Abstract:

The paper aims to examine the importance and the extent of use of knowledge management (KM) practices in the higher education setting. Such a study is scarce to date although higher education institutions (HEIs) have been widely recognized as knowledge-intensive organizations. The literature suggests that KM in general is conceptualized as a practice involving knowledge generation, codification, and transfer. An empirical research by means of a quantitative survey was administered to the academics of four public universities which fall under the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN). The academics were targeted due to their responsibility in generating knowledge through research and disseminating knowledge via teaching. A self-reporting questionnaire consisting of 57 items utilizing rating strategies on two dimensions: (1) use and (2) importance, as well as demographic questions were used as instrument for this study. Based on the responses derived from 191 academics, the factor analysis results confirm that the responses generally support the theoretical and conceptual distinctions of the three KM practices identified in the literature. The mean scores imply that all the three KM practices scored consistently higher on their degree of importance than their extent of use, and the differences are highly significant. Knowledge codification was rated as the most important KM practice, followed by knowledge transfer and generation. However, the academics perceived knowledge transfer as the most widely used KM practice, followed by knowledge generation and codification. Nonetheless the degree of use for all the KM practices is found to be moderate. Recommendations are proposed for the HEIs to deal more effectively with the KM practices.