Knowledge sharing capability in healthcare organizations
| Pages | 135-151 |
| Date | 02 May 2017 |
| Published date | 02 May 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-10-2015-0183 |
| Author | Anchalee Kokanuch,Khwanruedee Tuntrabundit |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business |
Knowledge sharing capability in
healthcare organizations
Anchalee Kokanuch and Khwanruedee Tuntrabundit
Anchalee Kokanuch and
Khwanruedee
Tuntrabundit are both
based at the Faculty of
Management Science,
Khon Kaen University,
Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of organizational culture and stakeholders’
expectations on the relationship between organizational factors and organizations’ knowledge-sharing
capability.
Design/methodology/approach –The data were collected from public and private hospital
administrators in Thailand via a questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, the data were analyzed using
regression analysis.
Findings –The results reveal that organizational culture has a positive effect on the relationship
between organizational climate and knowledge integration, while stakeholders’ expectations have
positive effects on the relationships between organizational climate and interchanging knowledge.
Research limitations/implications –The present study focuses on knowledge sharing at an
organizational level; future studies should examine knowledge sharing at both the organizational and
individual levels.
Practical implications –This paper focuses on the effect of organizational factors on
knowledge-sharing capability in hospitals. Executives should support the organizational climate and
collaborative organizational culture for promoting knowledge integration in an organization.
Furthermore, interchanging knowledge and organizational climate could be emphasized by the
expectations of stakeholders.
Originality/value –Design of organizational climate, organizational culture, and expectations of
stakeholders contribute to knowledge sharing at an organizational level.
Keywords Organizational culture, Organizational factors, Expectations of stakeholders,
Healthcare organization, Knowledge sharing capability
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
To share knowledge is to double it. When knowledge is transferred, it creates value for the
organization without having to leave the person who initially held it (Sveiby, 2001). Thus,
knowledge sharing is considered a crucial element of knowledge management (Sohail and
Daud, 2009). Individuals are seen as agents who draw on their personal knowledge,
collective knowledge, and the creation of new knowledge (Tsoukas, 1996). An organization
provides an environment for regular, systematic sharing of management knowledge (Kale
and Singh, 2007) and plays a critical role in articulating and applying this knowledge
through integration and coordination efforts (Richard et al., 2007). To create value for an
organization, knowledge sharing at an organizational level should not chiefly concern
communicating knowledge but involve activities to categorize knowledge or information.
The success of organizational knowledge sharing is determined by the quality of
knowledge-sharing processes, employees and customers’ satisfaction, and goal
achievement (Guptill, 2005). As such, it can be said that an organization’s success in
knowledge management is based on its knowledge-sharing capabilities (Huysman and De
Wit, 2004). The knowledge-based approach perceives the organization as a unique bundle
of idiosyncratic resources and capabilities, where the primary task of management is to
Received 20 October 2015
Revised 18 January 2016
6 February 2016
Accepted 6 February 2016
DOI 10.1108/JABS-10-2015-0183 VOL. 11 NO. 2 2017, pp. 135-151, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 JOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES PAGE 135
encourage employees to perceive interdependence as an organization design and the
subject of managerial choice. The main implication for the internal structure of the
organization is the role of coordination mechanisms, which is the result of the greater
efficiency of the systems in assessing and integrating the relevant knowledge (Coakes
et al., 2008;Grant, 1996). As such, strengthening an organization’s capabilities should be
one of the goals of its administration through the integration, construction, and emphasis of
its main resource characteristics and expertise in volatile environments (Teece, 2012).
Previous studies focused on the relationship between organizational factors of knowledge
sharing and organizational performance at the individual level; few studies have focused on
organization-level knowledge-sharing effects (Boh, 2007;Lin, 2006;Willem and Buelens,
2007), particularly in terms of processes that broaden individuals’ knowledge, crystallize it,
and integrate it as part of the knowledge of the organization. Based on reviews of
knowledge-sharing research, the surrounding factors contributing to successful knowledge
sharing at an organizational level include: organizational structures, support from the
executive, organizational culture, and organizational climate (Wang and Noe, 2010). From
a previous study on the effect of organizational culture on the relationships between
knowledge-sharing effectiveness in public accounting firms show that culture has a
moderate effect between knowledge-sharing effectiveness and competitive advantage, as
a benefit of the teamwork process will be to increase the frequency of communication and
exchange of information (Boonmunewai and Ussahawanichakit, 2009). On the other hand,
the stakeholders’ perspectives on organizational knowledge sharing should cause concern
from management; legitimate stakeholders not only influence an organization’s
decision-making, but also influence those externally who may be affected by what the
organization does (Brailsford et al., 2009). The results of a study on senior managers
encouraging knowledge-sharing behavior show that senior managers can establish an
organizational culture of knowledge sharing (Lin and Lee, 2004). This paper attempts to fill
the gap in organizational knowledge-sharing literature by examining the impact of
organizational culture and stakeholders’ expectations on the relationships between
different organizational factors (i.e. organizational structure, organizational climate, and
work design) and on organizations’ knowledge-sharing capabilities (i.e. knowledge-sharing
readiness, interchanging knowledge, and knowledge integration), specifically at hospitals
in Thailand.
The key findings of this paper indicate the importance of the impact of organizational
culture on relationships between organizational climate and organizational knowledge
integration. Interestingly, stakeholder expectations have an impact on the interaction of
organizational climate and employee interchanging of knowledge. Therefore, this study
makes important contributions to the literature by investigating the impact of organizational
factors as moderating factors on knowledge-sharing capabilities in an organization.
This paper is composed of six major sections including: a literature review, presentation of
hypotheses, methodology, results and discussion, research implications, and conclusion,
limitations, and suggestions for future research.
2. Literature review
2.1 Knowledge-sharing capability
Capability is defined as an organization’s ability to exploit its existing resources for optimal
benefit (Barney, 1991). This may include skills in organizational management, internal
processes, and actual works. Therefore, capability does not mainly concern tangible
property but also the management of an organization’s resources, staff, and processes
(Tuntrabundit and Tuntrabundit, 2011). Therefore, it can be said that an organization can
internally create and apply knowledge among its staff if it promotes knowledge sharing and
applies that shared knowledge to better itself (Nonaka et al., 2000).
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