The role of employee engagement on knowledge management and worker productivity: a case study in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Knowledge-Worker Productivity (KWP) has been influenced by Knowledge Management Process (KMP); however, past studies derived inconsistent findings of the relationship between the two variables. Additionally, the effect of KMP on KWP in the context of universities in Sri Lanka has not been adequately studied. Therefore, this present study aims to fill that gap by examining KMP elements’ effect, namely knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and usage on KWP, specifically the timeliness, proficiency, and independence of employees. This study also examines the role of employee engagements (i.e., intellectual, social, and affective) in mediating the effect of KMP on KWP. The questionnaire survey method was utilized to collect data from relevant university employees, i.e., lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors, whereby 264 valid responses were used in the analysis. The associations between KMP, Employee Engagement, and KWP were analyzed using the path analysis and bootstrapping methods. The outcomes demonstrated positive correlations between all three variables. Employee Engagement was shown to have a partial mediating effect on the KMP-KWP association. The general conclusion is that KWP is influenced by its capacity to increase employee engagement via KMP