Identifying, Prioritizing and Modeling Factors of Knowledge Networks Formation in Knowledge-Based Organizations

Rezaeian, Ali; Bagheri, Rouhollah; Fartoukzadeh, Hamidreza

Identifying, Prioritizing and Modeling Factors of Knowledge Networks Formation in Knowledge-Based Organizations

Document Type : Research Article (Original Article)

Authors

¹ Professor, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

² PhD candidate of System Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Faculty of Management and Industrial Engineering, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Due to increasing speed of competition in the business environment and its impact on the performance and ability of organizations to maintain organizational existence, organizations need to use modern management tools to increase the flow of knowledge to increase creation and regeneration of knowledge. For this purpose, it is necessary to use an appropriate model to form knowledge networks. The purpose of this study was to develop a model of knowledge network in knowledge-based organizations by Interpretive Structural Model approach. The research questions of this study were what are the effective factors in the formation of knowledge networks in knowledge-based organizations? And what is the relationship among these factors? The research methodology of this study was Exploratory Mixed Method, and by mixing quantitative and qualitative methods and relying on the experts' opinions, the factors influencing the formation of knowledge networks and the relationships among them, in knowledge-based organizations, were identified and ranked. In order to analyze the information, we have used Delphi method in the qualitative stage and strctural interpretation model in the quantitative stage. The results of this study showed that Development of Management Processes has the most impact on the formation of knowledge networks and the most influential factors are at the first level of the model, which includes Type of Knowledge, Culture, Organizational Structures and Communication Mechanisms. This paper suggests replacing inter-organizational knowledge networks, which are based on the developed model in this research, whith the current dispersal schemes of knowledge management.

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