Relationship marketing based competing model for knowledge sharing in incubator

Abstract

Knowledge sharing (KS) is referred to as an important strategy for improving innovation, productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of organizations. Outcomes of KS are explained from different standpoints. However, previous studies significantly fail to explore the outcomes of KS from a relationship marketing (RM) perspective. This study examined the outcomes of KS on an organization’s performance and its relationship with customers in business incubators. The study demonstrated that individual KS promoted by social relations, positively affect relationship with customers. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of social capital theory and relationship marketing concepts, a conceptual framework was formulated to examine the impact of KS on organizational performance and customer relationship. Tenant startup team members in business incubators in Malaysia were the units of analysis. A random sampling method was employed to derive the sample size from the population. This quantitative study used a cross-sectional survey method data which was collected from 104 respondents. Sixteen hypothetical relationships were examined by adopting the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) using SmartPLS 2.0. Results suggest that the model has a good predictive ability. In addition, results revealed that the overall relationship between KS and customer relationship is significant. The findings indicate that KS is perceived to have a positive effect on customer relationship as well as a positive influence on the work performance in individuals, teams and organizations. A competing model is proposed based on the findings to better portray the scenario in the Malaysian context. This research expands the understanding of the effects of KS on organizations from the RM perspective in the business incubators of Malaysia.