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1. Introduction
Organizations are operating in a global business environment characterized by rapid changes, technological advancements, changing customer needs and higher competition (Bolívar-Ramos et al., 2012; Patnaik et al., 2013). For organizations to survive in such a turbulent environment, they must promote their capacity to learn new practices and technologies and consistently improve their performance and long-term organizational success (Weldy and Gillis, 2010; Argote and Miron-Spektor, 2011). In addition, organizations attempt to introduce new business approaches including total quality management, just-in-time approach, business process reengineering and supply chain management to improve their performance and competitive advantage (Saad and Patel, 2006; Ashok et al., 2016).
The resource-based view theory, which originated from the strategic management literature, suggests that firms compete based on their resources and capabilities. A resource is referred to anything tangible or intangible possessed or acquired by a firm, while a capability is the ability to utilize resources to perform tasks or activities (Hall, 1993; Yang et al., 2009). Organizations with valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable resources would be able to accomplish value-creating strategies that are not easily duplicated by other competitors, knowledge-based resources and capabilities are the result of outstanding access to and combination of specialized knowledge which would generate superior firm performance as well as sustained competitive advantage among firms (Barney, 1991). According to Nasir Uddin, (2010, p. 27), the knowledge management would enable a firm “to develop rare and valuable knowledge through learning, and subsequently to build upon and spread that rare knowledge throughout the organization for enhancing performance”.
In knowledge-based era, knowledge is viewed as the key strategic resource for organizational survival, stability, growth and improvement (Hassan and Al-Hakim, 2011). In addition, knowledge is considered the basis for the development of core competencies that will create competitive advantages as well as improve organizational performance (OP) (Halley and Beaulieu, 2005). Through knowledge organizations can enhance cooperation and information sharing among employees, decision-making, productivity and innovation (Bennet and Tomblin, 2006; King, 2009; Chang and Chuang, 2011; Gharakhani and Mousakhani, 2012). The aim of knowledge management is to develop approaches that facilitate getting the right knowledge at the right time to the right person and in the right format (Halawi et al., 2006). Also, knowledge management would assist...