This paper reviews the current knowledge management (KM) practices to examine the attention (or lack thereof) paid to the individual in managing knowledge in organisations. It identifies and reviews four key practices of KM - i.e., information technology, organisational culture and structure, communities of practice, and human resource practices - to examine how knowledge is interpreted, processed and managed, and the role individuals play in such interpretations, processing and management. The review shows that existing KM practices may be improved through an increased focus on the role of individuals (an individual-centric approach) in designing and implementing KM in organisations.
Purpose – This paper aims to review ethical issues inherent in the theorisation and practice of knowledge management (KM) with specific attention to the conflict of knowledge ownership between organisations and individual employees. Design/methodology/approach – Relevant literature was identified and reviewed via EPSCO host and ISIWeb. Findings – The paper notes that knowledge, although rooted in individuals, is often claimed or treated as owned by organisations, creating a conflict of knowledge...
#1Yong Cao(HUST: Huazhong University of Science and Technology)H-Index: 1
#2Yang Xiang(HUST: Huazhong University of Science and Technology)H-Index: 1
Purpose – Knowledge governance is an organizational mechanism that formally and informally defines how the firm manages the activities related knowledge, thus it has a significant influence on knowledge sharing. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of knowledge governance, including formal and informal knowledge governance, on knowledge sharing. Further, the authors examine the mediating role of guanxi effect between knowledge governance and knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/app...
The strategy literature often emphasizes firm-specific human capital as a source of competitive advantage based on the assumption that it constrains employee mobility. We first identify three boundary conditions that limit the applicability of this logic. We then offer a more comprehensive framework of human capital–based advantage that explores both demand- and supply-side mobility constraints. The critical insight is that these mobility constraints have more explanatory power than the firm spe...
#1Nelly Todorova(Cant.: University of Canterbury)H-Index: 4
#2Annette Mills(Cant.: University of Canterbury)H-Index: 14
Last. Judith Welschen(Cant.: University of Canterbury)H-Index: 1
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Despite heavy investments in knowledge management systems, people are often reluctant to share their knowledge, with knowledge hoarding being one of the largest obstacles to effective knowledge management in organizations. This paper proposes a model that examines the role of intrinsic motivation in knowledge sharing. Bringing together insights from motivational research, Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action, the study investigates the links between intrinsic motivators an...
The aim of this paper is to explore the focus on individuals in the field of knowledge management (KM). Through a meta-review of the KM literature, we identify a relative disregard of the individual in the KM literature while information technology (IT) oriented concepts are widely represented. Our review indicates the need for a greater emphasis on individuals in KM as knowledge is based on individuals' ability and willingness to create, share and transfer knowledge. We offer suggestions on how...
#2Molly Wasko(UAB: University of Alabama at Birmingham)H-Index: 20
Last. Xinlin Tang(FSU: Florida State University)H-Index: 12
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Advances in computer-mediated communication technologies have increased the variety of choices individuals have when sharing knowledge both within and across organizational boundaries. This paper extends prior research by comparing face-to-face and computer-mediated communication channels email, online communities, and knowledge repositories/wikis for different knowledge types computer program and expertise in intra-and inter-organizational knowledge sharing contexts. Using vignettes, this study...
Summary Despite the efforts to enhance knowledge transfer in organizations, success has been elusive. It is becoming clear that in many instances employees are unwilling to share their knowledge even when organizational practices are designed to facilitate transfer. Consequently, this paper develops and investigates a novel construct, knowledge hiding. We establish that knowledge hiding exists, we distinguish knowledge hiding from related concepts (knowledge hoarding and knowledge sharing), and ...
Taking insights from the extant literatures in cross-cultural management and organizational knowledge management, this paper explores the role of cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism in transfer of tacit knowledge between foreign agents. Tacit knowledge transfer is positively influenced by four key factors: absorptive capacity of target unit, source unit's motivational disposition to share knowledge, cultural compatibility, and the extent of personal communication between foreig...
Organizational level studies of knowledge management have been hampered by the lack of measures of individual level knowledge management practices and outcomes that can be used as success criteria to determine whether, or to what degree, specific organizational knowledge management practices enhance individual knowledge creation, sharing, and application at the individual level. This paper explores how the knowledge management practices of individuals are related to the task knowledge they use t...
#2Stavros Sindakis(Chongqing Technology and Business University)H-Index: 7
Knowledge, unlike commodities, is touted to grant sustainable competitive advantage by its tacitness, inimitability, and immobility. Yet, knowledge creation theory took off on a wrong footing, on the typological conversion model, and on the assumption that organization is a living organism. We posit that conversion of one knowledge typology to another cannot and should not be the basis of knowledge creation theory. Moreover, the organismic assumption of an organization misleads scholars into ass...
#1Zuzana Crhová(Tomas Bata University in Zlín)H-Index: 2
#2Jana Matošková(Tomas Bata University in Zlín)H-Index: 4
Despite a general assumption that knowledge sharing among employees is vital for achieving a competitive advantage, only limited evidence has been provided to support it. This article examines the relation between knowledge sharing and three dimensions of organizational performance: innovativeness, financial performance and the use of human recourses. The study uses data from a sample of 112 employees from the Czech Republic. The findings provide evidence that knowledge sharing is significantly ...
#1Memoona Tariq(University of Huddersfield)H-Index: 2
This chapter reviews the extent to which female leaders are considered in theorising and practices of knowledge management in organisations. It highlights how women have a positive impact when it comes to knowledge-sharing in teams. The review also highlights how existing organisational structure and culture could be improved to empower female knowledge leaders.
Social media continues to proliferate. This article presents a qualitative analysis of twelve cases of social-media-based knowledge sharing. The analysis reveals six categories of knowledge sharing in the social context. The analysis indicates that personalization of the organization entities and socialization of the participation on social media for knowledge sharing are two key success factors. The findings suggest that the social dimension, which has been absent from the traditional knowledge...
#2Rusli Abdullah(UPM: Universiti Putra Malaysia)H-Index: 16
Last. Hamidah Ibrahim(UPM: Universiti Putra Malaysia)H-Index: 15
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This paper is aimed to investigate the relationships between 11 strategies proposed as the antecedents in the Collaborative Knowledge Management Strategic Planning (CKMS2P) Model towards CKMS effectiveness by applying the model in the public higher learning institutions (PHLI). This study used Partial Least Square (PLS) and Structured Equation Modelling (SEM) tools to analyze the finding. A survey was done to gauge respondents’ perspectives, pertaining the strategies proposed in the model. A tot...
#2Chris Perryer(UWA: University of Western Australia)H-Index: 6
This study examines the moderating effects of individuals' national cultural values on intrinsic motivation to engage in tacit knowledge transfer, through the lens of knowledge coaching. Using partial least squares analysis, survey data from 26 district managers knowledge coaches and 102 territory managers proteges from a large MNC's subsidiaries in Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK is examined. In the first model, appertaining to the knowledge coaches, long-term orientation pos...
