The influences of information technology resources on Knowledge Management Capabilities: Organizational culture as mediator variable

BACKGROUND: Information technology creates supremacies by using or exploiting human resources or business which already exist. The use of modern information technology is form of merging between information technology and substantial complementary resources in order to acquire better performance. In this sense, the escalation of information technology can also influence the organizational culture related to quality of human resources in internal environment of organization. Thus, it is important that the influence of IT infrastructure and organizational culture being carried out in order to understand the relationship between both variables. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study are to examine and explain the influence of IT resources on knowledge management capabilities mediated by organizational culture. Also, this study seeks to unfold howthese variables are crucial to the existence of higher education institution (e.g. Universities) in Indonesia, particularly those who are listed as active institutional member of the Association of Indonesia School of Business Administration (AIABI). Thus, providing an empirical finding on the context of knowledge management and organizational culture in the higher education context is beneficial in the quest. METHODS: This research is quantitative in nature, by employing the use of survey method as means of inquiry. Further, this research involves 315 samples derived from a total of 63 Indonesian Universities which actively are listed members of the AIABI. For the purpose of hypotheses testing, inferential statistical analysis was utilised in the form of path analysis. RESULTS: This study indicated that IT human resource does not influence Knowledge Management Capabilities. This suggest that that the existence of a good and qualified IT infrastructure in Indonesia does not easily assure the running of knowledge management even in Universities which knowledge is regarded as the foundation of their business process. Further, it assumes that culture plays an important role, to which they have tendency to follow top-down direction, affected by surrounding environment rather than initiating to exploit one's own capability. CONCLUSIONS: IT Infrastructure Resource positively and significantly influences organizational culture in universities. IT Human Resource has positive and significant influence on organizational culture in universities. IT infrastructure does not give positive and significant influence on Knowledge Management Capabilities. Organizational Culture of Universities has positive and significant influence on the culture of Knowledge Management Capabilities. Future research should explore how organizational culture acts as a moderating variable since there is an assumption from other research that organizational culture can act as a variable that strengthens or weakens the relationship among human resource management variable and the performance of the companies.