Practices of knowledge management processes: is it often overlooked asset? a comparative study of selected public and private commercial banks in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Research background: Knowledge Management (KM) is generally known as the process of generating, capturing, organizing, storing, disseminating and applying knowledge in an organization. Every organization finds knowledge as a very valuable asset, as need for better management of knowledge has become imperative for organizations to remain ahead of competitors, gain popularity among equals and become an integral asset for organizational functionalities. There is a clear indication that banks, both in the public and private sectors, can highly benefit from the adoption of KM. Nevertheless, one general question arises: which sector would be better off with the adoption? Since KM demands key investments of its enablers, a careful knowledge management process should be examined so as to determine a better KM implementation for sustainable success.

Purpose of the article: This study aims to examine the knowledge management processes as practiced by designated public and private banks in Sri Lanka through an empirical analysis to determine whether there are differences in the knowledge management practices of the two sectors.

Methods: The unit for analysis is banks i.e. both in the public and private sectors. The questionnaires were distributed to all the managers in various branches of the banks so as to record a high rate of return. There are two sections in the questionnaire whereby each one addresses each of the two study objectives respectively. A total of 159 responses were gathered through a survey of questionnaires containing 24 questions related to the six constructs of the KM process. SPSS version 23.0 was employed for statisticalanalysis.