Modelling the effect of perceived organisational policies on knowledge management in libraries: Focus on the moderating role of transformational leadership and professional commitment

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived organisational policies (POPs) on knowledge management (KM) with regard to the moderating role of transformational leadership (TL) and librarians’ professional commitment. The study was conducted in three stages. First, the research moderating variables were chosen through an explorative study and surveying the librarians. Following the design of the theoretical model, the Delphi method was employed to validate it. Finally, the model was tested with a sample of 205 librarians working at Iranian state universities. To examine the causal relationships between the research instrument variables, the structural equation modelling technique and Smart PLS software were used. The results of the study revealed that POP was moderated through TL and the librarians’ professional commitment and affected the processes of knowledge acquisition and identification, knowledge generation and sharing, and knowledge application. The results, further, confirmed the strong effect of POP on professional commitment and the effect of TL on KM. The findings indicate that moderating the negative effects of POP in academic libraries could pave the way for the improvement of librarians’ job performance. To date, no empirical investigations have examined the effect of POP on KM in libraries with regard to the moderating role of TL and the librarians’ professional commitment. This study is assumed to fill this gap.

Productivity story of Iranian librarians: assessing the impact of knowledge management and emotional intelligence

Purpose

This study aims to assess the effect of knowledge management (KM) development and emotional intelligence (EI) on the productivity of librarians regarding the mediating role of job motivation (JM) and job feedback (JF).

Design/methodology/approach

This study was carried out in two phases. First, the variables affecting the productivity of librarians were identified and selected through an explorative study and by surveying their opinions. Then, the theoretically designed model was administered to 312 librarians at Iranian public libraries. A questionnaire was used to collect data, and the structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse data.

Findings

The results of this study showed that KM and EI, mediated by JM and JF, had a positive and significant effect on developing the librarians’ productivity. The results also revealed that JF had a positive effect on JM and that JF was more effective on productivity than JM. This study marginally proved the direct effect of KM and EI on productivity where KM was more effective than EI on productivity. Knowing the effects of organizational and individual factors on the higher productivity of librarians in public libraries will help library managers make more efficient use of those factors in developing the capabilities of librarians and enhancing productivity.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few studies of its kind that facilitates the perception of the concept of productivity in public libraries and also the assessment of the effects of organizational and individual factors on the librarians’ productivity.