Identifying and Prioritizing of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Knowledge Management by Using SAW & FAHP

Subject Areas : Industrial Management

Elmira Rahimi ¹ , Majid Bagherzadeh Khajeh ²

1 - M.A, Department of Industrial Management, Operations Research, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran

Received: 2016-02-20 Accepted : 2016-09-18 Published : 2016-09-08

Keywords:

Abstract :

In the knowledge-based age, knowledge is regarded as a competitive advantage which should be managed in a proper manner for an accurate use. The first step to implement a system is to identify the key factors. During designation and implementation of knowledge management, a series of factors exist which play a more vital role and they lead to facilitation and acceleration of the implementation process of the system by focusing on the main axes. This research is conducted in order to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) of knowledge management. The statistical population consisted of managers and experts of Tabriz Oil Refinery which is equal to 30 persons. As the statistical population number is limited, there is no need for sampling and the whole population was surveyed. For data collection, two questionnaires were employed, the reliability and validity of questionnaires were assessed by experts’ reviews, opinions, and Cronbach test. For identifying the factors effective on the success of knowledge management T-test was performed. According to the findings and results, four critical success factors were identified, including management practices, organization efforts and development, information technology and supply and adoption rate. With regard to the simple Additive Weighting Method (SAW), the ranking of afore-mentioned factors are as follows:  management practices, organizational efforts, supply, and adoption rate and IT. And with regard to the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), the ranking of these factors are as follows: management practices, organizational efforts, IT and supply, and adoption rate. In addition to the importance of knowledge management, we can refer to the identification of gaps in organization's knowledge, higher productivity of human capital; provide more value-added goods, the satisfaction of customers and employees, strengthening competitive position.

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