Influence Of Knowledge Recovery Strategy On Performance Of Public Research Institutions In Kenya

Abstract

Knowledge can be recovered and retained in an organisation through various strategies that may involve education, training, establishing communities of practice and professional networks, documenting the processes and use of advanced software to capture work processes. Knowledge recoveryinitiatives should be introduced and implemented to improve knowledge sharing and transfer in publicly funded research institutions in Kenya. The study sought to interrogate the influence of the knowledge recovery strategies adopted by research firms publicly funded in Kenya as well as its influence on performance of publicly funded research institutions in Kenya. The study used a survey design with a target population of 6,799 employees in the 12 publicly funded research institutions in Kenya. The respondents were the researchers, heads of knowledge management and HR managers in the publicly funded research institutions in Kenya. The study obtained a sample size of 135 respondents and the respondents were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected from primary sources using a structured questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics (mean scores, percentages and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression analysis). The findings indicated that knowledge recovery improves organizational performance in a significant manner. It was recommended that the publicly funded research institutions in Kenya need to review its knowledge recovery initiatives approach. These institutions should implement effective knowledge recovery initiatives to capture and retain all the knowledge possessed by retiring employees. The retained information should be documented.