THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND ITS RELATION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES

Abstract

Many companies, in today, technology and dynamic surroundings, have acknowledged knowledge management (KM) and IT tools as valuable resources in addition to other resources for the competitive advantage of organizations. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to examine the influence of knowledge storage (KS), knowledge sharing and application (KShA), towards organizational performance (OP). Moreover, to investigate the moderating effect of knowledge management tools (KMT) in the relationship among these variables, in the cruise industry. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey from 283 participants employed on board three Carnival Cruise Lines ships. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is adopted to explore relationships among variables. The results showed the significant and positive impact of knowledge storage, sharing and application on OP, as well as the existence of a moderating effect of KMT on the relation between these variables, which was further explained by simple slope analysis. This research contributes to the existing literature by exploring KM and OP specifically in the cruise industry. The practical implications indicate that organizations should integrate KM with technology and provide managerial training, which leads to the delivery of efficient, high-quality services, ultimately enhancing overall performance.