The Relationship Between Effectiveness of Knowledge Management Practices and Social Capital from the Manager's Viewpoints in Teaching Hospitals Of Ahvaz in 2015

Social capital may help organizational knowledge management via providing necessary platforms and facilitating the interchange of knowledge. So this research aimed to determine the relationship between social capital and effectiveness of knowledge management from the viewpoints of the teaching hospitals of Ahvaz managers.
This was a cross-sectional study which was carried out in 2015. The research population contained 120 Ahvaz teaching hospitals managers. Data collection tools incorporated demographic questionnaire, the effectiveness of knowledge management processes questionnaire, and social capital questionnaire. Non-parametric Spearman’s correlation coefficient as well as Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for data analysis.
No significant correlation was seen between social capital and effectiveness of knowledge management practices (P>0.05). However, Organizational network showed a significant poor correlation with organizational understanding (rs=0.307, p=0.001), people-oriented approach (rs=0.185, p=0.043), and the effectiveness of knowledge management practices (rs=0.333, p=0.011). Furthermore, Organizational trust demonstrated a significant poor correlation with organizational understanding (rs=0.229, p=0.012) and innovative culture development (rs=0.201, p=0.027). Finally, social capital showed a weak correlation with organizational understanding (rs=0.230, p=0.012).
Managers of teaching hospitals in Ahvaz estimated knowledge management practices as relatively efficient and social capital as appropriate. It seems, in teaching hospitals, managers may need to emphasize on development of organizational networks, educating proper communication and increasing organizational confidence for effectiveness of knowledge management practices.