A Contingency Model on Knowledge Management-Firm Performance Relationship: An Empirical Study from China

Prior studies which have examined knowledge management-firm performance relationship have mainly focused on firms from industrialized countries. This is one of the first few studies that have explicitly modeled and empirically tested the linkage between knowledge management (KM) and firm performance in a developing country context. Based on a postal survey, 171 usable questionnaires are returned from firms under China's transitional background. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the moderating effect of market orientation (MO) on the relationship between KM and firm performance is investigated. The research results indicate that KM can positively and significantly affect performance. Meanwhile, MO has positive and significant interaction effect with KM on firm performance. Because there is little written on the use of MO as a moderator to explore the impact of KM on firm performance, this paper provides a basis for future studies. The implications and limitations are also discussed.