An investigation on the strategic alignment of knowledge management orientation in Maltese medium to large-sized organisations was recently conducted by Christopher Micallef as part of his doctoral studies.

Studies related to knowledge-based business processes, organisational culture and leadership have shown that a link with business performance exists.

However, the overall link and alignment with business strategy still needs further research.

The objective of Dr Micallef's dissertation was to investigate this link in Maltese medium to large-sized organisations, with the aim of providing evidence that knowledge-based management systems provide direct contribution to both the strategic alignment and organisational performance.

Most current knowledge management literature is based on qualitative research, which very often has led towards the development of models that contradict each other.

In this research, a totally different approach was sustained through the use of quantitative research techniques, which were applied to existing knowledge management models. Another objective was to investigate how knowledge management strategies relate to strategic orientations.

To investigate these objectives, research was conducted by using a questionnaire-based strategic alignment model derived from literature, which focused on the business environment, business strategy, knowledge orientation and organisational performance of Maltese medium to large-sized private and public organisations.

It is evidently clear from the findings that there is a significant difference in knowledge management practices between Maltese organisations adopting different strategic orientations. It has also been established that 21 knowledge oriented components were significantly correlated with organisational performance, which can be classified in terms of performance category.

Ultimately, this dissertation developed a knowledge orientation typology for Maltese organisations, linking knowledge orientation and business strategy for Maltese medium to large-sized organisations.