Does size matter? The effects of public sector organizational size’on knowledge management processes and operational efficiency

Abstract

Purpose: Firm size is an important contingency variable in macro-organizational studies. Several questions arise in relation to knowledge management and organizational size that is critical to both public and private organizations. Unfortunately, despite its significance, all or most of the studies that examined the effects of organizational size’ on knowledge management have been in the private sector. This paper aims to empirically study the effects of organizational size on the key knowledge management processes and subsequent operational efficiency derived from its implementation in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach: A structured country-wide survey of United Arab Emirates public sector organizations was conducted. The 383 completed responses obtained were then analysed to assess the hypothesized differences in the implementation of knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge capture, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization) and its impact on the operational efficiency across small and medium, large and very large public sector organizations. Findings: The results revealed that the extent of implementation of all six knowledge management processes and operational efficiency followed an inverted “V” pattern, in which, both knowledge management processes and operational efficiency was found to increase while transitioning from small and medium entities to large entities, but was found to decrease while transitioning from large to very large entities. In terms of relationships, while all knowledge management processes had a significant positive impact on the operational efficiency of the public sector, the ability to derive operational efficiency from knowledge management processes was found to be the highest for very large public sector organizations. Practical implications: The novel findings are useful for practitioners and policymakers, especially those overseeing a country’s knowledge management initiatives to devise strategies, policies and support mechanisms to ensure public sector organizations, regardless of their size, can implement efficient and effective knowledge management processes to improve their operational efficiency. Originality/value: The study is arguably the first comprehensive attempt to understand the impact of organizational size on knowledge management in the public sector.