A Survey on Knowledge Management Status and its Correlation with Organizational Commitment among the Employees of Research-based Organizations

Considering the potential importance of knowledge management (KM) in research centers, as a productivity tool for knowledge creation and innovation, as well as the significance of employees’ commitment and motivation as an important factor for successful implementation of KM, the present study aims to investigate the association between KM and organizational commitment among the researchers working in research centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).

Data gathering tools were knowledge management questionnaire developed by Lawson (2003) and Organizational Commitment questionnaire introduced by Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979), respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 25) and descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were extracted by the Pearson’s correlation coefficient test.

The findings showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between KM and organizational commitment among researchers of research centers affiliated to TUMS and the researchers were enjoying a relatively desirable KM level and high organizational commitment. Also the Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between the production, acquisition and organization of knowledge with organizational commitment, but there was no significant correlation between the storage, dissemination and utilization of knowledge with organizational commitment.

The results of the research showed that the level of commitment and motivation of employees is critical due to its infrastructural role in implementing KM and increasing the efficiency of the organization.