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1. Introduction
Scholars have argued for the relevance of knowledge management (KM) in increasing organisational effectiveness across industrial sectors in developing and developed countries. Current literature in the field of KM is focusing on certain sectors or industries, for example the public sector ([29] Ferguson et al. , 2013; [73] Salleh et al. , 2012; [21] Chong et al. , 2011), non-governmental organisations ([19] Corfield et al. , 2013), the banking industry ([12] Bidmeshgipour et al. , 2012; [65] Oluikpe, 2012; [28] Dutt et al. , 2011), small to medium-sized enterprises ([27] Durst and Edvardsson, 2012), manufacturing organisations ([7] Birasnav and Rangnekar, 2010), and human service and professional services firms ([6] Austin et al. , 2008; [63] Palte et al. , 2011). Many of these studies were conducted in developing countries due to their focus on economic and social growth processes. In developing countries, public sector organisations are increasingly embracing KM tools and practices for the holistic growth of society. Public sector organisations are stakeholder-dependent, while the private sector is shareholder-dependent. Also, the public sector emphasises democratic values like participation, citizen-orientation, and knowledge-orientation (e.g. [1] Adel and Shaghayegh, 2010; [72] Salavati et al. , 2010). Further, it is often argued that public sector organisations face greater pressures for representativeness, accountability and responsiveness than private sector firms. The range of legitimate demands placed on public-sector organisations may also be greater in the public sector than in the private sector ([41] Jaffee, 2001). Therefore, this necessitates the improvement of KM practices in public sector organisations for the growth of developing economies.
Researchers have examined the relationship between transactional and transformational styles of leadership in managing knowledge (e.g. [15] Bryant, 2003). Other studies have shown the significant impact of the delegating style of leadership on creating and managing knowledge for competitive advantage in software firms in India ([74] Singh, 2008). Case studies suggest that leaders provide vision, motivation, systems and structures at all levels of the organisation, which facilitates the conversion of knowledge into competitive advantages ([10] Bartlett, 1995, [11] 1996). This study investigates the role of KM tools and practices in a large power generation organisation in the public sector in India and how the cognitive styles of the leaders influence KM practices. Knowledge is a cognitive...