El incremento de la productividad organizacional a través del uso de la gestión del conocimiento. Estudio empírico de pymes españolas en Brasil

Abstract

The following investigation analyzes the attributions of knowledge management processes and its factors based on knowledge, and on the expected impact on organizational productivity. The investigation utilizes a sample of 50 small and medium size enterprises, of Spanish origin, comprising different sectors, located in São Paulo Brazil. Small and medium size enterprises (SME) are social organizations, which utilize a large variety of resources to reach predetermined objectives (Chiavenato, 1993). Nowadays, these companies are confronted with great goals in order to be successful, like globalization, technological advances, constant innovation, creativity and competitiveness. Therefore, any SME that desires to position itself and survive in the global market must focus and manage a series of intangible resources, especially knowledge, in a more efficient manner than its competitors. In order to attain such goals, SME’s must understand how to utilize and manage the knowledge held by their worker. Information and knowledge are valuable tools for anyone who possesses them in no matter what company or industry. The concept of knowledge workers is due to the works of Peter Drucker, who originated this expression in his book Landmarks of Tomorrow in 1959. Since then, there have been many authors that have written about knowledge workers in different types of companies and how this knowledge should be managed. According to Garvin, (1998), knowledge management obtains and shares intellectual assets, with the objective of achieving optimal results in terms of productivity and innovation capacity within organizations. It is a process that comprises generating, acquiring, updating and reusing knowledge, with the purposes of creating a more intelligent and competitive company. Knowledge management comprises the use of processes which are difficult to account for and observe and sometimes are even unknown to those who possess them. Nonetheless, studies demonstrate that these processes are being utilized more and more frequently and that the results on firm productivity are considerable. In an attempt to continue in the same line of investigation, this study develops a conceptual model which emphasizes three key knowledge management processes individually: knowledge creation, knowledge storage and knowledge transfer, as well as twenty-two factors which comprise these processes. The results of this study will serve organizations understand the impact of knowledge management processes and their factors on the productivity of Spanish SME’s.