Exploring the Association Between Knowledge Management and Innovation Capability in R&D Centers

Businesses striving to survive in today's highly competitive market conditions are continuously trying to utilize innovation related strategies to sustain their position and competitiveness. Knowledge management, on the other hand, has been shown to have a significant influence on the innovation capability of the organization. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between knowledge management practices and innovation capability in research and development (R&D) centers operating in Istanbul and Kocaeli / Turkiye through an empirical study. The data used in the study was collected from the managers of R&D centers using a web-based questionnaire, as well as face-to-face meetings. A complete census method was used as the sampling technique, and 220 R&D center managers in the region were contacted. Among the managers contacted, only 182 managers provided data and were included in the study. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the data obtained. As a result of the analyses, it is found that the knowledge acquisition dimension has a significant positive relationship with the learning capability, production capability, marketing capability and strategic planning capability. In addition, the results revealed that storing and sharing knowledge have significant and positive relationship with production capability, and transforming knowledge has a significant and positive relationship with both marketing and organizational capability. In particular, it is concluded that knowledge acquisition and sharing are important in terms of learning, production, marketing and strategic planning dimensions of innovation capability specifically in R&D centers.