Knowledge Management and SMEs: A Study of Knowledge Management Utilization by SMEs in Iran

Creating and sustaining a competitive advantage is a knowledge-based activity and those companies that are aware of knowledge management concepts and utilize it within their organizations have an edge over their competitors. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in developing countries’ growth agenda. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of KM utilization in Iranian SMEs and it conducts a comparative analysis of SMEs in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In order to gauge the degree of utilization, infrastructure and process capabilities of Iranian SMEs are investigated. It is found that KM in Iranian SMEs is partially, not fully, deployed. Further, the results of regression analysis indicate that organizational culture has a significant role in KM adoption amongst Iranian SMEs.