The Influence of Knowledge Management Capacity on Competitive Advantage in Thai Wellness Spa Performance

Thailand has long been globally accepted for its unique health therapy. The advantage of the Thai wellness spa is that it cultivated its prominence from the art of famous conventional Thai massage which was transmitted from ancient people to the current generation. (Atienza, et.al.,2014) These pieces of knowledge have been recognized as the asset that needed to be managed efficiently. Knowledge management was defined as the development and leveraging of knowledge assets of an organization to obtain organizational goals. So far, many studies have been conducted on this topic. However, another function concerning KM has been spotlighted. This function is known as “Knowledge Management Capability” as it reflects the ability of an organization in maximizing the benefit of KM. This study employed a quantitative research approach to examine the influence of knowledge management capability enablers (KMCE), knowledge management capability (KMC) on competitive advantage(CA), and performance of the wellness spas(SP) in Thailand. The questionnaires were used to gather data from 130 international standard certified wellness spa owners. Data analysis was executed by statistical computer programs. The finding indicates the positive influence of; KMCE on KMC, KMC on CA, CA on SP, and KMC on SP. The author recommends that the wellness spa owners should implement the KM initiative in their business. Moreover, KMCE should be enhanced to facilitate KMC in the organization by creating a workplace environment and organizational culture that support KMC in their business and improving the IT system to be able to support KMC effectively.