ENHANCING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE BY APPLYING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND NEW FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Considering the mediating role of the new financial technologies, this paper aims to study the relationship between the use of knowledge management (KM) and the enhancing financial performance of banks in the banking industry of Iran. In terms of purpose, the paper was applied and correlational one in terms of descriptive method. The statistical sample was made up of 180 senior and middle managers of active banks in Iran with at least 5 years of work experience (tenure) in KM and new financial technologies. Moreover, A questionnaire was applied to collect research data, and the validity and reliability were confirmed through CVR and Cronbach's alpha indices. Upon collecting the data to test the research hypotheses, the structural equation modeling method was applied in the SmartPLS. The results showed that KM holds a positive and significant effect on enhancing financial performance and 0.682 directly predicts the changes related to the financial performance of the studied banks. Furthermore, further analysis of the results showed that KM through modern financial technologies holds a positive and significant effect on the financial performance of active banks in the banking industry of Iran. Consequently, applying KM dimensions (use of knowledge, acquisition of knowledge, and integration of knowledge) along with modern financial technologies -such as cloud computing technology, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence - is likely to enhance the financial performance of banks and provide sustainable profitability.