Gatekeepers Practices in Knowledge Diffusion within Saudi Organizations: KFMC Case Study

Abstract

Gatekeepers in organizations play a critical role in terms of disseminating and transferring outside knowledge into their groups. This research contributes in identifying the gatekeepers' practices in terms of gathering, selecting, and diffusing knowledge. In the context of Saudi organizations, the exploratory case selected in this research is King Fahad Medical City (KFMC). This research is conducted on Health Informatics and Information Technology employees. A mixed-method design is applied on this research to provide a deep understanding of knowledge interactions structure and the process of knowledge interactions across the organization network. Both methods; questionnaires and interviews are conducted in order to investigate the context. Social Network Analysis method is also used in this research to capture the ``brokerage{''} network structure position using Flow Betweenness Centrality algorithm. The findings reveal that gatekeepers use different knowledge sharing mechanisms which are: information retrieval, information pooling, pushing, diffusion, collaborative problem solving, and thinking along. In addition, the results present the distinct methods and technologies used by the gatekeepers to collect and share their knowledge with others. The findings of this research help managerial decision makers and strategic managers among start-up organizations and also well-structured organizations to provide valuable insights and decisions in terms of policies, strategies, and the appropriate collaborative tools that foster collaborative working.