Studying the effect of trust and supply chain quality management measures on the innovative performance of knowledge-based companies; Explaining the mediating role of knowledge sharing

Continuous improvement of innovative performance of companies is a significant issue and concern of Iranian managers. Achieving this goal has been formulated through various methods. In part of previous research, researchers have concluded that each company owes a part of its innovative performance to its connections with other companies. Accordingly, the main goal of this study is to create a deeper understanding of the existing components of communication networks that can affect the innovative performance of innovative Iranian knowledge-based companies. Therefore, in this research, the components that are found in the inter-organizational communication of a company are focused. In this regard, previous studies have been reviewed and according to the proven models presented in previous researches, a conceptual model related to the society considered in this research has been developed in order to represent it in an Iranian example. The considered models have been selected according to the current situation of Iranian knowledge-based companies, for this reason, it is expected that this research will be significantly useful in this regard; Because according to the existing challenges, it is necessary to develop such a model for an Iranian example in this field. In the conceptual model of this study, the structural relationship between trust variables, supply chain quality management measures and knowledge sharing on innovative performance has been measured. The society under investigation in this research is knowledge-based companies and a selected sample of innovative knowledge-based companies active in Tehran province. One of the main reasons for choosing these companies to conduct this research is the importance of innovation in these companies. Accordingly, the main question of this research examines whether and how the relationship between the variables of this research can play a role in creating innovative performance. In terms of the purpose of this research, it is applied using the correlation method between research variables in 1402 during a cross-sectional study. In order to test the research hypotheses, a questionnaire was prepared and given to the managers of the mentioned companies both physically and online, and its results were analyzed through structural equation modeling with partial least squares approach and 3Smart-PLS software. The results indicate that the direct relationship between trust and innovative performance has not been confirmed in the studied sample; Because its significance coefficient value is less than 1.96. Why the effect of the trust variable in the conceptual model of this research on innovative performance is not significant, led to further investigation on this concept, why the relationship between the two has not been confirmed in innovative Iranian knowledge-based companies. But the indirect relationship between these two variables has been confirmed through the mediation of knowledge sharing, and its mediation is full mediation. The full mediation of knowledge sharing in the relationship between trust and innovative performance originates from the fact that the direct relationship between the two is rejected and confirmed in the mediation mode. Also, in the relationship between supply chain quality management measures and innovative performance with the mediation of knowledge sharing, both direct and indirect relationships have been confirmed. The important point is the important effect of knowledge sharing, which has made it more effective in the mediation mode. These results have highlighted the role of knowledge sharing more and in this regard, executive and research suggestions have been proposed. This study will help managers and decision makers of companies to search for optimization of their innovative performance in their company's communication networks, according to the proposed components, and formulate and implement related strategies. It is also suggested that future researches in this field should study more about the hidden factors and the effects of variables over time so that they can better analyze the complexities of these relationships and also provide more effective solutions to promote innovation in organizations.