The Social Approach of Knowledge Management: The Effect on the Organizational Learning Capacity

The quest to stay competitive in the global and dynamic economy is increasingly turning organizations towards learning capacity as the main source of competitive advantage. This is due to the widespread recognition of knowledge as the major factor that will determine future success of organizations. Accordingly, knowledge management has become a central topic for academics and practitioners as the most important initiative to enhance learning capacity in organizations. This in itiative embraces the government of a set of conditions that are necessary for the processes of generation, accumulation and utilization of knowledge. Specifically, behavioral and interpersonal skills are often cited as essential enablers for successful knowledge management. The present study focuses on the issue of establishing behavioral initiatives of knowledge management for facilitating the development of a learning capacity in organizations. The analysis is accomplished through a validated questionnai re that surveyed 111 Spanish companies. The research findings show the positive relations between behavioral elements of knowledge management and learning capacity in organizations. So, these results validate that by creating and nurturing a trusting, creative and innovative climate, an organization can sustain its competitive advantages.