning Organization, 10(1), 8-17.
• [13] Zander, U., & Kogut, B. (1995). Knowledge and the speed of the transfer and imitation of organizational capabilities. Organization Science, 6(1), 76-92.