Sharing tacit knowledge in small-medium regional construction companies in the U.S.: the current status and the impact of organizational ecology

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to investigate the status of tacit knowledge sharing practice and the impact of organizational ecology on the practice in small-medium regional construction companies in the U.S. This study particularly focuses on the impact of six constructs of organizational ecology identified through a synthesis of previous works. The constructs are employee’s awareness and perception of tacit knowledge sharing, functional areas benefited from tacit knowledge sharing, company-wide efforts for promoting tacit knowledge sharing, organizational culture, networking and the communities of practice, and the choice of a means and ICT implementation. To accomplish the objective, this study surveyed practitioners using a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using Shapiro-Wilk test, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test, and t-test to compare three cohorts of respondents. All respondents consider tacit knowledge an important asset and are willing to share their knowledge. To improve the current practice, companies should establish formal procedures, provide more training opportunities, allow time for participation in sharing and the codification of knowledge, and invest in enhancing internal communication and collaboration for knowledge sharing. The findings of this study are expected to assist practitioners effectively in creating an organizational ecology for advanced tacit knowledge sharing in the workplace.