| Abstract |
Micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy of any country and knowledge is an important intangible asset for such companies in attempting to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Maturity models can be used to assess a situation in relation to the possibility of achieving certain objectives, as well as identifying necessary improvements. Hence, the main objective of this study is to assess the maturity of knowledge management in a group of Brazilian SMEs. Hence, data were collected from 232 Brazilian SMEs operating in different business sectors, namely industry, trade and service. The companies have a maximum of ninety nine employees and a maximum annual turnover of 36,000,000.00 Reais (Brazilian currency). The maturity model used has five levels. The analysed constructs were classified into four key factors: internal context, process, content and external environment. The analysed group of companies was rated (on average): at level 2 regarding the constructs information technology, explicit knowledge, partners, knowledge creation and knowledge storage, at level 3 regarding the constructs tacit knowledge, customers, suppliers and knowledge sharing and, at level 4 regarding the construct top management support. The items comprising each construct were analysed in order to indicate the actions required to reach the next level. The results obtained by applying the knowledge management maturity model in a group of companies can be used by individual companies as well as contribute towards the development by organizations of collective actions designed to improve knowledge management in companies of this size. This study contributes at both the business and academic spheres. Business managers can use the instrument to assess their companies and make comparisons with other companies. In academic terms, the study contributes towards the discussion on knowledge management in SMEs, given that they are more dependent on external knowledge than are large companies. |
