Knowledge sharing within organizational units: the role of knowledge sharing context, process and knowledge sharing effectiveness on unit performance

Abstract

A primary aim of knowledge management is to enable and encourage knowledge sharing among and between individuals, communities and organizational units. Resent research has extended the importance of knowledge sharing to competitiveness, arguing that the combination and sharing of knowledge within organizations provide a basis for competitive advantage. Knowledge sharing within organizations is not easily accomplished, however. A number of concepts have been advanced for analyzing such difficulties including internal ‘stickiness’, knowledge ‘glitches’ and different impediments to the transfer of lessons-learned and best practices within firms. Rare, however, are the empirical studies that have attempted to open up the black box of knowledge sharing mechanism and focus on the context where knowledge sharing takes place as well as whether it affects certain outcomes. In view of the above, this doctoral thesis is a study of Knowledge Sharing, which seeks to advance our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of knowledge sharing within organizations. Conducting Structural Equation Modeling, the results of the field study in 114 departments, which had distinct context and market orientation in ICT, Pharmaceutical and Food industries, reveal that: a) knowledge sharing context significantly influence the process of knowledge sharing, b) the characteristics of knowledge shared do not have any significant effect in the knowledge sharing process, c) employees perceive the process of knowledge sharing as effective and useful for their workflow, d) information technology has a positive influence in both knowledge sharing process and the knowledge sharing effectiveness, e) knowledge sharing effectiveness has a nonlinear association with organizational performance and f) knowledge sharing process and knowledge sharing effectiveness mediates the relationship between knowledge sharing context and organizational performance. These findings show that knowledge sharing process constitutes a critical factor for the increase of organizational performance as well as offer a more integrated and comprehensive model in the knowledge sharing theory.