Knowledge Characteristics, Knowledge Acquisition Strategy and Results of Knowledge Management Implementations: An Empirical Study of Taiwanese Hospitals

Abstract

The very fundamental mission of hospital management is to deliver quality healthcare services by utilizing highly specialized medical knowledge and solve other healthcare problems within various resource constraints. Similar to other knowledge-intensive industries which operate in highly challenging business environments, hospitals of all sizes must view the creation, organization, distribution, and application of knowledge as a critical aspect of their management activities. Knowledge management, therefore, represents a viable strategy as hospitals strive to simultaneously provide quality medical services, improve operational efficiency, and comply with governmental documentation and reporting regulations. This study examines the correlation as well as causal relationships between knowledge characteristics, knowledge acquisition strategy, implementation measures, and performance of knowledge management implementations in the context of hospital management. Using primary data collected in Taiwanese hospitals, our analyses showed that the characteristics of knowledge affect the ways in which knowledge management is implemented, and the implementation measure, in turn, has a significant impact on the results of knowledge management implementation.