Knowledge Management Strategy, Relational Learning and the Effectiveness of Innovation Outcomes: A Study in Spanish Hospitals

In this paper we propose a conceptual model to test the moderating effect of relational learning on the link between knowledge strategies and innovation using healthcare organizations. In order to study the tie (knowledge-innovation) and the effects of the moderating variable (relational learning), the resource-based view is followed. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, there are few research works that study the relationship between knowledge management strategy and the effectiveness of the innovation process. On the other hand, the extant research on this relationship has yielded inconclusive results. Our paper revisits this research topic based on data of knowledge management strategy, relational learning and innovation outcomes from a sample of Spanish hospitals.