Systems & complexity

Factors influencing employees’ willingness to share knowledge

In a recent article, we looked at a classification framework of knowledge transfer issues across value networks.

A new conference paper1 also explores knowledge transfer issues. The authors state that while knowledge sharing is a vital organisational process, it depends on the willingness of individuals so needs to be fostered rather than forced or mandated. Because of this, understanding the factors influencing employees’ willingness to share knowledge is essential.

To identify these factors, the authors conducted a review of the extant literature. Peer-reviewed journals from a wide range of domains were considered. A total of 112 relevant articles from 62 different journals were reviewed, with 35 of the articles coming from the Journal of Knowledge Management. Terms related to willingness to share knowledge were compiled into a spreadsheet. A total of 512 terms were identified, and these were then grouped into generic headings, resulting in a total of 25 factors.

Table 1 below lists the 25 factors in no particular order. In regard to the column headings, “Working Definition” is the understanding by the authors from all 112 articles, “Key Characteristics” is a breakdown of the fundamental features of each factor, and “Contributions to the Willingness to Share Knowledge” is the effect that each factor has on the willingness to share knowledge in an organisation.

The authors acknowledge that while the paper attempts to identify as best as possible the factors influencing employees’ willingness to share knowledge, other peer reviewed works may may include new and differing results.

Table 1. Categorised knowledge sharing factors. (Adapted from Mc Manus, Ragab, Arisha, and Mulhall, 2016).

Categorised knowledge sharing factors

Reference:

  1. Mc Manus, P., Ragab, M., Arisha, A. and Mulhall, S. (2016) Review of Factors Influencing Employees’ Willingness to Share Knowledge. 18th European Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM), Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2016.
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Bruce Boyes

Bruce Boyes is a knowledge management (KM), environmental management, and education thought leader with more than 40 years of experience. As editor and lead writer of the award-winning RealKM Magazine, he has personally written more than 500 articles and published more than 2,000 articles overall, resulting in more than 2 million reader views. With a demonstrated ability to identify and implement innovative solutions to social and ecological complexity, Bruce has successfully completed more than 40 programs, projects, and initiatives including leading complex major programs. His many other career highlights include: leading the KM community KM and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, using agile approaches to oversee the on time and under budget implementation of an award-winning $77.4 million recovery program for one of Australia's most iconic river systems, leading a knowledge strategy process for Australia’s 56 natural resource management (NRM) regional organisations, pioneering collaborative learning and governance approaches to empower communities to sustainably manage landscapes and catchments in the face of complexity, being one of the first to join a new landmark aviation complexity initiative, initiating and teaching two new knowledge management subjects at Shanxi University in China, and writing numerous notable environmental strategies, reports, and other works. Bruce is currently a PhD candidate in the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group at Wageningen University and Research, and holds a Master of Environmental Management with Distinction and a Certificate of Technology (Electronics). As well as his work for RealKM Magazine, Bruce currently also teaches in the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) Certified High-school Pathway (CHP) program in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China.

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