Effective Knowledge Management and Organizational Performance: Influence on Effective Response of Hospitals to <scp>COVID</scp>‐19

ABSTRACT This study aims to analyze the influence of effective knowledge management and organizational performance on the effectiveness of hospitals' responses to COVID‐19. Knowledge management is considered a fundamental resource for achieving improvement in health organizations' performance. Supported by this theoretical lens, this paper analyzes the relationship between the effectiveness of responding to crises and organizational performance. Data were collected through research sent to physicians and nurses who worked in hospitals in Brazil and Portugal. We sent the survey using a professional social network, and we have received 248 valid responses. The PLS‐SEM analysis technique was used to test hypotheses. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between effective knowledge management and organizational performance with the effective response to COVID‐19. In addition, the results suggest the need to develop internal programs to increment knowledge transfers among their professionals. As practical implications, our research validates the relationships between effective knowledge management, organizational performance, and hospital response effectiveness, as well as the importance of effective knowledge management for pandemic management. As originality, this work provides hospitals and other healthcare organizations with a direction to manage key resources to improve their effectiveness response to new disease outbreaks.