A resource-based perspective on knowledge management capability and competitive advantage: an empirical investigation

The concept of knowledge management (KM) as a powerful competitive weapon has been strongly emphasized in the strategic management literature, yet the sustainability of the competitive advantage provided by KM capability is not well-explained. To fill this gap, this paper develops the concept of KM as an organizational capability and empirically examines the association between KM capabilities and competitive advantage. In order to provide a better presentation of significant relationships, through resource-based view of the firm explicitly recognizes important of KM resources and capabilities. Firm specific KM resources are classified as social KM resources, and technical KM resources. Surveys collected from 177 firms were analyzed and tested. The results confirmed the impact of social KM resource on competitive advantage. Technical KM resource is negatively related with competitive advantage, and KM capability is significantly related with competitive advantage. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.