Knowledge centricity and organizational performance: an empirical study of the performing arts

Abstract

Purpose This paper explores the concepts of knowledge-centric organizations in the performing arts sector to understand how specific organizational practices relate to measures of financial and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative analysis of 368 small and mid-sized nonprofit performing arts organizations in the USA was undertaken via primary data on organizational practices and secondary data on performance metrics. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the latent construct of knowledge centricity and to test hypotheses on how knowledge centricity impacts financial and operational performance, and is influenced by firm-level demographic variables. Findings Results show several distinct performance metrics that are statistically associated with knowledge-centric practices of the organizations analyzed. Research limitations/implications This article investigates the knowledge centricity of organizations, a relatively nascent theoretical concept, which is of significant relevance in today’s knowledge-driven economy. The findings can serve as a basis to further investigate strategic approaches that arts organizations can undertake to remain sustainable and operate effectively in a knowledge-driven society. Practical/implications It provides critical insights into management practices and approaches that can be instituted to drive improved organizational performance. Originality/value Building on the extant literature, this article develops a conceptual framework of knowledge centricity and defines a knowledge-centric organization. It thoroughly investigates the latent construct of knowledge centricity, identifies how knowledge centricity impacts financial and operational performance of nonprofit performing arts organizations, and provides grounding for future studies.

Intangible Assets and Performance in Nonprofit Organizations:A Systematic Literature Review

“…The third study addressing relational capital (Álvarez-González et al, 2017) looked at NPOs more broadly and showed that competition among NPOs and business firms improves the effectiveness of the organization, in terms of obtained funding (financial performance), provided services, and reached users (mission-based performance). Finally, a study reorganized the dimensions of IC into a new construct, namely the knowledge centricity (Vakharia et al, 2018). Knowledge centricity includes a hard and a soft dimension.…”

“…One out of nine papers only addressed the human dimension (Cady et al, 2018), whereas three papers addressed the relational dimension (Misener and Doherty, 2013;Wemmer et al, 2016;Álvarez-González et al, 2017), and one paper addressed both human and structural/organizational capital (Zhu et al, 2016). Finally, one paper took into account dimensions related to the types of knowledge tackled in the IC framework but reorganized them in the knowledge-centricity construct (Vakharia et al, 2018).…”

“…While four studies used a scale on organizational performance or effectiveness, measuring how it was perceived by the NPOs' members by means of validated or ad hoc Likert scales (Mohd Noor et al, 2015;Wemmer et al, 2016;Zhu et al, 2016;Álvarez-González et al, 2017) or structured interviews (Misener and Doherty, 2013;Benevene et al, 2018), others relied on objective measures of performance. Among the objective measures selected, a number of activities, members, and beneficiaries were used as performance measures in two studies (Álvarez-González et al, 2017;Cady et al, 2018), as well as financial performance (Bontis et al, 2018;Vakharia et al, 2018). Furthermore, one study considered mission-based as well as financial performance (Bontis et al, 2018).…”

“…With regard to the types of NPOs involved, participants in most studies (five out of nine) were gathered independently from the kind of NPOs they belonged to (Mohd Noor et al, 2015;Zhu et al, 2016;Álvarez-González et al, 2017;Benevene et al, 2018;Bontis et al, 2018). Two studies focused on sports-related NPOs (Misener and Doherty, 2013; Wemmer et al, 2016), one on a farmers' association (Cady et al, 2018), and one on a performing arts association (Vakharia et al, 2018).…”

A Contiguity of Social Capital, Competence, and Business Performance Moderating by Government Policy

“…Competence that is manifested in the form of credibility and good character can affect the society's trust towards the LPD. As a financial institution that is established and developed based on the custom, LPDs need to strengthen their internal management by enhancing management professionalism, while maintaining their custom based nature but balanced with the knowledge of modern organizations (Vakharia et al, 2018). Lindner (2001) stated that competence has a significant influence on performance.…”