The role of knowledge management in fostering psychological empowerment: A Nepalese service sector perspective

Abstract

In the service industry, effective knowledge management is essential for enhancing employees' sense of psychological empowerment. This study examines the impact of knowledge management on the psychological empowerment of employees in Nepal's service sector. To examine the status of knowledge management, psychological empowerment, and their relationship, data were collected from four service sectors using a structured questionnaire with validated items, which were confirmed (25 out of 43) again using confirmatory factor analysis, given the contextual differences. A significant presence of knowledge management and psychological empowerment was found in Nepal’s service sector. Knowledge management and psychological empowerment were found to have a positive and significant relationship, even though the confirmed items differed from those in Western approaches. Of the four knowledge management variables, only three (explicit knowledge, knowledge management culture, and tacit knowledge) were found to predict employees' psychological empowerment, whereas knowledge conversion was not found to have a significant impact on it. These findings suggest that knowledge management plays a positive and significant role in psychologically empowering employees in Nepal’s service sector. However, knowledge conversion mechanisms, along with effective knowledge management systems, must be developed to enhance psychological empowerment through significant development of knowledge management. Future research using different tools, variables, and samples from various industries is recommended to further validate and revise these findings.