Knowledge management practices in different SMEs: an empirical study in India

Knowledge is an important and dynamic element to inculcate innovation in big organisations and also in small organisations. Discovering new knowledge and capturing, sharing and applying it properly are major activities of knowledge management (KM). Small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), knowingly or unknowingly, adopt KM practices in different ways to make their processes and products more innovative for competitive advantage. This paper examines the significance of various practices grouped under each KM activity and the relationships among the four activities from the perspective of people working in different SMEs in India. First part of the study deals with analysis of variance of practices and the second part deals with the structural modelling of KM activities. ANOVA, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses followed by structural equation modelling are used. Knowledge discovery is related to knowledge capturing and sharing, which are further related to knowledge application.