Investigation of Knowledge Management (KM): The Case of Iranian Agricultural Experts

Abstract

Nowadays efficient and productive knowledge management is a key competency for organizations and require proper arrangement of factors such as people, processes and organizational infrastructures. The purpose of this study was to investigate attitude and skill in applying knowledge management (KM) of agricultural experts. The paper was conducted using survey research. The sample was consisted of 120 experts in Jihad-e-Keshavarzi Organization of Mazandaran province. Data was gathered using questionnaire. The most important findings of the study showed that monthly income, organizational characteristics of experts, group-human factors, infrastructural factors, strategic and management factors, structural and process factors, access to information resources and technologies and attitude to development of knowledge management had positive and significant correlations with skills in applying knowledge management. Results of stepwise regression analysis also showed that independent variables of access to information resources and technologies, structural and process factors, organizational characteristics of experts, infrastructural factors, group-human factors and monthly income explained 50 percent of the variability in the skill in applying knowledge management.

Keywords: Knowledge management, Experts, Jihad-e-Keshavarzi, Mazandaran, Iran