The effect of knowledge management system and knowledge sharing on performance and loyalty of librarians

Objective: Loyalty and satisfaction of employees is one of the key factors of success and survival of any organization, especially service-oriented organizations such as public libraries. On the one hand, maintaining the position and dignity of the public library requires that be taken into consideration the performance and loyalty of its librarians. On the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to the implementation of knowledge management system and knowledge sharing in service-oriented organizations to increase loyalty and organizational performance. Therefore, the present research was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of knowledge management and knowledge sharing system on the performance and loyalty of librarians of public libraries in Fars province.

Methodology: In terms of the purpose, the present study was applied research, and in terms of the method of data collection, it was a descriptive survey and correlation type. The statistical population consisted of 331 librarians of public libraries in Fars province, and 175 people were selected as the sample size by using the Krejci & Morgan table using stratified random method. Data collection tools four questionnaires of knowledge management (Newman and Konrad, 2000), knowledge sharing (Panahi, Watson and Partridge, 2012), performance of librarians (Zarei and Same Siahkolroudi, 2017) and loyalty of librarians (Yeh, Yeong and Cheng, 2010; June, Cai and Shin, 2006) whose Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated above 0.7. To analyze the data, SPSS 25 software was used for descriptive statistics and to determine the relationship between variables was used in Smart PLS software by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. Cronbach's alpha, Construct Reliability (CR) and Convergent Validity (CV) indexes were used in the measurement model section. Also, Normed Fit Index (NFI), Standardized Root Mean Square Residuals (SRMR), d-G, d-ULS and Chi-Square were used to fit the model.

Findings: The findings showed that the status of variables of knowledge management, knowledge sharing, performance of librarians and loyalty of librarians in the public libraries of Fars province is in a good state and is above the average. In addition, among the variables of the research, the performance of librarians with an average of (4.04) was higher than other variables. The results of the correlation test showed that there is a significant and positive relationship between knowledge management and knowledge sharing (p<0.01, r = 0.373) with librarians' performance (p<0.01, r = 0.342) and loyalty (p<0.01, r = 0.484). Also, there is a significant and positive relationship between knowledge sharing and performance of librarians (p<0.01, r = 0.513) and loyalty of librarians (p<0.01, r = 0.596). The indicators of the measurement model for the construct reliability index and Cronbach's alpha were above 0.7, which indicated the reliability of the construct. The average variance extracted index for the convergent validity of the model was also higher than 0.5 for all variables, which indicated the appropriate convergence validity. The results of SEM fit showed that the coefficient of determination of librarians' performance and loyalty were calculated as 0.327 and 0.561, respectively which indicates the prediction of 32 and 56 percent of the variance of performance and loyalty of librarians. Also, the Goodness of Fit (GOF) index was calculated as 0.56, which indicated a relatively strong fit of the proposed model.

Conclusion: One of the important factors in the professional behavior of librarians is their level of performance and loyalty to libraries and information centers, and knowing the loyalty status of librarians can help managers in planning to achieve the desired goals. By explaining the relationship between knowledge management and knowledge sharing with organizational loyalty and the performance of librarians, the findings of the research can draw the attention of library managers and officials to strengthen the knowledge management and knowledge sharing system in libraries and provide favorable conditions for improving the performance and loyalty of librarians. By increasing access to knowledge, enhancing expertise, and encouraging continuous learning, librarians will be able to provide the best service to their users and establish a more effective relationship with the organization.