KNOWLEDGE CAPABILITY AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN WORK CULTURE AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE IN BANDUNG COFFEE SHOPS

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between work culture and innovation performance, and tests whether knowledge capability mediates that relationship in Bandung coffee shops.

Research Methodology: Drawing on the Resource-Based View and Knowledge-Based View, this quantitative explanatory study analyzed 160 valid questionnaires completed by owner-managers, head baristas, supervisors, and senior operational staff. Purposive sampling was used, and the hypothesized relationships were assessed with PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4.

Results: Work culture was positively associated with innovation performance (β = 0.312, p < 0.001) and knowledge capability (β = 0.548, p < 0.001). Knowledge capability was positively associated with innovation performance (β = 0.426, p < 0.001) and showed a significant complementary partial mediation effect (β = 0.233, p < 0.001; VAF = 42.75%).

Limitations: The cross-sectional, self-reported design and the Bandung-specific setting limit causal inference and generalizability.

Contribution: The study clarifies knowledge capability as the organizational mechanism through which an adaptive work culture is associated with innovation performance in knowledge-intensive coffee-shop operations.