(Microsoft Word NCS Ho\340ng Van Nam t\363m t?t LA TA 05 04 2023) MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY HOÀNG VĂN NAM IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON FIRM PERFORMANC[.]
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY HOÀNG VĂN NAM WORK IS COMPLETED AT: NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY Science instructor: Assoc.Prof.PhD LÊ BA PHONG Assoc.Prof.PhD ĐÀO THỊ THANH LAM Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON FIRM PERFORMANCE IN VIETNAMESE ENTERPRISES Reviewer 3: MAJOR: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CODE: 9340404 Thesis is defended at the Thesis Judging Committee National Economics University degree At:… hour, date …… month …… year 2023 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAGE THESIS The thesis can be found at: - Vietnam National Library - Library of National Economics University Hanoi - 2023 INTRODUCTION Stemming from the above theoretical and practical needs, the author has chosen the topic: "Impact of knowledge management on firm performance in Vietnam" to carry out research projects of doctoral dissertation Research goals 2.1 Overall objectives The research objective of the thesis is to test and estimate the model on the impact of the knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability on firm performance in Vietnamese enterprises, including operating performance and market performance 2.2 Detail objectives Firstly, consider the impact of first-order construct of (1) knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) knowledge process capability on business performance, including (1) operating performance and (2) market performance Secondly, consider the impact of second-order construct variables that are (1) knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) knowledge process capability on firm performance Thirdly, consider the impact of second-order construct variables that are (1) knowledge infrastructure capability on (2) knowledge process capability in Vietnamese enterprises Fourthly, based on resarch results, the author proposes solutions with the aim of helping managers and leaders in the enterprise Research questions: Question 1: Which theory is appropriate in studying the impact of knowledge management on firm performance? Question 2: How does knowledge infrastructure capability affect firm performance? Question 3: How does the knowledge process capability affect firm performance? Question 4: How does knowledge infrastructure capability affect the knowledge process capability of Vietnamese enterprises? Question 5: What solutions need to be taken to promote knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability in Vietnamese enterprises? Research purposes Today, the basis of competitive advantage in enterprises has shifted from tangible resources to knowledge resources (Wong and Aspinwall, 2005; Tan and Wong, 2015) Knowledge is considered as a valuable asset for all businesses (Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Lee and Choi, 2003) And knowledge management is widely recognized as a tool to help enterprises maintain a competitive advantage in the market (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Wong, 2005; Al-Mabrouk, 2006; Chang and Chuang, 2011) ; Mills and Smith, 2011; Tseng and Lee, 2014; Grupta and Chopra, 2018) In theory, current studies have not provided an integrated model to assess the impact of knowledge management on business performance (Payal et al., 2019) Many studies suggest that knowledge management includes two aspects: knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability (Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith, 2011; Tan and Wong, 2015; Alaarj et al., 2016) However, current research has not yet agreed on the elements that make up the knowledge infrastructure capability and the knowledge process capability (Gold et al., 2001; Wong and Aspinwall, 2005; Tan et al., 2001; Wong, 2015; Ngoc-Tan and Gregar, 2019) Therefore, this study has added the factor of “management leadership and support” to knowledge infrastructure capability At the same time, previous studies often only evaluated the impact of knowledge management on operating performance and ignored market performance, so this thesis will evaluate the performance of enterprises as a combination of operating performance and market performance In addition, the author also adds an item for the "technology" factor to suit the development of current information technology In practice, most of the previous studies on the impact of knowledge management on firm performance are usually carried out in developed countries (Gold et al., 2001; Chang and Chuang, 2011) ;Pérez-López and Alegre, 2012; Tan and Wong, 2015) Research on knowledge management in Vietnam is still very new Recently, Ngoc-Tan and Gregar (2019) evaluated the impact of knowledge management on performance, but this study was conducted in a higher education environment with knowledge management activities and scale of performance is far different from the production and business context in enterprises 3 4 Objects and scope of the research 4.1 Objects of the research The research object is the impact of knowledge management, including aspects: (1) knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) knowledge process capability on firm performance Accordingly, the knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability will be studied on the scale of the whole organization, not focusing on the level of individuals At the same time, the knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability will be assessed by administrators and leaders in enterprises in Vietnam In addition, the thesis also focuses on assessing the impact of second-order construct variables of (1) knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) knowledge process capability on firm performance including: Operating performance and market performance 4.2 Scope of the research Regarding research space: The thesis focuses on researching enterprises in the fields of: Manufacturing, trading, services, information technology, construction in 31 provinces/cities in all North, Central and South of Vietnam because these enterprises account for 79,59% of the structure in the Vietnamese economy (Ministry of Planning and Investment, 2022) About research time: The thesis uses primary data based on surveys by questionnaires for managers and leaders in enterprises in Vietnam in all regions of North Central Vietnam since 2018 to present However, the survey questionnaire was conducted from May 1, 2021 to the end of August 31, 2021 At the end of the survey, the author obtained 482 questionnaires that fully answered the information on the answer sheets from 31 provinces/cities across the country Regarding research content: Although there are many approaches to knowledge management in Vietnam and around the world, in this thesis, the author has extended the research model of Gold et al (2001) ) and Mills and Smith (2011) by adding the factor “management leadership and support” to “knowledge infrastructure capability” to assess the impact of (1) the knowledge process capability and (2) knowledge infrastructure capability on firm performance including operating and market performance in Vietnamese enterprises Because the thesis deals with the performance of the whole organization, the research scope of the thesis only focuses on the organizational level of the enterprise and does not focus on the individual level At the same time, each enterprise selects only one leader who is knowledgeable about knowledge management and operational results to answer the survey questionnaire 4.3 Research methodology The thesis uses quantitative method with data processing tools such as reliability analysis of the scale (Cronbach's Alpha), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), descriptive statistics analysis, linear regression according to least squares method (OLS) based on primary data collection for 482 enterprises in all three regions of North, Central and South in Vietnam New contributions of the thesis In theory, the thesis has built an overall model to evaluate the impact of knowledge management on firm performance In which, the thesis has added the element "management leadership and supprot" to knowledge infrastructure capability At the same time, previous studies often only assessed the impact of knowledge management on operating performance, so this thesis has evaluated firm performance in two aspects: Operating performance and market performance In addition, the author also adds an item for the "technology" factor to suit Vietnamese businesses In practice, the thesis has pointed out the most important factors of (1) the knowledge process capability and (2) the knowledge infrastructure capability that affects market performance and operating performance in Vietnames enterprises At the same time, the thesis also points out the direct impact of knowledge infrastructure capability on the knowledge process capability in Vietnamese enterprises At the same time, based on the research results, the author has made a number of recommendations and solutions to help competent leaders as well as managers in the enterprise to come up with policies to promote knowledge management process to improve operating performance as well as expand the market in Vietnamese enterprises Structure of doctoral dissertation In addition of introduction and conclusion, the content of the thesis is presented in chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review and background theories Chapter 2: Research methodology Chapter 3: Research results Chapter 4: Conclusion and recommendations CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW AND BACKGROUND THEORIES 1.1 Definitions 1.1.1 Knowledge and knowledge classification 1.1.1.1 Knowledge definition Knowledge is one of the most popular and sought-after terms in the world (Holden, 2002) The scholars who have made the greatest and most important contributions to the development of theories related to knowledge include Kogut and Zander (1992), Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), Grant (1996), Davenport and Prusak (Kogut and Zander (1992), Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), Grant (1996), Davenport and Prusak (Kogut and Zander (1992) 1998) This thesis uses the definition of Davenport and Prusak (1998): “Knowledge is a fluid combination of experiences, values, contextual information, and insights to provide a framework for assessment and combination of experience and new information Knowledge is derived and applied in the minds of those who know In organizations, knowledge is not only contained in documents, or knowledge repositories, but also contained in the processes, practices, and operating rules of the organization 1.1.1.2 Knowledge classification a Tacit and explicit knowledge Based on the research of Polanyi (1966), Nonaka (1994) has clearly distinguished two concepts "hidden knowledge" and "exposed knowledge" as follows: Table 1.1 Compare tacit and explicit knowledge Tacit knowledge Explicit knowledge Helps to adapt to new and special Can be disseminated, copied, situations accessed and applied throughout the organization Includes deep expertise, know-how, Use for training, development insight Ability to coordinate, share vision, Organize, organize, systematize, turn communicate culture vision into mission statement as well as guiding implementation Delivered through coaching, face- Delivered across products, services, to-face and one-on-one and processes that are documented or documented (Source: Dalkir, 2005) b Knowledge "experience" and knowledge "action" Some types of organizational knowledge, such as values and beliefs, are not reflected in systematized documents but are written into the brains of individuals and cannot be transferred through formal documents such as email or official documents Therefore, the way to make tacit knowledge clear is to learn by “action” or learn by “experience” c Human, social and structure knowledge - Human knowledge: Usually expressed in the form of tacit knowledge Personal knowledge is perceptual and cognitive Personal knowledge is often felt or accumulated from an individual's previous experience - Social knowledge: Like individual knowledge, group knowledge is also a form of "highly hidden" knowledge Group knowledge is formed through the process of interaction and coordination between individuals or groups and is expressed through the capacity and coordination of working groups At the same time, the ability to effectively coordinate between individuals or groups is a manifestation of social knowledge in the organization - Structure knowledge: Organizational knowledge is also known as system knowledge Organizational knowledge is different from personal knowledge and social knowledge because it is completely independent of the person/individual who holds the knowledge Because systems knowledge is “highly visible” knowledge, which is embodied in the organization's system processes, operational processes, and databases 1.1.2 Knowledge management Carlino (2001) argued that innovation depends on changing the ideas of employees in enterprises At the same time, research by Kanter (1986) confirms that the process of awareness and creation of new ideas is the beginning stage of innovation Therefore, many studies have suggested that all innovation activities in enterprises originate from behavioral innovation in enterprises (Janssen, 2000; Lumpkin and Dess, 1996; Lu et al., 2015) For example, Janssen (2000) gave the definition of innovation work behavior as “creating, introducing and intentionally applying new ideas in work at businesses businesses to benefit businesses ”(cited by Fu et al., 2014; Omri, 2015) Lu et al (2015) based on research by Scott and Bruce (1994) suggest that innovation consists of three manifestations: forming new ideas, promoting new ideas and applying new ideas In Vietnam and in the world today, there are many definitions and ways of measuring knowledge management (Ho, 2009; Zaied et al., 2012) 7 However, most of the prominent studies in the world on knowledge management have determined that knowledge management in enterprises includes two aspects: (1) Knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) ) the knowledge process capability (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith, 2011; Zaied et al., 2012; Ngoc-Tan and Gregar, 2019) From the overview of research works in the world, in this thesis, the author gives the following definition of knowledge management: Knowledge management includes two aspects: Knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability In particular, the knowledge infrastructure capability creates conditions to promote the knowledge process capability in enterprises, thereby helping enterprises improve competitive advantages and achieve better firm performance 1.1.3 Knowledge infrastructure capability Knowledge infrastructure capacity is a set of factors supporting the knowledge management process of enterprises, including elements: (1) organizational culture, (2) organizational structure, ( 3) technology, (4) management leadership and support Knowledge infrastructure capability creates favorable conditions for employees to absorb knowledge as well as encourages them to share and learn knowledge together to improve productivity, thereby creating competitive advantages for employees and better firm performance 1.1.4 Knowledge process capability The knowledge management process is a set of factors that enable an enterprise to effectively use its internal and external knowledge resources to achieve better performance and enhance competitive advantage in the global marketplace There are four factors in the market: (1) Knowledge acquisition, (2) knowledge conversion, (3) knowledge application and (4) knowledge protection At the same time, the knowledge process capability also helps businesses take advantage of the efficiency created by the capability of the knowledge infrastructure 1.1.5 Firm performance Firm performance reflects a firm's ability to meet shareholder requirements and survive in the market (Griffin, 2003) Firm performance reflects the ability and results of the enterprise in using resources such as people, finance and facilities to achieve objectives (Medella et al., 2005) Firm performance are financial and non-financial metrics used by an enterprise to measure how well its results and objectives have been achieved over a specified period of time The performance of enterprises is evaluated through operating performance and market performance - Market peformance: Includes indicators related to total sales, sales growth, market share, competitive position and overall performance of the business (Delaney and Huselid, 1996; Lu et al., 2015) - Operating performance: Including indicators on the rate of return on total assets (ROA), rate of return on sales (ROS); profitability, increase in total assets and employee morale (Delaney and Huselid, 1996; Lu et al., 2015) 1.2 Relationships 1.2.1 Knowledge infrastructure capability and firm performance Knowledge infrastructure capability includes factors: (1) Organizational culture, (2) organizational structure, (3) technology, (4) management leadership and support Many studies in Vietnam and around the world have shown that knowledge infrastructure capability is a particularly important capacity for the knowledge management process in enterprises, helping enterprises to improve their knowledge, operating performance and market performance (Gold et al., 2001; Lee and Choi, 2003; Lee et al., 2008; Liao et al., 2010; Mills and Smith, 2011; Chang and Chuang, 2011; Wong and Wong, 2011; Zaied et al., 2012; Chuang et al., 2013; Tan and Wong, 2015; Alaarj et al., 2016; Payal et al., 2019) 1.2.2 Knowledge process capability and firm performance Knowledge process capability is a set of key competencies that enable enterprises to implement knowledge management activities within the organization, including four main factors: (1) Knowledge acquisition, (2) knowledge conversion, (3) knowledge application and (4) knowledge protection (Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith, 2011) Although currently, researches in Vietnam and around the world have not yet agreed on the factors in the process of knowledge management (Gold et al., 2001; NgocTan, 2019; Payal et al., 2019) But most studies have concluded that knowledge management process positively affects the performance of enterprises (Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith, 2011; Zaied, 2012; Noh et al., 2014; Pérez-López and Alegre, 2012; Alaarj et al., 2016; Ngoc-Tan, 2019; Payal et al., 2019) 1.2.3 Innovation and firm performance Currently, in Vietnam and in the world, there are very few studies on the impact of knowledge infrastructure capability on the knowledge process capability in enterprises However, in previous studies of the world, 10 knowledge infrastructure capability is required as a set of supports to make the knowledge management process of enterprises easier and more convenient (Lee and Choi, 2003; Ho, 2009, Rehman and Iqbal, 2020) In addition, the capacity of knowledge infrastructure not only helps the enterprise's knowledge to be synchronously established, but also creates a motivation for employees to develop knowledge as well as encourages them to receive, transfer and sharing knowledge and experience in the enterprise, thereby improving labor productivity and increasing operational results for the whole enterprise (Ichijo et al., 1998; Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith , 2011; Tan and Wong, 2015) 1.3 Research gaps Firstly, about the research model, the author has built an overall model to evaluate the impact of knowledge management, including: Knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability on firm performance In which, previous studies often only assessed the impact of knowledge management on operating performance, this study evaluated firm performance in two aspects: market performance and operating performance In addition, for knowledge infrastructure capability, the author has added the factor "management leadership and support" to the research model Secondly, in terms of research methods, the thesis uses two methods at the same time: second-order construct and first-order construct Secondorder construct analysis will help assess the overall impact of the knowledge management on firm performance In addition, the first-order construct will help assess the impact of each element of knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability on operating and market performance This will help come up with appropriate and specific solutions for Vietnamese businesses 1.4 Background theories 1.4.1 Resource based-view The literature review shows that most of the studies in the world on the impact of knowledge infrastructure capabilities on business performance are using a resource-based view (Resource-based view) RBV) (Holsapple and Joshi, 2001; Chuang, 2004; Mills and Smith, 2011; Tseng and Lee, 2014; Barkar et al., 2016; Gürlek and Çemberci, 2020) Studies on the resource-based perspective of Wernerfelt (1984) and Barney (1991) suggest that if a business has resources that ensure all four factors: (1) Value, (2) scarcity, (3) difficult to imitate or copy, and (4) nonsubstitutable, can create a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors Resources - Value - Rare - Imperfect Imitability - Non-substitutability Compettitive Advantage Source: Barney (1991) The researches of Rumelt (1984), Wernerfelt (1984), Barney (1991), Gold et al (2001) suggest that the resource-based perspective does not just stop at the "resources" inside the business business, but also expanded with the "capabilities" that the business owns Thus, the resource-based perspective is defined as firms using unique resources and capabilities to create a sustainable competitive advantage over the long term (Chuang, 2004) And when businesses have a competitive advantage, it will help increase operating performance for businesses, as well as help businesses create sustainable profits for a long time (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991; Huselid, 1995; Denaley and Huselid, 1996; Rothenberg et al., 2015) Therefore, based on the view of resources (RBV), it can be concluded that knowledge infrastructure is a kind of "special capability" that helps enterprises increase their competitive advantage and performance in the future 1.4.2 Knowledge-based view The knowledge-based view is derived from the resource-based view because knowledge is a unique and extremely important resource for creating competitive advantage (Grant, 1996b) Most of the research in the world on the impact of the knowledge management process on business performance is based on the knowledge perspective put forward by Grant (1996b) (Hsu and Sabherwal, 2011; Noh et al., 2014; Donate and Pablo, 2014; Gürlek and Çemberci, 2020; Rehman and Iqbal, 2020) Grant (1996b) argues that knowledge is the main and key productive resource in creating business strategies as well as creating added value for enterprises Firstly, enterprises can accumulate knowledge through regulations and directives In particular, regulations are standards established to regulate the interaction between individuals and employees in the organization Directives are requests made by experts for the purpose of 11 12 instructing novices Enterprises can issue regulations on work, salary and bonus regimes or regulations on initiatives in the organization Individual employees will be more motivated to generate new ideas if they know they will receive rewards This will help businesses get more creative ideas from individual employees (Nguyen Van Thang, 2015) Secondly, enterprises can accumulate knowledge through sequence Sequence is the production process in the enterprise The order stipulates that employees in the enterprise must produce and strictly follow the production stages sequentially in a separate time unit In which, different workers will have different work orders and regulations with separate time periods (Nguyen Van Thang, 2015) Through the promulgation of orders and procedures related to production and business activities, enterprises can guide employees to thoroughly follow the steps in the working process, thereby spreading the word knowledge more easily At the same time, these sequences can be accumulated over time so that older workers can easily interpret and transfer to newcomers Thirdly, businesses can accumulate knowledge through habits Habits are workers' actions, signals and responses that are repeated over a long period of time and are difficult to change Habits are developed by teams working within a business over a relatively long period of time Habits allow complex interactions to occur between individuals automatically Therefore, enterprises can share and transfer knowledge through changing habits as well as forming good habits of employees through working groups At the same time, the good habits of a certain work group can be a good knowledge that is widely disseminated by the enterprise to the whole company Fourthly, enterprises can accumulate knowledge through problem solving as well as decision making by working groups Problem solving is often introduced to perform complex or unusual tasks (Nguyen Van Thang, 2015) Through the process of problem solving and decision making, individuals in the working group will have the opportunity to exchange and interact with each other, thereby forming new ideas to solve problems, helping businesses industry can gain more knowledge Therefore, it can be concluded that the knowledge management process helps businesses increase customer satisfaction, business reputation as well as improve the efforts of employees At the same time, the knowledge management process also helps businesses easily adapt to the change of the business environment, increase innovation as well as accelerate the commercialization of products, while minimizing waste , saving production costs, thereby improving business performance (Gold et al., 2001; Mills and Smith, 2011; Supyuenyong and Swierczek, 2011) 1.5 Research model and hypothesises 1.5.1 Research model - Independent variable: Knowledge management includes two aspects: (1) Knowledge infrastructure capability and (2) knowledge process capability Knowledge infrastructure capability includes four factors: (1) Organizational culture, (2) organizational structure, (3) technology, and (4) management leadership and support And the knowledge process capability has four factors: (1) Knowledge acquisition, (2) knowledge conversion, (3) knowledge application and (4) knowledge protection - Dependent variable: Firm performance includes two aspects: (1) Operating performance and (2) market performance Based on the theoretical basis and overview, the model is as follows: Leadership Technology Structure Knowledgeinfrastruture capability Operating Culture Firm performance Acquisition Market Conversion Application Protection Knowledge process capability Figure 1.2 Research model Source: According to the survey and analysis of the author 13 1.5.2 Research hypothesis Hypothesis H1: Knowledge infrastructure capability has a positive impact on firm performance Hypothesis 2: Knowledge management process has a positive impact on firm performance Hypothesis 3: Knowledge infrastructure capability has a positive impact on the knowledge process capability CHAPTER2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research design The author used a combination of two methods: Qualitative research and quantitative research Qualitative research is used to add a measure of “management leadership and support” At the same time, with qualitative research, the author has selected the most important and appropriate indicators for knowledge infrastructure and knowledge management process in the context of Vietnam's economy Meanwhile, quantitative research is used to test research hypotheses, as well as evaluate the impact of independent variables on dependent variables in the research model The data used in the study were collected throughout the country including the North, Central and South regions 14 Literature Review Research gaps Background theories Define measurement variables and scales Preliminary qualitative research Building and standardizing Official quantitative research Hypothesis testing Research report Conclusion, discussion and recommendations Figure 2.1 Research process Source: Author's proposal Step 1: Research overview: The research overview is applied to systematize and find out the theoretical gaps related to the relationship between the knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability on firm performance Step 2: Research the theoretical basis: Through the study of overview and theoretical basis, the author has developed research hypotheses for independent variables, intermediate variables, dependent variables and control variables as well as the preliminary scale of variables in the research model between knowledge management and firm performance 15 16 Step 3: Preliminary qualitative research: After determining the research overview and theoretical basis, the author has conducted preliminary qualitative research The purpose of qualitative research is to select, test and identify the most important factors of knowledge management and knowledge infrastructure that affect business performance At the same time, based on the research scale on knowledge management and knowledge infrastructure of Gold et al (2001), the author used qualitative research methods to select important indicators and the most appropriate of knowledge management and knowledge infrastructure in the context of enterprises in Vietnam Besides, through qualitative research, the author has also added a number of indicators for knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability in enterprises in Vietnam In addition, through qualitative research, the author has also adjusted the terms and styles used in the survey questionnaire to suit the economic context of Vietnam Step 4: Formal Quantitative Research: After finishing the qualitative research and correcting the Vietnamese scale, the author conducted a formal quantitative research by collecting survey questionnaires from businesses industry in all regions of North, Central and South of Vietnam The author conducted the construction of the questionnaire in two ways Firstly, the author designed a survey questionnaire on A4 paper and sent it directly to businesses in Hanoi Secondly, for businesses that are far away due to geographical distance, the author has designed a survey questionnaire on the Google Form application and sent it to the email addresses of businesses for assistance in answering The survey period took place in months from February 1, 2021 to May 1, 2021 The author sent a total of 1.500 survey questionnaires to business partners and received 539 responses (35,9%) from 31 provinces and cities in all regions of the North, Central and South of Vietnam At the same time, the subjects selected to participate in the survey were Directors/Deputy Directors of enterprises to ensure accuracy and representativeness Because the Director or Deputy Director are the ones who have the most accurate and knowledgeable understanding of the production and business activities of their business The survey questionnaire consists of 60 questions, of which: (1) Organizational culture (VH) has questions, (2) organizational structure (CC) has questions, (3) technology (CN) has questions, (4) management leadership and support (LD) has sentences, (5) knowledge acquisition (TN) has questions, (6) knowledge conversion (CG) has questions, (7) knowledge application (UD) has questions, (8) knowledge protection (BV) has questions, (9) operating performance (VHA) has questions and (10) market performance (TT) has questions All the questions in the survey questionnaire sent to businesses are designed on a Likert scale from level to level 5, in which level is "strongly disagree" and level is "strongly agree" For quantitative analysis for second-order construct variables, the tools used include: Descriptive statistical analysis to determine the mean and median values of the research data set In addition, the author also uses the reliability analysis of the scale of independent and dependent variables according to Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to remove inappropriate observed variables as well as reducing a set of many observed variables into a smaller set but keeping the original information content and meaning In addition, the author also uses the correlation analysis method to evaluate the Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the correlation relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variables Finally, the least squares linear regression (OLS) method was used to test the research hypotheses All these analytical methods were performed using SPSS software version 20 Besides, in addition to unidirectional variables, this study also uses multidirectional variables in the analysis In which, the two independent variables are the knowledge management process and the knowledge infrastructure, while the dependent variable is the business results The knowledge management process is a collection of variables: (1) Knowledge acquisition, (2) knowledge conversion, (3) knowledge application and (4) knowledge protection Meanwhile, knowledge infrastructure is a collection of variables: (1) organizational culture, (2) organizational structure, (3) technology, and (4) management leadership and support The performance of an enterprise is a collection of variables: (1) Operating performance and (2) market performance Step 5: Report the research results: Finally, based on the estimated results of the research model, the author will conclude and discuss the research results At the same time, the author also made some recommendations to help businesses in Vietnam come up with appropriate policies on knowledge management as well as create a cultural environment for spreading knowledge for employees activities, contributing to promoting the performance of enterprises in Vietnam 17 18 CHAPTER RESEARCH RESULTS 3.1 Descriptive statistics research sample The survey results show that the most respondents are directors in enterprises with 279 people, accounting for 57,8% In addition, the Deputy Director had 203 respondents to the survey questionnaire, accounting for 42,2% It can be seen that the response rate to the survey questionnaire between the Director and the Deputy Director is relatively equal and there is no big difference There is a clear difference in the educational level of the respondents who responded to the survey questionnaire In which, the most respondents to the survey questionnaire were Masters with 239 people, accounting for 49,6% Next is the university degree with 186 people, accounting for 38,6% Intermediate/college level has 35 respondents, accounting for 7,2% And finally, the subjects who answered at least were PhDs with 22 people, accounting for 4,6% Statistical analysis results show that the age group participating in the survey the most is from 40 years old to under 50 years old with 235 people, accounting for 48,8% And the age group participating in the survey is at least over 60 years old with 32 people, accounting for 6,6% Besides, the age group from 30 to under 40 years old has 36 people, accounting for 7,5% And the age group from 50 to under 60 has 179 people, accounting for 37,1% 3.2 Results of testing scales 3.2.1 Cronbach’s Alpha The thesis evaluates the reliability of the scale according to Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for each group of observed variables with the criterion of excluding observations with total correlation coefficient < 0.3 and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient < 0.6 ( Hair et al., 1998) After testing Cronbach's Alpha, all groups of factors give good results 3.2.2 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) The results of the first exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for 50 independent variables with factors show that the variables have converged and are separate in each group However, the LD7 indicator "Leaders show support for knowledge management" has a factor loading coefficient < 0.5, so it will be excluded from the research model (Hair et al events, 2018) After removing the LD7 indicator from the LD factor, the author conducted the second exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for 49 independent variables with groups of factors The analysis results show that all factors have converged and separate At the same time, all indicators have factor loadings greater than 0.5, so they qualify in EFA analysis (Hair et al., 2018) In addition, the cumulative total explanatory variance in the second EFA analysis for the independent variables was 74,060 > 50%, showing that the survey data explained more than 74% of the variation of the variables in the research model The study should have very high reliability (Hair et al., 2018) The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the reliability of the scale according to Cronbach's Alpha coefficient showed that the dependent variables had convergence and separateness At the same time, the observed variables all have factor loading coefficients greater than 0.5, so they are satisfactory (Hair et al., 2018) Besides, the KMO coefficient in the EFA analysis is 0.947 > 0.5, so it meets the standard (Hair et al., 2018) In addition, the cumulative explanatory variance of the dependent variables is 61,587, showing that the survey data explains more than 61% of the variation of the variables in the research model 3.3 Correlation analysis The results of the correlation analysis show that the independent and dependent variables are all correlated at 5% significance level At the same time, there is no pair of Pearson correlation coefficients between the variables greater than 0.8, so there is no serious multicollinearity (Hoang Trong and Chu Nguyen Mong Ngoc, 2008) 3.4 Linear regression analysis 3.4.1 First-order construct Table 3.1 Regression results Variables VH CC LD CN TN CG BV UD R2 F Operating performance (VHA) P-value VIF β 0,193 0,000 1,705 0,112 0,002 1,462 0,145 0,000 1,897 0,097 0,002 1,154 0,211 0,000 2,167 0,135 0,000 1,209 0,062 0,087 1,490 0,208 0,000 1,444 0,583 84,972*** Market performance (TT) P-value VIF β 0,139 0,009 1,705 0,075 0,124 1,462 0,079 0,153 1,897 0,072 0,096 1,154 0,085 0,152 2,167 0,091 0,040 1,209 0,004 0,934 1,490 0,186 0,000 1,444 0,218 17,753*** (Source: According to the author's analysis) 19 20 For operating performance, the p-value coefficients of the variables: (1) Organizational culture, (2) organizational structure (CC), (3) management leadership and support (LD), (4) technology, (5) knowledge acquisition (TN), (6) knowledge transfer (CG) and (7) knowledge application (UD) are 0,000, respectively; 0,002; 0,000; 0,002; 0,000; 0,000 and 0,000 < 0,05 should have a positive impact on operating results in enterprises in Vietnam Meanwhile, knowledge protection (BV) has a pvalue coefficient of 0.087 > 0.05, so it does not have a positive impact on operating performance At the same time, the standardized coefficient of (1) Organizational culture, (2) organizational structure (CC), (3) management leadership and support (LD), (4) technology, (5) knowledge acquisition (TN), (6) knowledge conversion (CG) and (7) knowledge application (UD) are: 0,193; 0,112; 0,145; 0,097; 0,211; 0,135 and 0,208, so it can be concluded that knowledge acquisition has the greatest impact on business performance In addition, the adjusted R2 coefficient of the regression model is 0,583, showing that the independent variables explain 58,3% of the change of the dependent variables Besides, the variance exaggeration coefficients (VIF) of the independent variables < 4, so there is no serious multicollinearity (Hair et al., 2018) For market performance, the p-value coefficients of the variables: (1) Organizational culture (VH), (2) technology (CG) and (3) knowledge application (UD) respectively is: 0,009; 0,040 and 0,000 < 0,05 should have a positive impact on market performance in Vietnamese firms In which, the coefficient standardized β (1) corporate culture (VH), (2) technology transfer (CG) and (3) knowledge application are: 0,139; 0,091 and 0,186, so it can be concluded that knowledge application (UD) has the greatest impact on market performance of Vietnamese enterprises Meanwhile, the variables of organizational structure (CC), technology (CN), knowledge-oriented leadership (LD), knowledge acquisition (TN) and knowledge protection (UD) have coefficient p-value > 0,05 should not affect the market results Besides, the adjusted R2 coefficient is 0,218, showing that the independent variables explain 21,8% of the variation of the dependent variables in the research model In addition, the variance exaggeration factor (VIF) of the independent variables are all less than 4, so there is no serious multicollinearity (Hair et al., 2018) 3.4.2 Second-order construct The results of the linear regression analysis show that the p-value of the F-test is 0.000, so the model is statistically significant At the same time, the p-value coefficients of the composite variables: (1) Infrastructure and (2) knowledge management are 0.000 < 0.05, so it has a positive impact on operational results activities of Vietnamese enterprises Besides, the standardized coefficients of multi-directional variables (infrastructure) and (2) knowledge management (information management) are 0.377 and 0.341, respectively, so the knowledge infrastructure (infrastructure) affects the operational results (KQHD) is larger than knowledge management (CRM) In addition, the variance exaggeration factor (VIF) of the independent variables is 2.009 < 4, so there is no serious multicollinearity (Hair et al., 2018) Infrastruct 0,377* Performan Process 0,341* (Source: According to the author's analysis) The results of the linear regression analysis show that the p-value of the F-test is 0,000, so the model is statistically significant At the same time, the p-value coefficient of the aggregate variable of infrastructure is 0,000 < 0,05, so it has a positive impact on the knowledge management process of Vietnamese enterprises Besides, the normalized coefficient β is 0,790 In addition, the variance exaggeration factor (VIF) of the independent variable is 1,000 < 4, so there is no serious multicollinearity (Hair et al., 2018) The results of second-order construct variables are shown in the figure below: CSHT 0,709 QTTT (Source: According to the author's analysis) 21 22 CHAPTER RESULTS DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 4.1 Results discussion 4.1.1 First-order construct The results of linear regression analysis in Table 3.18 show that organizational culture (VH) has a positive impact on operating results (VHA) (β = 0.193; p – value = 0.000) and market performance (TT) (β = 0.139; p – value = 0.009) This result is similar to the results of Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey and Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt but different from Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States This result shows that businesses need to focus on investing in building a knowledge-oriented corporate culture to improve operational results as well as expand markets The results of linear regression analysis show that organizational structure (CC) has a positive impact on operating results (VHA) (β = 0.112; p – value = 0.002) but does not affect the market performance (TT) (β = 0.075; p – value = 0.124) This result is similar to the results of Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States, Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt, Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey The results of linear regression analysis show that technology in enterprises has a positive impact on operating results (VHA) (β = 0,097; pvalue = 0,002) but does not affect market results (TT) (β = 0.072; p–value = 0,096) This result is similar to the results of Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey and Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt but different from Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States The results of linear regression analysis show that management leadership and support has a positive impact on operating performance (VHA) (β = 0,145; p-value = 0,000) but does not affect on market performance (TT) (β = 0.079; p–value = 0,153) This result is similar to the study of Rehman and Iqbal (2020), Gürlek and Çemberci (2020) in Turkey, Khalifa (2020) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) The results of linear regression analysis show that knowledge acquisition has a positive impact on operating results (VHA) (β = 0,211; pvalue = 0,000) but does not affect on market performance (TT) (β = 0.085; p–value = 0,152) This result is similar to the results of Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States, Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt, Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey This result shows that acquiring or receiving new knowledge is especially important in enterprises in Vietnam as well as in the world The results of the linear regression analysis show that knowledge conversion has a positive impact on both operating performance (VHA) (β = 0,135; p–value = 0,000) and market performance (TT) (β = 0,091; p– value = 0,040) This result is similar to the results of Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey and Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt but different from Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States The results of linear regression analysis show that knowledge application has a positive impact on both operating performance (VHA) (β = 0,208; p-value = 0,000) and market performance (TT) (β = 0.186; p – value = 0.000) in enterprises in Vietnam This result is similar to the results of Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States, Araarj et al (2012) in Turkey as well as Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt The results of linear regression analysis show that knowledge protection has no positive impact on both operational results (VHA) (β = 0,062; p – value = 0,087) and market performance (TT) (β = 0.004; p – value = 0.934) in enterprises in Vietnam This result is different from the results of Mills and Smith (2010) in the United States as well as Zaied et al (2012) in Egypt 4.1.2 Second-order construct The results of linear regression analysis show that knowledge infrastructure capability has a positive impact on the firm performance, including operating performance and market performance (β = 0,377; p– value = 0,000) At the same time, the knowledge infrastructure has a greater impact on performance than the knowledge management process The results of this thesis are similar to previous studies of Gold et al (2001) in the US as well as the study of Mills and Smith (2010) in the US In addition, the research results also show that knowledge infrastructure has a positive impact on the knowledge management process of enterprises (β = 0,709; p-value = 0,000) This result is similar to the study of Payal et al (2019) in India Therefore, it can be seen that knowledge infrastructure is an important premise to help businesses easily implement knowledge management processes This indicates that businesses that want to implement the knowledge management process must first build a strong knowledge infrastructure The results of the linear regression analysis show that the knowledge management process has a positive impact on the performance results of enterprises, including operational results and market results (β = 0,341; p– 23 24 value = 0,000) The results of this thesis are similar to previous studies of Gold et al (2001) in the United States as well as the study of Mills and Smith (2010) in Jamaica 4.2 Solution and recommendation The results of this study are not only meaningful in theory but also in practical terms for Vietnamese enterprises in the field of knowledge management The field of knowledge management has been studied by many scholars around the world (Gold et al., 2001; Wong and Aspinwall, 2005; Mills and Smith, 2010; Araarj et al., 2012; Zaied et al., 2012) events, 2012) These studies all show that when businesses perform well the knowledge process capability, it will help businesses improve labor productivity, and at the same time promote enterprises to achieve their long-term goals as well as improve their performance, high competitiveness in the market However, similar studies on knowledge management in Vietnam are still relatively new and have not received much attention Therefore, the results of this study are a useful suggestion for middle and senior managers in enterprises to make policies that are consistent with reality to bring the most benefits to the business Among the elements of knowledge infrastructure capability, operatioanl culture has the greatest impact on operational and market performance Therefore, business managers need to focus on building operational culture to increase firm performance as well as expand markets In addition, managers also need to pay attention to other factors such as organizational structure, management leadership and support, technology, all of which have a positive impact on firm performance In addition, for the knowledge process capability, the estimated results show that knowledge acquisition and knowledge application have a positive impact on business performance Therefore, managers in enterprises need to motivate employees to acquire knowledge both inside and outside the enterprise so that employees can apply new skills and knowledge to the production process, thereby improving labor productivity, contributing to increasing operating performance and expanding markets for businesses At the same time, managers also need to come up with a policy to encourage employees to share knowledge, as well as organize short-term and long-term training courses so that employees can promptly grasp the skills and knowledge for working process This will help employees complete their work well, contributing to promoting the overall performance for the whole enterprise Besides, State management agencies also need to issue policies or guidelines to encourage vocational training and skills training with the aim of improving skills and knowledge for people of working age to increase quality human resources for enterprises This will contribute to economic growth and social stability CONCLUSION By linear regression analysis by least squares method (OLS) for a sample size including 482 enterprises in all three regions of North, Central and South of Vietnam, the estimated results for multi-variable variables shows that knowledge infrastructure capability and knowledge process capability positively affect firm performance Besides, knowledge infrastructure capability also positively affects the knowledge process capability in Vietnamese enterprises In addition, organizational culture, knowledge acquisition and knowledge application positively affect both operating performance and market performance Based on the research results of the thesis, the author has made some recommendations and proposals related to the improvement of knowledge infrastructure capacity and knowledge management process in enterprises in Vietnam Because knowledge is a particularly valuable and scarce resource that competitors cannot imitate or copy Therefore, managers in enterprises need to focus on building a strong organizational culture, continuously innovating technology, creating a flexible organizational structure, and leaders also need to take the lead and prioritizing the development of knowledge in the enterprise In addition, managers also need to plan knowledge management In particular, enterprises need to focus on encouraging employees to acquire knowledge from both inside and outside the enterprise, and at the same time share new knowledge to create an atmosphere of knowledge innovation, thereby promoting innovation and creativity in production, helping the company increase profits as well as overall operating results LIST OF RESEARCH WORKS BY THE AUTHOR RELATED TO THESIS THEME Hoàng Văn Nam (2022), ‘Impact of knowledge infrastructure capability on firm performance in Vietnamese enterprises’, Journal of Economics & Development, 302(2), 101-110 Hoàng Văn Nam (2022), ‘Current status of knowledge management process in enterprises in Vietnam’, Economy & Forecast Review, 21, 133-136 Hoàng Văn Nam (2022), ‘Literature review on the relationship between knowledge management process capability and firm performance’, Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference: “The role of young knowledge in the digital economy”, National Economics University Publishing House, 4th, 331-344 Hoàng Văn Nam (2022), ‘Literature review on the impact of knowledge infrastructure capabilities on business performance’, Asia – Pacific Economic Review, Article volume, 34-36