Knowledge sharing: A review and directions for future research

International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 2018

Knowledge sharing is considered to be an essential concept and a determinant of success regarding knowledge management. The current paper reviews the most relevant quantitative studies, within the context of individual-level knowledge sharing. The main aim of this paper is to identify the relevant individual factors that influence knowledge sharing. Furthermore, it seeks to identify relevant theories, previously used in literature, that communicate a theoretical understanding of individual levels of knowledge sharing. The researchers searched through five well-known databases using a combination of keywords related to the study context. By applying filtration procedures to the articles gathered from the selected databases, the literature survey revealed 31 most relevant articles. As a result of reviewing the selected articles, it has been indicated that the factors that most affect knowledge sharing include trust, reciprocity, self-efficacy, altruism, and reputation. These factors, ...

Information and Knowledge Management, 2014

This paper identifies key factors enabling individual knowledge sharing in organizations and on projects. A literature review on the topic of knowledge sharing has been conducted with an aim of recognizing relevant factors that influence individual knowledge sharing. We take a holistic approach in examining knowledge sharing by factors pertaining to Theory of planned behaviour, Social capital theory, Social influence theory, Social exchange theory, Social-cognitive theory, and motivational theories augmented with additional aspects. Factors belonging to organizational, team and individual contexts interact and, in turn affect knowledge sharing behaviour of individuals working in organizations and on projects. Relationships between various success factors were found relevant in influencing knowledge sharing and integration of theories in order to develop knowledge sharing model is recommended.

Journal of Management Inquiry, 2015

In response to the calls for more context-aware theorizing, in this essay we review the empirical research on individual knowledge sharing behavior in organizations, with a specific focus on the context in which employees share knowledge. We build on the “Who? / Where? / Why? / What?” framework to “flesh out” the contexts of the empirical studies on individual knowledge sharing published in top-level journals. Mapping the researched contexts, we indicate several biases of the literature as well as point to under-investigated spaces, suggesting theoretical dimensions, their contrasts, and new empirical settings that are missing from the major stream of knowledge sharing studies. We also find that context has been scarcely accounted for in the existing literature, discuss the reasons for it, show how accounting for context can be used to re-interpret some contradictions in existing literature, and suggest some ways to move forward.

2014

This article reports on the literature associated with knowledge sharing success. Studies reveal a number of factors, which influence the success of knowledge sharing among employees in organizations. The review highlights that the factors contributing to the success of knowledge sharing have been identified as organizational, individual and IT related factors. Based on the review, the conceptual model is proposed, which consists of three main constructs namely organizational factors (Organizational Support, Trust, Organizational Culture, Reward System, Organizational Structure), individual factors (Self-Efficiency, and Subjective Norm), and IT related factors (Information System, Technical Infrastructure, and Usage of Social Media). It is suggested that the empirical study be conducted using the proposed conceptual model.

2012

One of the most important areas of knowledge management studies is knowledge sharing. Measured in terms of number of scientific articles and organization-s applications, knowledge sharing stands as an example of success in the field. This paper reviews the related papers in the context of the underlying individual behavioral variables to providea direction framework for future research and writing.

Knowledge sharing in an organization is a complex process with many factors influencing the activity. This paper reviews research on the topic and identifies many of the variables (or factors) identified by previous authors. We also identify where such factors have been measured empirically or investigated using qualitative techniques. Some shortcomings are identified and a possible avenue of research suggested that will provide further insight into what drives knowledge sharing in a modern organization. The paper focuses on describing the underlying conceptual framework for studying the problem using the individual knowledge worker and the knowledge sharing activity as the unit of analysis.

2023

This paper explores individual-level knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is a key organizational citizenship behaviour that contributes to an organization's innovation and competitiveness and as such has received much attention from the research community. However, most of the studies which reviewed the area of knowledge sharing did so by combining organizational, team and individual level factors. As knowledge sharing is conducive to building collective intelligence and improving work performance the way it is approached should be more refined. The study explores the individual-level knowledge sharing focusing only on individual characteristics. Factors such interpersonal trust and justice, individual attitudes towards knowledge sharing, personality traits, cultural aspects, motivational factors, beliefs about knowledge ownership and perceived benefits and costs, are examined to understand their relationship with knowledge-sharing behaviour. Based on the detailed review future research directions are proposed. Deeper investigation is warranted on the personality traits, motivational theories, emotional intelligence, learning styles, mental well-being, cultural nuances, and neuroscientific perspectives in knowledge sharing.

Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2011

Knowledge management is one of the most important research streams in IS research since knowledge is being seen as a vital and significant strategic organizational resource that can influence the competitive advantages of the organization. Organizations have been trying to understand how knowledge is created, shared, and used within the organization as they need to capitalize on the knowledge they possess. Knowledge exists and is shared at different levels (individual, group, and organization level) in organizations. This paper reviews existing literature in this area and presents a framework that identifies factors that most significantly influence knowledge sharing between individuals in organizations.

International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education

Authors introduce a theoretical model of knowledge sharing in an organization through individual perspective. The social exchange theory offers a clarification of fundamental assumptions regarding individual action and is therefore appropriate for explaining why and when an individual is ready to share her/his knowledge in an organization. The article aims to reveal what shapes employees’ decisions to share knowledge in a work situation and what is needed in an organization to facilitate individuals to share and not to hoard their knowledge. These assumptions have never been included in the literature of knowledge management up until now.

2017

At present the organizations of the world are moving towards an efficient knowledge based development environment. Knowledge sharing is an important tool that turns individual knowledge into group organizational knowledge. Knowledge sharing among employees is a procedure which passes skills and qualifications from one person to another to solve problems, develop new ideas, or implement policies or procedures. Future success of an organization depends on effective knowledge sharing. In this study a survey is conducted among 163 employees in different organizations on knowledge sharing. Data are collected on questionnaire survey on ‘Likert five point scale’ to measure the observed variables. Factor analysis and structure equation model are developed from collected data by SPSS 20 and AMOS 21. Research shows that knowledge sharing increases the knowledge management practice environment and efficiency of the organization. An attempt has been taken here to show that knowledge sharing inc...