Knowledge sharing: Cultural dynamics

Abstract

Knowledge is one of the most valuable assets of businesses and an important competitive factor. Knowledge evolves continuously as the individual and the organisation adapt to influences from the external and the internal environment. Working knowledge is initially tacit (personal and context-specific including cognitive elements) and is created by earlier experiences, perceptions and internalisation. Tacit knowledge becomes explicit (formal and systematic), which is expressed by explicit procedures. Knowledge sharing is the process where individuals mutually exchange both tacit and explicit knowledge, and jointly create new knowledge. This process is essential in transferring individual knowledge into organisational knowledge. Continuous knowledge creation requires voluntary actions including openness, scrutiny, trust and tolerancetowards different views and interpretations. The constructive learning process in the work place is revealed through bottom-up knowledge creation spread from individual to individual in the socialization process. Research concerning the factors affecting knowledge sharing has identified a number of different factors that can be classified as hard (technologies and tools, such as computer mediated communication) and soft (relationships between the individual and the team, department or organisation including motivation, and organisational climate). This paper argues that willingness to converse and share knowledge is influenced by cultural dynamics from the external environment (national culture) and from the internal environment (organisational and personal culture). National Cultures mould the degree of openness, capacity for collaboration and exchange of ideas. Certain organisational cultures support and facilitate knowledge creation and transfer, whereas other organisational cultures promote knowledge retention. The cultural dynamics influencing knowledge sharing are unfolded and a set of guidelines for the creation of a knowledge sharing culture is proposed.