The Impact of University Culture on Academic Performance: Knowledge Management as a Mediating Variable

This study aims to determine the extent of the impact of the university culture on academic performance. and to measure the impact of the mediator Knowledge management in the relationship between them. The hypothetical scheme was developed based on a set of literature that contributed to building the four research hypotheses, the research was applied at the Southern Technical University using the questionnaire tool that was randomly distributed to a group of teachers numbering (121) teachers, (SPSS. V.22, AMOS. V.22) for the purpose of analyzing data in a statistical way and reaching reliable results, after adequate analysis of the data, the results showed that there is a positive impact of the university culture on the development of academic performance. In addition, the study also found a significant impact of the intermediate variable knowledge management on the relationship between university culture and academic performance, and based on the results reached, a set of recommendations have developed.


Introduction
Organizational culture is one of the important pillars of building a competitive position (Alsulami et al., 2022) and it is very crucial to reach the goals that the organization has to achieve (Victoria et al., 2021) as academic performance can be developed by focusing on the cultural and scientific foundations of the organization (Jean, 2016) where it can be said that organizational culture is one of the agreed standards to guide individual behavior in the organization and the basis for leaders and employees to improve their performance (Köse & Korkmaz, 2019).
There have also been intense discussions about the importance of knowledge management (KM) in our society over the past several years. Scientists and researchers from such diverse disciplines as sociology,economics and Management Sciences agree that the knowledge transformation that has occurred in the world is caused by Knowledge Management (Eurn & Foon, 2008) where knowledge management and related strategic concepts are promoted as important and necessary components for organizations to survive and maintain their competitive position (Badri & Abdullah ,2004) where it has become necessary for executives to deal with knowledge management to reach the desired goals (Nesheim et al, 2011) as a prerequisite for increasing productivity and flexibility in both the private and public sectors (sharp, 2007) . This is the aim of educational organizations in Iraq, which seek to develop their members and urge them to reach the maximum degrees of knowledge and adhere to the long-Organizational culture may be informal or unwritten ,but it has an important role in guiding the ways of thinking,attitudes and perspectives of its employees (Pujiono et al., 2020) organizational culture also affects operations, management style, organizational structure, information systems and compensation systems and has an impact on employees in terms of its impact on employee confidence and motivation as organizational culture cannot be separated from motivation and commitment Regulatory Authority ( krajcsák, 2018) Considering colleges and universities as repositories of culture, they have the task of educating people and developing talents in them. Therefore, universities should not only become the driving force for talent development, but also become an important base for building a spiritual civilization in the whole society and this includes building a campus culture in higher education institutions. including spiritual culture, material culture (Jean, 2016) Therefore, universities through all their tasks of teaching, research, and community service, that is, their impact on the culture of society as a whole, are a powerful means to help create a more sustainable future (Dzimińska et al, 2020).
Determining the type of culture that should be adopted and disseminated to improve the academic performance of the university, it is central importance for the governing bodies of universities (Köse & Korkmaz,2019) as the university culture consists mainly of academic expectations ,academic morale,academic ethics, and academic environments, that is, it embodies the structure of the University's development, which is characterized by individuality, academic advantage, openness, entrepreneurship, diversity, and creativity (Alsulami et al, 2022)the university culture is a great fabric where the beliefs and practices of senior administrators, faculty, students, competitors, and society in general to shape the effectiveness of that university (Fralinger & Olson, 2007) culture at the university level is defined as the values and beliefs of university stakeholders (i.e. administrators,faculty,students, board members ) based on traditions and communicated verbally and non-verbally (Bartell, 2003) and that values and beliefs significantly influence decision-making processes in universities and shape individual and organizational behaviors. behaviors based on assumptions and core beliefs are transmitted through stories, own language and institutional norms (Fralinger & Olson, 2007) and also as part of social cultures, campus culture plays an important role in the dissemination of knowledge, the creation of new cultures and the dissemination of new ideas Through various cultural forms and academic activities, the subject of campus culture is constantly linked with other cultural subsystems and is promoted and disseminated within an open environment (Shen & Tian, 2012) within the framework of considering the university as part of society, the campus culture, other cultures and the environment are always interconnected with the development of ICT, as the campus culture has become more open and with the presence of the momentum of network technology, the impact of communication between the campus culture and society can be controlled spatially and temporally and this indicates that openness has become a feature of campus culture The university needs to exist and develop, it is impossible to separate from society. (Jean, 2016) since universities are organizations in which strong social interaction prevails, which leads to a very specific type of organizational culture, and therefore the pursuit of success depends on the ability of universities to constantly renew and change, and therefore this ability has become the core of their strategy. moreover, universities have an important role in the continued development of society because they bear the specific responsibility for the production of knowledge and the dissemination of research (Cricelli et al., 2018) Dependent Variable Is Overall University Performance the performanceIt is one of the most important considerationsIn any organization, whether it is a profit or non-profit organization and refers to the ability of the organization to achieve its objectives by using resources in an efficient and effective manner (Victoria et al, 2021) and considered several studiesrelated to Organizational performance as an effective tool to achieve all goals and therefore organizational performance is a vital factor helps In evaluating educational organizations, organizational activities, and the environments in which they operate, the effectiveness and success of the performance of educational organizations depends on exceptional strategies and resources, and according to the contingency theory, there is no single effective method or technique that can be used to manage educational organizations (Younis et al, 2020) within the framework of measuring performance between (Muktiyanto et al, 2020) that performance can be evaluated through quantitative and qualitative measurements, since performance does not only measure results about the performance of a unit or part of the organization, but also measures the resultsor outputs before responsible partiesyen Managers need to see performance results to know their subordinates' own accomplishments.
Academic performance is an indicator of the efficiency and quality of Education (Ayala & Manzano, 2018). Measuring the level of performance is essential for all organizations ,including universities, because today they are facing pressures similar to the pressures of various organizations to get a place in society, and major changes in competition have prompted universities to adopt a new management system similar to business activities where students are currently treated as customers, and universities are obliged to ensure that students are provided with high-quality service and they have an obligation to graduate graduates who can adapt to the growing challenges of society (Boussenna & Elkharraz, 2021) and universities are considered key factors for economic and social progress through their interactions with industry and society in addition to traditional tasks such as teaching (Knowledge transfer) and research (knowledge generation) (Kapetaniou & Lee, 2017) accordingly, there are many opinions of researchers about the standards adopted in measuring performance in universities, including those who believe that the production of services to society is an indicator of performance (Badri & Abdullah, 2004) other research focused on teaching and research as indicators for measuring performance in universities (Manjarrés et al., 2009;Lukman et al., 2010) on the other hand, the graduation rate of students remains a key indicator of university performance (Boussenna & Elkharraz, 202)

Intermediate Variable Is Knowledge Management
In modern times, knowledge is considered the key to sustainable competitive advantage, and the ability of organizations to apply knowledge to their production processes is seen as a key factor in the processes of creating and realizing value in the organization (Papa et al., 2018;Nguyen & Malik, 2020). In the framework of the pursuit of all organizations to achieve a Knowledge refers to facts and ideas gained through experience and formal and informal learning (Kaba & Ramaiah, 2020) as defined by (Sharp, 2007) as a continuous process of learning from experience, collecting information, and recording ideas to measure and improve performance for the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. While he sees (Eurn & Foon, 2008) that it is a common set of principles, facts, skills and rules embodied in the knowledge assets of the organization that enable it to achieve a competitive advantage. As for knowledge management, there is no unified concept for it, as the researchers' views on its concept varied because it was studied by several disciplines and different approaches. As defined by (Taib et al, 2008) as the management of knowledge that individuals possess in the organization. (Kongpichayanond, 2009) referred to knowledge management as a strategy adopted by the organization to capture and use individual knowledge to enhance learning and improve organizational performance. While (Haamann & Basten, 2018) they showed Knowledge management is a systematic process of acquiring, organizing and sharing implicit knowledge (i.e., personal, usually related to and derived from experience) and explicit knowledge (i.e., detailed and codified) so that others can use this knowledge to work more. It is defined as a managerial function that creates or locates knowledge and manages its flow within the organization and ensures its effective and efficient use for the long-term benefit of the organization and helps it achieve goals and enhance organizational performance (Valmohammadi, & Ahmadi, 2015) the analysis of how knowledge processes occur and how management can influence these processes is of crucial importance since management plays a potentially decisive role in stimulating and creating an environment for such processes (Nesheim et al , 2011)

Knowledge Acquisition
Knowledge is the result of learning and therefore knowledge is gained in similar ways,whether directly or indirectly through practices and experiences,asking questions, the desire to learn, teaching and experiences, by reading and writing, by listening and observing (Kaba & Ramaiah, 2020) as part of knowledge management, knowledge acquisition refers to the process by which an individual or an organization obtains knowledge and is able to apply what is acquired (Kaba & Ramaiah, 2020) it has been observed that if employees in an organization feel that they do not have a lack of knowledge to perform their job responsibilities, they will have no intention of asking for knowledge, but in case their knowledge is insufficient , Employees will try to acquire them (Chatterjee et al, 2021) and the basic capabilities of knowledge acquisition are also increasingly dependent on the organization's ability to find and create knowledge (Kim & Lee, 2010) Knowledge acquisition is classified by the broader concept of "organizational learning", which is the process by which knowledge is acquired or acquired considering the literature on knowledge acquisition processes is many and multifaceted, five sub -processes of knowledge acquisition have been identified (Russell-Bennett et al., 2018); (1) Relying on the knowledge available at the start of the company (i.e. the founder's prior innate knowledge); (2)  from experience (i.e. experiential knowledge); (3) Learning by observing other firms (i.e. passive learning); (4) Acquiring or attracting companies or individuals who possess the necessary knowledge that the company needs; (5) Observing or searching for information about the company's environment and performance outcomes; (6) Knowledge creation.
Knowledge creation is a dynamic process ,it indicates that organizational knowledge is closely related to the macro-and microenvironment of the organization and represents the core of innovation that is concerned with the creation of new knowledge ,and without IT, organizations cannot remain new and cope with the pressures of a changing environment and intense competition (Tootell et al., 2020) during the process of knowledge creation, new values and directions of the organization can be created based on interactive knowledge exchange between members. this process was explained in the theory of knowledge transformation in Nonaka and Takeuchi ((1995, and the creation of new knowledge can occur based on to the process of spreading cognitive ability from one employee to another and to the entire system (Yoon et al, 2020) New knowledge may be created from within or outside the organization, the process of knowledge formation takes place within the organization through learning, research and development, accumulation of experience, learning by doing and external sources of knowledge can be assimilated and generalized through interactions with suppliers, customers and competitors (Shih et al, 2010).

Knowledge Storage
Knowledge storage is seen as a repository of knowledge in an organization ,which results from the accumulation of knowledge assets over time and refers to the process of selective retention of Information, documents and experience required by management (Ranjbarfard et al., 2014) knowledge storage includes both static recording and retention of individual and organizational knowledge in a way that can be easily retrieved and for knowledge storage uses technical infrastructure such as modern information hardware and software and human processes to identify knowledge in an organization, then to encrypt and index it for later retrieval, this approach encourages people to adopt a documentation approach in addition to many people are looking for Codified knowledge and its retrieval without the need to contact the person who originally developed it ,which saves time and other organizational resources and thus improves performance (Caroline et al, 2015) the ability of an organization to preserve knowledge also has important consequences on its performance as stored knowledge can effectively protect the organization from the negative effects of staff turnover, moreover, it can also help in framing and solving problems (Jasimuddin, 2005) the knowledge storage stage refers to the process of forming organizational memory, in which knowledge is formally stored in physical memory systems and informally retain them as values, norms and beliefs associated with culture and organizational structure (Gonzalez & Martins,2017).

Knowledge Sharin
The main challenge faced by today's organizations in building their intellectual capital is to understand how they can better facilitate the sharing of knowledge among their employees,and ensure that the knowledge they share contributes to the progress of the organization. the presence or absence of active knowledge sharing is expected to affect the effectiveness of organizations,innovation, competitiveness in the market and even their survival (Mohammed & Zaim, 2020) studies in knowledge management have shown that knowledge sharing can be a catalyst in the creation of knowledge at the collective level (Aljuwaiber, 2020) also explained the resource-based view that in order for an asset to be a source of sustainable competitive advantage, it must That is, if the knowledge is implicit, it is one of the resources that can be protected from imitation and dissemination, and therefore researchers agree that the shared knowledge of the organization may be its most strategically important resource (Seitz & Misra, Copyright © 2022 2020) knowledge sharing is the key to developing and leveraging organizational knowledge ,as it supports employees in dealing with daily routines and dealing with new situations (Kwayu et al, 2021) knowledge sharing means the exchange of knowledge that can implement knowledge-oriented strategies (Chatterjee et al, 2021). In addition ,knowledge sharing means making information about tasks and how to perform them available among employees to create a collaborative environment for solving problems and generating new ideas (Singh et al ,2021:3) knowledge sharing also indicates the degree of positive emotions of employees and their desire to share knowledge with each other (Lin et al, 2020) Knowledge Sharing allows the exchange of knowledge between employees,thereby contributing to improving their job performance in addition to multiple organizational benefits (Lin et al, 2020) Clear (aljuwaiber, 2020) knowledge sharing is the process of consulting colleagues and encouraging them to share their intellectual capital.

Knowledge Application
The effective application of knowledge also helps organizations to improve their efficiency and reduce costs, it is worth noting that the processes of knowledge creation, storage and transportation may not necessarily lead to improved organizational performance, the effective application of knowledge leads to this (Kim & Lee, 2010) the application of knowledge focuses more on how employees apply their knowledge in an effective way to help achieve goals, and value is often created in business organizations when The application of knowledge refers to the behavior of an employee to apply his existing knowledge to support his job (Park et al , 2021) the application of knowledge has been referred to as the exploitation of knowledge and ,therefore, the ability to use it. this involves linking the knowledge transferred to the internal needs of the organization. i.e. the use and application of knowledge measures the ability of workers to use existing knowledge to solve problems, develop new products and inventions, create intellectual property or knowledge assets such as patents (Boateng & Narteh, 2013) in the field of education, the ability of workers to use existing knowledge to solve problems, develop new products and inventions, create intellectual property or knowledge assets such as patents (Boateng & Narteh, 2013) in the field of education, the ability of workers to use existing knowledge to solve problems, develop new products and inventions, create intellectual property or knowledge assets such as patents (Boateng & Narteh, 2013) applying knowledge to improve learning environments and practices resulting from knowledge generation In particular, the application of knowledge is related to the analysis of different perspectives that give rise to good practices in the educational process, the development of information and communication, as good practices and the development of good communication are crucial for improving the teaching of the educational process (Gil et al, 2020)

Methods
Despite the great interest in organizational culture in the industrial, productive and health fields many researchers have tried to study it and take advantage of the great advantages in it. but it has not received enough attention in the educational sector, where many related things have been touched upon, but not in sufficient detail, as organizational culture, especially in the academic side, is one of the important pillars and requirements in improving performance and increasing the productivity of individuals, so the focus in this study will be on the impact of university culture in improving and increasing academic performance at the Southern Technical University, In addition to addressing the very important element of knowledge management for the purpose of reaching the lofty goals that have been set and trying to achieve them. Through the initial research questionnaire, which amounted to (20) questionnaires with a number of academics, it was found that there is a problem in not giving enough attention to Importance of Study; (1) By looking at the literature, it was found that the organizational culture, especially in the academic field, is a topic that deserves to be addressed in Iraqi universities to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the university, the research sample; (2) Working on adopting the variables of the current research would clarify the positive aspects and increase their impact on the university. It also seeks to clarify how to deal with negative matters, if any.

Conceptual Framework of Study
The conceptual framework of the present study was based on a set of the following main assumptions; (1) Organizational culture is a powerful way to help achieve high performance and create a more sustainable future (Dzimińska et al., 2020); (2) Organizational performance is a vital factor that helps in evaluating educational organizations, organizational activities and the environments in which they operate, as the effectiveness and success of the performance of educational organizations depends on the amount of knowledge possessed by the organization (Younis et al., 2020:3158)

Hypotheses of the Study
H1: There is a statistically significant and significant effect relationship between university culture and academic performance.
H2: There is a statistically and morally significant effect relationship between university culture and knowledge management.
H3: There is a statistically significant and significant effect relationship between knowledge management and academic performance.

Study Design
The researchers relied on the descriptive (exploratory) design, whose purpose is to describe the research variables and results in an easy-to-understand manner, so this design is considered an essential part of the exploratory research after describing and interpreting the results (Saunders et al., 2009).

Data Collection Methods
The two researchers relied on the data obtained from the university through the use of a questionnaire that consisted of 30 paragraphs, which were divided into three main variables based on the five-point Likert scale graded according to the following answers (completely disagree "1", disagree "2", somewhat agree "3", agree "4", Completely agree " 5 " ) and the following table shows the paragraphs of the questionnaire . Table 1. The procedural definitions and the sources that were adopted in developing the paragraphs of the questionnaire.

Variable Operational Definition Explanatory Paragraphs
University culture It refers to expectations, morale, academic ethics, and academic environments, that is, it embodies the structure of the University's development, which is characterized by individuality, openness, entrepreneurship, diversity, and creativity (Alsulami et al., 2022:2) 1-10 Academic performance Therefore, organizational performance is a vital factor that helped evaluate educational organizations, organizational activities and the environments in which they operate (Younis et al., 2020:3158) 11-20 knowledge management The strategy adopted by the organization to capture and use individual knowledge to enhance learning and improve organizational performance (Haamann & Basten, 2018:705)

Source: Prepared by the two researchers based on the above sources
Sample of the study: The opinions of a sample of academics at the Southern Technical University were polled using a questionnaire tool that was randomly distributed to a group of teachers numbering (121) teachers.
Statistical Methods used in Data Analysis: A wide range of statistical methods were used depending on the program SPSS. V.22 and AMOS software. V. 20 such as (internal consistency analysis, normal distribution, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis, path analysis).

Normal Distribution of Data
Test (One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test) to test the normal assumption. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is a statistical test that compares the distribution of a statistical population through two independent samples drawn from that population. It can be used to see if the data distribution is normal or not, and as a rule we conclude that the variable is not normally distributed in the case of"Sig". <0.05. When analyzing the data, the paragraphs was distributed normally, as shown below.

Reliability of Study Scale
For checking the stability of the measuring instrument, Cronbach's Alpha analysis was used, which means that the resolution carries understandable and accurate information, and this makes the individuals ' answers with little variation. One of the conditions of this test is that the results should be greater than 70% to be considered as having internal consistency and stability (Pallant, 2011:100) as shown in the table below:

Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients
This analysis was used to describe variables quantitatively using tables and graphs and aims to describe a set of data , organize, classify, summarize and display in a clear way in the form of tables or graphs and calculate various statistical measures to describe one variable (or more) in a society, thus the arithmetic mean and correlation coefficients between the three variables shown in Table No. (4) were extracted that were tested on a sample of academics at the Southern Technical University the same study. And at a significant level (0.01). It is clear from the above table that there is a linear correlation between the study variables, as we conclude that increasing the level of use of knowledge management at the Southern Technical University has a significant positive impact on increasing the level of academic performance as well as the organizational culture prevailing at this university, which plays a vital role in spreading scientific and cultural awareness for the prosperity of academic reality .

Hypothesis Testing
In order to verify the hypotheses put forward in the study methodology, they must be tested directly and indirectly, as there are many analyzes that test the validity of the hypotheses or not, so the path analysis will be used that shows the direct effect between the variables, as it works to draw paths that show the relationships causality between each variable with the otherKothari, 2004: 339) in addition to testing the indirect effect through the mediating variable (knowledge management), whose results will be extracted through (SOBAL TEST) analysis, which measures the degree of influence of the mediating variable of the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable, as shown in the table ( 5) Below: Based on what is explained in the results of the above table, it is clear that the direct hypothesis has been accepted, as the results showed that there is a direct impact of the organization's culture in the direction of academic performance, and this impact is estimated at (0.430), which makes the hypotheses (H1) acceptable. As for the indirect effect, it was addressed through the sobal test, which is carried out by calculating the effect of the intermediate variable in the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent, and the result was (0.652), which means that the hypothesis was accepted.

Conclusion
The university culture has a great and important influence on the overall academic performance at the University, which means that the stronger the organizational culture leads to high-level performance and vice versa, because the less good or weak organizational culture leads to a decrease in performance. This study focused on studying the impact of organizational culture during the practice of Knowledge Management in the overall university performance. A framework was used to assess the relationships between organizational culture, knowledge management and overall university performance and shows a positive relationship between these variables, because universities play an important role in creating a culture of society through their influence on the basic assumptions, values and beliefs of peoples, and play a role in the processes of change through their tasks related to teaching, research and interactions with.

Recommendations
The study recommends the need to engage more in knowledge management programs and provide full support for the application of these programs, strengthen the philosophy of teamwork and tolerance for mistakes, in addition to work to instill an organizational culture that encourages the generation of knowledge, sharing and application of lessons learned through the promotion of programs and activities that help to implement knowledge management and clarify its role in the development of work and improve performance and activate the processes of innovation and organizational creativity continuously.
Creating rewards and material and moral incentives and raising the economic and social level of faculty members so that they contribute to the production of knowledge, and the dissemination of ethical, professional and social values and stories among employees to enhance organizational culture, and finding professional opportunities to raise their selfconfidence and reduce administrative and professional pressures directed at them, which is reflected on improving overall performance at the University.
To increase the interest of the University in question in the university culture in order to reduce the problems and challenges facing the University and to pay attention to work on acquiring the necessary teaching skills and abilities and to encourage the circle of participation in the decision-making process.
Focusing on preparing mechanisms that contribute to raising the level of job performance prevailing in light of an effective and strong organizational culture, adopting a clear and understandable mechanism for everyone on which performance evaluation depends and all administrative procedures emerge from it, preparing effective and targeted programs to develop employee loyalty, and holding seminars and training courses on how to brand in decisionmaking And work as one unit within the university

Determinants and Future Studies
The study community and the sample size limit the results of the analysis, so we suggest conducting the study at other universities to test the current study hypotheses and take advantage of the comparative portal in order to identify the extent of congruence or difference in the results. As the initial data collection was based on the questionnaire tool only, which is a tool with many flaws, shortcomings, future studies can use personal interviews, and observations to obtain results that are more accurate.