Investigating the Relationship between Knowledge Management Criteria and the Level of Development in Medical Universities

Background: Knowledge management helps organizations to improve their capabilities using the intelligence and skills of employees. Knowledge management impacts the improvement of organizational performance and its development. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between knowledge management criteria and the level of development in medical universities. Methods: This was a descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional study conducted in 2020. The statistical population was all the faculty members of medical universities with a sample size of 377 people. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used. Data collection tools included Lawson’s knowledge management questionnaire and the development questionnaire of Andesh et al. whose validity and reliability were assessed and confirmed. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software through descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics of univariate t-test and ANOVA. Results: Results showed that the mean score of knowledge management in medical universities was more than average. The highest and lowest mean were related to the dimensions of knowledge creation and knowledge storage, respectively. Furthermore, the mean of development was moderate to high. The highest and lowest mean were related to the dimensions of students' educational facilities and university's education and research facilities, respectively. In addition, there was a significant relationship between knowledge management and its dimensions, except for the knowledge creation dimension, and the level of development. Conclusion: The overall result of this study indicated that the development level in the country’s medical universities has been at a moderate to high level. Since knowledge management has a positive and significant effect on the development of universities, more attention to knowledge management can be useful in the universities’ development.