Antecedents and Outcome of Knowledge Management: Empirical Study of MNCs Operating in FMCG Sector of Pakistan

Abstract

The research studied the Antecedents and Outcome of Knowledge Management: Empirical Study of MNCs Operating in FMCG Sector of Pakistan. The literature reviewed for this study suggested to take organizational culture, leadership, rewards, T shape skills and employee goal orientation as antecedents of knowledge management and sustainable competitive advantage as an outcome. To test the link between organizational culture, leadership, rewards, TShaped skills and employee goal orientation and sustainable competitive advantage, Knowledge management worked as mediating variable. Whereas organizational learning has been taken as moderating variable between Knowledge management and sustainable competitive advantage. The study utilized the deductive approach and secondary data collection method tool has been used. The theoretical foundation of the study is Nonaka’s Knowledge Creation Theory and Resource Based View (RBV). The study is based on the Positivism philosophy with an objective to study the impact of the factors those affect knowledge management which leads to sustaining competitive advantage. The study followed general to specific direction hence employed deductive approach. The sample organizations of FMCG sector are from three big cities of Pakistan Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Almost 430 respondents were approached in these organizations from managerial positions however received 391 questionnaires. For sampling nonprobability sampling technique was used and to gather the data the study employed survey questionnaire. The examination was carried out through Smart PLS. The study has shown that employee goal orientation, Organizational culture, organizational leadership, T shape skills and rewards have positive effect on sustainable competitive advantage with the mediation of knowledge management. The study did find the evidence of moderation between the KM and SCA. However, employee goal orientation and rewards have insignificant effect on sustainable competitive advantage. By meeting consumer demands for healthier and sustainable options, FMCG companies can recover customer loyalty, tap into emergent market trends, and distinguish themselves in a packed market. The study did find the evidence of learning as moderation between Knowledge management and Sustainable Competitive advantage. The IV have positive effect on the SCA except the organizational leadership. The study relied on survey data. In-depth interviews with higher-level management of the respective companies may have shown new insights. The data was gathered only from three big cities due to maximum of the firms having their offices in these big cities. Another major limitation of the study was the scarcity of data on few variables such as T shape skills and moderation of organizational learning. Additionally, there is a dearth of literature on local context w.r.t knowledge management. Furthermore, few organizations preferred not to share information willingly, especially in detail, and some of them were not interested in participating in this study. The study has hypothetical and practical significance for Fast Moving Consumer Good sector firms in developing countries. As a complete study the work would benefit the entire stakeholders including managers of Fast-Moving Consumer Good sector, academic researchers and practitioners, by adding knowledge to the existing body of literature, helping experts to develop an improved understanding the active application of knowledge management process in Fast Moving Consumer Good sector and guide future research on attaining sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge management.