An Investigation of the Effects of Information Technology Support of Knowledge Management on Business Performance: The Mediating Role of Power Dynamics

This study is intended to investigate the effects of information technology support and knowledge management on organizational performance and competitive advantage through explaining the mediating role of dynamic capabilities. 250 standardized questionnaires were distributed among chief executive officer and senior managers of information systems of the top 50 economic companies, selected on the basis of purposive sampling method, in Iran in, July 2018. Of these, 175 questionnaires, 70 percent, were usable. Having verified the fitness, validity, and reliability of the research tools, the researcher the analyzed data through Smart PLS. The findings indicated that although information technology support only indirectly (and not directly) is able to improve the organizational performance through the development of power dynamics (with an effect intensity of 0.31), unlike knowledge management, the intensity of its effect shows a significant difference with the direct and indirect effects of knowledge management on performance (0.32). Therefore, it can be reported on the basis of the evidences that power dynamics is a mediating and significant organizational mechanism through which the benefits of knowledge management capability and information technology support turn into high performance results at large businesses. Hence, it can be argued that information technology support of knowledge management contains indirect benefits for managers of top 50 companies in Iran. This relationship shows that companies need to match information technology support with their strategic needs.