Measuring knowledge management in supplier development: A knowledge chain perspective

Knowledge management has been extensively studied in various fields such as strategic management, project management, and supply chain management. As a result, numerous measurements have been developed to measure knowledge management processes, strategies, capabilities, or activities. However, a review of existing measurement instruments from 17 studies demonstrates that those instruments vary greatly in the number of measurement items, ranging from 1 to 59, and that none of them, with one exception, covers all the nine distinct classes of knowledge management activities identified by the knowledge chain theory. This study aims at using the knowledge chain theory to measure knowledge management activities in supply chain management. As a starting point, our instrument begins with the nine classes of knowledge chain activities, including knowledge acquisition, selection, generation, assimilation, emission, measurement, control, coordination, and leadership. This new instrument is tested via an online survey of 156 supply chain professionals in the United States. Evidence of construct validity and reliability is provided by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Both theoretical and practical contributions are also discussed.