The impact of organizational culture on knowledge transfer practices : a case study of a health care organization

Abstract

Knowledge transfer in organizations has been a topic of great interest to many researchers in recent years. Most research studies related to knowledge transfer have investigated the different aspects of organizational culture and how they influence the process of knowledge transfer. However, there has been a lack of studies that examine the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge transfer in health care organizations in general and in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia in particular. This research study is driven by the need to close the gap in the literature by examining the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge transfer in the health care sector in Saudi Arabia.The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of organizational culture on the transfer of knowledge in health care. Studies in this area have taken a holistic approach to identify the factors that impact knowledge transfer. The present study takes a more focused approach, where the cultural factors that impact the transfer of knowledge are identified and explored through the lens of a health care organization. This research is set within the context of health care in Saudi Arabia, two contexts which have not been considered together in previous studies.The aim of the study was achieved by conducting a case study in a health care organization. The research methodology includes both positivist and interpretivist approaches, utilizing a mixed research approach in which qualitative and quantitative research approaches were implemented. Research data were collected using self-administered online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings from the questionnaires were later compared with the findings from the interviews.The research concludes that the culture of an organization has both a facilitating and an impeding effect on knowledge transfer in the context of a health care organization. One finding suggests that organizational management and communication are amongst the main factors that have this facilitating and impeding impacts on the transfer of knowledge. Second, meeting the needs of customers and patients is revealed to have the most significant impact on organizational culture in health care. The research concludes that a culture that is supportive of knowledge transfer depends on having both internal and external motivational factors within the organization. The research outcomes have academic implications, since the research findings can be compared with other Western culture research findings, and practical implications for knowledge transfer practices and communication strategies in health care organizations.