Factores determinantes en la producción científica de los grupos de investigación en Colombia

There is much debate about how knowledge-creating institutions -such as universities, research groups and centers- should be organized, as well as about the key processes of knowledge management to be applied by research groups and the financial, human and technological resources needed to achieve high performance in research. The current work, based on a theoretical review and empirical study, aims to determine the relationship of scholarly production results obtained by research groups affiliated with universities in Colombia in terms of the variables of organizational culture, knowledge management, and technological capital. For this analysis, a sample was obtained of 223 research groups that are recognized and categorized by the National Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias, 2010). The data analyzed were obtained from a survey that measured the perception of leading researchers about such independent variables as university culture, knowledge management processes, and technological capital. The dependent variable of scientific production was analyzed based on the rating assigned to each group by Colciencias for research results obtained over a period of time. The statistical techniques used in this study are regression analysis and structural equation analysis by which it was determined that the following variables have a positive influence on the results of scholarly output: The motivating culture, process of outsourcing knowledge management, and technological capital.