Knowledge Sharing (knowledge + sharing)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


National Cultural Influences on Knowledge Sharing: A Comparison of China and Russia

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2006
Snejina Michailova
abstract This paper presents a set of theoretical propositions regarding knowledge sharing in China and Russia. We argue that there are important national cultural similarities and differences between the two countries that result in certain similarities and differences in individual knowledge-sharing behaviour in Chinese and Russian organizations. We claim that vertical collectivism and particularistic social relations in China and Russia lead to intensive social relations among organizational members, which facilitate knowledge sharing between in-group members in organizations in both countries. We also maintain that differences in the essence of collectivism as well as in the extent of collectivism in the two cultural contexts lead to different intensities of knowledge sharing in Chinese and Russian organizations. Finally, we discuss theoretical and management implications of this research. [source]


A comparative analysis of knowledge sharing climate

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2008
Kripa Shanker Gupta
Efforts are made to measure knowledge generation and sharing in organisation through the human values approach by using the conceptual framework and measuring instrument developed by the researcher to do the similar study earlier. The study is extended to hospitality and IT Solution sectors along with the manufacturing and R&D sectors and does a comparative analysis of knowledge sharing in four different sectors. This analysis has also helped in understanding the impact of human values practice on employee and customer satisfaction. Knowledge Sharing depends on the organisational climate where trust is high and employees feel that sharing of knowledge is rewarding. Top Management of the organisations where knowledge sharing is low must shift the attention to improve the factors which support the knowledge sharing. The knowledge sharing Climate inventory has been published in The 2008 Pfeiffer Annual Consulting. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Social Exchange and Knowledge Sharing among Knowledge Workers: The Moderating Role of Perceived Job Security

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2009
Kathryn M. Bartol
abstract Drawing on perceived organizational support (POS) theory and employee,organizational relationship theories, this research investigated the association between POS and knowledge sharing as well as the potential moderating effects of perceived job security. Study participants were 255 information technology professionals and their supervisors working in the information technology industry in China. Findings showed that POS was positively related to knowledge sharing, and, as expected, perceived job security moderated the association. More specifically, the positive association between POS and employee knowledge sharing held only for employees who perceived higher job security from their organization. In contrast, POS was not significantly associated with knowledge sharing when employees perceived their job security to be relatively low. This latter result is consistent with contentions from employee,organizational relationships theories that limited investment by employers is likely to lead to lower contributions from employees. The findings are also congruent with arguments from social exchange theory that meaningful reciprocity is built on a history of open-ended exchanges whose development may be inconsistent with a shorter-term employment horizon. [source]


Managerial Knowledge Sharing: The Role of Individual, Interpersonal, and Organizational Factors

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2006
Lin Lu
abstract This paper describes two studies conducted in the People's Republic of China aimed at improving understanding of knowledge sharing among managers. Study 1 found evidence for the role of two individual factors: greed which reduced knowledge sharing, and self-efficacy which increased it. In addition, co-worker collegiality has an indirect influence on knowledge sharing by lowering greed and raising self-efficacy. Study 2 replicated the key findings of Study 1 and also identified the influence of organizational support on knowledge sharing. Organizational support led to higher utilization of information and communication technologies, resulting in more knowledge sharing, especially for explicit as opposed to implicit knowledge. [source]


Working Knowledge Goes Global: Knowledge Sharing and Performance in a Globally Distributed Team

ANTHROPOLOGY OF WORK REVIEW, Issue 1-2 2003
Professor Marietta L. BabaArticle first published online: 28 JUN 200
First page of article [source]


Knowledge sharing and decision making in the peace corps

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2010
Engels Gilbert
The Peace Corps has over 7,800 volunteers serving in 70 countries. These volunteers bring a broad array of skills and experiences to their posts and they acquire valuable additional knowledge on the job,knowledge that is often lost when a volunteer retires after the customary two years of service. While the Peace Corps is aware of the value of this knowledge and attempts to create conditions in which it can be shared, a case study conducted by one of the authors found that there currently is no formal strategy to manage the flow of information and knowledge between different members of the organization. This is unfortunate since the ability to effectively capture and share information and knowledge could significantly ease the jobs of volunteers, increase their productivity, and improve morale. We develop a framework for knowledge management in a volunteer organization such as the Peace Corps where quick personnel turnover hampers traditional approaches to knowledge management. We articulate a set of computer and non-computer-based mechanisms in terms of procedures, policies, and IT tools to capture, share and transform data and information into usable knowledge. We conclude by proposing a knowledge management system based on these prescriptions that could be used in the Peace Corps or other similar, largely volunteer, organizations with a rapid turnover of personnel. Disclaimer: The Peace Corps had no connection with this project. The views in this report reflect only the personal views of the authors, and do not in any way describe or reflect the official views or position of the Peace Corps. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Committed to share: commitment and CMC use as antecedents of knowledge sharing

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2004
Bart van den Hooff
Knowledge sharing is an important process in modern organizations, as successful knowledge sharing can result in shared intellectual capital, an increasingly important resource. In this paper, we study the influence of organizational commitment and the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on knowledge sharing. In knowledge sharing, an important distinction is made between knowledge donating and knowledge collecting. Based on relevant literature, we hypothesize that commitment and CMC use are both positively related to both knowledge donating and knowledge collecting. We also hypothesize that CMC use positively influences commitment. On the basis of two case studies our conclusion is that CMC use is an antecedent of organizational commitment, and that such commitment, in turn, influences the willingness to both donate and collect knowledge. Further analyses lead to the conclusion that it is important to distinguish different processes of knowledge sharing (donating and collecting), different levels of commitment and knowledge sharing (organizational and departmental), and different modes of CMC use in order to get a full grasp of the relationship between commitment, knowledge sharing and CMC use. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Knowledge sharing as a catalyst for individual and organizational learning

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT, Issue 10 2005
Holly Burkett CPT
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Sharing Ecological Knowledge: Opportunities and Barriers to Uptake

BIOTROPICA, Issue 5 2009
Virginie Boreux
ABSTRACT Conserving tropical ecosystems is one of the foremost challenges of the 21st century. Lately, conservation efforts have focused on advancing conservation through dialogue and interaction with and among diverse stakeholders. Knowledge sharing, and specifically the transfer of scientific knowledge, can raise ecological awareness among stakeholders and is necessary to facilitate dialogue, yet the communication of tropical scientific research to local stakeholders is rarely effectively implemented. Such a communication gap potentially undermines the conservation and management of natural resources. The papers in this special section highlight the difficulties and benefits of sharing ecological knowledge, as well as the underlying reasons for why a research,implementation gap has arisen. [source]


Synthesis: Sharing Ecological Knowledge,The Way Forward

BIOTROPICA, Issue 5 2009
Julia Born
ABSTRACT Knowledge sharing between scientists and nonscientist stakeholders is necessary to implement research findings in an appropriate and effective manner within the context of the environment and conservation sectors. Yet scientific ecological knowledge is rarely shared and transferred effectively. This special section has addressed a number of opportunities and barriers to the improvement of scientific communication and knowledge transfer with respect to environmental management in tropical settings. A main challenge is seen in creating a research ,impact-metric' system, which is fundamental to foster knowledge sharing with institutional research incentives. Partnering with local institutions and research centers as well as participatory research methods will promote effective knowledge exchange. Research relevance and impact will be improved by matching interdisciplinary research with local capacity building and support through research activities. We conclude that training the next generation of tropical biologists through more effective knowledge sharing will be crucial to the long term success of scientifically based environmental management in tropical regions. [source]


Chi and Organizational Creativity: A Case Study of Three Taiwanese Computer Firms

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003
Jon-Chao Hong
The mechanisms of knowledge management include knowledge sharing, knowledge transformation and knowledge accumulation. In the corporate context, knowledge creation is of utmost importance for the promotion of competition within an organization. Knowledge creation in business corporations is most frequently done through sharing knowledge between members of a team. Therefore, how to promote the flow of ,Chi' in an organization to ensure the effectiveness of knowledge sharing becomes the key to successful knowledge creation. Moreover, to create and maintain ,Chi', a holonic working environment has to be created so that the result of knowledge sharing can be enhanced. This paper illustrates the effectiveness of the knowledge-sharing practices of three computer-manufacturing companies from the perspective of working environment design and knowledge-sharing mechanism. Through comparison, this paper will identify some good practices for the enhancement of organizational creativity. [source]


Collaborative Processes and Knowledge Creation in Communities-of-Practice

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002
Karin Breu
This paper challenges the view of employees' reluctance to share what they know, thus, attributing the ,stickiness' of knowledge to motivational factors. The study investigated informal mechanisms for knowledge sharing, taking a community-of-practice (CoP) perspective as a point of departure. A large-sized organisation in the utilities sector provided the context of the research. Existing CoP theory is advanced by surfacing the motivations for participation in CoPs, by eliciting the contributions informal, self-organising communities achieve in a commercial context and by documenting the process by which informal community activities become absorbed into the formal organisation. [source]


A framework of knowledge versioning management

EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2004
M. T. Maliappis
Abstract: Knowledge is an inherently dynamic entity continuously changing and evolving. In many cases, the coexistence of different versions of the same core knowledge is a necessity. So is the availability of the proper environment and tools to deal with knowledge versioning. In this paper, a framework of knowledge versioning management is proposed and implemented dealing with hybrid knowledge representation models using frames and rules. This framework facilitates knowledge version handling and maintenance, improving, in parallel, knowledge sharing and reuse. Knowledge components are stored in a set of tables and handled as data under the auspices of a database management system. The proper structure of tables and their relationships allows the creation of independent knowledge modules. Several knowledge modules can be assembled to construct higher level modules, which finally form versions of knowledge. Corresponding knowledge base versions consist of several knowledge modules easy to handle and process in various application areas. The proposed framework has been implemented and thoroughly examined in an application area of great importance, such as pest management. [source]


Knowledge-sharing reward dynamics in knowledge management systems: Game theory,based empirical validation

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2010
Xi Zhang
Abstract There are several knowledge-sharing problems in knowledge-management system (KMS) contexts. Many organizations use rewards to motivate people to contribute knowledge, but there has been no conclusive evidence of the role of reward. We designed two game-theory models to explain why and how the different knowledge-sharing problems occur in a KMS and the effectiveness of rewards. We found that there are four types of Nash equilibriums in different knowledge-sharing situations (Perfect, Free-riding, Non-use, and Dormant). Complex situations also occur (e.g., the absence of consideration for knowledge quality leads to vicious cycles). People contribute low-quality knowledge that is not used, and thus the KMS spirals toward disuse. To provide proposition evidence, a case study in an enterprise resource planning vendor was conducted. Based on comparison with empirical evidence, proposition validity was ensured. To effectively facilitate knowledge sharing, our suggestion is that organizations not only add rewards but also apply some additional mechanisms, such as a quality-evaluating system, extended information technology support, and organizational policy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Encouraging knowledge sharing among employees: How job design matters

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2009
Nicolai J. Foss
Abstract Job design is one of the most frequently researched practices in the Human Resource Management (HRM) literature, and knowledge sharing has become an important and heavily researched managerial practice. The links between these practices, however, have received little attention in the literature. We argue that job design matters to knowledge sharing for motivational reasons. Specifically, jobs contain characteristics that stimulate different kinds of motivation toward knowledge sharing, which have different effects on individual knowledge sharing behavior. We develop six hypotheses that unfold these ideas and test them on the basis of individual-level data collected within a single firm. The hypotheses are tested in a LISREL model that confirms that job characteristics, such as autonomy, task identity, and feedback, determine different motivations to share knowledge, which in turn predict employees' knowledge sharing behaviors. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Closing the gap: towards a process model of post-merger knowledge sharing

INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007
Youngjin Yoo
Abstract., We develop a process model of post-merger knowledge sharing based on distributed cognition, a systems perspective and path dependence. The framework conceptualizes knowledge sharing by layers of management choice and employee appropriation of knowledge resources seen as knowledge as content and knowledge as connection. We use the framework to study a merger of two polymer companies. The study reveals that mergers represent a discontinuity in knowledge sharing. Yet, chosen strategies often mirror the learned knowledge-sharing practices of one of the merged companies and match poorly with the post-merger knowledge-sharing needs. Five factors emerged contribute to this knowledge gap: (a) the nature of the merger; (b) a lack of shared context; (c) the incompatibility of existing knowledge systems; (d) the tacit dimension of knowledge; and (e) time pressures of the merger. Our study shows that, employees enacted knowledge new sharing practices that differed significantly from the official strategy to close to the post-merger knowledge gap. [source]


Evidence from the United States on the Effect of Auditor Involvement in Assessing Internal Control over Financial Reporting

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2009
Jean C. Bedard
Securities regulators around the world are considering the costs and benefits of alternative policies for providing information to financial markets on corporate internal control. These policy options differ on the level of auditor involvement, among other dimensions. We examine the association of relative auditor involvement and auditor characteristics with Section 302 internal control disclosures made by US ,non-accelerated filers' from 2003 to 2005. We find more material weaknesses disclosed in the fourth quarter, when there is relatively more auditor involvement, relative to the first three quarters. Clients of larger audit firms have higher disclosure rates (although they are probably less risky due to more stringent client acceptance standards), but this difference is due to fourth quarter disclosures. Audit firms with Section 404 experience also have greater material weakness disclosure, implying process improvement associated with knowledge sharing across engagements. Collectively, our results shed light on ways to increase the effectiveness of internal control regulation. [source]


Leadership behaviors that really count in an organization's performance in the Middle East: The case of Dubai

JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Issue 2 2008
Mohamed H. Behery
This study is an examination of the relationships among leadership behaviors, knowledge sharing, and organizational performance in a non-Western context like Dubai. Using a sample of 504 managers from different business-services sectors (real estate, banks, insurance), the results suggest that transactional and transformational leadership are positively related to knowledge sharing and organizational performance. However, sharing knowledge was found to partially mediate the effect of leadership on organizational performance. In addition, an unexpected neutral effect of gender and citizenship or nationality has been detected. Limitations of this study and recommendations for future research and implications for managers are also provided. [source]


Relationship Investment and Channel Performance: An Analysis of Mediating Forces

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 7 2009
Yadong Luo
abstract This study explores how relationship-specific investment (RSI) enhances interfirm cooperation in buyer,supplier partnerships in an emerging market. Building upon the logic of economic sociology, we argue that the contribution of RSI to the success in buyer,supplier partnerships will be mediated by reduced opportunism and reduced conflict and by heightened commitment and knowledge sharing. Our survey of 216 paired distributors (buyers) and manufacturers (suppliers) in China generally supports this argument, leading to a conclusion that RSI is not a direct performance propeller but an important builder of relational infrastructure in which mid-range processes are nourished. Theoretical implications in strategic management and supply chain management research are highlighted. [source]


National Cultural Influences on Knowledge Sharing: A Comparison of China and Russia

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2006
Snejina Michailova
abstract This paper presents a set of theoretical propositions regarding knowledge sharing in China and Russia. We argue that there are important national cultural similarities and differences between the two countries that result in certain similarities and differences in individual knowledge-sharing behaviour in Chinese and Russian organizations. We claim that vertical collectivism and particularistic social relations in China and Russia lead to intensive social relations among organizational members, which facilitate knowledge sharing between in-group members in organizations in both countries. We also maintain that differences in the essence of collectivism as well as in the extent of collectivism in the two cultural contexts lead to different intensities of knowledge sharing in Chinese and Russian organizations. Finally, we discuss theoretical and management implications of this research. [source]


Influences On Knowledge processes In Organizational Learning: The Psychosocial Filter

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 6 2000
Kate M. Andrews
This paper reports a segment of broader theory-building case study research exploring organizational learning and knowledge processes in a bio-medical consortium. Its focus is the individual-level factors that influence knowledge processes associated with organizational learning. As we explored how rganizational learning occurred, the underlying knowledge processes came forward as complex and idiosyncratic. In an unanticipated finding, micro-processes emerged as highly influential, with individual perceptions of approachability, credibility and trustworthiness mediating knowledge importing and knowledge sharing activities. We introduce a model ,the psychosocial filter, to describe the cluster of micro-processes that were brought forward in the study. Firstly, scientists filtered knowledge porting by deciding whom they would approach for information and from whom they would accept input. The individual's confidence to initiate information requests (which we termed social confidence) and the perceived credibility of knowledge suppliers both mediated knowledge importing. Secondly, scientists mediated knowledge sharing by actively deciding with whom they would share their own knowledge. Perceived trustworthiness , based on perceptions of what olleagues were likely to do with sensitive information , was the factor that influenced knowledge-sharing decisions. Significantly, the psychosocial filter seemed to constitute a heedful process with high functionality. Its effect was not to block knowledge circulation, but instead to ensure that nowledge-sharing decisions were made in a thoughtful and deliberate way. The psychosocial filter suggests an initial framework for conceptualizing the role that individual-level processes play in organizational knowledge sharing. Building on this, the model provides a platform for more focused exploration of knowledge processes and social relationships in organizational learning. [source]


Contrasting burnout, turnover intention, control, value congruence and knowledge sharing between Baby Boomers and Generation X

JOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009
MICHAEL P. LEITER PhD
Aim(s), This paper examines the contrasting role of work values for nurses from two generations: Baby Boomers and Generation X. Background, Differences among nurses regarding core values pertaining to their work has a potential to influence the quality of their work life. These differences may have implications for their vulnerability to job burnout. Evaluation, The analysis is based upon questionnaire surveys of nurses representing Generation X (n = 255) and Baby Boomers (n = 193) that contrasted their responses on job burnout, areas of work life, knowledge transfer and intention to quit. Key issue(s), The analysis identified a greater person/organization value mismatch for Generation X nurses than for Baby Boomer nurses. Their greater value mismatch was associated with a greater susceptibility to burnout and a stronger intention to quit for Generation X nurses. Conclusion(s), The article notes the influence of Baby Boomer nurses in the structure of work and the application of new knowledge in health care work settings. Implications for recruitment and retention are discussed with a focus on knowledge transfer activities associated with distinct learning styles. Implications for nursing management, Understanding value differences between generations will help nursing managers to develop more responsive work settings for nurses of all ages. [source]


Good for workers, good for companies: How knowledge sharing benefits individual employees

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 4 2009
Iris Reychav
The paper aims to identify the ways in which explicit and tacit knowledge sharing occur in organizations and to investigate the impact of sharing these two knowledge types on the employee's rewards, performance, and intention to leave. This paper focuses on two hi-tech companies working in the telecommunications field producing cellular networks. The final sample consisted of 278 completed questionnaires from business departments including finance, R&D, marketing, IT, engineering, and manufacturing. Explicit knowledge sharing is perceived by the employees as having: (1) a direct positive effect on the receipt of monetary rewards; (2) a positive indirect effect on the employee's performance; and it has a (3) positive direct and negative indirect effects on employee's intention to leave. Tacit knowledge sharing is perceived by employees as having: (1) a positive direct effect on the receipt of non-monetary rewards; (2) a positive direct effect on performance; and (3) it has a positive indirect effect on employee's intention to leave. Although the findings show that increased knowledge sharing results in positive outcomes at the individual level, the research model would benefit from an examination of larger samples for reasons of statistical complexity analysis and in order to allow for generalizability of the results to other companies that operate in similar environments. It would also be worthwhile to conduct a comparative analysis of companies from different industries. Understanding knowledge-sharing behaviors may prove helpful to managers in developing strategies to encourage organizational knowledge sharing and in the development of an organizational knowledge base. The knowledge sharing outcomes outlined here can give employees a way to predict potential positive outcomes and benefits that are likely to arise as a result of engaging in knowledge sharing activities. The model enables for the first time to substantiate, in a valid way, to hypothesize that knowledge sharing within an organization is perceived by employees to be a rewarding behavior, improving employees' performance, and decrease the intention to leave. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A comparative analysis of knowledge sharing climate

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2008
Kripa Shanker Gupta
Efforts are made to measure knowledge generation and sharing in organisation through the human values approach by using the conceptual framework and measuring instrument developed by the researcher to do the similar study earlier. The study is extended to hospitality and IT Solution sectors along with the manufacturing and R&D sectors and does a comparative analysis of knowledge sharing in four different sectors. This analysis has also helped in understanding the impact of human values practice on employee and customer satisfaction. Knowledge Sharing depends on the organisational climate where trust is high and employees feel that sharing of knowledge is rewarding. Top Management of the organisations where knowledge sharing is low must shift the attention to improve the factors which support the knowledge sharing. The knowledge sharing Climate inventory has been published in The 2008 Pfeiffer Annual Consulting. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


An analysis of trust among globally distributed work teams in an organizational setting

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2007
Sue Newell
Regardless of whether a project team is located in the same workplace or distributed around the world, trust remains an important element deemed necessary to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative work. At the same time, distribution across sites presents challenges to trust building that are not present among co-located teams. A further complicating factor in trust building among distributed teams is national culture. As we demonstrate, the impact of nationality can be increased when organizations put the distributed sites in a competitive frame. Using the Newell and Swan threefold typology of trust, this paper analyzes trust among IT work teams whose members are located at sites that are distributed in the United States, Ireland, and India. Our case analysis confirms the problematic nature of trust building among globally distributed teams. Specifically, we found that due to situational factors and socio-psychological dynamics an ,Us versus Them' attitude prevails among the distributed sites. This paper concludes that the traditional approaches used by organizations to address the challenges of global collaboration are insufficient and that trust building in an organizational setting requires project managers to actively work on relationship management to minimize the impact of an inter-group perspective. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The Guru,Shishya process for radiating knowledge in organizations

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 4 2005
Edwina PioArticle first published online: 14 NOV 200
India is increasingly becoming a destination for organizations seeking to remain profitable in an intensely competitive international environment. This paper intermeshes the ancient Eastern Guru,Shishya or revered teacher-pupil process with communities of practice to radiate knowledge in organizations. This Eastern process, based on evidence from three labour intensive organizations in India, is described and analysed, along with the results. The paper contributes to knowledge and process management in organizations by tapping into ancient values as the source for embedding both knowledge sharing and knowledge production. In addition, this paper adds to the managerial discourse on developing countries, and is particularly useful for organizations wishing to engage with, or already doing business in India. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Committed to share: commitment and CMC use as antecedents of knowledge sharing

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2004
Bart van den Hooff
Knowledge sharing is an important process in modern organizations, as successful knowledge sharing can result in shared intellectual capital, an increasingly important resource. In this paper, we study the influence of organizational commitment and the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on knowledge sharing. In knowledge sharing, an important distinction is made between knowledge donating and knowledge collecting. Based on relevant literature, we hypothesize that commitment and CMC use are both positively related to both knowledge donating and knowledge collecting. We also hypothesize that CMC use positively influences commitment. On the basis of two case studies our conclusion is that CMC use is an antecedent of organizational commitment, and that such commitment, in turn, influences the willingness to both donate and collect knowledge. Further analyses lead to the conclusion that it is important to distinguish different processes of knowledge sharing (donating and collecting), different levels of commitment and knowledge sharing (organizational and departmental), and different modes of CMC use in order to get a full grasp of the relationship between commitment, knowledge sharing and CMC use. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Inter-firm sharing of process knowledge: exploring knowledge markets

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2002
David G. Bell
Markets and communities are two modalities of knowledge exchange between firms; and this study concludes with a model that addresses the tension between the two modalities. The model resulted from an exploratory study conducted under the umbrella of a national consortium, using the methodology of participatory action research. The study involved three large multinational firms, where one firm supplied knowledge of three different processes used in product development to two other non-competitive firms outside their supply chain. The knowledge was shared within the framework of an intervention that included the following: (1) individual work with process-related course materials via the web or compact disc, followed by (2) interactive group sessions supported by videoconference facilities and led by a process expert from the supplying firm. Empirical data were gathered by interviewing participants before and after the intervention, and by observing interactive group sessions. Findings from the empirical data describe rationales for inter-firm sharing of process knowledge, which illustrate a market modality of exchange; and describe practices for effective knowledge sharing, which illustrate aspects of a community modality of exchange. The model induced from these findings compares the situational setting, constellation of meanings and associated knowledge sharing practices for both modalities of exchange: market and community. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Social Exchange and Knowledge Sharing among Knowledge Workers: The Moderating Role of Perceived Job Security

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2009
Kathryn M. Bartol
abstract Drawing on perceived organizational support (POS) theory and employee,organizational relationship theories, this research investigated the association between POS and knowledge sharing as well as the potential moderating effects of perceived job security. Study participants were 255 information technology professionals and their supervisors working in the information technology industry in China. Findings showed that POS was positively related to knowledge sharing, and, as expected, perceived job security moderated the association. More specifically, the positive association between POS and employee knowledge sharing held only for employees who perceived higher job security from their organization. In contrast, POS was not significantly associated with knowledge sharing when employees perceived their job security to be relatively low. This latter result is consistent with contentions from employee,organizational relationships theories that limited investment by employers is likely to lead to lower contributions from employees. The findings are also congruent with arguments from social exchange theory that meaningful reciprocity is built on a history of open-ended exchanges whose development may be inconsistent with a shorter-term employment horizon. [source]


Managerial Knowledge Sharing: The Role of Individual, Interpersonal, and Organizational Factors

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2006
Lin Lu
abstract This paper describes two studies conducted in the People's Republic of China aimed at improving understanding of knowledge sharing among managers. Study 1 found evidence for the role of two individual factors: greed which reduced knowledge sharing, and self-efficacy which increased it. In addition, co-worker collegiality has an indirect influence on knowledge sharing by lowering greed and raising self-efficacy. Study 2 replicated the key findings of Study 1 and also identified the influence of organizational support on knowledge sharing. Organizational support led to higher utilization of information and communication technologies, resulting in more knowledge sharing, especially for explicit as opposed to implicit knowledge. [source]