Identifying Influential Factors and Designing a Knowledge Management Model with a Human Resource Empowerment Approach in Bank Sepah
Keywords:
Knowledge Management, Human Resource Empowerment, Bank Sepah, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), Thematic Analysis, Human Capital, Institutional ContextAbstract
This study aimed to identify the influential factors and develop a knowledge management model with a human resource empowerment approach in Bank Sepah while explaining the relationships among knowledge management, empowerment, and human capital outcomes within the institutional and structural context of Iran’s banking system. This applied mixed-methods study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 academic and professional banking experts selected through theoretical sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis in MAXQDA, resulting in 326 initial codes, 21 sub-themes, four main themes (knowledge management system, empowering organizational platforms, human resource empowerment, and human capital outcomes), and one contextual theme (institutional and structural context of Iran’s banking system). Subsequently, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) was used to determine the hierarchical relationships among the identified themes. In the quantitative phase, nine hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to validate the proposed model. The ISM results revealed that the institutional and structural context of Iran’s banking system represents the most fundamental driving factor influencing all other dimensions of the model, while the knowledge management system serves as the primary operational driver shaping empowering organizational platforms. Structural equation modeling confirmed that the knowledge management system has significant positive effects on both empowering organizational platforms and human resource empowerment. Empowering organizational platforms significantly enhance human resource empowerment, which in turn positively influences strategic human capital outcomes. The mediating role of organizational platforms in the relationship between knowledge management and empowerment, as well as the mediating role of empowerment in linking knowledge management to human capital outcomes, was confirmed. Furthermore, the institutional and structural context of Iran’s banking system significantly moderated the relationships among knowledge management, organizational platforms, empowerment, and human capital outcomes. The findings indicate that knowledge management can contribute to sustainable performance improvement and competitive advantage in Bank Sepah only when implemented through an integrated framework consisting of empowering organizational platforms and comprehensive human resource empowerment processes. Moreover, consideration of institutional and structural constraints within Iran’s banking system is essential for the successful implementation of knowledge management and human capital development initiatives.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Jalalvand (Author); Sedigheh Tootian Isfahani; Rostam Derakhshan, Ahmadreza Esmaeili (Author)
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