Knowledge Management Process and Organizational Performance in SMEs

The benefits of knowledge management are recognized mainly for the large organization. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can also achieve the real benefits of KM. This paper investigates the relationship between the KM process and the organizational performance of SMEs. The objective of this paper is to assess the KM process and its relationship to different components of organizational performance in small and medium enterprise application service providers in Thailand. A survey approach was used with a sample of 81 respondents. The results show that knowledge organization, and retention and knowledge utilization improve individual performance, product performance, and overall organizational performance. Only knowledge organization and retention increases process performance. Knowledge dissemination influences customer satisfaction and reputation and cost reduction. These results demonstrate the benefits of the KM practices on the organizational performance in SMEs.