abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between the knowledge of leadership and knowledge management practices. This research strategy, in terms of quantity, procedure and obtain information, is descriptive and correlational. Statistical population, consist of all employees of a food industry in Kurdistan province of Iran, who were engaged in 2016 and their total number is about 1800 people. 316 employees in the Kurdistan food industry (Kurdistan FI) were selected, using Cochran formula. Non-random method and valid questions (standard) for measurement of the data are used. Reliability and validity were confirmed. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out, using SPSS 16. The statistical analysis of collected data showed the relationship between knowledge-oriented of leadership and knowledge management activities as mediator variables. The results of the data and test hypotheses suggest that knowledge management activities play an important role in the functioning of product innovation and the results showed that the activities of Knowledge Management (knowledge transfer, storage knowledge, application of knowledge, creation of knowledge) on performance of product innovation.
2. Experimental design, materials and methods
2.1. Study area description
Food industries of all areas (North, South, East, West, and Center) of the Kurdistan province (west of Iran) were selected. Iran is one of the most country in Middle East (ME) [5,6,7]. The Kurdistan province, with a population of 1,600,000 people, is one of the most mountainous (hilly) regions of Iran and has a generally mild and quite pleasant climate throughout the spring and summer. Also, this region has winters with heavy snowfalls. The province of Kurdistan is 28,817 km2 in area. Winters have a long period of time and can be very cold with heavy snowfalls.
2.2. Experimental design, materials and methods
22 food industries were chosen from Kurdistan province, Iran. 316 employees in the Kurdistan FIs participated in this study. In this study, data were gathered from all Food industries (Including Dairy, cold storage, flour, poultry, gum, pasta, mineral water, ice and soft drinks) as well as a researchermade questionnaire (based on the Donate and Sanchez de Pablo, 2014) including the demographic data (e.g. age, sex, educational qualification and experience) and questions which were related to the causes of the improvement of the knowledge of leadership had been chosen [8,9,10]. There was a meaningful relationship between knowledge-based leadership and KM activities in the food industry of Kurdistan province. Then, the collected data were coded and entered into SPSS version 16. Data analysis was performed, using SPSS-16. Data were analyzed, applying descriptive and statistical tests including independent t-test and chi-square.
