Relationship between culture of excellence and organizational performance with knowledge sharing as mediating role

Abstract

High performing organizations are those which practice exemplary Culture of Excellence (CoE). Global competition dictates that only high performing organizations will survive in the long term. However, most previous studies have paid less attention to CoE especially in developing countries. In particular, little has been written about the effects of knowledge sharing and efforts on CoE and organizational performance relationships. The main objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework between CoE and organizational performance with knowledge sharing as a mediator. Past developments, recent progress and future trends in establishing such relation was comprehensively overviewed. The subject area of this research was selected Iranian manufacturing companies. First, three theories namely Denison’s theory, social exchange theory, and resource-based theory were identified and applied in this study. 12 hypotheses were proposed to develop a conceptual framework based on structural equation modelling (SEM). Managers from 222 EFQM excellence award-winning manufacturing companies in Iran were selected to participate in a survey. The model was validated using SEM-PLS and the path modelling among the studied variables was developed. The structural model results proved that CoE has a significant impact on organizational performance. This study also stated that knowledge sharing is an important mediator between CoE and organizational performance. The features of the structural model suggest that CoE can act as a recommendable management system to effectively support organizational competitiveness. Organizations must incorporate and encourage the practice of knowledge sharing into their CoE practices. Findings of the current study, can also contribute to the development of superior organizational performance by creating a valid and reliable measurement instrument for CoE. The author further asserted that the proposed conceptual framework should benefit both practitioners and researchers.