The role of knowledge sharing culture in business performance
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-10-2014-0061 |
| Date | 09 May 2016 |
| Published date | 09 May 2016 |
| Pages | 154-174 |
| Author | Laila Marouf |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems |
The role of knowledge sharing
culture in business performance
Laila Marouf
Department of Library and Information Science, Kuwait University,
Kuwait, Kuwait
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the role of knowledge sharing (KS) culture in
leveraging knowledge management (KM) strategy and human resource (HR) strategy to improve
business performance (BP).
Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire survey was distributed to 120
randomly selected companies in Kuwait. A total of 392 valid responses were collected and tested using
a structural equation model. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and LISREL software to
verify the research hypotheses.
Findings – The results revealed the impact of the mediating variable KS culture on the enhancement
of BP. Both KM strategy and HR strategy were observed to have a positive direct effect on KS culture.
Practical implications – The results indicate that top management should make efforts to cultivate
a KS culture to achieve better BP and future success.
Originality/value – The primary research contribution is the conceptual model for the role of KS
culture as a mediator between KM strategy, HR strategy and BP.
Keywords Knowledge sharing, Knowledge management, Knowledge ows and culture
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The current business environment is increasingly facing challenges and erce
competition. Thus, it is critical for organizations to create resources that are both
valuable and difcult to imitate (Barney, 1991). Integrating these difcult-to-copy
resources within an organization is seen as a fundamental driver of performance
(Conner, 1991). In particular, knowledge is regarded as one of the most important
resources for businesses – even more important than physical assets, such as land,
capital and labour. For an organization to retain a sustainable competitive advantage,
knowledge is essential (Chen et al., 2012;Nonaka et al., 2000). Therefore, implementing
a knowledge management (KM) strategy is considered to be a pressing issue in modern
rms. Shih and Chiang (2005) argue that KM is a strategic tool that strengthens
competitive ability, as it helps organizations perform more productively. Moreover, KM
helps organizations to reduce costs, raise prots, identify new markets, increase their
market share, improve efciency and meet customer needs (Civi, 2000;Stam, 2007).
Importantly, KM researchers have noted that KM comprises more than software and
hardware infrastructure; it also involves culture and people (Meso and Smith, 2000).
Knowledge is created by and embedded in individual employees. Therefore, human
resource management (HRM) policies and systems can signicantly facilitate or hamper
the development and transfer of organizational knowledge and, ultimately, business
performance (BP) (Shih and Chiang, 2005). The real power of organizational knowledge
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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VJIKMS
46,2
154
Received 25 October 2014
Revised 8 May 2015
26 June 2015
28 October 2015
Accepted 29 October 2015
VINEJournal of Information and
KnowledgeManagement Systems
Vol.46 No. 2, 2016
pp.154-174
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2059-5891
DOI 10.1108/VJIKMS-10-2014-0061
lies in its sharing and transmission. Knowledge sharing (KS) involves transferring
knowledge between two individuals, units or entities, through a process of
communication where the knowledge becomes reinterpreted and recreated. The creation
of new knowledge is thus the net outcome of this process (Egbu et al., 2005). KS has been
shown to improve both individual and organizational performance and innovativeness
(Haas and Hansen, 2007;Fukugawa, 2006). In addition, KS is argued to lead to better BP
through improved decision-making and coordination (Zarraga and Bonache, 2003). If
knowledge is not shared, the cognitive resources available within a group remain
underutilized (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). An organizational context characterized by
trust, open communication and the sharing of knowledge will reect positively on BP.
We seek to enrich the discourse on the relationship between strategy (KM and HR)
and BP. According to the t-as-mediation view, when faced with keen competition,
organizations often aggressively pursue intra-organizational collaboration to improve
performance. Thus, we need to understand the role that KS culture plays between KM
strategy and BP and HR strategy and BP. To ensure corporate survival and success, it
is important for both managers and scholars to understand how these different
strategies affect BP.
The research investigating various strategies and their impact on KS culture and BP
is insufcient. Therefore, the current study aims to address the following questions:
Q1. To what extent does KM strategy, HR strategy and KS culture inuence
business performance?
Q2. Does the mediating variable, KS culture, play a role in improving business
performance?
2. Research constructs
As the world moves towards knowledge-based economies, the eld of KM is becoming
increasingly important. According to most knowledge-based theories of the rm,
knowledge exploitation is the key source of competitive advantage for organizations
(Grant and Baden-Fuller, 2004). In this regard, a rm is viewed as a facilitator for the
integration of the knowledge that exists in the minds of individuals. This view
emphasizes the human aspects of organizational activity, including KM strategy, HRs
and the cultivation of an environment that encourages employees to share their
knowledge.
2.1 Independent constructs
2.1.1 Knowledge management strategy. The resource-based view perceives the rm as a
bundle of resources and capabilities. Thus, to maximize value, strategy is geared
towards the optimal exploitation and development of resources (Grant, 1991). In
particular, an organization’s KM strategy is aimed at building and managing
knowledge stock through the process of effectively creating, transferring and
distributing knowledge (Shih and Chiang, 2005). The KM literature identies two major
and distinctive approaches to KM: codication and personalization. Davenport and
Prusak (1998) explained that the aim of codication is to place organizational knowledge
into a form that makes it accessible to those who need it. In their view, this means
literally turning knowledge into a code to make it as organized, explicit, portable and
easy to understand as possible. Hansen et al. (1999) described this approach as one that
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Knowledge
sharing
culture
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