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Abstract: The main propose of this study was to understand the extent of the influence of Knowledge Management on Innovation Performance and on general organizational performance (measured by financial turnover), in companies in the Leiria Region in Portugal. We discuss the possible links between Innovation and Knowledge Management (KM) and present a simple model to test our assumptions. The results show that companies recognize the importance of KM particularly the improving of the efficiency of tasks through the sharing of information and knowledge. It was also possible to confirm the influence of KM on Innovation, verifying that the Creation of Knowledge is the most important KM factor contributing to innovation. This result confirms a positive relationship between the existence of processes of knowledge generation within enterprises and Innovation. However, there was no evidence of influence of KM or Innovation on organizational performance, measured by the financial turnover.
Keywords: knowledge management, innovation, performance
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1. Introduction
A major concern of corporate management has been the necessity to understand the differences in performance of organizations that operate on the same market conditions. The resource-based perspective (Resource Based View or RBV) provides an explanation for this phenomenon, identifying organizational practices, such as Knowledge Management and Innovation, as the main sources of competitive advantage (Alegre, Lapiedra and Sengupta, 2011). According to this perspective the performance of organizations depends on their ability to mobilize resources, including knowledge, at their disposal in order to create value (Alavi and Leidner, 2001).
Knowledge Management (KM) is an important aspect of organizational practice, that allows a sustainable growth of competitiveness (Choi and Lee, 2003; Lee, Lee, and Kang, 2005). On the other hand, innovation is often understood as an organizational tool that leads to the creation of new knowledge and different procedures that add value to products and services offered by a company. Therefore, one way to overcome organizational difficulties in the understanding of economic performance is to link innovation, learning and knowledge creation to it.
Based on the concepts of Knowledge Management (KM) and innovation performance it was our purpose to realize the extent to which these factors influence are connected and how they influence the turnover of companies located in the district of Leiria. Initially, we...