Impact of Knowledge Management (KM) on the Organizational Performance (OP) in Libraries of Pakistan

Abstract

 Knowledge management (KM) is a process that deals with creating, capturing, organizing, storing, sharing, and utilizing the available knowledge within an organization to make the best use of it and to achieve the objectives and goals of that organization. This study is designed to analyze the awareness of Knowledge management concepts among library professionals and the effect of their Knowledge Management Practices on the library’s performance. The study applied the census method of sampling to achieve non-generalized results. The complete population was the representation of all the heads of the libraries of universities/degree-awarding institutions in Karachi, Pakistan. The data gathered was then analyzed statistically by applying descriptive statistics for frequency, mean, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics to analyze the relationship among variables.

The results indicate that librarians working in academic university libraries possess significant awareness of knowledge management concepts. It was also identified that knowledge creation and knowledge sharing have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the library’s performance.

This study is essential as KM offers academic librarians to be effective in achieving the goals of the organization, and for the organization to identify and sustain knowledgeable and valuable librarians. The study recommends that there must be implementation of KM culture and promotion of knowledge management skills among library professionals by the authorities.