By J.K. Bagorogoza, A.A. de Waal, H.J. van den Herik and B.A. van de Walle
INTRODUCTION
The service sector in developing countries is facing tough competition in the era of privatisation, liberalisation, and globalisation. Financial organisations are trying to find ways to survive and compete their peers as best as possible (World Bank, 2009; Pillania, 2008). Uganda’s financial institutions have not been an exception. Many of them have gone through considerable changes such as privatisation, mergers,
acquisitions, and closures (Mugume, 2008; Beck and Hesse, 2007; Ntayi, 2005).
Techniques which have been suggested as a means for improvement to organisations are knowledge management (KM) and the high performance organisations (HPOs) framework (Pillania, 2008; Waal, 2007a).
Keywords: KM, HPO, Knowledge Management, High Performance Organisation, framework, financial institutions, Uganda, Africa.
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the knowledge management practices of financial institutions in Uganda, in order to understand how these practices influence the high performance organisation factors and thereby the performance of the financial institutions.
Design/methodology/approach: The study includes a review of the literature concerning dominant views on knowledge management and high performance organisations. Moreover, the characteristics of the financial industry are discussed. Then, twenty-three firms from the financial services industry in Uganda have been selected as the sample-base for an empirical test.
Findings: Obviously, knowledge management is highly inter-connected to the high performance framework. In this paper, we investigate (1) three processes of KM (knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, responsiveness to knowledge) and (2) how they relate to the high performance organisation framework. The three KM processes, when executed well, result in a higher organisational performance.
Research limitations: The existing theories and our research on knowledge management are in some sense limited in explaining the extent to which knowledge management is related to high performance organisations. The reasons are: infrastructure, research time, and willingness to cooperate.
Practical implications: The paper may serve as a basis for financial institutions in Uganda (1) to adopt the high performance organisation framework and (2) to establish insights into how to improve the knowledge management practices. As such, the HPO Diagnosis might be the organisational model that managers are looking for to achieve economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
Originality/value: Past research into HPOs in developed countries may not be applicable to the unique nature and environment of organisations in a developing country. The paper tries to bring forward concern in the area of knowledge management practices and high performance organisation in the Ugandan finance sector.
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